S E R M O N c ST, O

G E N T L E M E N

U P O

T E M P E R A N C

E X E S E.

" Turgidus hie efiulis, atque albo centre, lanjatur," Culture fulpbureas lente exhalante meph'ttes." Sed tremor inter <vina fubit, calidumque trientai" Excudit e manibus, dentes crepuere reteili," Unfla cadunt laxi's, tunepulmentarta labris,

" ffisfTtiBA—CANDELAE.PEHSII SATYR A III.

" Vittm fub Die agat. HOR. LIB. III. ODE II.

P H I L A D E L P H I A :

PRINTED BY JOHN DUNLAP, IN MAKKET-STREET

M. DCC. L x x 11 ,

D E D I C A T I O N ,T 0

\V I.LL.IA M C A D O G A N, M. D.'

FELLOW OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS

I L O DO N.

S I IT,

jfc jit* * A

embarked in the fame common caufewith you, of attempting to five thelives of his Majefty's fubjecls, I havetaken the liberty of prefixing yourname to thefe Sermons, not with

the view of its protecting them, for it fcems it was notfufEcient to protect your own work, but from a defireI had of fliowing my high efteem of your head andheart. Although we differ in fome points (which arcchiefly fpeculative) yet I am happy in finding that, weagree in thofe things which are mod eflential, in onefenfe of the words," to man's falvation. It is with plear

fure we now fee the fame freedom of enquiry cxteridingitfelf to medicine, which has long prevailed in religion.While the common people rejecl infallibility in thehead of a church, and a fovereign efficacy in a fewrites and ceremonies, they have unhappily remained-cn-

flaved

ilaved to the infallibility of medicine, or a few triflingprefcriptions, which a,re as unequal to the expectationsof the vulgar in curing difeafes, as a wafer or extremetin&ion are to expiate their fins. Phyfic will never fuf-fer by undeceiving the common people; button theContrary, iik<rthe Reformed Religion, it will teconttilluftrious by Gripping it of its pageantry,-—Thus, theIndian receives not half the pleafure from worfhippingthe fun, which the philofophcr doss from viewing itthrough a telefcope.

HE clergy are not lefs honoured now than theywere formerly, although they drf -not pretend to work

miracles, or to grant abfolution—fo phyficians wouldnot be lefs refpefted, fhould they fometimes difclaimtheir ufurped omniicience of the caufes or events of dif-eafes, nor attempt always to cure them by receipts coai-£ofed of ingredients drawn from every kingdom in na-"ture, and every quarter of the globe.! i

T H E clergy are often told, that example goes farther•than precept. Upon this account, Ithink it would addmuch to the dignity of phyfic, if the profeiTors of itwould live agreeable to their dodlrines.

A N OLD PHYSICIAN always carries about with himthe moft honourable encomiums in praife of his ait.—^That you may honour the profeilion as much in thisrefpetSt, as you have done in your ingenious Diffcrtationon the Gout, is the ardent wifh of

S I R,Your mcfl obedient humble fervt.

T H E A \ j T H O R.

S E R M O N I.

ON TEMPERANCE IN EATING.

O V E R B S

When thoufitttjl to eat -with a ruler, cotijider diligently nuhat it

before thee. And put a knife to thy throat, ifthou be a mangiven to appetite. Be not de/irout of his dainties, for the}*re deceitful meat.

M Y H E A R E E R S ,

€5 ^ * ) H E S . E are the words, of King Solomon, Afc*, fc*^ phatically called the Wife Man, from his great

pre-erainenee in wifdom over the whole humanrace. His knowledge, like his pleafures, wasunconfined, and while he tortured nature for

the one, he ranfacked her no lefs for the other. He was noneof thofe philofophers, who exclaim againft the world for noother reafon, than becaufe they pofTefs fo fmall a fhare of it.He tafted, lie poflefled, he knew every thing which the mindof man in its mofb improved ftate is capable of tafting, pof-fcfling, or knowing. This raifes his character above all praife,and gives the fame eloquence to every thing which comesfrom his pen, as if a voice had proclaimed it from heaven.

W I T H O U T

Wi THOU T taking up your time in wiredrawing the words, •.which are p.lain, and ftand in need of no illuftration, I fhallproceed immediately to fpeak of TEMFERANCE in EATING.The method I have chofen for this purpofe, is to confider it

I . To the Q U A L I T Y .

I I . To theQuANTiTY of oMr "ALIMENT. And,

I I I . To the T I M E of taking it. After this I lhall concludean APPLICATION.

I . O F THE QUALITY OF OUR. A L I M E N T . There hath

been much common-place declamation upon this fubjeft.There is fuch a variety in the appetites ami conftkutions ofmankind (implanted originally for wife purpofes) that no fixedrules can be laid down tinder this head. In general, the morefimple our food is, the better. Animal and vegetable ftfodfhould always be mixed together by people in health.—Thatnature intended man ftionld be fupported by them both, weinfer from the ftrudture of his teeth, and organs of digeffion,which are formed upon the compound principles of carnivo-rous and granivorous animals. The proportion of vegetablefood fhould always predominate, efpecially in warm feafons,and warm climates. Wild animals, and thofe which are fullgrown, fhould be preferred to tame and young animals, as be-ing more eafy of digeftion and perfpiration. For the famereafon, flefh which has been kept for fomc time, is to be.preferred to that which is newly killed.

MUCH has been faidagainft high feafoned food. To per-fons, in the full vigor of health and youth, I grant it may behurtful ; but to old, and to fickly people, who ?.re aflliftcdwith a general torpor of the alimentary cana!, it is not only

inoffesfive,

< 9 >jnoffenfrve, but abfolutely neccffary. I appeal to all fuch ofray hearers, as labour under aweaknefs of the ftomach—indi-geftion—acid belchings, and the like, whether a little fakedor fmoaked beef has not fat eafier upon your ftomachs, andbeen fooner digefted, than the moft fimple food that could becontrived. High feafoned food is likewife neceflary to theinhabitants of low marfhy countries, more efpecially at thofefeafons of the year, when the difeafes of fuch places are epi-demic. It is remarked in fome of the Weft-Indian Iflands, as•well as in thofe parts of South-America, which are within thetropic, that fuch as eat a large quantity of fpices of all kinds,with their food, are lefs fubjedt to the intermitting and bi-lious fevers, than thofe who avoid them.—This is eafily ac:counted for, when we reflect, how much they obviate the re-lating powers of heat and moifture, which always combineto produce thefe difeafes. It is for, this reafon, probably,that Providence has fo ordered it, that the fpicy trees growfpontanepufly in warm climates only, in all parts of theworld.

BEFORE I conclude this head, I /hall remark, that littleniifchief is done to the conftitution by the quality of aliment.Nature, for the moil part, takes the alarm, and, unlefs wei\fc violence with her, deprives us of our relilh for thofe1things, which are destructive to our constitutions. Such per-fons as love meat with thofe qualities which are hurtful, toooften love likewife an excefs in quantity, which leads us tothe next head we propofed, namely, to fpeak

II. O F THE QUANTITY or OUR ALIMENT. " Temper-

ance (fays Sir William Temple) confifb in a regular andflmple diet, limited by every man's experience of his ownrafy digeftion."—Food, therefore, may be faid to be taken in

B 109

too large a quantify, when we do not feel light »ftd cheerful •after it.—There are few yho do not eat one third, or %•-fourth more than is neceflary to fupport them. The chiefincentive to this is the variety of our difhes, which excitesus to eat after the appetite is.fatisfied. Few men, I believe,ever eat to excefs more than *»« of one plain dim.

T H E Church of Rome ails with a• wife regard to the health,as well as morals of her fons, in prefcribing abstinence fromflefh during Lent, and in allowing them nothing but fifli.—-,.Moft" of animals, in the fpring of the year, or the feafon ofLent, are very poor, and upon ieveral accounts unfit for.food; Tbuttlie chief reafon upon which this canon is founded,and which ferves our prefent purpofe more immediately, is,that by confining them to fi/h only, there is lefs danger offiieir eating to excefs. Natur.e, we fee, not only in this,but in another fenfual enjoyment*, feems to hare fet a guardover our health, and Jnftead of roufing our fenfations by va-riety or novelty, kindly keeps them fu'fpended," till appetiteand pleafure are awakened together, which to the fame ob-]/z& they never will" be oftener than is "̂ oafiftent- with thahealth and vigor of the conffitution. This wife oeconomy inthe makeof our bodies, cannot be too much admired,efpeciallyas we are enabled to difcover in it the ftrifl: connexion betweendie pofitive precepts of. heaven, and our own happinefs.

