This love therefore, you see, is nothing but a love of _benevolence_; it requires nothing of us, but good _wishes_, _tender affections_, and such acts of kindness, as we shew to ourselves.
17. Now we are obliged to this love, in imitation of God’s goodness, that we may be children of our Father which is in heaven, who willeth the happiness of all his creatures, and maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good.
Again, our redemption, by Jesus Christ, calleth us to the exercise of this love, who came from heaven, and laid down his life, out of love, to the whole sinful world.
_Lastly_, Our Lord and Saviour has required us to love one another, as he loved us.
These are the great, perpetual reasons, on which our obligation to love all mankind as ourselves is founded.
These reasons never vary; they always continue in their full force; and therefore equally oblige at all times, and in regard to all persons.
God loves us, not because we are wise, and good, and holy, but in pity to us, because we want this happiness. He loves us, in order to make us good. Our love therefore must take this course; not looking for, or requiring the merit of our brethren, but pitying their disorders, and wishing them all the good that they want, and are capable of receiving.
18. You will perhaps ask, if you are not to have a _particular esteem_ for good men? Yes; but this _esteem_ is very different from that love of _benevolence_ which we owe to our neighbour.
The distinction betwixt love of benevolence, and esteem, is plain and obvious.
No man is to have a _high esteem_ for his own accomplishments or behaviour; yet every man is to love himself, that is, to wish well to himself; therefore this distinction betwixt love and esteem, is not only plain, but very necessary to be observed.
Again, if you think it hardly possible to dislike the actions of unreasonable men, and yet have a true love for them, consider this with relation to yourself.
It is very possible, for you not only to dislike, but to _detest_ and _abhor_ a great many of your own past actions. But do you then lose any of those tender sentiments towards yourself, which you used to have? Do you then cease to wish well to yourself? Is not the love of yourself as strong then as at any other time?
Now what is thus possible with relation to ourselves, is possible with relation to others. We may have the highest good wishes towards them, desiring for them every good that we desire for ourselves, and yet at the same time dislike their way of life.
19. To conclude, all that love which we may justly have for ourselves, we are in _strict justice_ obliged to exercise towards all other men; and we offend against the great law of our nature, when our tempers towards others are different from those which we have towards ourselves.
Now that _self-love_ which is _just_ and _reasonable_, keeps us constantly _tender_, _compassionate_, and _well-affected_ towards ourselves. If therefore you don’t feel these kind dispositions towards all other people, you may be assured, that you are not in that state of charity, which is the very life and soul of Christian piety.
You know how it hurts you, to be made the _jest_ and _ridicule_ of other people; how it grieves you to be _robbed_ of your reputation: if therefore you expose others to _scorn_ and _contempt_ in _any_ degree; if it pleases you to see or hear of their _frailties_ and _infirmities_; or if you are only _loth_ to conceal their faults, you are so far from loving such people as yourself, that you may be justly supposed to have as much hatred for them, as you have love for yourself. For such tempers are as truly the proper fruits of hatred, as the contrary tempers are the proper fruits of love.
And as it is a certain sign that you love yourself, because you are tender of every thing that concerns you; so it is as certain a sign that you hate your neighbour, when you are pleased with any thing that hurts him.