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There is  no  alternative:  we  poor  children  of  Adam must till  death  live  in  continual  warfare;  For,  says the Apostle,  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit}  The  flesh desires what  the  spirit  dislikes;  and  the  spirit  pants  for what the  flesh  abhors. Now, since  it  is  peculiar  to  irrational creatures  to  place  all  their  happiness  in  sensual enjoyment, and  to  the  angels  to  seek  only  the  accomplishment of  God's  will,  surely  if  we  attend  to  the  observance of  the  divine  commands,  we  shall,  as  a  learned author justly  says,  he  transformed  into  angels;  but  if we  fix  our  affections  on  the  gratifications  of  sense,  we shall  sink  to  the  level  of  the  brute  creation.

If the  soul  do  not  subdue  the  body,  the  flesh  will conquer the  spirit. To maintain  his  seat  on  a  furious steed, and  to  escape  danger,  the  horseman  must  hold  a tight  rein;  and  to  avoid  the  corruption  of  the  flesh,  we must  keep  the  body  in  perpetual  restraint. We must treat it  as  a  physician  treats  a  patient,  to  whom  he  prescribes nauseous  medicine,  and  to  whom  he  refuses  palatable food. Cruel indeed  must  be  the  physician  who gives to  a  sick  man  noxious  draughts  because  they  are pleasing to  the  taste,  and  who  does  not  administer  useful remedies,  because  they  are  bitter  and  disgusting. And great  is  the  cruelty  of  the  sensual,  when  to  escape