There is no such thing as absolute independence, in a state of society,
and the defects and weaknesses of individuals form the cement by which
it is bound together. All men have their imperfections and wants, and
must help each other as a matter of expediency as well as virtue; for
Providence has so ordered things in this life, that like the blind
man and the lame in the Fable, we may be serviceable to each other in
almost every instance. What one man wants another supplies. Without
these failings there would be neither friendship nor company; so that
it is our interest to be both charitable and sociable, when our very
wants and necessities are converted by Providence into blessings. The
whole race of mankind ought indeed to be but so many members of the
same body; and in contributing to the ease and convenience of each
other, we are not only serviceable to the whole, but kind to ourselves.
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