N E X T to our eating of but one difli, I would inculcateeating put one hearty meal a day. In fupport of this piece of

advice,

* Lt! Ihy fountain be MeffeJ, and rejoice ivitb the iv'ife of thy

youth. Let her he as the loving hind, andpleafant roe; let her

hrenfis falisfy thee at all times and he thou rat/ijiedalways ivity

her l<wt. And ivhy ivilt thou my fan be ra-vi/bed 'with aftrange ivo-

tzati, and embrace the bofom of a /ranger? P R O V . v. iS, 19,20,

*

advice, I might here fummons manyfof the illuffirious deadamong the ancient philofophers and legiflators, who never eati o r e than one hearty meal in the four and twenty hours.So common was this fimplicity of living in Greece, that Plato,upon being afked when he returned to Athens from his travelsinto Sicily, what he had feen that was furious while he wasabroad, anfwercd, Vidi monftrum in natiifa, hominem htsfatwrattim in die,—" I have beheld ({aid he) a morrfter in na-" ture—a man who eat two hearty meals in a day." Thefeare more than fufHcient to repair the daily wafte of the body.They opprefs nature, and keep4 her conftantly fatigued,' Inconcocting the imiflenfe fupplies of food which arc throwninto the ftomach. Although ihe fometiroes forbears long, yetfooner or later flie takes ample vengeance of fuch as treat herin this manner, by afflicting them with blotches, and otherdiforders, which are the legitimate offspring of this fpecies ofintemperance. But if we are to eat onl^onc hearty meal aday, a queftion very naturally occurs Here, and that is, at•what time ihould it be taken ?

T H I S brings us to our Iavr. general head, namely, to fpeaRof temperance as it relates to the

III. T I M E OP E A T I N G . At prcfent noon is looked uponas the moft proper for this purpofe. Hence we generallyfind dinner the principal meal through this country. I amaware of the difficulty ofoppo/ing popular prejudices, and thatit is often much better to fwira with the multitude down thefrream, than to ftem it nlonc. I am aware too of the fate (ifreformers in religion—politics and fcicncc. Many have lofttheir characters—their livings—and even their lives, l>y ad1-T.incing things contrary to the'efJrablimed opinions of the

Bat, fhouH this be my cafe, I will not conceal myB 2 feruimenrs.

• t

t ?*fentiment*, nor refill what I look upon and feel to be the fk-cred power of truth. It is well known to every one, thatexercifc of mind or body is difagreeable after dinner. Naturerecoils from them both. Every full meal is a ftimulus tothe whole fyflem and brings on a temporary fever, which/hows itfelf in that chillinefs and quicknefs of pulfe, which arefo very remarkable after eating. To add to thefe either exer-cife of body or mind, is to divide and weaken the powers ofnature in a work, which requires the combined acTion of then!all. Upon this account, I think the principal meal fhould al-ways be made in the evening.

old Romans, we find, in the early and virtuous agesof their commonwealth, made their chief meal after night.The' French (except fucli of them as copy after the Engliflimanners) and the Italians always make fupper their principalmeal. The Indians in this country (who live the moft agree-able to nature of any people in the world) eat flelh but once inthe four and twenty hours, and that is in the evening, afterthe fatigues of liming—rhuntingor marching, are over. TheSpaniards, who have not yet adopted the French and Italian,cuftom of making their chief meal at night, are neverthe-lefs fo unanimous in the practice of fleeping an hour or twoevery day after dinner, that it is a common thing to hear aSpaniard (ay, in moll of the cities of Spain, that " none butEnglifhmen and dogs are to be feen in their ftreets immedi-ately after dinner." Sleep is always natural after eating.Nature calls loudly for it. It is common to all the bruteanimals we are acquainted with. That fbate of the body ormind which approaches neareft to it, is always moft agreeableto us, when we cannot enjoy it immediately.—Hence we read,that it was a practice among dm Romans to fit upon camions,and to lean upon each other at their entertainments. OurSAVIOUR adopted this cuftom. At the Iaft feaft he had witli

his

< 13 >

his difciples (which vtas a fupper) he admitted him who fit.next to hirn to lean upon his bofom,-r-But what pro*re»,above all things, that reft and fleep are neceffary after eating,is, that digeftion has been lately proved to be carried on chief-ly by FERMENTATION, to which reft, every body knows, i*fo effentially neceflary, that it cannot take place without i&Unlefs the body enjoys more or lefs of this after eating,there can he no perfefl concoftion of the food. This is whatall muft confent to, who have been obliged to ride on hocfe-hack, or to nafe any violent exercife of body, after a hearty .dinner. The digeftiqn, in fucb cafes, is fo disturbed, thatperfbns have complained of being indifpofed for ikveul dayaafter it*

B U T methinks I hear forne obje<5t and Fay, that eatinga hearty fnpper makes them reftlefs in the night, and preventstheir fieeping. To fuch I would wiih joy.—It is a proof, thatnature has not yet funk under the weight of two hearty mealsa day; for I never heard any one make this complaint, -who (

did not likewife eat a hearty dinner. Leave off dining inyour ufual mariner, >and, inftead of eating half a pound, or apound of flefh, with vegetables proportioned to it, ailay yourappetite with a little bread and cljeefe—a bowl of light foup

. a cup of coffee or chocolate—or, after the French cuftom,with a few raifins, or an apple, and I am perfuaded, youwill feel no inconvenience from eating a moderate flapper-Here give me leave to remark to you, that the more of thefelight fubftances you take during the day, the better, as theytend to leflen the fenfc of hunger,. or the keennefs of theappetite, which too often provokes us to intemperance.Sir Francis Bacon tells us a ftory of a very old man, whofemanner of living he enquired into, and found that he obferv-ed no other rules than eating btfin he was hungry, and

drinking

drinking lefore He Hvas 'dry ; for by thefe mean*, he faid, Rewas fure riever to eat, nor to drink too much at a timeIf we appeal once more to the brute animals, they will fur-nifh us with arguments in favour of this practice. Every' ana*logy Borrowed from them deferves to be attended to, as theyhave never yet fubjefted their inftindts to the tyranny of faflii-on. The cow and the horfe, as alfo the fheep, when theyrange at large in a pafture, feed with littfe interruption dur-ing the day, and thus guard againft the intemperate effedts ofhunger. The horfe, it is true, fometimes fuffer's from thiscaufe, but it is only when he is obliged to live as we do, thatis, to divide his meats into three or four in a day, and to workimmediately afterwards. It is univerfally agreed, that peoplelive much longer in warm than in cold climates. May notone reafort of this be owing to the heat of fuch climates dimi-nilhing their appetites, and thus preventing their wearing outtheir conftitinions by excefs in eating ?—I would have it re-membered here, that in fpeaking of warm climates, I meanthe improved parts of Alia and Africa only. The warmclimates of America are as yet too little cultivated, to allowUs to extend the obfervation to our own country.—Bat to re-turn. Methinks I hear others fay, if we make fnpper ourprincipal meal, we fliall ovetfet part of an old rule, which bids us-,

" After dinner fit a while," 'sifttr Jupper walk a milt"

This adage, it is true, from its great antiquity, as well asfrom its being delivered in rhyme, comes armed with theilrength of Sampfon, but it does not require the {kill of aDelilah to cut its locks. I might here mention an hundredcommon flyings in feveral of the arts and fciencts, as well asin common life, which are equally univcrfal, and at the famrtime equally falfe with the above. It is a vulgar error, and

ip

is repugnant both to experience and found philofdphy. Iconclude, therefore, that it is moft agreeable to the ufage ofthe moft civilized nations—to the practice of favages—to

n a t u r e a n d to common experience, to eat our chief meal at

night, and that the fecraing objections againft it are of no

weight-V,

I HASTEN fiow to the APPLICATION of this difcourfe.And here 1 might exclaim againft the depravity of man,•which has converted the common bleflings of life into wea-pons of definition againft himfelf.—I might open Pandora'sfcox, or mow you Milton's Lazar-houfe,

- " Wherein tsiere laid

" Numbers of all difeafed, all maladies

" Qfgbajily fptifm, or racking Jotittre qualm" Of he-art -fick agony, all feverous kinds," Convuljions, epilepjies, fierce catarrhs,« Iqteflitie foh.e and ulcer, colic pangs," Demoniac phreuzy, moaping melancholy," And 77ioon-Jlruck madnefs, pinhig atrophy," B'larafmus, and 'wide ixiafling peflilencer

" Dropjles and aftlmias, and' joint-racking rheums?

