If Men would but Ballance the Good and the Evil of Things, the Profit and
the Loss, they would not Venture Soul, Body, and Reputation, for a Little
Dirty Interest. ’Tis much the same Thing betwixt Us, and our Sensual
Acquisitions, that it is betwixt the _Raven_ and the _Snake_ here. Men of
Eager Appetites Chop at what comes next, and the Purchase seldom fails of
a Sting in the Tayl on’t. Nor is it to be Expected, that Passion without
Reason should Succeed better. Our Senses are Sharp-set upon All Fleshly
Pleasures, and if they be but fair to the Eye, Relishing to the Palate,
Harmonious to the Ear, Gentle to the Touch, and Fragrant to the Smell,
’tis all we Look for, and all we Care for. ’Tis true, all this while,
that our very Nature Requires a Dose of These Enjoyments; nay, and that
Providence it self does not only Allow, but Prescribe it; for the Common
Comfort and Benefit of Humane Society, and of Mankind; for Life would
be no longer Life without it. But the Crime and the Danger lies in the
Excess, and in the Immoderate Love and Use of them. Was not the Apple in
_Paradise_ Fair to the Eye, and Grateful to the Tast, and yet there was
Death in’t? What were the Poets _Sirens_, but Figures of our _Seducers_,
that Charm us by the Ear, and Tempt us to _leap Over-board_? That is to
say, by Debauching us into False Doctrines and Opinions, which do but
Answer, on the One side, the Moral of the _Songs_ on the Other. And so
for the Touch, and the Smell, the Former, ’tis true, has made more Havock
in the World, but yet a Man may be Poyson’d with a Perfume, as well as
with a Nauseous Potion. To Conclude, we have _Snakes_ in our _Beds_, in
our _Cups_, in our _Dishes_, and whoever dips too deep, will find _Death
in the Pot_.