REASONS FOR CONTENTMENT; ADDRESSED TO THE LABOURING PART OF THE Erttisf) public. BY WILLIAM PA LEY, M. A. ARCHDEACON OF CARLISLE. PRINTED LONDON : FOR R. FAULDER, NEW BOND STREET »793- Price Two-pence. SRLF URL REASONS 23 sq Pit FOR CONTENTMENT, &c. HUMAN life has been faid to refemble the fituation of fpe&ators in a theatre, where, whilft each perfon is engaged by the fcene which pafles before him, no one thinks about the place in which he is feated. It is only when the bufi- nefs is interrupted, or when the fpe&ator's atten- tion to it grows idle and remifs, that he begins to confider at all, who is before him or who is be- hind him, whether others are better accommoda- ted than himfelf, or whether many be not much worfe. It is thus with the various ranks and ftati- ons of fociety. So long as a man is intent upon the duties and concerns of his own condition, he never Mtv* no C 4 ] never thinks of comparing it with any other ; he is never troubled with reflections upon the differ- ent claffes and orders of mankind, the advantages and difad vantages of each, the neceffity or non- necessity of civil distinctions, much lefs does he feel within himfelf a difpolition to covet or envy any of them. He is too much taken up with the occupations of his calling, its purfuits, cares, and bufinefs, to bestow unprofitable meditations upon the circumftances in which he fees others placed. And by this means a man of a found and active mind has, in his very constitution, a remedy againft the dilturbance of envy and difcontent. Thefe pafiions gain no admittance into his bread, becaufe there is no leifure there or vacancy for the traits of thought which generate them. He enjoys therefore eafe in this refpect, and eafe re- flating from the belt caufe, the power of keeping his imagination at home ; of confining it to what belongs to himfelf, inltead of fending it forth to wander amongit fpeculations which have neither limits nor life, amidfl views of unattainable gran- deur, fancied happinefs, of extolled, becaufe un- experienced, privileges and delights. The wifeft advice that can be given is, never to allow our attention to dwell upon comparifons between C 5 1 between our own condition and that of others, but to keep it fixed upon the duties and concerns of the condition itfelf. But fince every man has not this power ; fince the minds of fome men will be bufy in contemplating the advantages which they fee others poffefs, and fince perfons in laborious (rations of life are wont to view the higher ranks of fociety, with fentiments which not only tend to make themfclves unhappy, but which are very different from the truth, it may be an ufeful office to point out to them fome of thefe confiderations, which, if they will turn their thoughts to the fub- ject, they fhould endeavour to take fairly into the account. And firft, we are molt of us apt to murmur when we fee exorbitant fortunes placed in the hands of fingle perfons ; larger, we are fure,. than they can want, or, as we think, than they can ufe. This is fo common a reflection, that I will not fay it is not natural. But whenever the complaint comes into our minds, we ought to recollect, that the thing happens in confequence of thofe very rules and laws which fecure to curfelves our pro- perty, be it ever fo fmall. The laws which acci- dentally calt enormous eitates into one great man's poiTeiTion, [ 6 ] poiTeffion, are, after all, the felf-fame laws which protect and guard the poor man. Fixed rules of property arc eflablifhed, for one, as well as another, without knowing, before-hand, whom they may affect. If thefe rules fometimcs throw an excef- five ordifproportionate fhare to one man's lot, who can help it ? It is much better that it fhould be fo, than that the rules themfelves mould be broken up : and you can only have one fide of the alter- native or the other. To abolifh riches, would not be to abolifh poverty ; but, on the contrary, to leave it without protection or refource. It is not for the poor man to repine at the effects of laws and rules, by which he himfelf is benefited every hour of his exiftence ; which fecure to him his earnings, his habitation, his bread, his. life ; with- out which he, no more than the rich man, could cither eat his meal in quietnefs, or go to bed in fafety. Of the two, it is rather more the concern of the poor to fland up for the laws, than of the rich; for it is the law which defends the weak againft the itrong, the humble againft the power- ful, the little againft the great ; and weak and ftrong, humble and powerful, little