And might prove to you, that moft of thefe difeafes are thechildren of intemperance in eating. I might conduft you toyonder grave-yard, and point to the tombs of many of yourformer companions, who " came up like flowers, and werecut down," and who ftriftly fpcaking, " lived not out halftheir days."—But, without entering upon thefe things, I fliallconclude, by fixing your attention on the piflure of a. man,who has fpent part of his life " among riotous eaters offlefli."—Mark his pale countenance ! His belly is fwclled—his phyficians tell UR that it aril'cs from a fiKcd obftruftionin his liver, which has brought on a fpecics of dropfy of the

worft

i 16 frworffifort—See f with what difficulty he breathes ! Aflowfeverconfame* hi& vitals—His thirft is inextingu.ifb.abta—^Say ye.patrons and praclicers of the healing art, can nothing be doneto relieve him from this deplorable condition ?—Call for fomcrich- dainty—Perhaps this may reviite him—Tell him of hi*paft enjoyments—of the honour he once had of eating 'and-

drinking with the " Rulers'1 and chief men of the land. Alas! •theft can avail nothing.—The fight of the one—and theremembrance of the other, ferve onljf to inereafe his pain.—Will cordials and bitters do nothing to roufe the languidpowers of life.? Their virtues have long ago been ekhaufted,•when there was no occafion for them. Better, far better,would it have been for hint, had he (in the words of ourtext) " put a knife to his throat," or even plunged a daggerinto his heart the firft day he gave himfelf up to his appetite,than lived to endure fuch aggravated mifery. In a word, allnature is up in arms againft him—The elements keep backtheir medicinal aids—They take part in their CrSator's quar-rel, wbofe bounties he has abufed—The air refufes to expandhis lungs-=-water—to allay his thirft—fire—to warm hislimbs, and thus he dies his own executioner. Be exhorted,my hearers, from thefe confiderations to temperance and fo-briety. If you have any love for yourfelves—for your fami-iiea—for your posterity—and for the community to whichvon belong, think of thefe things. I have only to add myfeeft wilhes, that what has been delivered upon this fubjeftmay have due weight with you, more efpecially at this feaioaot the year # , when, as the Poet exprefies it,

" Fuljly, grateful man, at the full' feaft," To Jo Goi honour makts himfelf n beaj}.

* Tuefe Sermons were written about Chriflmas.

SERMON

> ,«f#xXXXX* t p r ^ Fxxxx? >

#xX*X»> ##.**# <f#XX>0<#> <£ •

E R M O N II.•

ON THE USE AND ABUSE OF WINE

AND STRONG DRINK. >

P R O V E R B S xxxi. 6, 7.

C « ftrong drink unto him that is ready to perijb, anA •wine tathofe that be of heavy hearts. Ltt him drink and forget Mspoverty, and retrtfniher his niiferyno m

- . , ' •M Y H E A R E R S , .

.laft time I addreffed you from fHTs place,

jL. LJHt I enlarged upon Temperance in Eating. In*8 the prefent difcourfe, I fliall lay before you a

f* io8of* j ^ew confidcrations upon the U S E AND ABUSE3H.J» HLJz o r W I N E A N D STRONG DRINK. This, I

fhall attempt, by confidcring more particularly the words ofcur text. For this purpofe, I fhall enquire,

I. To WHOM W I N E AND STRONG DRINK SHOULD BE

C I V E N .

I I i T o WHOM THEY SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN; and

then 1 fhall conclude with an APPLICATION.

C I. W I N E

Ii WiftE on S-TRONG DittNK SAY JSE GIVEN,

1. T o the fick. The difeafes in which wine is indicatedare, FirJI, The /o*w nervous'fiver. Here the powers of na»ture are weakened and opprefled, and the poor patient mayj

ftricTJy fpeaking, be faid to be ready to peri/h. .Wine m;tybe adminiftere'd therefore in fuch cafes with advantage.—Ifever.k-fails oLdoing fervice, it is becaufe it is•given in toofinall a quantity. Secondly, In chronic difeafeSj which are ac-companied with a languor of the whole fyftem, which (howsitfelfA» a more efpecial manner in the ftonizch, wine is a fa-'vereign remedy., It was to relieve a complaint of this kindthat St. Paul prefcribed it to his fon Timothy. By its gentleftimulus it excites the action of the ftomach—invigorates thecirculation—opera obi£ru£tions—-'and thus, in fome' meafure,renews the whole conftitution. The relief which wine af- _fords' in thefe cafes, is the more certain, if the weaknefs of thefyttem ffas-been brought on by grief, or any of thofe paffionswhich are of the fedafive kind. Here the heavy heart is re-vived, and made to fing for joy.

2. WLNE is fometimes necefiary to the inhabitants of lowmarfliy countries. The moifture of fiich places obftrufe per-spiration, and brings on a general laxity of the fyftem.Whenisiedin a moderate quantity, it braces the folids, andby keeping up a proper balance between them and the fluids,it obviates difeafes.—Hence we feldom find thofe people, wholive in affluence, .and who can afford to drink a gkfs or twoo:"g.nerous wine every day, affiidled with thofe fevers andagues, which make fuch great havock among poor, people.The Hollandefs have been charged with the muional reflec-tion of loving ftrong drink. This cenfure is unjuft, as neccf-lity at firft drove them to it, and as it is by tiling wine andBtiicr fpirituous liquors in moderation, that they guard them-

felves

* •

from the ill effefts of the moifture to which their coun-try is always expofed. Remember you are to ufe wine in thefecafes only during that feafon, in which thefe difeafes are epi-demic, which, in this climate, is chiefly during the months ofAuguft, September and Odtober. But,

3. W I N E is principally ufeful to old people, or fuch as arein the decline of life. It is hard to fix the limits between thebeginning of old age, and the clofe qf manhood. At a medi-um, the body begins to decline at the age of forty-five or fiftyin this climate. Then the hot (it of the fever of life begins toabate, and from the many difappointments in love—.-friendfliip•—'ambition or trade, which mpft of m.en meet; with by. tlietime they arrive at this age, they generally feel a heavy heart.—The decay of the vital heat—theflownefs of the pulfe"—l ie diminution of the fbength, all /how that the vigour of thefyftem is declining. Here wine prolongs the ftrcngth andpowers of nature. It is the grave of paft misfortunes^—In aword, it is another name for philofbphy. Remember," myaged hearers, if you would expedr. to enjoy a long reprievefrom the infirmities of age, you miift begin to ufe wine mode-rately, and increafe the quantity of it as you defcend intb thevalley of life.—^Add to this, you muft diminilh the quantity ofyour folid aliment.—This nature points out to us, by depriv-ing us of our teeth in proportion as we grow old, teaching usthereby, that we have now no longer rife for them.

I COME now to the fecond general head of my difcourfe,

namely,

I I . T o SHOW TO WHOM W l N E OR. STRONG D R I N I ?

SHOULD NOT HE GIVEN.

