crease as the vices of men multiply-he alone has no employment among men; passes his days in a continual void-in a circle of frivolous inutilities; and that life which ought to be the most occupied, the most loaded with duties, the most respected, becomes the most empty and the most despicable life that is seen in the world,

When David urged the generous Uriah to return into his house, and there enjoy domestic pleasures in retirement, What! answered that valiant and faithful officer, whilst all my brethren are encamped in their tents, and exposing their lives in combat, for the defence of the people of God, shall I remain alone here in idleness, in the midst of the pleasures and enjoyments of a family?* Behold, then, what an indolent and worldly minister ought incessantly to say to himself: Shall I live in effeminacy and idleness, and be of no use either to the Church or the State, whilst every other man is engaged in some occupation in society; and whilst my brethren in the ministry generously sacrifice themselves for the happiness of their people, and derive glory and a high pleasure from the fatigues and dangers which they experience in promoting the salvation of their fellow men?'

Indeed, my brethren, whilst there are sinners to convert, ignorant people to instruct, weak in the faith to support, afflicted to console, oppressed to defend, and impious men and unbelievers to confound, can a priest find time for the pleasures and vanities of worldly society? Are we then made for an idle life? we who, with the closest application, are not sufficient for all our duties? Behold Jesus Christ, the chief shepherd, and the model of others, sitting upon the borders of a well in Samaria. Notwithstanding his fatigue, he will not relax from doing the work for which he was sent; he will not abstain from his labors, even to give himself time for a sober and frugal

* 2 Samuel xi. 11.

repast. "My meat," said he to his disciples, who were urging him to eat," is to do the will of my Father."* He beholds the fields ripe and the harvest ready; and whilst his Father wants laborers, and the harvest is upon the point of being lost, he will not spend a moment in indolence, but improves this period in bringing back to the truth a woman who was a sinner. By this example let us estimate the value of our time, and the use we ought to make of it.

It is related in the holy scriptures, that Nehemiah, when occupied in rebuilding the temple, was solicited, by the officers of the King of Persia, to descend into the plains of Ono, to treat with them, and to celebrate the interview with feasting and rejoicing."Come," said they to him, "let us meet together, in some one of the villages of the plains of Ono." But that holy man, charged with a ministry so sacred, and believing it was not lawful for him to interrupt it, by mere ceremony and complaisance, answered them, saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down; why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" Now, is a minister of Christ, when occupied in repairing the spiritual edifice of the Church-in raising a temple to the living God, in the hearts of believers, is he engaged in an employment less holy and important? And what ought he to oppose to those who exert themselves to turn him from it, under frivolous pretexts, and to engage him in the unprofitable and vain employments of the world, but that wise reply of the pious Jewish minister? "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down, lest it should be neglected." What more worthy of his ministry, and also more respectable in the eyes of the world, than to refuse to be diverted, by the solicitations of men, from his holy employment? What more worthy than to prefer the work of God, that work so great, so sublime,

* John iv. 34.

Nehemiah vi. 2.

Chap. vi. 3.

so honorable, to the trifling and unprofitable occupations of the children of this world?-to respect his ministry and his functions ?-to esteem every thing, which so uselessly occupies the men of the world, as low and unworthy of his elevated calling?-and to believe that all the moments which he gives to the world, without necessity, are so many moments refused towards building the holy Jerusalem, and that. by this means the accomplishment of the work of God upon the earth would be retarded? "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down, lest it should be neglected."

I am sensible that great zeal and firmness are necessary to enable us to break the bonds of flesh and blood; and to interdict ourselves almost all intercourse with a world with which we are connected by so many ties; and to which our own inclinations draw us. But this furnishes me with a fourth reflection, as a new proof of the truth of which I wish to convince you.

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4. I say then, in the fourth place, that the Spirit of our Ministry is a Spirit of Zeal and Firmness. It is our duty to exhort, to correct, to season and out of season." We ought to bear our testimony boldly against public sins and abuses. The face of a Christian minister ought not to blush for the ignominy, which indulgences, unbecoming his character, never fail to produce; he bears, written upon his forehead, with much more majesty than the High Priest of the law," the doctrine and the truth;" he ought to know no one according to the flesh. He who, by the imposition of hands, has been set apart to the holy ministry, should manifest an heroic disposition, which elevates him above his own weakness, which infuses into him noble, great, generous sentiments, and such as are worthy his elevated calling,-which raises him above fears,

hopes, reputation, and opprobrium, and above every thing which influences the conduct of other men.

Now, this spirit of courage and firmness is very much opposed to the spirit of the world. For the spirit of the world is a temporising spirit,-a spirit of politeness, complaisance, attentions, and management. To pass well with the world, a man must have no opinion of his own; he must think always with the greatest number, or at least with the most influential; he must have approbation always ready to bestow, and wait only for the moment when it will be most agreeable. It is necessary for him to be able to smile at impiety; to accustom his ears to the most severe and cruel strokes of slander; to give praise to ambition and a desire of preferment; and to suffer a preference to be given to natural above moral and spiritual talents. In fine, if we wish to live in the world, we must think, or at least speak like the world; it will not do to carry thither an uncompliant, harsh spirit; for this a person would soon become an object of ridicule and contempt, and he himself would soon become disgusted with it. Thus we, who ought to be "the salt of the earth" must accommodate ourselves to the children of the world, and "lose cur savor;" we, who ought to be the censors of the world, must become its panegyrists; we, who ought to be "the light of the world," must perpetuate its blindness, by our approbation or by our cowardice; in one word, we, who ought be to instruments in the salvation of the world, must perish with the world.

Admitting that, when you first go to mingle with worldly scenes, you may intend not to be seduced from the path of duty; admitting that you at first possess sincerity, firmness, and courage; you will ,, soon deviate from them. Those ideas of zeal and firmness against vice, with which you enter into the world, will soon grow weaker; intimacy with the world will soon make them appear to you unsocial

and erroneous; to them will succeed ideas more pleasant, more agreeable to man, more according to the common manner of thinking; what appeared zeal and duty, you will regard as excessive and imprudent severity; and what appeared virtue and ministerial prudence, you will consider as unnecessary singularity. Nothing enervates that firmness becoming the ministerial character like associating freely with men of the world. We enter, by little and little, and without perceiving it ourselves, into their prejudices, and adopt the excuses and vain reasonings to which they have recourse to justify their errors; by associating with them we cease to think them so culpable; we even become almost apologists for their effeminacy, their idleness, their luxury, their ambition, their passions; we accustom ourselves, like the world, to give to those vices softer names; and what confirms us in this new system of conduct is, that it has the approbation of men of the world, who give to our cowardly compliance with their customs the specious names of moderation, greatness of mind, acquaintance with the world, a talent to render virtue amiable; and to the contrary conduct the odious names of littleness, superstition, excess, and severity, calculated only to drive people from virtue, and to render piety either odious or contemptible. Thus, from gratitude, we treat those in a friendly manner who bestow upon our cowardice the honor and homage due to firmness and zeal; we believe them more innocent, since they think us more amiable; we show more indulgence to their vices, since they metamorphose our vices into virtues. For how uncommon is it for people to be severe and trublesome censors of their admirers? And how few are there like Barnabas and Saul, who, because they would not relax any thing from the truth, were stoned by the very people who, but a moment before, were ready to offer incense to them as to gods descended upon earth?