and great there would be, even were there no laws whatever. Be- iide, what after all is the mifchief ? The owner of a great C 7 ] a great eftate does not eat or drink more than the owner of a fmall one. His fields do not produce worfe crops, nor docs the produce maintain fewe r mouths. If eftates were more equally divided, would greater numbers be fed, or clothed, or em- ployed ? Either, therefore, large fortunes are not a public evil, or, if they be in any degree an evil, t is to be borne with, for the fake of thofe fixed and general rules concerning property, in the pre- fervation and fleadinefs of which all arc interefted. Fortunes however of any kind, from the nature of the thing, can only fall to the lot of a few. I fay, " from the nature of the thing." The very utmoft that can be done by laws and government, is to enable every man, who hath health, to pro- cure a healthy fubfiftence for himfelf and a family. Where this is the cafe, things are at their perfec- tion. They have reached their limit. Were the princes and nobility, the legiflators and counfel- lors of the land, all of them the bell and wifeft men that ever lived, their united virtue and wif- dom could do no more than this. They, if any fuch there be, who would teach you to expect more, give you no initance where more has ever been attained. But [ 8 ] But Providence, which forefaw, which appoint- ed, indeed, the neceflity to which human affairs are fubjecled (and againft which it were impious to complain), hath contrived that, whilft fortunes are only for a few, the reft of mankind may be happy without them. And this leads me to con- .fider the comparative advantages and comforts which belong to the condition of thofe, who fub- filt, as the great mafs of every people do and mull ftabfift, by perfbnal labour, and the folid reafons' they have for contentment in their ftations. I do not now ufe the terms poor and rich, becaufe that man is to be accounted poor, of whatever rank he be, and fuffers the pains of poverty, whofe ex- pences exceed his refources ; and no man is, pro- perly fpeaking, pcor but he. But I at preient con- fider the advantages of thofe laborious conditions of life, which compofe the great portion of every human community. And, nrft, it is an ineflimable blefllng of fuch fituations, that they fupply a conftant train of em, ployment both to body and mind. A hulband- man, or a manufacturer, or a tradefman, never goes to bed at night without having his bufinefs to rife up to in the morning. He would underftand the C 9 ] the value of this advantage, did he know that the want of it compotes one of the greateft plagues of the human foul ; a plague by which the rich, ef- pecially thofe who inherit riches, are exceedingly opprefTed. Indeed it is to get rid of it, that is to fay, it is to have fomething to do, that they are driven upon thofe flrange and unaccountable ways of palling their time, in which we fometimes fee them, to our furprife, engaged. — A poor man's condition fupplies him with that, which no man can do without, and which a rich man, with all his opportunities and all his contrivance, can hard- ly fupply himfelf, regular engagement, bufinefs to look forward to, fomething to be done for every day, fome employment prepared for every morn- ing. A few of better judgement can feek out for themfelves conftant and ufeful occupation. There is not one of you takes the pains in his calling, which fome of the moll independent men in the nation have taken, and are taking, to promote what they deem to be a point of great concern to the interefts of humanity, by which neither they nor theirs can ever gain a milling, and in which, fhould they fucceed, thofe who are to be benefited by their fervice, will never know nor thank them for it. I only mention this to fhow, in conjunc- ii tion [ 10 ] tion with what has been obferved above, that of thoTe who are at liberty to a& as they pleafe, the wife prove, and the foOlifh confefs, by their con- du€t y that a life of employment is the only life worth leading j and that the chief difference be- tween their manner of palling their time and yours, is, that they can choofe the obje&s of their aaivity, which you cannot. This privilege may be an advantage to fome, but for nine out of ten it is fortunate, that occupation is provided to their hands, that they have it not to feek, that it is im- pofed upon them by their neceffities and occa- fionsj for the confequence of liberty in this re- fpea would be, that, loft in the perplexity of choofing, they would fink into irrecoverable