C 2 IN

IN the firji place,- it flioiild not be" giveri to children..Wine, we faid formerly, is of a heating nature, and is indi-cated in thofe constitutions and ages, where a ftimulus is ne»ceflary to fupport the powers of life. Children, from thenatural vigour of their fyftems, which fhoWs itfelf in the. re-markable quicknefs of their pulfes, and in their great activityof mind and body, ftand in no need of a ffiraulus of this kind.On the contrary, every thing fliouldbe withheld frtfm them,Which tends to add to the natural impetuofity of their fluids,or the vigorous adion of their folids. Hence we are led tocommend thofe parents, who forbid their children to tafte allkinds of animal food (upon the account of its ftimulatingquality) till they are upwards offeven or eight years of 2ge>

, But,•

2. STUDIOUS people, Or thofe who have occafion to ex*ercife their thinking faculties much, fliould abftain from wine.Thinking is a ftimulus to the conftitution, and wears out thefprings of life beyond the mofr. laborious exctxife of body—•Much fhidy is literally a " wearinefsof the fledi."—Hence wefind ftatefmen, generals, and even fuch as fill the learned pro-feffions with dignity, arc more fubject to the gout, from fmalldeviations in their ordinary way of living, than other people.Wine, and a conftant or vigorous exertion of the active facul-ties of the foul, produce nearly the fame effects upon the bo-dy.—This is one reafbn probably why Solomon, in the chapterfrom whence our text is taken, fays, " It is not for Kings todrink wine, nor for Princes ftrong drink." Much recreationand great exercife of body, are neceflary to guard againlr. theeffe^s of too much application of the mind to bufiaefs; fliouldthe ftimulating effects of wine be added to this, felief will befought from exercife and amufements in va-in. But,

3. W I N E

PI

t mould not be tifedbyyoung people, or fuch atare under five and thirty or forty years-of age, unlcfi they *a-

'bour under forae of thofe evils we mentioned undar our firfthead. The purfuits and plcafureS of youth are too often morethan"fuffLcient to keep the fyftem in an excited ftafei To addwine to thefe, is like throwing, oil into fire, in order ta extin-guilh it. It is always a fign of a vitkted hean> when in fullhealth wine is called for, in order to impart cheerfulnefs to it*,By avoiding wine in the early part of life, you will receivebenefit from it wfeen you grow old. You will likewifs efcapethat dreadful fcotirge of intemperance the g'but. This is thenatural offspring of wine. In the great empire of China thegout is unknown. This is owing to their being unacquaintedwith the juice of the grape, and is a proof that the other caufes,which have been accufed of bringing on the gout, act toofeebly to produce it, unlefs they are roufed into action by theufe of wine. - Befides all this, by refraining from wine duringthis period of your lives, you may become the fathers of ahealthful progeny, whofe ruddy looks,and well formed limbs,will adorn your happy board, and more than repay you for

your abltinence and felMenial.1 BUT

• Oh ! feldom may the fatal hour return,0!'drinking deep ! I would not daily t.ilt",Except when life declines, even fooerLU;M.Weak withering age, no rigid law furlil U,With fn14.1l nectar, fmooth and (low, with balm,The f.ipleft habit daily to bedew, fAn:l give the hefifatingwheeU of lifeGliblier to play. But youth has better joys;And isit.wife, when youtli with pltf.iiure (luws,To i'ujandcr the reliefs of age and pain

1

Ar.MSTit.Q:-;c-5 Art of frrlri-i.:^ '.•«/..'-•, Snui U

B U T methinks I hear fdme'of you fay—why all this noifsabout wine and ftrong drink?—Have we notfeen hundreds,who have made it a conftant practice to get drunk almoftevery day for "thirty or forty years, who, notwithstanding, ar-rived, to a great age, and enjoyed the fame good health asthofe who have followed the ftricteft rules of temperance—.or who have lived by weight and meafure like Lewis Cor-naro himfelf •?—Some inftances of. this kind I grant might bementioned, but they are few when compared with the num-ber of thofe who have abflained from wine and ftrong drink.Even thefe ha.ve began to drink after their conftitutions wereon the decline. They were moreover generally poor people,who were obliged to work hard for their fupport, and thusby their labour carried offthe effects of their intemperance.But who knows how much longer they might have lived, hadthey been more temperate. Perhaps after all, they died mar-tyrs to fpirituoua liquors, and at the age of eighty, ninety, oreven an hundred, were guilty of a fpecies of filicide. If youmould fee a failor fall from the maft of a ftup under fullfail into the fea, and afterwards be taken up alive, would younot think his companions mad, if they fliould leap from thefume place, in hopes of meeting with the fame good fortune ?—

B U T who is he that fays, if we banifli wine from company,how (hall wetontrive to entertain our friends ? The poets andphilufophers of former ages, who abound fo much with thepraifes of wine, would rife up againft us, iliould we tear faprecious a relict from the temple of hofpitality. To this Ianfvver, that more have complained of drinking too much, thanof drinking too little in company. How many have refufed ,to be prefent at entertainments, only becaufe they wore afraidof being forced to drink to excefs r How many are. obligedto counterfeit esctifes, or to. Heal privately from company for

< *3.. >

the fame reafon ? What confufion—what difcord.among thfe mbftintimate friends, have you not feen follow thofe feafts wherethe hoft has relied upon the quantity or goodnefs of his winefor the entertainment of his guefts ?—Three or four gkfles ofwine will impart all its cheerful qualities to a ftomach whichis not rendered infenfible to it by habit or difeafe. Thefe maybe taken occafionally among friends by perfona of all agesand conditions, efpecially upon feftive feafons. Thefe fcafons,however, fhould not recur too often. Our SAVIOUR wroughta miracle at a wedding, in order to furnifh wine to the guefts;but he fed five thonfand people with a few loaves and fifties inttie wildernefs, without ordering any wine to be drank afterthem. This is the more remarkable, as there is no foodwhich is fuppofed to require wine with it fo much as Mi,—•it being a common faying, that it fhould always'fwim threetimes—namely, in water—butter—and wine.

-I r i s time now to -ha&q to the APPLICATION of this

difcourfe.

HBRE then I would call upon'the difeafed and the raelanchoiJy part of my hearers, as well as fuch whofe misfortune it isto live in low marfliy countries, to come and partake of thisfovereign antidote to difeafe and care.—Banifh your cordials—yovir bitters, and your magnefias, the paltry prefcriptions ofmercenary quacks, and fubititnte in the room of them a fewglafles of good old wine. But to you my aged hearers—myvenerable fathers would I chiefly addrefs myfelf. Come hevcand drown all your forrows in full bumpers of Lifton or Ma-deira.—Here forget the inconftancy of your miflrefles—thethe pei (k!y of friends—the broken pi'ornifes of 3'our patr ons—

ind the villainy of thofo who have betrayed either your in-tered, or charuifl'jr.—Above all things, here you may forget

na

not only to complain, but even to feel moil: of thofe infirmitiesich are too often connefted with your age. " The keepers

' the houfe, fhall ceafe to tremble—nor mall the ftrong men "bow themfelve's,- and although your grinders may ceafe, be-ufe they are few, yet thofe that look out of the windows,all not be darkened -Ye fhall not rife* at the Voice of thebird, unable to fleep any longer, nor fhall the grafs-hopperany more be'a burthen to you." The days fhall never come

which you fhall fay, " we have no pleafure in them."Thus will you prolong your health and fpirits till, like fullatured fruit, you (hall drop into the lap of your motherearth. Your bodies, like the garments"of the children ofrael, fliail not bs torn by the ravages of time—and the fameroke which puts an end to your enjoyments, fhall cut thefUver cord of life.

I T is now time to ne'drefs myfeif to another clafs of my

sarers. f i t a, lit me tall upon parents to withhold wine

d a thiir < inhli'vn. Ir h a poiinn iiiftcml of a cordial, which

3L; P.L.T i'i v. n their littK1 thronts. N o I'm nine which voi) cm

bc.]ue;<t;i them, will ever be crmvalcnt fur depriving th.em os

ic incftiniaUc LI . f f i r .g of a yowl conilitution. Ne:-;1. let me

ill Up:in it.Li. uiiOii, Icjjiniirtirj. MUI all thofe who ldbtnir for

ie puhlic gii-id, to abfTain frun i \vini \ Remember you are

;c gn^filiaiis of VI">L:)' country. PULIJI ' bnfmefs llnjiili!, like

!!;•.', lir»\c no jMiifis. How often h;i\ c truilk's brtn fufpc;;il-

e.u, and tvea nitirclics and bactlss becu dulavcd, by the prin-

i>: ' ; or icni'.irs ol t'l.-m Ir.i:)", i Lid Hj) with :i lir of the gOUt.

