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will not presume to say, in the Words of the Command, be Temperate, be Virtuous, be Moderate, that thy Days may be long in the Land. I acknowledge, that I have no direct Authority to add a Promise to the Exhortation; but I may take more freedom, I believe, in the alternative, and say, be not Intemperate, be not Vicious, Luxurious, Immoderate and Brutal, and add, with the Wise Man, Why should't thou dye before thy Time? Eccles. vii. 17.
Without question, Life may be shortned by our Wickedness. How many do we see, in almost every weekly Bill, dead of excessive Drinking, others Duelling and Fighting; some by one vile Excess, some by another? Shall any Man dare to say, these did not shorten their own Lives! Shall we say, they lived out half their Days! Psal. lv. 23. I think it would be affronting the Justice of Providence, to say, they were not slain by their own Crime, cut off by untimely Vice, or that, with David's wicked Men, they do not live out half their Days.
But, not to enter into Disputes of Things remote to the Case; if Life is or is not, can or cannot be shorten'd by our Intemperance and Vice, the Comfort of Life may be lessen'd. Life may be made a Burthen, loathsome and uncomfortable, by loading it with Diseases and Sorrows, and by bringing complicated Miseries upon our selves in the Room of Health and Vigour, which would otherwise be the Lot.
A bright Countenance, a sprightly and brisk Eye, a constant Smile, a nimble agile Body, a clear Head, a strong Memory, and clean Limbs, these are Nature's Furniture to a Man of an untainted Race. But how often are all theseoriginal