in- dolence, inaaion, and unconcern ; into that va- cancy and tirefomenefs of time and thought, which are infeparable from fuch a fituation. A man's thoughts muft be going. Whilft he is awake, the working of his mind is as conftant as the beating of his pulfe. He can no more ftop the one than the other. Hence if our thoughts have nothing to aa upon, they a& upon ourfelves. They ac- quire a corrofive quality. They become in the laft degree irkfome and tormenting. Wherefore that fort of equitable engagement, which takes up the ] C » 3 the thoughts fufficiently, yet fo as to leave them capable of turning to any thing more important, as occafions offer or require, is a moft invaluable blefling. And if the induftrious be not fenfible of the biefling, it is for no other reafon than be- caufe they have never experienced, or rather fuf- fered, the want of it. Again ; fome of the neceffities which poverty (if the condition of the labouring part of man- kind muft be fo called^ impofes, are not hardfhips but pleafures. Frugality itfelf is a pleafure. It is an exercife of attention and contrivance, which, wheneve* it is fuccefsful, produces fatisfaclion. The very care and forecaft that are neceifary to keep expences and earnings upon a level form, when not embarraffed by too great difficulties, an agreeable engagement of the thoughts. This is loft amidft abundance. There is no pleafure in taking out of a large unmeafured fund. They who do that, and only that, are the mere convey- ors of money from one hand to another, A yet more ferious advantage which perfons in inferior Rations polfefs, is the cafe with which they provide for their children. All the provifion b 2 which C 12 ] which a poor man's child requires is contained in two words, "induftry and innocence." With thefe qualities, tho* without a fhiljing to fet him forwards, he goes into the world prepared to be- come an ufeful, virtuous, and happy man. Nor will he fail to meet with a maintenance adequate to the habits with which he has been brought up, and to the expeaations which he has formed ; a' de S ree of fucce fs fufficient for a perfonof any con- dition whatever. Thefe qualities of induftry and innocence, which, I repeat again, are all that are abfolutely neceffary, every parent can give to his children without expence, becaufe he can give them by his own authority and example ; and they are to be communicated, I believe, and pre- ferved in no other way. I call this a ferious ad- vantage of humble nations, becaufe, in what we reckon fuperior ranks of life, there is a real diffi- culty in placing children in fituations, which may in any degree fupport them in the clafs and in the habits in which they have been brought up with their parents : from which great and often- times diftreffing perplexity the poor are free. With health of body, innocency of mind, and habits of induftry, a poor man's child has nothing to be afrai(J C '3 ] afraid of; nor his father or mother any thing to be afraid of for him. The labour of the world is carried on hy fervice > that is, by one man working under another mans direction. 1 take it for granted, that this is the beft way of conducting bufinefs, becaufe all nations and ages have adopted it. Confequently fervice is the relation which, of all others, affects the greatefl number of individuals, and in the moft ienfible manner. In whatever country therefore this relation is well and equitably regulated, in that country the poor will be happy. Now how is the matter managed with us ? Except appren- ticefhips, the neceffity of which, every one, at leaft every father and mother, will acknowledge # as the beft, if not the only practicable, way of gain- ing inftrudion and fkill, and which have their foundation in nature, becaufe they have their foundation in the natural ignorance and imbecil- lity of youth : except thefe, fervice in England i^ t as it ought to be, voluntary and by cvmtract , a fair exchange of work for wages ; an equal bar- gain, in which each party has his rights and his redrefs ; wherein every iervant chu cs his mailer. Can this be mended ? I will add, that a conti- nuance t H ) nuance of this connexion is frequently the foun- dation of fo much mutual kindnefs and attach- ment, that very few friendfhips are more cordial, or morefincere; that it leaves oftentimes nothing in fervitude, except the name ; uof any distinc- tion, but what one party is as much pleafed with, and ibmetimes alfo, as proud of, as the other: What then (for this is the fair way of calcu- lating) is there in higher ftations to place