;;!-'.r not the ihiU't lived pi uli.ita of drinking to che.it you

:;t of j-o'ir f.imc or i. !j!urur.i'.-, oc to oLftrucl your motions

,..>ygh shefb > .:tl-.\| fplii. vc•:, •:, ui.K you nre talli-d to fill.

itt tn y'vi v • ; !JV ", \. nulil 1 R'I'.,', ii: t!;1-' !:ift place, ad-

..:": myLli.—V..L: : , ; , : : , ,.', leu:...! arguni-.-.-.ts ..g«inft the

f e eto bi

movyourfe tkenof y

Bveremors

Oycthe cand icomiandit thlitmetay o uyouinow,rits-awai

of c:the Ialarrfewintoicouliin achaner inhim,

i 25 >neceflity of your drinking wine. None of you can pretendto be of heavy hearts, or ready to perifh. If you are notmoved by a regard to your own*health andhappinefs—think ofyour pofterity. Let not your third and fourth generationsbe vifitcd for your iniquities. They will imprecate ven-geance upon your allies every time they feel the punifhment -of your folly.

B U T if, after all I have faid, you are determined t'operfe-vere in your ufual -manner of living, I muft addrefs you oncemore in the words of The Wife Man, and fay, "Rejoice,0 young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee inthe days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart,and in the fight of thine eyes ;" yet remember there is a timecoming when you will repent that you have hated reproof,and turned a deaf ear to the voice of the preacher. Thereis the fame infeparable connexion between intemperance anddifeafe, that there is betwixt vice and its punifliment. Unlefsyou fliould be cut off by fome fudden guft of intemperance,you may depend upon feeling the effects of it hereafter. Thinknow, I befeech you, of the fleeplefs nights—of the low fpi-rits—of the fcorching pains in your hands and feet whichawait you. To give you an idea of the dreadful confequence.sof excefs in drinking, let me beg of you to accompany me tothe bed-chamber of a man afflicted with the gout. Be notalarmed at his groans—Let us go in—Is this the man who afew years ago was the life and foul of every company he wentinto?—Is this he who boafted of the quantity of liquor hecould drink without being intoxicated ?—who fpent his youthin a conftant round of gaity and pleafure?—>How is hechanged!—It is now eleren years fince lie has been a prifon-er in this chamber. His phyficians have long fincc defertedhim, nor is it any reproach to their art that they cannot cure

D him

•

t 1

< 26 >

• him, any more than it is that they fire unable to raife thedead. He is a burthen to his friends. In vain does he feeRrelief from wine—-food—phyfic—company, or even from phi-lofophy. His only amufement is to number the days of hismifery on the wall with the chalk which grows-on the ends ofhis fingers,—Death, the laft friend of the wretched, refufesto come at his call—He lives—I retracT: the word—He hasceafed to live ever fince his confinement—He bi'eathes fhort-er and fhorter,1 till at laft he clofes his eyes for ever in the fi-Jcnce of death. This is no exaggerated piflnre. We haveall feen it at fome time of our lives.

1 CANNOT conclude what has beenfaid upon this fubjccl:,with words more to our purpofe than thofe of Solomon," Who hath wo ? who hath forrow ? who hath contentions ?who hath babling ? who hath wounds without caufe ? whohath rednefs of eyes ? They that tarry long at the wine, theythat go to feek rnixt wine. Look not thon upon the winewhen it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when itmoveih itfclf aright. At the laft it biteth like a fcrpent, andfl-ingeih like an adder."

SERMON

• • # " •

E R M O N 'III.

O N E X E R C I S E .

P R O V E R B S vi, 9, iq, n .

/<)»£• tw/jf thou jleep, 0 Jltiggard ? nsihen •wilt thou arife out.ofthyJleep?—Tet a little pip—a little flumber—a littlefolding ef the hands to Jleep.—Sojhall thy poverty come attne that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

•

was formed to be aflive. The vigour.is m i n d , a n d t h e h e a l t h o f h i s b o d y c a n

be fully preferved by noother means, than bylabour of fome fort. Hence, when we readt ' i e ^ e n t e n c c which was pronounced uponman after the fall;" That in the fweat of his

brow he {hould eat bread all the days of his life." We cannothelp admiring the goodnefs of the Supreme Being, in connect-ing his punifhment with what had now become the neceiTarymeans of preferving his health. Had God abandoned him toidlcnefs, he would have entailed tenfold mifery upon him.The folld parts of his body, particularly the nerves, wouldhave loll their tone—the mufcles would have loft their fuelingand moving powers—and the fluids in conference of this.

D 2 -would

-

Would have loft their original or native qualities, and haftagnated in every yart of his body. But, inftead of inflidt-ing this complicated punifhment ilpon him, he bids him beACTIVE, and implants a principle within him *hich impelshim to it. Civil fociety and agriculture began together. Thelatter has always been looked upon among the firft employ-ments of mankind.—It calls forth every individual pf the hu-man race into adion.'—It employs the body in a manner themoft conducive to its health.—It preserves and increafes the

1 fpccies moft;—and laftly, it is moft friendly to the practice ofvirtue. For thefe reafons, therefore, it is natural to con-clude, that it is moft agreeable to the Supreme Being that manfhould be fupported by it. The earth is a fkilful as well as akind mother to her children. Inftead of pouring her treafuresin lapfuls upon them at once, and consigning them to idlenefsever afterwards, (he bellows her gifts with a fparing hand, andceafes to yield them any thing, as foon as they ceafe to culti-vate her. Thus by entailing conftant labour, ihe meant toentail conftant health upon them.

BUT thefe employments were too innocent for the reftlefsfpirit of man. He foon defcrted his fields—and his flocks—and fought for fome more fpeedy methods of acquiring for-tune—independence—and a fuperiority over his fellow crea-tures. Thefc have been obtained by commerce—war—ra-pine—andlaftly, to the reproaeh of the American colonies, andof humanity, be it fpoken, by the perpetration of a crime,compared with which, every other breach of the laws of natureor nationo, deferves the name of Holinefs,I mean, by SLAVERY.But in exchange for thefe, he hath given up that greater! ofall bleffings, HEALTH. He hath had recourfe to medicine asa fnccedaneum for labour : but this hath proved- ineffectual;for the foflil—vegetable—and thofc parts of the animal king-

dom

i 29 >dom which are employed in medicine, have not yet learned'like man, to rife in rebellion againft the will of their Creator.Solomon feems to have been aware of this in the words of ourtext, and hence we hear him calling upon him to awake fromhis unhealthy '-' flumber"—to rife from his enervating bed tounfold his " arms," and employ them in fome ufeful labourleaft (icknefs, with its companion " poverty," fhould come uponhim like "travai^upon a woman with child," orlike an " armedman," neither of which can be avoidedor refitted^ Biit Solomon-,and all the preachers from his time to the prefent day, wholure addreffed him UpOn triis fubje<ft, have ufed their elo-quence in- vain. Since1 therefore we cannot bring man backagain to his implements of hufbandry, we muft attempt tofind out fome kinds of exercifc as fubftitu.tes for them. Themoft healthy and long-lived people are found among the la-bouring part of mankind—Would the rich then enjoy healthand long life, they muft do that of choice which thefe peopledo of neceffity. They muft by exercife, fubjed themfel.vcs toa kind of voluntary labour.

As this- difcourfe is addrefled chiefly to the rich and'theluxurious, who- are the moft given to idlenefs, I {hall confinemyfelf to Exercife only ; and, in order to handle the fubjedin the moft cxtenfive manner, I fhall confider

' I. T H E DIFFERENT MODES OF EXERCISE.

II. T H E PROPER T I M E FOR USING I T ; and then I /hallconclude with an APPLICATION.

I. All Exercife may be divided into A C T I V E andPAssivs.

ACTIVE EXERCISE includes walking—running—dancing•—fencing—fwimmingi and the like.

*PA s s 1 v K

i 3° >PASSIVE EXERCISE includes failing—riding in a carriage,

*nd On horfeback. The lait of thefe is of a mixed nature,and is in fonve meafure adKve as well as paflive. We flialltreat of each of them in order.

O F A C T I V E E X E R C I S S .

