A Word to the Wiſe.
[]BE not ſtartled, Reverend Sirs, to find yourſelves addreſſed to by one of a different Communion. We are indeed (to our Shame be it ſpoken) more inclined to hate for thoſe Articles, wherein we differ, than to love one an⯑other for thoſe wherein we agree. But if we cannot extinguiſh, let us at leaſt ſuſpend our Animoſities, and forgetting our religious Feuds, conſider ourſelves in the amiable Light of Countrymen and Neighbours. Let us for once turn our Eyes on thoſe Things, in which we have one common Intereſt. Why ſhould Diſputes about Faith interrupt the Du⯑ties of civil Life? or the different Roads we take to Heaven prevent our taking the ſame Steps on Earth? do we not inhabit the ſame Spot of Ground, breath the ſame Air, and live under the ſame Go⯑vernment? [4] why then ſhould we not conſpire in one and the ſame Deſign, to promote the common Good of our Country?
We are all agreed about the Uſeful⯑neſs of Meat, Drink, and Clothes, and without Doubt, we all ſincerely wiſh our poor Neighbours were better ſup⯑plied with them. Providence and Na⯑ture have done their Part; no Country is better qualified to furniſh the Neceſſa⯑ries of Life, and yet no People are worſe provided. In vain is the Earth fertile, and the Climate benign, if hu⯑man Labour be wanting. Nature ſup⯑plies the Materials, which Art and In⯑duſtry improve to the Uſe of Man, and it is the Want of this Induſtry that oc⯑caſions all our other Wants.
The Public hath endeavoured to ex⯑cite and encourage this moſt uſeful Vir⯑tue. Much hath been done; but whe⯑ther it be from the Heavineſs of the Cli⯑mate, or from the Spaniſh, or Scythian Blood that runs in their Veins, or what⯑ever elſe may be the Cauſe, there ſtill re⯑mains [5] in the Natives of this Iſland a re⯑markable Antipathy to Labour. You, Gentlemen, can alone conquer their innate hereditary Sloth. Do you then, as you love your Country exert yourſelves.
You are known to have great In⯑fluence on the Minds of your People, be ſo good as to uſe this Influence for their Benefit. Since other Methods fail, try what you can do. Be inſtant in Sea⯑ſon, out of Seaſon, reprove, rebuke, ex⯑hort. * Make them thoroughly ſenſible of the Sin and Folly of Sloth. Shew your Charity in clothing the naked and feeding the hungry, which you may do by the mere Breath of your Mouths. Give me Leave to tell you, that no Set of Men upon Earth have it in their Power to do good on eaſier Terms, with more Advantage to others, and leſs Pains or Loſs to themſelves. Your Flocks are of all others, moſt diſpoſed to follow Directions, and of all others want them moſt; and indeed what do they not want?
[6] The Houſe of an Iriſh Peaſant is the Cave of Poverty; within, you ſee a Pot and a little Straw, without, a Heap of Children tumbling on the Dunghill. Their Fields and Gardens are a lively Counterpart of Solomon's Deſcription in the Proverbs; I went, ſaith that wiſe King, by the Field of the ſlothful, and by the Vineyard of the Man void of Un⯑derſtanding, and lo! it was all grown over with Thorns, and Nettles had cover⯑ed the Face thereof, and the Stone Wall thereof was broken down. * In every Road the ragged Enſigns of Po⯑verty are diſplayed; you often meet Caravans of Poor, whole Families in a Drove, without Clothes to cover, or Bread to feed them, both which might be eaſily procured by moderate Labour. They are encouraged in this vagabond Life by the miſerable Hoſpitality they meet with in every Cottage, whoſe In⯑habitants expect the ſame kind Recep⯑tion in their Turn, when they become Beggars themſelves; Beggary being the [7] laſt Refuge of theſe improvident Crea⯑tures.
If I ſeem to go out of my Province, or to preſcribe to thoſe who muſt be ſuppoſed to know their own Buſineſs, or to paint the lower Inhabitants of this Land in no very pleaſing Colours, you will candidly forgive a well meant Zeal, which obligeth me to ſay Things, ra⯑ther uſeful than agreeable, and to lay open the Sore in order to heal it.