againft thefe advantages ? What does the poor man fee in the life or condition of the rich that mould render him difTatisfied with his own ? Was there as much in fenfual pleafures, I mean in the luxuries of eating and drinking, and other gratifications of that fort, as fome men's imagina- tions would reprefent there to be, but which no man's experience finds in them, I contend, that, even in thefe refpects, the advantage is on the fide of the poor. The rich who addict themfeives to indulgence lofe their relifh. Their defires are dead. Their fenfibilities are worn and tired. Hence they lead a languid, fatiated exigence. Hardly any thing can amufe, or roufe, or gratify them. Whereas the poor man, if fomething ex- traordinary C »5 ] traordinary fall in his way, comes to the repaft with appetite ; is pleafed and refrefhed ; derives from his ufual courfe of moderation and tem- perance a quicknefs of perception and delight, which the unreftrained voluptuary knows nothing of. Habits of all kinds are much the fame. Whatever is habitual becomes fmooth, and indif- ferent, and nothing more. The luxurious receive no greater pleafures from their dainties, than the peafant does from his homely fair. But here is the difference. The peafant, whenever he goes abroad, finds a feaft, whereas the epicure muft be fumptuoufly entertained to efcape difguft. They who fpend every day in diverfions, and they who go every day about their ufual bufinefs, pals their time much alike. Attending to what they are about, wanting nothing, regretting nothing, they a re both, whilft engaged, in a ftate of eal'e ; but then whatever fufpends the purfuits of the man of diverlion diftreffes him, whereas to the labourer or the man of bufinefs every paufe is a recreation. And this is a vaft advantage which they poffeis who are trained and inured to a life of occupation, above the man who lets up for a life of pleafure. Variety is loon exhaufted. Novelty itfelf is no longer new. Amufements are become too fami- liar C 16 ] liar to delight, and he js in a fituation in which he can never change but for the worfe. Another article, which the poor are apt to envy- in the rich, is their eafe. Now here they miftake the matter totally. They call inaction eafe, whereas nothing is farther from it. Reft is eafe. That is true. But no man can reft who has not worked. Reft is the ceffation of labour. It cannot there- fore be enjoyed, or even tafted, except by thafe who have known fatigue. The rich fee, and not without envy, the refreshment and pleafure which reft affords to the poor, and chufe to wonder that they cannot find the fame enjoyment in being free from the neceflity of working at all. They do not obferve that this enjoyment muft be purchafed by- previous labour, and that he who will not pay the price, cannot have the gratification. Being with- out work is one thing ; repofing from work is ano- ther. The one is as tirefome and infipid, as the other is fweet and foothing. The one in general is the fate of the rich man, the other is the fortune of the poor. I have heard it faid that if the face of happinefs can any where be feen, it is in the fummer evening of a country village. Where* after the labours of the day, each man at his door. with ( «7 ) with his children, amongfl his neighbours, feels his frame and his heart at reft, every thing about him pleafed and pleafing, and a delight and com- placency in his fenfations far beyond what either luxury or diverfion can afford. The rich want this ; and they want what they rauft never have. As to fome other things which the poor are difpofed to envy in the condition of the rich, fuch as their Hate, their appearance, the gran- deur of their houfes, drefs, equipage, and at- tendance, they only envy the rich thefe things, becaufe they do not know the rich. They have not opportunities of obferving with what neglect and infenfibility the rich poffefs and regard thefe things themfelves. If they could fee the great man in his retirement, and in his actual manner of life, they would find him, if pleafed at all, taking pleafure in fome of thofe fimple enjoy- ments which they can command as well as he. They would find him amongfl his children, in his hufbandry, in his garden, purfuing fome rural di- verfion, or occupied with fome trifling exercife, which are all gratifications, as much within the power and reach of the poor man, as of the rich; or rather more fo. To ( 9 ) But was difference of rank or fortune of more importance to perfonal happinefs than it is, it would be ill purchafed by any fudden or