proffer to him that he would make him a great nation if he would but stand neuter till he had revenged himself upon a rebellious people. But Moses had no mind to preferment upon those terms ; he preferred the public good before his own honour, profit, and advancement, and therefore follows God close, and never gives over pleading for them till he had procured their pardon, and turned away the wrath of God from them, Exod. xxxii. 10-12 ; so Num. xiv. 4, 10, 13, l-i. So Joshua was a man of a public spirit : ' When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the children of Israel gave an inheri- tance to Joshua the son of Nun among them,' Joshua xix. 49. Joshua might have served himself first, and he might have taken as large an inheritance as he had pleased, but he preferred the good of the people before his own. He who had divided the land to others, was himself contented with very mean preferment, for his inheritance was among the barren mountains, as some observe [Jerome]. So Jehoiada was a man of a public spirit. You read that they ' buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both towards God and towards his house,' 2 Chron. xxiv. 16. Men of public spirits shall be honoured both living and d}dng. So Nehemiah was a man of a brave public spirit. He holds on twelve years together in public work upon his own cost and charge, Neh. v. 14, 15. So Esther was one of a public spirit, and therefore she takes her life in her hand, and goes in to the king with an If I perish, I perish, Esther iv. 16. And so Mor- decai was a man of public spirit. Mordecai the Jew was ' next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed,' Esther x. 3. Mordecai was more mindful and careful of his people's peace, prosperity, and welfare, than he was of his own con- cernments. And so David was a man of a public spirit, for ' after he had served his own generation, he fell a-sleep,' Acts xiii. 36. The Spirit of the Lord has put this upon record for David's honour and our imita- tion. David's soul did not live in a narrow bowling-alley. He was not a man of so poor, low, and narrow a spirit as to make himselithe centre of his designs and actions. David was a man of a generous, noble spirit. The public good lay nearest his heart, and to serve his genera- tion he was willing to spend and be spent. The public-spirited man, of all men, is most like to Christ, and to those worthies who were once glorious on earth, and are now triumphing in heaven. The apostle speaks of some who are lovers of themselves, 2 Tim. iii. 2, and who are 'seekers of themselves,' Philip, ii. 2], and who are 'minders of them- selves,' Philip, iii. 19. ' They mind earthly things.' Of all these we may say, as God speaks of Israel, ' Israel is an empty vine ; he brings forth fruit unto himself,' Hosea x, ] ; yea, of all these we may say that light is not more contrary to darkness, heaven to hell, glory to shame, than these are contrary to Christ, and to those precious servants of his who are crowned and chronicled in the blessed Scriptures for their public spiritedness and public usefidness in the world. But,
3. Thirdly, Men of public spirits are I'are men, excellent men ; of all men they most resemble God, who does good to all, Mat. v. 45 ; there are none so excellent and truly honourable as these.^ All the instances ^ Vir bonus magis aliis prodest quam sibi,
242 A CABINET OF JEWELS.
cited to make good the second particular evidences this : to v/hich I may add that of Daniel, who was a man of a public spirit, and of that excel- lent spirit, as that he carried the bell from all the presidents and princes of Darius's court, Dan. .vi. 3. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because * an excellent spirit was in him,' and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. I might give you many other instances from the patriarchs and apostles, but what need that, when blind nature speaks so loud in the case. Men of public spirits have been very excellent and honourable in the very eyes of all the heathen. Take a few instances among the many hundreds that might be produced. M. Attilius Kegulus was a man of that public spirit, that he valued neither state nor life to serve his country and preserve his own honour ; he got very much for his country, but little for himself; seven acres of land bemg all that ever he had. He was a man highly honoured among the Romans.'
Titus Vespasian was a man of a public spirit. He governed so sweetly, moderately, and prudently, that he was generally termed delicicehumani generis, the delight of mankind. He was greatly honoured whilst he lived, and when he died the people wept so bitterly for him as if they had been resolved to have wept out their eyes.
Curius Dentatus was a man of public spirit, and very victorious. When his country was settled, he was found at dinner feeding hard on a few parched pease, when the ambassadors were sent to tender him a great sum of gold, which he refused, saying, ' He had rather be at his pease, while they whom he ruled over had the gold, than he to have the gold and they the pease.' When some unworthy per.sons once accused him for keeping back somewhat from the public, he brought forth a wooden platter, and did swear, that it was all he had reserved to himself of the spoils. He was had in great honour and reputation among the people,
' That pilot dies nobly,' saith Seneca, ' who perisheth in the storm with the helm in his hand.'
Aristides was a man of a public spirit. After the overthrow of the Persians, when there was a mass of treasure, gold, silver, and rich apparel, he would not touch it, nor take so much as one farthing of it to himself. He was in high esteem among the people.
Tully in his book of Scipio's dream, brings in a dead father, now in heaven as he supposed, encouraging his son to do service for his country, wherein himself had given him a most noble and notable example, upon a very high consideration, viz.. There is a most sure and certain place in heaven for every man that shall procure the weal of his country, either by freeing it from peril, or increasing the happiness of it any way. To hear a Gentile tell of heaven as of a thing certain ; to hear him tell of certain places provided there for those that should do virtuously; to have the service of one's country pressed on his soul with so celestial an argument, what matter of wonder and admiration is it I
Another [Cicero], speaking of men of public spirits, saith, ' Such ennobl- ed spirits, they are the dear offspring, the delight and care of God ; a divine race it is ; from the heavens they comedown tous,and totheheavens again, whenever they take their leaves of us, shall they triumphantly return.'