But whatever is ſaid muſt be ſo taken, as not to reflect on Perſons of Rank and Education, who are no Way inferior to their Neighbours; nor yet to include all even of the loweſt Sort, though it may well extend to the Generality, of thoſe eſpecially in the Weſtern and Southern Parts of the Kingdom, where the Bri⯑tiſh Manners have leſs prevailed. We take our Notions from what we ſee, mine are a faithful Tranſcript from Ori⯑ginals about me.
[8] The Scythians were noted for Wan⯑dering, and the Spaniards for Sloth and Pride; our Iriſh are behind neither of theſe Nations from which they deſcend, in their reſpective Characteriſtics. Bet⯑ter is he that laboureth and aboundeth in all Things, than he that boaſteth himſelf and wanteth Bread, ſaith the Son of Sirach, * but ſo ſaith not the Iriſhman. In my own Family a Kitchen-wench refuſed to carry out Cinders, be⯑cauſe ſhe was deſcended from an old Iriſh Stock. Never was there a more monſtrous Conjunction than that of Pride with Beggary; and yet this Pro⯑digy is ſeen every Day in almoſt every Part of this Kingdom. At the ſame Time theſe proud People are more de⯑ſtitute than Savages, and more abject than Negros. The Negros in our Plan⯑tations have a Saying, If Negro was not Negro, Iriſhman would be Negro. And it may be affirmed with Truth, that the very Savages of America are better clad and better lodged than the Iriſh Cottagers throughout the fine fertile Counties of Limerick and Tipperary.
[9] Having long obſerved and bewailed this wretched State of my Countrymen, and the Inſufficiency of ſeveral Methods ſet on Foot to reclaim them; I have re⯑courſe to your Reverences, as the dernier Reſort. Make them to underſtand that you have their Intereſt at Heart, that you perſuade them to work for their own Sakes, and that GOD hath ordered Matters ſo as that, they who will not work for themſelves, muſt work for others. The Terrors of Debt, Slavery, and Famine ſhould, one would think, drive the moſt ſlothful to Labour. Make them ſenſible of theſe Things, and that the Ends of Providence and Or⯑der of the World require Induſtry in human Creatures. Man goeth forth to his Work, and to his Labour until the Evening, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, when he is deſcribing the Beauty, Order and Perfection of the Works of God.* But what ſaith the ſlothful Perſon? yet a little Sleep, a little Slumber, a little Folding of the Hands to Sleep. † But, [10] what ſaith the Wiſeman? ſo ſhall thy Po⯑verty come as one that travelleth, and thy Want as an armed Man. *
All Nature will furniſh you with Ar⯑guments and Examples againſt Sloth, go to the Ant thou Sluggard, cries Solo⯑mon. The Ant, the Bee, the Beetle, and every Inſect but the Drone reads a Leſſon of Induſtry to Man. But the ſhorteſt and moſt effectual Leſſon is that of Saint Paul, if any Man will not work neither ſhould he eat. † This Com⯑mand was enjoined the Theſſalonians and equally reſpects all Chriſtians, and indeed all Mankind; it being evident by the Light of Nature, that the whole Creation works together for Good, and that no Part was deſigned to be uſeleſs; as therefore the Idle Man is of no Uſe, it follows that he hath no Right to a Subſiſtence. Let them work, ſaith the Apoſtle, and eat their own Bread;§ not Bread got by Begging, not Bread earned by the Sweat of other Men; but their [11] own Bread, that which is got by their own Labour. Then ſhalt thou eat the Labour of thine Hands, ſaith the Pſal⯑miſt, to which he adds, happy ſhalt thou be and it ſhall be well with thee;* in⯑timating, that to work and enjoy the Fruits thereof is a great Bleſſing.
A ſlothful Man's Imagination is apt to dreſs up Labour in a horrible Maſque; but, horrible as it is, Idleneſs is more to be dreaded, and a Life of Poverty (its neceſſary Conſequence) is far more painful. It was the Advice of Pythago⯑ras, to chuſe the beſt Kind of Life, for that Uſe would render it agreeable, re⯑conciling Men even to the rougheſt Ex⯑erciſe. By Practice, Pains become at firſt eaſie, and in the Progreſs pleaſant; and this is ſo true, that whoever exa⯑mines Things will find, there can be no ſuch Thing as a happy Life without La⯑bour, and that whoever doth not labour with his Hands, muſt in his own Defence labour with his Brains.
