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which, notwithstanding no Law can punish? And are they less Criminal for that, or the more? The Laws of the Land punish no Man for Avarice, yet Covetousness is expressly forbid in the Scripture, and the Love of Money is called the Root of all Evil. The Laws of the Land take no notice of our Anger, Passion, Fighting, Gluttony, Excess of Drink, and several other Things, except Murther, Breach of the Peace, Drunkenness, &c. are the Consequences. You may eat till you gorge your Stomach, and destroy your Life; you may Sip, and Whet, and doze Nature, till it expires in a Lethargick Sotisme; you may Rage, Storm, and make your House a Hell, and the Law takes no Cognisance of you. But no Man will say, they are not all detestable and abhorred Crimes for all this; unbecoming a Man of Sense, and inconsistent with a Man of Religion.
Thus, in the Case before us, the Law is silent, and the Sinner safe, provided you do but marry. Let the Foundation of it be what it will, let the Reason of it be all as gross and corrupt as Hell; the Motive all Sulphur and Salt, the Views as vitious and filthy as Words can express; that's all to be answered for somewhere else, and you take it upon your selves, so you do but marry; the Law, like Gallio, the Deputy of Achaia, cares for none of these Things, Acts xviii. 17.
But, are they the less Criminal? Is the lewd Part less offensive? Is the Soul less corrupted? Is the Man less debauched? Not at all; but rather the more: Nay, the Devil, I make no question, as he has infinitely more Advantage to prompt, fails not to make use of theAdvan-
