May I overcome my sloth, not by natural principles, but spiritual.

"Lord, help me to oppose sloth more faithfully in myself, that so I may with a good conscience oppose it in others.

"I would expect aid from God in the use of literary, as well as spiritual means.

"The honour of God seems to be not a little concerned in my giving good Lectures, as they will ascribe it to religion if I do not.

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Presumption would lead me to expect success from God, without a diligent use of the means; and despondency on the other hand, would cause me to despair of success whilst diligently using the means. In this wretched heart both of these evils have great place, and therefore are both to be carefully watched against. O! my Saviour, be not thou far from me!

"Alas! the sad workings of self-will and selfwisdom in me. The one shews itself in vehement, and restless desires of extraordinary help from God; it would fain receive such qualifications from God, as would manifest themselves to all, and enable me to fill up my office with much eclat and usefulness; whilst the other takes upon itself to say, that if the Lord hear me and help me, his aid, &c. will come in such and such a way;-if he means to make use of me in the place, he will evidence his design by

dealing with me so and so, by conferring vigour both of body, intellect and soul, &c.; and that if his dealings be of another kind, I have no token for good; and, therefore, no reason to conclude, notwithstanding appearances, that he has brought me hither, or he would surely be with me in the manner above supposed, &c. &c. O! my God, instead of hearkening to such rash and hasty suggestions, I would check them at once, and abhor the thought of sitting in judgment on thy dealings with me. I have no doubt, that, in obedience to thy will, I came into my present sphere, nor would I deny thy help, because it may not be what self-wisdom dictated. On a fair estimate I can truly say, Thou hast been my helper.' Therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

"I wish, and have long wished, to make literary attainments, for I am shamefully deficient in them. But I should think myself out of my duty to apply closely to them as a minister; as a tutor, I may, and ought to do so, so that the tutorship will answer this good end, amongst others, to myself.

"Before I came here, my difficulty was for some time, to know the will of God respecting me, and now it is, to do his will, now that it is known. Thus when old difficulties are removed, new ones arise, and so on, through this world."

"October 9, 1791.

"A real concern for the honour of God, as connected with the manner of my filling up my present office, will shew itself by producing in me as diligent an use of the means as my health will admit of, and then it will enable me calmly to leave the event, and not be solicitous about the consequences: for has not the Lord as much regard to his own honour as I have? Does he not know what, upon the whole, will most promote it? and is he not able to secure the promotion of it in whatever way he sees best? this should satisfy me. But when intenseness of study, anxiety of mind, and looking to man are the effects of my supposed concern for God's honour, I may then be assured, that pride is at the bottom; that my own honour lies too near my heart, and, therefore, instead of encouraging such a concern, I should strive in my Lord's strength to suppress and keep it down, as being only, or principally, the working of my evil nature, the manifestation of my vile corruptions. This is a good criterion to go by. Whatever principle causes within distrust, disquietude, and turbulence of mind, let it pretend what it will, is either wholly, or in great part, of the old Adam, for all the genuine fruits of grace tend to peace, and rest, and composure of mind. This is the case with even repentance and humiliation, as

far as they are pure and evangelical. What, if I foresaw that I should miscarry in my present office, and had reason to fear that the honour of the Gospel would partake of my disgrace on account of insufficiency, the effect, if right, would be of this kind. I should lie low before him for all those neglects of duty which may have contributed to such insufficiency, and be quite willing that my character should sink into the dust, and grow very cheap in the eyes of men ; whilst, at the same time, I am begging of him to secure his own somehow or other, that it may not suffer any blemish from the blot of mine. In this spirit, I should go on quietly and firmly, and without any inward commotion, though expecting, perhaps, every step I take, to bring upon me the shame that I see cause to apprehend. Thus I suppose I should feel, even on that trying occasion, if my principles were what they ought to be, unmixed with those of my evil nature. O! my Saviour, make them such, and if thou seest good to lay such a trial upon me. O! pray for me that my faith fail not, and carry me weli through it. Amen.”

"Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re,' is a direction which I should ever take along with me in all my dealings with the scholars. By means of the first I shall be more likely to reconcile them to the restraints imposed and the discipline to be

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kept up. By means of the second, I shall be able to secure my authority from that contempt, to which over-lenity and irresolution would expose it. I should remember also that there are favourable seasons mollia tempora fandi,' when the points I aim at may be more easily carried. For these I should watch, that so my reformations may excite as little odium as possible, and may be quietly submitted to, without any of those murmurings and evil passions, that would otherwise be produced by them. O! my God, who hast placed me here, pardon the errors and follies I have already been guilty of in my present sphere; help me in future to correct them, and give me official wisdom."

I have read, with no small degree of attention, Mr. L.'s numerous manuscripts, and I find, among other various documents, the substance of his college lectures, upon Aristotle, Longinus, Locke on the Human Understanding, Butler's Analogy, and upon some parts of the New Testament, commencing at St. John's Gospel, and extending to the end of the Acts of the Apostles. There are eight large [copy] books upon Aristotle's Rhetoric, and about the same number upon his Ethics, and three of similar size upon Longinus. As he announces the design of these Classical Lectures in his preliminary discourse