[12] Certainly, planting and tilling the Earth is an Exerciſe not leſs pleaſing than uſeful; it takes the Peaſant from his ſmoaky Cabin into the freſh Air and the open Field, rendering his Lot far more deſirable than that of the Slug⯑gard, who lies in the Straw, or ſits whole Days by the Fire.
Convince your People that not only Pleaſure invites, but Neceſſity alſo drives them to labour. If you have any Compaſſion for theſe poor Creatures, put them in Mind how many of them periſhed in a late memorable Diſtreſs, through Want of that provident Care againſt a hard Seaſon, obſervable not only in all other Men, but even in irra⯑tional Animals. Set before their Eyes in lively Colours, their own indigent and ſordid Lives, compared with thoſe of other People, whoſe Induſtry hath procured them hearty Food, warm Clothes, and decent Dwellings. Make them ſenſible what a Reproach it is, that a Nation which makes ſo great Preten⯑ſions [13] to Antiquity, and is ſaid to have flouriſhed many Ages ágo in Arts and Learning, ſhould in theſe our Days turn out a lazy, deſtitute, and degenerate Race.
Raiſe your Voices, Reverend Sirs, exert your Influence, ſhew your Autho⯑rity over the Multitude, by engaging them to the Practice of an honeſt In⯑duſtry, a Duty neceſſary to all, and required in all, whether Proteſtants, or Roman Catholics, whether Chriſtians, Jews, or Pagans. Be ſo good among other Points to find Room for This, than which none is of more Concern to the Souls and Bodies of your Hearers, nor conſequently deſerves to be more am⯑ply, or frequently inſiſted on.
Many and obvious are the Motives that recommend this Duty. Upon a Subject ſo copious you can never be at a Loſs for ſomething to ſay. And while by theſe Means you reſcue your Coun⯑trymen from Want and Miſery, you will have the Satisfaction to behold your [14] Country itſelf improved. What Plea⯑ſure muſt it give you to ſee theſe waſte and wild Scenes, theſe naked Ditches and miſerable Hovels exchanged for fine Plantations, rich Meadows, well tilled Fields, and neat Dwellings; to ſee People well fed and well clad, in⯑ſtead of famiſhed, ragged Scarecrows; and thoſe very Perſons tilling the Fields that uſed to beg in the Streets.
Neither ought the Difficulty of the Enterpriſe to frighten you from attempt⯑ing it. It muſt be confeſſed a Habit of Induſtry is not at once introduced; Neighbour nevertheleſs will emulate Neighbour, and the Contagion of good Example will ſpread as ſurely as of bad, though perhaps not ſo ſpeedily. It may be hoped, there are many that would be allured by a plentiful and decent Manner of Life to take Pains, eſpecially when they obſerve it to be attained by the Induſtry of their Neighbours, in no Sort better qualified than them⯑ſelves.
[15] If the ſame gentle Spirit of Sloth did not ſooth our Squires as well as Peaſants, one would imagine there ſhould be no idle Hands among us. Alas! how many Incentives to Induſtry offer themſelves in this Iſland, crying aloud to the Inhabitants for Work? Roads to be repaired, Rivers made na⯑vigable, Fiſheries on the Coaſts, Mines to be wrought, Plantations to be raiſed, Manufactures improved, and, above all, Lands to be tilled and ſowed with all Sorts of Grain.
When ſo many Circumſtances pro⯑voke and animate your People to La⯑bour, when their private Wants, and the Neceſſities of the Public, when the Laws, the Magiſtrates, and the very Country calls upon them, you cannot think it becomes you alone to be ſilent, or hindmoſt in every Project for pro⯑moting the public Good. Why ſhould you, whoſe Influence is greateſt, be leaſt active? why ſhould you, whoſe Words [16] are moſt likely to prevail, ſay leaſt in the common Cauſe?
