whole train of painful and mortal diseases, have always raged with the greatest violence among those nations who have sunk the deepest in moral pollutions.

2. It is the nature of sin to sink and depress the spirits of a people. This is a fair and just conclusion from the last particular. The soul and body are intimately connected, and mutually strengthen or weaken each other. If vice therefore serves to weaken and enervate the body, it must in the same proportion serve to sink and depress the spirit. Besides, the vicious and profligate sensibly feel, that vice immediately affects and contaminates their minds, sets their reason, conscience, and passions at variance, and effectually restrains them from great and noble exertions. Hence says the Father of spirits by the prophet, "whoredom, and wine, and new wine, take away the heart."

A people confirmed in the habits of vice, have no heart to labor, no heart to think, no heart to form, nor execute any virtuous and laudable designs. Their genius withers, their exertions languish, their hopes, and honors, and virtues perish. These are not imaginary, but real and natural effects of the prevalence of vice. And these have been actually experienced, by the most brave and enlightened nations, in the last stages of luxury and corruption. There never was a people, perhaps, more brave and sprightly, and more perfectly polished in their taste and manners, than the ancient people of Athens. They carried learning in general, and the fine arts in particular, next to the last degree of refinement. Their works of genius and taste are still considered and admired as the standards of perfection. But indolence, prodigality and luxury, gradually enslaved and enfeebled their minds, and finally reduced them to the lowest state of savage stupidity and ignorance. The Romans, after they had subdued the Greeks and all other nations within the reach of their arms, finally subdued and enslaved themselves, by their own vices. In the time of Augustus, they reigned masters of the world, and stood without a rival in arms and arts. But at the close of the Augustan age, not only their spirit of enterprise, but their spirit of refinement began to languish; and after that corrupt and dissolute period, they never produced but two men of genius and eminence; the one to relate, and the other to satirize their vices.* The corruption of morals, which now prevails in some of the principal nations of Europe, already begins to impair their mental powers and improvements. Many of their modern productions of genius and taste bear strong and visible marks of declension. Their late publications are extremely superfi

*Tacitus and Juvenal.

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cial. They discover neither strength of mind nor energy of expression. They appear more like the feeble births of leisure and memory, than the strong and masculine offspring of genius Carlyle and study. They merit the corner of a monthly or weekly paper, but ought never to occupy the page of a serious volume. In short, their plays, novels, epigrams, extracts, and abridgments, which compose the catalogue of their learned labors, are much better suited to amuse and stupify, than to enlighten and enlarge the mind; and therefore they naturally tend to diminish, rather than to increase the common stock of useful knowledge. The British nation, in particular, have been grad ually declining in point of literature, ever since the licentious reign of Charles II. This is confirmed by the venerable authority of their own most venerable monuments. Their Newton continues to reign in philosophy; their Locke in metaphysics; their Milton in poetry; and their Addison in neat and nervous composition. When these illustrious and virtuous men went off the stage, the republic of letters sustained a loss, which will never be repaired by the feeble and languishing genius of Britain. Such plain and undeniable facts carry convincing evidence, that the prevalence of vice among a people will impair their minds, obstruct the progress of learning and knowledge, and reduce them to that ignorance and barbarity, which must issue in their ruin and reproach.

3. It is the nature of sin to destroy the wealth of a nation, and subject them to all the evils and reproaches of poverty. Though some species of fraud and dishonesty may, for a certain time, and under certain circumstances, advance a person or people in wealth and grandeur; yet vice, according to its common and natural course, will eventually involve them in poverty and shame. Solomon assures us, "the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall cover a man with rags." And again, "slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger." Luxury and prodigality not only waste the wealth which a people have already acquired; but, by destroying the spirit of indus try, effectually prevent the future acquisitions of property. Besides, these vices stupify the minds of a people, and forbid them to reflect where their folly and dissipation will carry them, till poverty and distress awaken their fears, and plunge them into remorse and despair. We have a remarkable instance of this, in the stupid conduct and miserable fate of the corrupt and degenerate Romans. They had acquired immense treasures from their conquered subjects; but their immense prodigality and profusion soon wasted their wealth, and reduced them to extreme poverty. Their houses, their tables,

their equipage, and other articles of private luxury, were sufficient of themselves to destroy the wealthiest nation. But their public profusion was far more extravagant. Their temples, their theatres, their public games, and shows, and triumphs, cost millions and millions! They might have easily seen, that such prodigality and dissipation would soon exhaust the treasures of Rome and all her provinces; but the enchantments of vice would not permit the mass of the people to open their eyes and perceive their danger, till they were past recovery, and completely ripened for ruin. Accordingly they persisted in their folly, till poverty and meanness concluded the scene. The whole empire at length became so poor, so corrupt, and venal, as to be sold at a public auction to a private citizen. This must be the fate of any nation, who give themselves up to prodigality and luxury. No people can possibly supply the insatiable demands of vice; and therefore, unless it be seasonably restrained, it will infallibly sink them in poverty and reproach.

