Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/459

 the North American Indians. 447

They refort to the moft gay afTemblies in the world, for the fake of pleafure, leaving the multitude to the divine care, or the fpeakings of poor religious men who are hired at low wages to do their duty, as they themfelves have enough to mind and fecure properly temporal concerns. In this man ner, do thefe lamps mine, and fpend their days and nights, like the great chieftains of the earth, and when they die, their bodies are laid apart from the reft of mankind, in poliihed and coftly tombs, adorned with nice ftrokes of art, to perpetuate their names the long train of virtues they fo highly poflefled their great learning and eloquence the fimplicity of their lives and manners their faithful difcharge of the various duties of their religious high office their contempt of the grandeur and vanities of this tranfient world their tendernefs of heart to the cries of the poor;, and their fingular modefty and humility, a mining copy of imitation for common priefts, and other fpiritual chieftains, to purfue. Thefe fine mo numents are very pleafant to the eye, but honeft men fay that mercenary writers and artifts do not act right to belie the dead.

My red beloved friends, fuch is the reputed life and death of thofe high- feated divine chieftains of the high church ; your fharp natural reafon will difcern the clofe agreement there is between the humility and fimplicity of their principles and lives, with thofe of the early overfeers of the lowly divine houfe. It is faid that fome great beloved men have an earneft de- fire of fending a few of their own high office, to this fide of the broad water, in order to appoint young beloved men ; but we ftrongly fufpecl: a dangerous fnake in the grafs ; and efteeming them dead to the true interefts of religion and liberty, we think they ought to keep them at home, and even recall their prefent troublefome miffionaries from our fettlements,, and allow us to enjoy our former peace and quiet We wim them to go to fome poor dark countries, and inftrucl: the people in the honeft leflbns of peace, love, and charity ; which they would, if they only aimed at the good of mankind, and the honour of the fupreme chieftain, according to the^ plain copy of the great beloved meflenger and his kind-hearted faithful fcholars. We wim the civil powers would not tempt the religious men's* virtue by fuch alluring delicious baits, as they propofe to them^ and that all ranks would become frugal and virtuous.

Thus

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