government of God: in one case, to make a proper figure in the world, and delude their fellow-creatures; in the other, to keep peace within themselves, and delude their own consciences. And the delusion in hoth cases being voluntary, is, in Scripture, called by one name, and spoken against in the same manner; though, doubtless, they are much more explicit with themselves, and more distinctly conscious of what they are about in one case than in the other.
The fundamental laws of all governments are virtuous ones, prohibiting treachery, injustice, cruelty; and the law of reputation enforces those civil laws, by rendering these vices everywhere infamous, and the contrary virtues honourable, and of good report. Thus far the constitution of society is visibly moral; and hence it is, that men cannot live in it without taking care to cover those vices when they have them, and make some profession of the opposite virtues, fidelity, justice, kind regard to others, when they have them not: but especially is this necessary, in order to disguise and colour over indirect purposes, which require the concurrence of several persons.
Now, all false pretences of this kind are to be called hypocritical, as being contrary to simplicity; though not always designed, properly speaking, to beget a false belief. For it is to be observed, that they are often made without any formal intention to have them believed, or to have it thought that there is any reality under these pretences. Many examples occur of verbal professions of fidelity, justice, public regards, in cases where there could be no imagination of their being believed. And what other account can be given of these merely verbal professions, but that they were thought the proper language for the public ear; and made in business, for the very same kind of reasons as civility is kept up in conversation.
These false professions of virtue, which men have in all ages found it necessary to make their appearance with