Perhaps it will be ſaid, the Diſcou⯑ragements attending thoſe of your Com⯑munion are a Bar againſt all Endeavours for exciting them to a laudable Induſ⯑try. Men are ſtirred up to Labour by the Proſpect of bettering their Fortunes, by getting Eſtates, or Employments; but thoſe who are limited in the Pur⯑chaſe of Eſtates, and excluded from all civil Employments, are deprived of thoſe Spurs to Induſtry.
To this it may be anſwered, that ad⯑mitting theſe Conſiderations do, in ſome Meaſure, damp Induſtry and Ambition in Perſons of a certain Rank, yet they can be no Let to the Induſtry of poor People, or ſupply an Argument againſt endeavouring to procure Meat, Drink, and Clothes. It is not propoſed, that you ſhould perſuade the better Sort to acquire Eſtates, or qualify themſelves for becoming Magiſtrates; but only that you ſhould ſet the loweſt of the [17] People at Work, to provide themſelves with Neceſſaries, and ſupply the Wants of Nature.
It will be alledged in Excuſe of their Idleneſs, that the Country People want Encouragement to labour, as not have⯑ing a Property in the Lands. There is ſmall Encouragement, ſay you, for them to build, or plant upon another's Land, wherein they have only a temporary In⯑tereſt. To which I anſwer, that Life itſelf is but temporary; that all Tenures are not of the ſame Kind; that the Caſe of our Engliſh and the original Iriſh is equal in this Reſpect; and that the true Aborigines, or natural Iriſh are noted for Want of Induſtry in Improving even on their own Lands, whereof they have both Poſſeſſion and Property.
How many induſtrious Perſons are there in all civilized Countries, without any Property in Lands, or any Proſpect of Eſtates, or Employments? Induſtry never fails to reward her Votaries. [18] There is no one but can earn a little, and little added to little makes a Heap. In this fertile and plentiful Iſland, none can periſh for Want but the Idle and Improvident. None who have Induſtry, Frugality, and Foreſight but may get into tolerable, if not wealthy Circum⯑ſtances. Are not all Trades and Manu⯑factures open to thoſe of your Commu⯑nion? have you not the ſame free Uſe, and may you not make the ſame Advan⯑tage of Fairs and Markets as other Men? do you pay higher Duties, or are you liable to greater Impoſitions than your fellow Subjects? and are not the public Praemiums and Encouragements given indifferently to Artiſts of all Commu⯑nions? have not, in Fact, thoſe of your Communion a very great Share of the Commerce of this Kingdom in their Hands? and is not more to be got by this than by purchaſing Eſtates, or poſſeſſing civil Employments, whoſe Incomes are often attended with large Expences?
[19] A tight Houſe, warm Apparel, and wholeſome Food are ſufficient Motives to labour. If all had them, we ſhould be a flouriſhing Nation. And if thoſe who take Pains may have them, thoſe who will not take Pains are not to be pitied; they are to be looked on and treated as Drones, the Peſt and Diſ⯑grace of Society.
It will be ſaid, the Hardneſs of the Landlord cramps the Induſtry of the Tenant. But if Rent be high, and the Landlord rigorous, there is more need of Induſtry in the Tenant. It is well known that in Holland, Taxes are much higher, and Rent both of Land and Houſes far dearer than in Ireland. But this is no Objection or Impediment to the Induſtry of the People, who are ra⯑ther animated and ſpurred on to earn a Livelihood by Labour, that is not to be got without it.
You will ſay, it is an eaſy Matter to make a plauſible Diſcourſe on Induſtry, [20] and its Advantages; but what can be expected from poor Creatures, who are deſtitute of all Conveniences for exerting their Induſtry, who have nothing to improve upon, nothing to begin the World with? I anſwer they have their four Quarters, and five Senſes. Is it nothing to poſſeſs the bodily Organs ſound and entire? That wonderful Machine the Hand, was it formed to be idle?
Was there but Will to work, there are not wanting in this Iſland either Op⯑portunities, or Encouragements. Spin⯑ning alone might employ all idle Hands, (Children as well as Parents) being ſoon learned, eaſily performed, and never failing of a Market, requiring neither Wit nor Strength, but ſuited to all Ages and Capacities. The Public provides Utenſils, and Perſons for teaching the Uſe of them; but the Public cannot provide a Heart and Will to be induſtri⯑ous. Theſe, I will not deny, may be found in ſeveral Perſons in ſome other [21] Parts of the Kingdom, and where-ever they are found, the comfortable Effects ſhew themſelves. But ſeldom, very ſeldom are they found in theſe Southern People, whoſe Indolence figureth a Lion in the Way, and is Proof againſt all En⯑couragement.