4. It is the nature of vice to deprive a people of the blessings of freedom, and involve them in the misery and meanness of slavery. Were it not for the vices and corruptions of men, they would have no occasion to give up any of their rights and privileges, in order to secure and enjoy the rest. The apostle tells us, "The law was not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers, for stealers, for liars, for whoremongers, and for perjured persons." The ultimate design of government is, to prevent and restrain those open acts of violence, which disturb and injure the virtuous and peaceable members of society. But it is the nature of vice to pervert this salutary and important design of government, and transform it into an engine of slavery and ruin.

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Vice has the same effect upon the body politic, that sickness upon the natural body. The natural body is composed of innumerable cords or ligatures, which unite the parts, and strengthen the members to perform their office. But sickness serves to relax and dissolve these tender cords, and bring on a total extinction of life and motion. So the body politic is composed of innumerable moral ties and connections, which, like veins and nerves, give strength and freedom to all its members. The ties of religion, the ties of virtue, the ties of friendship, the ties of commerce, the ties of office, the ties of custom and habit, so long as they retain their proper force, do more to promote the union and happiness of a people, than all their civil laws and constitutions. But it is the nature of vice to affect such fine and tender cords of society, and by dissolving

these, to throw the whole body politic into great and fatal convulsions. Intemperance, prodigality, luxury and debauchery, not only violate the laws of religion and virtue, and disturb the peace and harmony of families, but at the same time set the nearest and firmest friends at variance, dissolve the connections of trade, and fill the minds of rulers with more concern to supplant their rivals, than to promote the common interest and freedom of their subjects. Vice, by destroying these moral and social ties, effectually saps the foundation of freedom, and completely prepares a people for the shackles of slavery. For nothing but the rod of arbitrary power is sufficient to restrain and govern a people, who have lost their virtue, and sunk into vice and corruption. Such a people are neither fit to enjoy, nor able to assert and maintain their liberties. They must be slaves.

Vice destroyed the liberties of Greece. Vice subverted the freedom of Rome. Vice deprived the christian church of her invaluable rights and privileges, and subjected multitudes of the meek and harmless followers of Christ to all the usurpation and cruelty of the Man of sin. Vice, in these and all other instances, first preyed upon the nerves and sinews, before it attacked the vitals of liberty. But though vice be sometimes slow in its progress, yet in the course of its operation it never fails to destroy the freedom of a people. No instance, we presume, can be produced, where vice had pervaded all ranks and classes of a civil community, but it finally involved them in slavery and ruin. Whole nations are now living witnesses of this melancholy truth; and the cries and groans of millions are constantly proclaiming to the world, that vice and slavery are inseparably connected. I must still add,

5. It is the nature of vice to provoke the displeasure of God, and draw down his judgments, to complete the ruin of a people. As all nations believe the existence of some Divinity, so they all suppose he is displeased with vice, and disposed to punish it. All the heathen poets represent vindictive justice as one of the attributes of the heathen deities. And they draw their descriptions of the pagan gods from the common opinion of the pagan world. It is said, the Athenians recalled their celebrated general Alcibiades from an important expedition, because the night before his departure he cast public reproach and contempt upon the gods of his country. The men of Athens expected their divinities would blast his enterprise, and ruin their commonwealth, for such a bold and public act of profaneness. But we, who are christians, have more than conjecture, we have absolute certainty, that the governor of the world will severely punish human societies for their public

vices. God hath expressly told us, that it is an invariable maxim of his providence, to pluck up and destroy any nation or kingdom, for its incorrigible wickedness. And more than this, he hath given us a particular catalogue of those very vices and corruptions, which have actually awakened his displeasure, and drawn down his judgments upon the nations of the earth. He drowned the old world, for stupidity, violence, and debauchery. He rained fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah, for pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness. He poured the vials of his wrath upon Pharaoh and his subjects, for pride, oppression and cruelty. He extirpated the seven nations of Canaan, for lewdness, incest, and brutal uncleanness. He punished the Israelites, for murmuring and unbelief. He cut off the ten tribes of Israel, for idolatry and rebellion. And in the days of Isaiah, he smote with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, for their haughty airs and extravagant dress. In short, we never find a single instance in scripture, where God threatens to destroy a nation or kingdom, but he at the same time declares, that their sins are the procuring cause of his wasting judgments. "Evil pursueth sinners." Every people, therefore, have reason to expect, that their sins will sooner or later find them out, and involve them in ruin and reproach.

Having illustrated the point I proposed, I must now beg every hearer to lay aside all bias and prejudice, and give a candid and impartial attention to what I have still to suggest, in the application of this moral subject.

If it be a truth, that the prevalence of vice directly tends to bring a nation to ruin and reproach, this is certainly a very serious and interesting truth with respect to us, who have just taken our rank among the nations of the earth. Doctor Price, whose abilities and friendship demand our particular attention and respect, has these just and enlightened observations on our present critical and important situation: "It is a conviction I cannot resist, that the independence of the English colonies in America is one of the steps ordained by Providence to introduce the universal empire of reason and virtue: and I can scarcely be deceived in this conviction, if the United States should escape some dangers which threaten them, and will take proper care to throw themselves open to future improvements, and to make the most of their present situation. If this should happen, it will be true of them as it was of the people of the Jews, that in them all nations of the earth shall be blessed. It is scarcely possible that they should think too highly of their consequence. Perhaps there never existed a people, on whose wisdom and virtue more depended; or to