W A I K I N G is the moft gentle fpecies of it we are acquaint-ed with. It promotes perfpiration,and if not continued too long,invigorates and ftrengthens the fyftem. As the moft fimple andwholefome drink, namely water, is within every body's reach,fo this fpecies of fimple and wholefome exercife is in everybody's power, who has the ufe of his limbs. It is to be lament-ed, that carriages are fubftituted too often in the room of it. InPekin in China, we are told, that none but the Emperor, anda few of the firft officers of ftate, are fuffered to ufe chariots.Although the intention of this law was to fupprefs the num-ber of horfes, in order to make room for the increafe andfupport of the human fpecies, in the number of which theriches of all countries confift, yet we find it attended withgood effects otherwife; for the rich and the great, by beingobliged to walk in common with the poor people, enjoy withthem the common bleffing of health, more than people of thefame rank in other countries. To fiich as can bear it, Iwould recommend walking frequently up a hill. The inha-bitants of mountainous countries are generally healthy andlong lived. This is commonly attributed to the purity of theair in fuch places. Although this has a chief fti&K in it, yetI cannot help thinking, that the frequent and neceflary exer-cife of climbing mountains, which thefe people are obliged tovindcrgo, adds much to their health and lives. Every bodyknows how much walking up a hill tends to create an appe-tite. This depends upon its increafing the infcnfible perfpi-ration—a fecretion with which the appetite, and the ftate of

the ftomach in general, arc much connected.RUNNING

RUNNING IS too violent to be ufed often, or continued forany length of time. The running footmen in all countriesare fliort-lived—Few of them efcape confumptions beforethey arrive at their thirty-fifth year.-^Swcating and perfpira-tion, according to Sanftorius, have been found to be incom-patible.—The former always fuppreffes the latter. Uponthis account, I would recommend it to be ufed as feldom aspoffible.

DANCING is a moft falutary exercife. Future ages willbe furprifed to hear, that rational creatures mould, at anytime1, have looked upon it as a criminal amufement. Toreafon againfl it, from its abufe, concludes equally ftrongagainft the lawfulnefs of every thing we hold facred and va-luable in life.—It was a part of the Jewifll worfliip. By itsmechanical effects on the' body, it infpires the mind withcheerfulnefs, and this, when well founded, and properly rc-ftrained, is another name for religion. It is common amongthe Indians, tfnd the favage nations of all countries, uponpublic and feftive occafions.—They have their war—theirlove—and their religious dances. Trie mufic, which alwaysaccompanies this exercife, hath a pleafing and falutsry effectupon the body as well as the mind. It is addreffed throughthe avenue of the ears to the brain, the common centre oflife and motion, from whence its ofcillations are communi-cated to every part of the fyftem, imparting to each, thatequable and uniform vigour and a<5tion, upon which thehealthy ftate of all the functions depends. It would leabl ustn a long digreffion, or I might here mention many remark-able cures which have been performed, particularly of thofediforders, which are much connected with the nervousfy^em, by the magic power of mnfic. Dancing (liould notbe ufed more than once or twice a week. It fhould never be

continued

< 3. >

continued 'rill wearinefs comas on, nor ihould we cxpofe our-felv.es .to the cold air too foon after at.

FENCING calls forth mod of the mufcles into exercife,particularly thofe which move the limbs.' The brain is like-wife roufed by it, through the avenue of the eyes, and itsaftion, as ia the cafe of mafic, is propagated to the wholefyftem. It has long been a fubjeft of complaint, that" thehuman fpecies has been* degenerating for thefe feveral cen-turies. When we fee the coats of mail of our anceftors,who fought under the Edwards and Henries of former ages,we wonder how they moved, much more how they atchievedfiich great exploits, beneath the weight of fuch ma/Ty cover-ings. We grant that rum—tobacco—tea—and fome otherluxuries of modern invention, have had a large fhare in weak-ning die ftamina of our conftitutions, and thus producing amore feeble race of men; yet we muft attribute much of ourgreat inferiority in flrength, fize and agility to our forefa-thers, to the difufe which the invention of gun-powder andfire arms hath introduced of thofc athletic exercifes, whichwere fo much pra&ifed in former ages, as a pan of militarydifcipline.

Too much cannot be faid in praife of SWIMMING, or asthe poet of Avon expvefl'es it—" buffeting the waves withlufty finews." Befldes exercifing the limbs, it fsrves to wafhaway the dufir, which is apt to mix itfclf with the fweat ofour bodies in warm weather. Warning frequently in water,we find, was enjoined upon the Jews and Mahometans, as apart of their religious ceremonies. The Hollanders are clean-ly in their houfes and itreets, without remembering, or per-haps knowing, that cleanlinefs w;is abfolutely neceffary atfirit, to guard againft the efFefls of thofe inundations of mire,

to

•

«E 33 >to which their country is always expofed—fo a. Jew and aMuflulman contend for, and praftife their ablutions, with-out remembering that they were inftituted only to guard themagainft thofe cutanious difeafes, to which the conflant accu-mulation of fordes upon their flcins in a warm climate, na-turally expofed them. For the fame reafon, I would ftrong-ly recommend the practice of bathing, and fwimming, fre-quently in the fummer feafon. But remember, you fhouldnot ftay too long ia the water at one time, leaft you lefleninftead of increafing the vigour of the constitution.

T o all thefe fpecies of exercife which we have mentioned,I would add, SKKATING, JUMPING, alfo, the active plays ofTENNIS,BOWL,ES, QUOITS , GOLF *,and the like. Tkeman-

ner in which each of thefe operate, may be undeiftood fromwhat we faid under the former particulars.

A C T I V E exercife includes, in the laft place, T A L K I N G —READING with an AUDIBLE V O I C E SINGING and

L A U G H I N G . They all promote the circulation of the bloodthro' the lungs, and tend to ftrengthen tho"fe important or-gans, when ufed in moderation. The laft has the advantageover them all, inafmuch as the mind co-operates with it.May unfading laurels bloom to the lateft ages upon the grave

E of

* Golfis an exercife which is much ufed by the Gentlemen,in Scotland. A large common in which there are feveral littleholes is chofen for the purpofe. It is played with little leatherballs ftufr'ed with feathers; and flicks made fomewhat in theform of a bandy-wicket. He who puts a ball into a given num-ber of holes, with the feweft ftrokes, gets the game. The lateDr. M 'KENZIE , Author of the eflay on Health and Long Life,ufed to fay, that a man would live ten years the longer forufins this exercife once or twice a week.

4 34 >of him * who faid,"" That every time A man laugh's, he adda •fomething to his life."

I WOULD remark here, that all thefe fpecies of exercifewhich we have defcribed, fhould be varied according to age—•fex—temperament—climate—and feafon. Young peopleHand in lefs need of exercife than old.—-Women lefs thanmen. The natural vigour of their conftitutions is fuch, thatthey fuffer haft from the want of it. This will explain themeaning, and fhow the propriety of an opinion of a modernPhilofopher \ that " Women only fliould follow thofe mecha-nical arts which require afedentary life." Butagain.aman whois phlegmatic, requires more frequent and violent exercifethan he who is of a bilious conftitution : And laftly, people inwarm climates and feafons, require lefs than thofe who live incold. As Providence, by fupplying the inhabitants 6f warmclimates with fo many of the fpontaneous fruits of the earth,feems to have intended they fliould labour lefs than the inha-bitants of cold climates, fo we may infer from this, that Id.sexercife, which is only a fubflitute for labour, is necefTary forthem. The heat of fuch climates is fufficient of itfelf to keepup a regular and due perfpiration. We faid in a former dif-courfe, that the longeil lived people were to be found in warmclimates, and we gave one conjeflure into the ca\ife of it. Itmay not be improper here to add another. The coldnefs ofnorthern climates, from the vigour it gives to the conftitut'.on,prompts to all kinds of exercife, which are not always rcflrain-cd within proper bounds Thefe, when ufed to excefs, wearout the body. Thus, blowing a fire, may caufe it to burn thebrighter, but it conlumcs it the fooncr. 1 he inhabitants ofwarm climates btinj lcfs prompted to thefe things, their bo-dies continue longer unimpaired. I confine this obfervation,

as

* Dr. Sterne. f RoufTean,

< 35 »

as In-the former -inftance, to the improved-par.t« of Afra andAfrica only. The inhabitants ofthe Weft-Indian iflands are{o mixed, and partake fo much ofthe European manners, thatwe cannot as yet include them in any general remarks which

, are made up on this fubject.

to fpeak ofthofe exercifes winch- areNATURE. Thefe are proper chfefly for valetudinarians:But, as I intend thefe fermons mould be of ufe to them as wellas the healthy, I lhall make a few remarks upon each of them.