But you will inſiſt, how can a poor Man, whoſe daily Labour goes for the Payment of his Rent, be able to provide preſent Neceſſaries for his Family, much leſs to lay up a Store for the Future. It muſt be owned, a conſiderable Share of the poor Man's Time and Labour goes towards paying his Rent. But how are his Wife and Children employed, or how doth he employ himſelf the reſt of his Time? the ſame Work tires, but different Works relieve. Where there is a true Spirit of Induſtry, there will never be wanting ſomething to do, with⯑out Doors, or within, by Candle-light, if not by Day-light. Labor ipſe Volup⯑tas, ſaith the Poet, and this is verified in Fact.
[22] In England, when the Labour of the Field is over, it is uſual for Men to be⯑take themſelves to ſome other Labour of a different Kind. In the Northern Parts of that induſtrious Land, the Inhabitants meet, a jolly Crew, at one anothers Houſes, where they merrily and frugally paſs the long and dark Winter Evenings; ſeveral Families by the ſame Light, and the ſame Fire, working at their different Manufactures of Wool, Flax, or Hemp; Company mean while mutually cheering and provoking to labour. In certain o⯑ther * Parts you may ſee, on a Sum⯑mer's Evening, the common Labourers ſitting along the Street of a Town, or Village, each at his own Door, with a Cuſhion before him making Bone-lace, and earning more in an Evening's Paſ⯑time than an Iriſh Family would in a whole Day. Thoſe People inſtead of cloſing the Day with a Game on greaſy Cards, or lying ſtretched before the Fire, [23] paſs their Time much more chearfully in ſome uſeful Employment, which Cuſ⯑tom hath rendered light and agreeable.
But admitting, for the various Rea⯑ſons above alledged, that it is impoſſible for our Cottagers to be rich, yet it is certain they may be clean. Now bring them to be cleanly, and your Work is half done. A little waſhing, ſcrubbing, and rubbing, beſtowed on their Perſons and Houſes, would introduce a ſort of Induſtry, and Induſtry in any one Kind is apt to beget it in another.
Indolence in Dirt is a terrible Symp⯑tom, which ſhews itſelf in our lower Iriſh more, perhaps, than in any Peo⯑ple on this Side the Cape of Good Hope. I will venture to add, that look through⯑out the Kingdom, and you ſhall not find a clean Houſe inhabited by clean Peo⯑ple, and yet wanting Neceſſaries; the ſame Spirit of Induſtry that keeps Folk clean, being ſufficient to keep them alſo in Food and Rayment.
[24] But alas! our poor Iriſh are wedded to Dirt upon Principle. It is with ſome of them a Maxim, that the Way to make Children thrive is to keep them dirty. And I do verily believe, that the Familiarity with Dirt, contracted and nouriſhed from their Infancy, is one great Cauſe of that Sloth which attends them in every Stage of Life. Were Children but brought up in an Abhorrence of Dirt, and obliged to keep themſelves clean, they would have ſomething to do, whereas they now do nothing.
It is paſt all Doubt, that thoſe who are educated in a ſupine Neglect of all Things, either profitable, or decent, muſt needs contract a Sleepineſs and In⯑dolence, which doth neceſſarily lead to Poverty, and every other Diſtreſs that attends it. Love not Sleep, cries Solomon, leſt thou come to Poverty; open thine Eyes and thou ſhalt be ſatisfied with Bread. * It is therefore greatly to be wiſhed, that you would perſuade Parents, to inure their [25] betimes to a Habit of Induſtry, as the ſureſt Way to ſhun the Miſeries that muſt otherwiſe befal them.
