The Christian's pattern Author:George Stanhope Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: own. There can come no harm of fuppofing every other man better than yourfelf; but the fuppofing any man worfe than yourfelf, may be attended with very ill confe... more »quences. The meek, fays the fcripture, Pfjl. xxxvii. is refreshed in the multitude of peace ; but Jfa. Ivii. the prpud in ipirit is like a troubled fea, perpetually toft and driven by the fierce commotions of anger, and emulation and envy, and difHain, which never fuffer him to be eafy and compofed. CHAP. VIII. too general an acquaintance, and inconvenient freedoms in converfafion. OPEN not thine heart to every man, but make choice of prudent and religious perfons to dif- r , clofe thy affairs to. Frequent not the Ecclu.vm.ig. J - j A company or young men and arrangers; flatter not the rich, neither affect to be feen in the prefence of great men : but affociate thy felf with the devout, the virtuous the humble ; and contrive that thy difcourfe be profitable. Defire not the intimate acquaintance of women ; but, inftead of thy converfation, let them have thy prayers ; and recommend the prefervation and the reward of their virtue to God. Converfe as much as may be with God, with his holy angels, with thy own confcience ; and complain not for want of company, nor think it an unhappinefs to have but few acquaintance, when thou haft fo good company as this always at hand. Our charity. indeed mould be univerfal, and extend to all mankind ; but it wou'd be very inconvenient, our friendfhips and familiarities mould do fo too. We often find, that a perfon altogether unknown to us, comes recommened by a good character, which makes us patlionatelyfond of his acquaintance, and yet this very man, when better known, Ipfes the great opinion we conceived of him before, and grows cloying and flat upon our hands. A...« less