T H E life of a SAILOR is enyiroDed with fo many dangers^that Heaven has in compenfation for them connected with, k•an exemption from many difeafes. In vain do the Angry el*-jnents aflauk him. His body, like fome huge promontory, isJproof againft them all. Notwithftanding the dangers fromfliipwreck—fire—falling -over board—and famine, to which(ailors are expofed, I believe, that-if we were to count aahundred failors, and the fame number of people on land, ina place that was ordinarily healthy, we fhould find more ofthe former alive at the end often years ft:an the latter. Theexercife of SAII. ING is conftant. Every tnufcle is occafionallybrought into exercife from the efforts we make to keep our-felves from falling. Thefe efforts continue to be exerted bythe oldefr. failors, although the confeioufnefs of the mind inthefe, as well as in many other aflions we perform, is not ob-forved from the influence of habit. By moans of this regularand gentle exercife, the blood is moved in thofe fnull capil-laries, where it is mofi apt to ftignate, and pcifpiration is in-crcafed, which is carried off as fall as it is difcharged from thebody, by the conftant change of atraefphcre in a fhip under Lil.I fay nothing here of the benefit of the fea air, it l i n j en-tirely ucgiitivc- Its virtue both at fid and on the f>. a-fliore,

roniiils

i f• >•onfifts in nothing but its being freed from thofe noxious an»̂nial and vegetable effluvia, which abound in the air, whichcomes acrofs land. From what has been faid, you will nolonger be furprifed at the uncommon appetite which fome peo-ple feel atfea. It is owing to the great andconftant difchargeof the aliment (after it has undergone its ufual changes) .bymeans of perfpiration. I would recommend this fpecies ofexercife to confumptive people, efpecially to fuch as labourunder a fpitting of blood. Dr. Lind tells,us #, " That outof 5741 failors who were admitted into the naval hofpital atHaflar, near Portfmouth, in two years, only 360 of them hadconfumptions," and in one fourth of thefe, (he fays,) it wasbrought on by bruifes or falls." In the fame number of hofpi-tal patients, in this or any other country, I am perfuaded fixtimes that number would have been confumptive—fo muchdoes the gentle exercife of failing fortify the lungs againft allaccidents, and determine the quantity and force of the fluids

towards the furface of the body.*

R I D I N G IN A CHARIOT has but few advantages, inif-

much as we are excluded from the benefit of frefh air; anarticle, upon which the fuccefs of all kinds of exercife in agreat meafure depends. It fhould be ufed only by fuch per-fons as are unable to walk or to ride on horfeback. We can-not help lamenting here, that thofe people ufe this mode ofexercife the moil, who fland in the greateft; need of a moreviolent fpecies of it.

R I D I N C : OM HORSEBACK is the moff manly and ufefulfpecies of exercife for gentlemen. Bifliop Burnet exprefleEhis furprize at the lawyers of his own time, being fo muchmore long-lived {czcteris paribus) than other people, eonfider-

ing

* Eflay on the means of preferving the health of feamen.

<C 37 >lflg Tiow much thofe of them who become eminent in theirprofcffion, are obliged to devote themfelves to conftant andintenfe ftudy. He attributes it entirely to their RIDING thecircuits fo frequently, to attend the different courts in everypart of the kingdom. This no doubt has a chief fhare in i t :But we (hall hereafter mention another caufe which eoncurswith this, to protraft thair lives. It may be varied accordingto our ftrength, or the nature of our diforder, by walking—.pacing—trotting—or cantering our horfe. All thofe dif-eafes which are attended with a weaknefs of the nerves, fuchas the hyfteric and hypochondriac diforders, which (how them-felves in. a weaknefs of the ftomach and bowels—indigeftion!—low fpirits, 6vr. require this exercife. It fhould be ufedwith caution in the confumption, 'as it is generally too violent,except in the early ftage of that diforder. In riding, to pre-ferve health, eight or ten miles a day are fufficient to anfwerall the purpofes we would wim for. But in riding, to reftorehealth, thefe little excurfions will avail nothing. The mind aswell as the body nrnft be roufed from its languor. In takingon airing, as it is called, we ride over the fame ground for themoft part every day. We fee no new objefts to divert us, andthe very confideration of our riding for health (inks our fpiritsfo much, that we receive more harm than good from it. Uponthis account I would recommend long journies to fuch people,in order, by the variety or novelty of the journey to awaken anddivert the mind. Many people have by thefe means been fur-prifed into health. Perfons who labour under hyfteric orepileptic diforders, fhould be fent to cold; thofe who labourunder hypochondriac or confumptive complaints (hould vifitwarm climates.

BEFORE I flnifh this head of our difcourfc, I fhall add tfew words concerning the exercife of the faculties of the foul.

The

rThe mind and body have a reciprocal action upon each other.Are our paffiona inflamed with defire or averfion ? Or does our

. reafon trace out relations in thofe things which. are the ob-jefts of our underftandin.gr—The body we find is brought in-to fyrapathy. The pulfe and the circulation of the blood areimmediately quickened. Periyiratiou and the other fecretionsare promoted, and the body is fenfibly- invigorated afterwards.The body partakes therefore of the torpor which the mindcontracts by its neglecting to exercife its faculties. He mad be

. but little acquainted with biography, who has not remarked,that ftich as havediftinguiftied themfelvesin the literary world,have generally been long-liyed. ADDISON, S W I F T , LOCKE,

NEWTON, FRANKLIN, with many others-whom we mightmention, all found a retreat in the evening of their lives un-der the (hade of laurels which they had planted in theiryouth. Perhaps in molt cafes, they might promife them*felves an exemption from difeafes, and a death from mere oldage, could they be perfuaded to relinquifh their midnight lampbefore the oil which feeds it was confumed. Great carefhould be taken, however, to avoid too great application of themind to ftudy. The moft powerful medicines in nature are themoft certain poifons. Many promifmg geniufes have facrilicedthemfclves, before they arrived at the altar in the Temple ofFame. Such as are in danger of fuffering from this caufe,will do well in confulting the ingenious and humane Dr.Tifibt's excellent treatife upon the difeafes of literary peo-ple. ThePAssiOKS as well asour reafon, mould always beexcrcifei as much as poffible. We (hall walk—run—dance—fwim—fence—fail—anal, ride to little purpofe, unlefs wem»kc choice of an agreeable friend to accompany us. Solj-turle i? the bans of imn ; infomuch, that it is difficult to tellwhich fuffers nioft, the foul in its qualities, or the body in itstemr-eraTnintj from being alone. Too great a concourfe of

people

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<£ 39 >

people breeds difeafes. Too much company is deftru&ive tocbeerfulnefs. For the fake cf both mind and body, there-fore, we fcould move in a little circle, and let heaven circum- ,fcribe it for us. Let our wives and children be always around .us, or if we are not bleffed with thefe, let a few cheerfulfriend? be our coaftant companions. It is remarked, thatmore fingle people die among thofe who are come to man-hood than married, and all phyficians agree, that fingle menand women* compofe by far the greateft number of theirchronic patients among adults. Some men may talk againftthe eares of a family. • They are unavoidable, it is true, butthey are neceflary. Stagnating waters are never fweet.Thus, thefe little cares, by keeping the tenderer paflionsalways agitated, prevent that uniformity in life, which is foforeign and difagreeable both to the body and mind. Afterrril, I believe, I fhall have, the fuffrages ofmoft of my hearers,when I add, that they arc at leaft balanced by the fweetsof doraeftic friendfliip,

W E come now to the next head of our difequrfe, namely,

II . T o enquire into the proper T I M E for EXERCISE—•Sanclorius informs us *, that " exercife, from the feventh to,the eleventh hour after eating, waftes more infenfibly in onehour, than in three at any other time." If this be true, then(fiippuling you fup at eight o'clock in the evening) that exercifewhich is ufcil from five 'till feven o'clock in the morning, willpromote the grentetl difcharge in a given time, by iufenfible per-foration. Such as make dinner their principal meal, are ex-cluded from the benefic of this aphorifm; as the interval, be-tween the feventh and the eleventh hour, with them (fup-poHnj they dine at two o'clock in the afternoon) is from nine

in

* S A V. AphonAti vii.

in the erening 'till one o'clock in the morning—a time, 2awhich darknefs, and the unwholefome night air, forbid walk-ing—riding—and almoft every other fpecies of manly exej-cife we have defcribed.