An early Habit, whether of Sloth, or Diligence, will not fail to ſhew itſelf throughout the whole Courſe of a Man's Life. Train up a Child, ſaith the Wiſe⯑man, in the Way he ſhould go, and when he is old he will not depart from it *. The firſt Tincture often leaves ſo deep a Stain as no After-thought or Endeavour can waſh out. Hence Sloth in ſome Minds is Proof againſt all Arguments and Ex⯑amples whatſoever, all Motives of Inte⯑reſt and Duty, all Impreſſions even of Cold and Hunger. This Habit rooted in the Child, grows up and adheres to the Man, producing a general Liſtleſſ⯑neſs, and Averſion from Labour. This I take to be our great Calamity.
For admitting, that ſome of our Squires and Landlords are Vultures with Iron Bowels, and that their Hardneſs and Severity is a great Diſcouragement [26] to the Tenant who will naturally pre⯑fer Want and Eaſe, before Want and Toil; it muſt at the ſame Time be ad⯑mitted, that neither is the Landlord, ge⯑nerally ſpeaking, ſo hard, nor the Cli⯑mate ſo ſevere, nor the Soil ſo ungrate⯑ful, as not to anſwer the Huſbandman's Labour, where there is a Spirit of In⯑duſtry; the Want of which is the true Cauſe of our national Diſtreſs. Of this there are many evident Proofs.
I have myſelf known a Man, from the loweſt Condition of Life, without Friends or Education, not knowing ſo much as to write or read, bred to no Trade or Calling, by pure dint of Day⯑labour, Frugality, and Foreſight, to have grown wealthy, even in this Iſland, and under all the abovementioned Diſ⯑advantages. And what is done by one, is poſſible to another.
In Holland a Child five Years old is maintained by its own Labour; in Ire⯑land many Children of twice that Age do nothing but ſteal, or encumber the [27] Hearth and Dunghill. This ſhameful Neglect of Education ſhews itſelf through the whole Courſe of their Lives, in a matchleſs Sloth bred in the very Bone, and not to be accounted for by any outward Hardſhip, or Diſcou⯑ragement whatever. It is the native Colour, if we may ſo ſpeak, and Com⯑plexion of the People. Dutch, Engliſh, French, or Flemiſh cannot match them.
Mark an Iriſhman at Work in the Field; if a Coach, or Horſeman go by, he is ſure to ſuſpend his Labour, and ſtand ſtaring till they are out of Sight. A Neighbour of mine made it his Re⯑mark in a Journey from London to Bri⯑ſtol, that all the Labourers, of whom he enquired the Road, conſtantly anſwered without looking up, or interrupting their Work, except one who ſtood ſtaring and leaning on his Spade, and him he found to be an Iriſhman.
It is a ſhameful Thing and peculiar to this Nation, to ſee luſty Vagabonds ſtrolling about the Country, and beg⯑ging [28] without any Pretence to beg. Aſk them why they do not labour to earn their own Livelihood, they will tell you, They want Employment; offer to em⯑ploy them, and they ſhall refuſe your Offer; or, if you get them to work one Day, you may be ſure not to ſee them the next. I have known them decline even the lighteſt Labour, that of Hay⯑making, having at the ſame Time nei⯑ther Clothes for their Backs, nor Food for their Bellies.
A ſore Leg is an Eſtate to ſuch a Fel⯑low, and this may be eaſily got, and continued with ſmall Trouble. Such is their Lazineſs, that rather than work they will cheriſh a Diſtemper. This I know to be true, having ſeen more than one Inſtance, wherein the ſecond Na⯑ture ſo far prevailed over the firſt, that Sloth was preferred to Health. To theſe Beggars who make much of their Sores, and prolong their Diſeaſes, you cannot do a more thankleſs Office than cure them, except it be to ſhave their [29] Beards, which conciliate a Sort of Re⯑verence to that Order of Men.
It is indeed a difficult Taſk to re⯑claim ſuch Fellows from their ſlothful and brutal Manner of Life, to which they ſeem wedded with an Attachment that no temporal Motives can conquer; nor is there, humanly ſpeaking, any Hopes they will mend, except their Re⯑ſpect for your Leſſons, and Fear of Something beyond the Grave be able to work a Change in them.