violent change of condition. An alteration of circum- flances, which breaks up a man's habits of life, deprives him of his occupation, removes him from his acquaintance, may be called an elevation of fortune, but hardly ever brings with it an addition of enjoyment. They to whom accidents of this fort have happened never found them to anfwer their expectations. After the firft hurry of the change is over, they are furprifed to feel in them- felves, liftleflnefs and dejection, a confeioufnefs of folitude, vacancy and reflraint, in the place of chearfulnefs, liberty, and cafe. They try to make up for what they have loft, fometimes by a beaftly fottifhnefs, fometimes by a foolifh diflipation > fometimes by a ftupid (loth ; all which effects are only fo many confefhons, that changes of this fort were not made for man. If any public difturb- ance fhould produce not an equality, (for that is not the proper name to give it) but a jumble of ranks and profeffions amongft us, it is not only evident what the rich would lofe,but there is alfo this further misfortune, that what the rich loft the poor would not gain. I (God knows) could c 2 not ( «a ) not get my livelihood by labour, nor would the labourer find any folace or enjoyment in my ftu- dies. If we were to exchange conditions to-mor- r Ow, all the effecl; would be, that we both mould be more miferable, and the work of both be worfe done. Without debating therefore, what might be very difficulty to decide, which of our two conditions was better to begin with, one point is certain, that it is bed for each to remain in his own. The change, and the only change, to be defircd, is that gradual and progrcflive improve- ment of our circumitances, which is the natural fruit of fuccefsful induftry ; when each year is fomething better than the lafl; ; when we are ena- bled to add to our little houfchold one article after another of ne\v comfort or conveniency, as our profits increafe, or our burthen becomes lefs; and, what is belt of all, when we can afford, as our ftrength declines, to relax our labours, or divide our cares. This may be looked forward to, and is practicable, by great numbers, in a flate of pub- lic order and quiet, it is abioiutely impoflible in any other. If in comparing the difFerent conditions of focial lite we bring religion into the account, the argu- ment ( 21 ) ment is ftill eafier. Religion fmooths all inequa- lities, becaufe it unfolds a profpedt which makes all earthly diftin&ions nothing. And I do allow that there are many cafes of ficknefs, affliction, and diftrcfs, which Chriftianity alone can com- fort. But in eflimating the mere diverfities of fla- tion and civil condition, I have not thought it ne- ceffary to introduce religion into the enquiry at all, becaufe I contend, that the man who mur- murs and repines, when he has nothing to mur- mur and repine about, but the mere want of in- dependent property, is not only irreligious, but unreafonable in his complaint ; and that he would find, did he know the truth, and confider his cafe fairly, that a life of labour, fuch I mean as is led by the labouring part of mankind in this country, has advantages in it, which compenfate all its in- conveniencies. When compared with the life of the rich, it is better in thefe important refpects. It fupplies employment, it promotes activity. It keeps the body in better health, the mind more engaged, and, of courfe, more quiet. It is more fenfible of eafe, more lufceptible of pleafure. It is attended with greater alacrity of fpirits, a more conftant chearfulncfs and ferenity of temper. It affords eafier and more certain methods of fending children ( 22 ) children into the world in fituations fuited to their habits and expectations. It is free from many- heavy anxieties which rich men feel j it is fraught with many fources of delight which they want. r If to thefe reafons for contentment the reflect- ing hufbandman or artificer adds another very material one, that changes of condition, which are attended with a breaking up and facrifice of our ancient courfe and habit of livinsr, never can be productive of happinefs, he will perceive; I truft, that to covet the ftations or fortunes of the rich, or fo however to covet them, as to wifh to feize them by force, or through the medium of public uproar and confufion, is not only wicked- nets, but folly; as miftaken in the end, as in the means ; that it is not only to venture out to fea in a, Jlorm, but. to venture for nothing. FINIS. University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. -:? \-S£&,