I KNOW it will be objecled here, that we often fee labour-ers return, after a full meal, to their work, without feelingany inconvenience from it. This is like the argument of thofewho recommend raw flefti to the human fpecies, becaufe theftrongeft and fierceft animals in nature eat it. It is becaufethey are fo fierce and fo ftrong, that they are able to digeffcraw flefh. In like manner it is, becaufe thefe men are na-turally fo ftrong, that labour immediately after eating doesnot hurt them*. But let me a/k, whether you have not ob-ferved fuch people leave their tables -with reluctance—Howflowly do they return,—and how many excufes do they formto loiter away a little time, before they renew their work.

B U T further—there is another reafon why I would re-commend this practice of eating the chief meal in the even-ing, which is indeed a little foreign to our prefent fubjeifl.—•In a country like this, where the conftant labour of every in-dividual is fo very necefTary, the general ufe of this cuftoinwould add feveral hours to every day, and thus have the moftbeneficial effefts upon the agriculture—commerce—and ma-nufactures of the country, exclufive of its influence upon the •

health of the inhabitants.

AFTER what has been faid, I need hardly add, that exer-cifc fhould never be ufed with a full ftomach. Perfons whoexercife either to pre'ferve, or reftore health immediately aftereating a hearty meal, refembls the man " who fled from a

! lion

• 0 ! dura mtjforum ilia. Hor. Epod. Ill ,

< 41 >

lion, and a bear met him,, and who went into the houfc, arid' leaned his hand upon the wall, and a ferpent bit him."

I COME now to the APPLICATION of this difcourfe.

I HAVE endeavoured in every part of it, to lay before youthe moll: pov/erful arguments, to excite you.to exercife, andhave addrefled them chiefly to that main fpring of humana&ionsT—SELF PRE-SERVATIOS. I have taught you the trueart of alchymy, and ftirnifhed you with the genuine Philo-fophcr's ftone, but with this difference from that which hasbeen fought for, by tl}e deluded pretenders to philofophy in s][ages, that inftead of converting, like Midas, every thing youtouch into gojd—rcvery thing which touches you /hall—notconvert you into gold—but impart TETEALTH to yon—com-pared with which, everi the gold of Ophir lofes its weight. In aword—I have mowed you an harbour where I have anchored,fafely for many years; for, from my youth upwards, I havefollowed the mode,of living I have recommended to yon, qsfar as my connections or intercourfe with the world woujd ad-mit; and although I received from nature a weakly

ftitution, yet—I fpeak. it with a grateful heart!—few menenjoy better health—none better fpirits than myfelf; and wasI now about to leave the world, fnrroundsd with, a family ofchildren, I would charge them, among the rnoft importantteffbns I mould give them, to bind thefe things as a " a fignupon their hands, or as frontlets hetween their eyes''—tothink of them " when they fat in their houfes, and when theywalked by the way—when they lay down, and when theyrofe up—that their days might be multiplied ; and that thedays of their children, might be as the days of Heaven uponthe earth."

J T I SHALL

I SHALL conclude this difcourfe with a ftory, which, 1hope, will apt be looked upon as foreign- to what has been-delivered upon this fubject..

IN the ifland of Ceylori, in the Indian oceaTi, a numberof invalids were afTembled together, who were afflicted withvnoft of the chronic difeafes, to which the human body is fub-jedt. In the midft of tliem fit feveral venerable' figures,' who '

1 amufed th'crti with encomiums upon forrie medicines, whichthey affiirecE- them Would afford infallible relief in all cafes>"One boarled* of an elixir—another of a powder, broughtfrom American s third, of a medicine* invented and preparedin Germany—all of* which they faid were certain antidotes*o the gout—a fourth, cried lip a noftrum for the vapours—a fifth, drbps for the gravel—a fixth, a balfam, prepared from

. honey, as a fovereign remedy for a confumption—a feventh,a pill for cutanious eruptions—while an eighth cried down thewhole, and extolled a mineral water, which lay a few milesfrom the place where they were aflemblcd. The credulousmultitude partook eagerly of thefe medicines, but withoutanv relief of their relpeflive complaints. Several of thofcwho made ufe of-the German preparation, were hurried fud-rknly out of the world. Some faid their medicines wereadulterated—others that the Doctors had mifraken their dif-nrtkrs—v»lule moft of them agreed that they were muchv.'orfe than evrr. While they were all, with one accord,giving vent in this manner, to the tranfports of difappoint-ment and vexation, a clap of thunder was heard over theirheads. Upon looking up, a light was feen in the fky.—Inthe midft of this appeared the figure of fomctlung more thanhuman—ihe was tall and comely—her fldn was fair as thedriven fnow—a rofy hue tinged her checks—her hair hung •loofe upon her fhoulders—her ilawing robes difclofed a fliape

which

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l i i ch would have caft a fliade upon the ftatue of Venus of3vled,icis.—In her right hand fhe held a bough of an EVER-.GHEEK—in her left hand me had a fcroll of parchment—4hedefcended flowly, and ftood ereft upon the earth—fhe fixed,her eyes, which fparkled with life, upon the deluded andafflicted company—there wa^ a mixture of pity and indig-nation in her countenance—flie ftretched forth her right arm,and with a voice which was Tweeter than melody itfelf, (headdreffed them in the following language: " Ye children of" men, liften for a while to the yoice of inftru&ion. Ye" feek health where it is not to be found. The boafted•" fpecifics you have been ufing, have no virtues. Even the<< perfons who gave them, labour under many of the difor-"ders they attempt to cure. My name is HYGIVEA. I pre-" fide over the health of mankind. Defcard all your me-" dicines, and feek relief from Temperance and EXERCISS*' alone. Every thing you fee is active around you. All the«' brute animals in nature are ailive in their inftiniftive pur-.' fuits. Ifiaftimate nature is aftive too—air—fire—and water" are always in motion. Unlefs this were the cafe, they woul4" foon be unfit for the purpofes they were defigned, to fcrve<c in the oeconomy of nature. Shun floth. This unhinges allt' the fprings of life—fly from your difeafes—they will not—7-" they cannot purfue you." Here file ended—fhe droppedthe parchment upon the earth—a cloud received her, and (heimmediately afcended, and difappeared from their fight—afilencc enfued—more expreflive of approbation, than the loud-eft peals of applaufe. One of tlicm approached with reve-rence to the fpot where flic ftood—touk up the fcroll, andread the contents of it to his companions. It contained di-rections to each of them, what they fliould do to reftore theirhciilth. They nil prepared .tlicmfelves to obey the advice ofthe heavenly yifion. The gouty man broke his vial of elixir,

threw

;

i 44 >• threw hfs powders into the fire, and walked four or five miles-every day before breakfaft. The man affiifted with the gra-vel threw afide his drops, and began to work in his garden*or to play two or three hours every day at bowles. The hi-pochondriacandhyfteric patients difcharged their boxes of af-fafcetida, and took a journey on horfeback, to diftant and op-pofite ends of the ifland. The melancholic threw afide his,gloomy fyftems of philofophy, and fent for a. dancing mafter.The ftudious man fliut up his folios, and fought amnfementfrom the fports of children. The leper threw away his mer-curial pills, and fwam every day in a neighbouring river. Theconfumptiveman threw his balfara out of his window, arid tooka voyage to a diftant country. After fome months, they allreturned to the place they were wont to affemble in. Joyappeared in each of their countenances. One had renewed1

his youth—another had recovered the ufe of his limbs——athird, who had been half bent for many years, now walkedupright—a fourth began to fing fome jovial fong, without be-ing afced—a fifth could talk for hours together, without be-ing interrupted with a cough—-in a word, they all enjoyednow a complete recovery of their health. They joined inoffering facrifices to Hygisa. Temples were eredrcd to hermemory; and fne continues, to this day, to be worihippeilay ail the inhabitants of that ifland.

T H E E N D .

S 3S&C