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Robert Treat Paine Papers, Volume 1

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To Miss M. M.

From Edward Salter

10 April 1753
To Miss M. M.
RTP M. M., Miss
Boston April 10. 1753

I think it a pity that any Freindship that has begun regularly & proceeded gradually & rationally should come to Nothing & be Extinct barely by dint of seperation of the Parties, & it is purely to preserve our most rational Freindship firm on its Settled Foundations & rescue it from the Jaws of devouring Time, that I now put pen to Paper. Surely whatever is good, should never be neglected, but forever had in Esteem be the Subject that possess it what it will, & altho' in some Circumstances it May not be inconsistant to Regard the Subject for the sake of its inherent qualitys, yet we will not proceed that Length, but Admire Virtue for Vir-188tue's sake without any Regard to the Honour its Votaries may cast upon it. Upon this foundation our Freindship must stand secure, unless we loose the Relish for Virtue our Selves or find it deficient in the Other Party. If either of these should be the Case, Our Freindship must them Submit to Ruins of Destruction & so must the Happiness of the deficient party. But that neither of these Circumstances May in any degree happen, May the Guardians of Virtue & Freindship Make it their peculiar Charge. I could wish we were equally qualified to preserve the Noble Caracter, wch. I am Satisfy'd would advance me to a greater claim to the fruits of it. Whoever sets out in persuit of Virtue with a soul unspotted with Repeated Guilt, Undefild with loose Passions & Enjoying some portion of primitive Innocence, has Certainly the Advantage of him, who besides the Crafty Snare Subtil & delusive Temptations from without has a most Unruly soul within. Passions, fickle as the Wind and headstrong as the Ocean, An Enemy within the Gates who torments the Inhabitants & too often brings them under Subjection. But our Severest Temptation cant Excuse & but barely Extenuate our Faults. Some live a life of Triumph & continually reap the fruits of a happy Victory whilst others are continually obliged to mentain the Feild of Battle.

Thus I have shown what must be the true ground of a lasting Freindship as I doubt not it was the chief Motive of Our Freindship (for there are even some that Admire Virtue in Speculation but hate it in the practice) so I hope it will remain Unmoved tho' the wide Atlantic should Seperate us or tho' you retire to yr. Rural Amusements & heighten yr. delicate Sentiments with Contemplations on Creating Goodness and Wisdom Wonderfully display'd in the various works of Nature. There you may Enjoy Your Thoughts uninterupted with the Clatter & Racket of Trucks & Coaches, yelling of Boys & Ruffians & the impertinent diversion of a City those Enemys to Sublime Meditation.

The Calm Voice of silent Nature will inspire you with innate goodness Expand yr. Soul with Gratitude & cause you to breathe forth the sincerest Devotions. The Singing of the Birds, the Lowing of the Herds, the distant din of croaking Frogs, all of them will conspire to erase the noise & hubbub of Boston from yr. Mind & lead you by degrees to the fountain of happiness, whilst I, condemn'd by my foolish Self, a Slave to Neptune, must Submit to the hardships of fatigue to be expos'd to the Temptations of the worst of Lives, but still there is nothing in this World but affords matter for glorious Meditation, no flower without some honey, &189no place without the proof of a God. The Wide Ocean abundantly declares his Power, fierce Storms his Anger, & Serene Weather his Universall Benignity. Happy the Soul that can retire from the World & calmly reflect on a life well Spent & on a Natural Innocency of Disposition. But altho Innocence be a good & an Amiable Charecter yet it is not a Compleat one. At best 'tis but to be free from Vice but surely 'tis the Next Step to Virtue, but if we rest there ten Thousand to one if we mentain it long, for it in some sence lays us Open to the Deception of Mankind. He that is conscious of no Vice in himself suspects it in nobody else & by that mean is expos'd to that great Enemy calld Credulity, wch. in as much as it is a female Weekness, I have taken Occasion to mention, that so you may be guarded Against those Advantages wch. the crafty & designing May Make of yr. Innocence. Be harmless as a Dove, yr. compliance with this precept can scarce be calld a Virtue for 'tis the Gift of yr. Nature. But then be wise & cautious a Serpent, O My Freind be like the Tyger bereft of her Whelps when Vice comes Cloathed in Eloquence or rather (forgive the Metaphor) like the faithfull Mastiff that cautious of some ill design growls at him that offers a Crust but treats with civility those that come boldly. The World is so decitfull that we can scarcely be too cautious. It was the Rule of a Great Philosopher in England, to think all Men Rogues till he found them otherwise, wch. I believe is good in a qualify'd sence. But whither am I Stray'd. This my oblation to Freindship is Swell'd beyond size wch. if I should pretend to make it equall to my regards would take me my Life. But we must part! Alass it were scarce Worth while to begin Freindship if this World were only the Scene of it, but there are the Elisian Feilds where nothing that defiles enters. Our Freindship imperfectly began here Shall there have a glorious Completion. There'll be no difference of Sexes to divert of Thoughts. But our Souls freed from the passions of a Body exalted with improv'd facultys will Join in one Eternall Hallelujah.

Dft ; addressed: "To Miss M. M. on Freindship."