Certainly, if I may adviſe, you ſhould in Return for the Lenity and Indulgence of the Government, endeavour to make yourſelves uſeful to the Public; and this will beſt be performed, by rouſing your poor Countrymen from their beloved Sloth. I ſhall not now diſpute the Truth or Importance of other Points, but will venture to ſay, that you may ſtill find Time to inculcate this Doctrine of an honeſt Induſtry, and that this would by no Means be Time thrown away, if promoting your Country's Intereſt, and [30] reſcuing ſo many unhappy Wretches of your Communion from Beggary, or the Gallows, be thought worth your Pains.
It ſhould ſeem you cannot in your Sermons do better than inveigh againſt Idleneſs, that extenſive Parent of many Miſeries and many Sins; Idleneſs the Mother of Hunger and Siſter of Theft; Idleneſs which, the Son of Sirach aſſures us, teacheth many Vices.
The ſame Doctrine is often preached from the Gallows. And indeed the Po⯑verty, Nakedneſs, and Famine which Idleneſs entaileth on her Votaries, do make Men ſo wretched, that they may well think it better to dye than to live ſuch Lives. Hence a Courage for all villainous Undertakings, which bringing Men to a ſhameful Death, do then open their Eyes when they are going to be cloſed for ever.
If you have any Regard (as it is not to be doubted) either for the Souls, or [31] Bodies of your People, or even for your own Intereſt and Credit, you cannot fail to inveigh againſt this crying Sin of your Country. Seeing you are obnoxi⯑ous to the Laws, ſhould you not in Pru⯑dence try to reconcile yourſelves to the Favour of the Public; and can you do this more effectually, than by co-ope⯑rating with the public Spirit of the Le⯑giſlature, and Men in Power?
Were this but done heartily, would you but be inſtant in Seaſon, and out of Seaſon, reprove, rebuke, exhort *, ſuch is the Aſcendent you have gained over the People, that we might ſoon expect to ſee the good Effects thereof. We might hope that our Garners would be ſoon full, affording all Manner of Store, that our Sheep would bring forth thouſands, that our Oxen would be ſtrong to labour, that there would be no breaking in, nor going out, (no Robbery, nor Migration for Bread) and that there would be no Com⯑plaining in our Streets §.
[32] It ſtands you upon to act with Vigour in this Cauſe, and ſhake off the Shackles of Sloth from your Countrymen, the rather, becauſe there be ſome who ſur⯑miſe, that yourſelves have put them on. Right, or wrong, Men will be apt to judge of your Doctrines by their Fruits. It will reflect ſmall Honour on their Teachers, if inſtead of Honeſty and In⯑duſtry thoſe of your Communion are peculiarly diſtinguiſhed by the contrary Qualities, or if the Nation converted by the great and glorious Saint Patrick ſhould, above all other Nations, be ſtig⯑matiſed and marked out as good for no⯑thing.
I can never ſuppoſe you ſo much your own Enemies, as to be Friends to this odious Sloth. But were this once abo⯑liſhed, and a laudable Induſtry intro⯑duced in its Stead, it may perhaps be aſked, who are to be Gainers? I an⯑ſwer, your Reverences are like to be great Gainers; for every Penny you now gain, you would gain a Shilling: you would [33] gain alſo in your Credit: and your Lives would be more comfortable.
You need not be told, how hard it is to rake from Rags and Penury a tolera⯑ble Subſiſtence; or how offenſive to per⯑form the Duties of your Function, a⯑midſt Stench and Naſtineſs; or how much Things would change for the bet⯑ter, in Proportion to the Induſtry and Wealth of your Flocks. Duty as well as Intereſt calls upon you to clothe the Naked, and feed the Hungry, by per⯑ſuading them to eat (in the Apoſtle's Phraſe) their own Bread, or, as the Pſalmiſt expreſſeth it, the Labour of their own Hands. By inſpiring your Flocks with a Love of Induſtry, you will at once ſtrike at the Root of many Vices, and diſpoſe them to practiſe many Virtues. This therefore is the readieſt Way to improve them.
Conſult your Superiors. They ſhall tell you the Doctrine here delivered is a ſound Catholic Doctrine, not limited to Proteſtants, but extending to all, and [34] admitted by all, whether Proteſtants or Roman Catholics, Chriſtians or Mahome⯑tans, Jews or Gentiles. And as it is of the greateſt Extent, ſo it is alſo of the higheſt Importance. Saint Paul, ex⯑preſly ſaith, That if any provide not for his own, and eſpecially for thoſe of his own Houſe, he hath denied the Faith, and is worſe than an Infidel *.
In vain then do you endeavour to make Men Orthodox in Points of Faith, if at the ſame Time in the Eyes of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, you ſuffer them to be worſe than Infidels, than thoſe who have no Faith at all. There is ſome⯑thing it ſeems worſe than even Infidelity; and to incite and ſtimulate you to put away that curſed Thing from among you, is the Deſign and Aim of this Ad⯑dreſs. The Doctrine we recommend is an evident Branch of the Law of Na⯑ture; it was taught by Prophets, incul⯑cated by Apoſtles, encouraged and en⯑forced by Philoſophers, Legiſlators, and [35] all wiſe States, in all Ages, and in all Parts of the World. Let me therefore intreat you to exert yourſelves, to be in⯑ſtant in Seaſon, and out of Seaſon, rebuke, reprove, exhort. Take all Opportunities to drive the Lion out of the Way; raiſe your Voices, omit no Occaſion, public or private, of awakening your wretched Countrymen from their ſweet Dream of Sloth.
Many ſuſpect your Religion to be the Cauſe of that notorious Idleneſs, which prevails ſo generally among the Natives of this Iſland, as if the Roman Catholic Faith was inconſiſtent with an honeſt Diligence in a Man's Calling. But who⯑ever conſiders the great Spirit of Induſ⯑try that reigns in Flanders and France, and even beyond the Alps, muſt acknow⯑ledge this to be a groundleſs Suſpicion. In Piedmont and Genoa, in the Milaneſe and the Venetian State, and indeed throughout all Lombardy, how well is the Soil cultivated, and what Manufac⯑tures of Silk, Velvet, Paper, and other Commodities flouriſh? The King of [36] Sardinia will ſuffer no idle Hands in his Territories, no Beggar to live by the Sweat of another's Brow; it has even been made penal at Turin, to relieve a ſtrolling Beggar. To which I might add, that the Perſon whoſe Authority will be of greateſt Weight with you, even the Pope himſelf, is at this Day en⯑deavouring to put new Life into the Trade and Manufactures of his Country.
Though I am in no Secret of the Court of Rome, yet I will venture to affirm, that neither Pope, nor Cardinals, will be pleaſed to hear, that thoſe of their Communion are diſtinguiſhed above all others, by Sloth, Dirt, and Beggary; or be diſpleaſed at your endeavouring to reſcue them from the Reproach of ſuch an infamous Diſtinction.
The Caſe is as clear as the Sun; what we urge is enforced by every Motive that can work on a reaſonable Mind. The Good of your Country, your own private Intereſt, the Duty of your Func⯑tion, the Cries and Diſtreſſes of the Poor [37] do with one Voice call for your Aſſiſt⯑ance. And if it is on all Hands allowed to be right and juſt, if agreeable both to Reaſon and Religion, if coincident with the Views both of your temporal and ſpiritual Superiors, it is to be hoped, this Addreſs may find a favourable Re⯑ception, and that a Zeal for diſputed Points, will not hinder your concurring to propagate ſo plain and uſeful a Doc⯑trine, wherein we are all agreed.
When a Leak is to be ſtopped, or a Fire extinguiſhed, do not all Hands co⯑operate without Diſtinction of Sect or Party? Or if I am fallen into a Ditch, ſhall I not ſuffer a Man to help me out, till I have firſt examined his Creed? Or when I am ſick, ſhall I refuſe the Phy⯑ſic, becauſe my Phyſician doth, or doth not believe the Pope's Supremacy?
Fas eſt et ab Hoſte doceri. But in Truth, I am no Enemy to your Per⯑ſons, whatever I may think of your Tenets. On the contrary, I am your ſincere Well-wiſher. I conſider you as [38] my Countrymen, as Fellow-Subjects, as profeſſing Belief in the ſame Christ. And I do moſt ſincerely wiſh, there was no other Conteſt between us but Who ſhall moſt compleatly practiſe the Precepts of Him by whoſe Name we are called, and whoſe Diſciples we all profeſs to be.