them this miserable Life a Life which we ought not much to value but only as it is a Time which relates to Eternity and may deserve it by the Grace which Christ the High-Priest of the true Goods distributes to Men and thereby sollicits them to enter into a communion of the same happiness with him XVI As to the Duties of Respect or external and relative Submission they are due to Power and therefore we cannot proportion them according to the merits of Persons nor regulate them by our own Light with respect to the interests of our eternal Society in Christ We must follow the Customs and Laws of the State in which God hath plac'd us It is a Duty of Justice to pay Respect and Tribute to those to whom God hath given Authority over us It is all one whether they be good or bad nay whether they be Christians or not Whether they make a good or a bad use of our Contributions And the reason of this is because it is God whom we Honour in their Persons for all Honour is relative and must be ultimately refer'd to him alone who really possesses Power So that it is an injury and a wrong to our Prince to deny him the Respects which are due to him and it is a formal disobedience against the King of Kings to refuse to submit our selves and give sensible marks of our Submission to those whom he hath appointed his Lieutenants and Vicegerents upon Earth The primitive Christians paid to the Roman Emperors even those who cruelly persecuted Christ himself in his Members all the Respect Submission and relative Honor that was due to their participated Power Well knowing that Honour is properly due to God alone and must be refer'd solely to him 1 Tim. 1.17 according to S. Paul's Words Unto the King eternal immortal invisible the only wise God be Honour and Glory They knew that the Duties of Respect ought not to be proportion'd to the interest of the Church or rather that they ought to be refer'd thither because that is the great or indeed the only design of God but that this is never better done than when Christians pay those Duties with all possible exactness For indeed this is the right way to oblige sovereign Princes who are always jealous of their Glory and Authority to favour Christian Societies more than any other in their Dominions But I must discourse more at large of our Duties as they relate to the different kinds of Society which we form with other Men. CHAP. IX Of the Duties due to Sovereigns Two Sovereign Powers The difference between them Their natural Rights Rights of Concession Of the Obedience of Subjects I. ALL the Duties which we owe to participated Powers may be reduc'd to Two general Heads Duties of Respect and Duties of Odedience The Duties of Respect depend on the Laws and Customs observ'd in every State and consist in certain outward and sensible marks of the Submission which the Mind pays to God in the Person of it's Superiors Those Duties vary according to the different Circumstances of Times and Places Sometimes Subjects prostrate themselves before their Prince sometimes they put one Knee to the Ground or both At other times they only make a profound reverence and stand uncover'd and sometimes also they remain cover'd in his Presence without losing the Respect which is due to him These are arbitrary Ceremonies and are govern'd by Use and Custom II. But that which is essential to Morality is that the Soul it self should be touch'd with Respect in the Presence of the Prince who is the Image of the true Power and that in such a proportion as the Prince actually exercises the Authority he hath receiv'd or cloaths himself as I may say with the Power and Majesty of God For we owe more respect to the King when he is in the Seat of Justice than in a Thousand other Circumstances and to the Bishop in the actual administration of his Episcopal Functions than at any other time And indeed we are naturally enclin'd to measure the respect due to Grandeur and Power by the sensible operation they have on us Certainly when we are in the Presence of the Almighty our Mind ought to prostrate it self Now tho' we are always in the sight of God yet we come into his Presence in a more particular manner when we approach Superiour who is his Image Therefore it is not sufficient to put on an outward air of Respect and Veneration but the Mind must also humble it self and respect the Greatness and Power of God in the Majesty of the Prince III. There is no great difficulty in paying the Duties of Respect to the higher Powers nay the Brain is fram'd in such a manner that the Imagination willingly bows before the splendour that environs them wherefore I think it needless to say any more of these Duties But an exact Obedience to the commands of our Superiors is a continual Sacrifice much more difficult and burdensome than the Slaughter of Beasts and therefore Self-love is an irreconcileable Enemy to it There are few People that discharge this Duty like Christians or in expectation that he whom they Honour in the Person of the Prince should be their only Reward Every one in a manner dispenses with himself as much as he can from paying an Obedience that doth not suit with his own conveniences and some preposterously obey unjust Commands because they do not know the exact order and measure of their Duties For opposite Powers having each their separate Rights their different interests are many times so intermingled that it is very difficult to know which of them ought to be obey'd and in these cases every Man follows his own particular humour or advantage for want of certain Rules to govern his Actions by I shall therefore here lay down one or two Principles which may give us some Light toward the clearer discovery of these Duties IV. There are but two sovereign Powers in the World the Civil and the Ecclesiastical The Prince in monarchical States and the Bishop The Prince who is the Image of God Almighty and his Minister upon Earth and the Bishop who is the Image of Christ and his Vicar in the Church The Prince derives his Authority over other Men from God alone so doth the Bishop and neither of them ought to use it any otherwise than God doth himself with respect to the immutable Order the universal Reason the inviolable Law of all intelligent Beings even of God himself The Prince notwithstanding hath a more absolute Power than the Bishop He hath Authority to make Laws and is not subject to them himself he may act without controul and is not oblig'd to give an account of his Conduct to any Man for he seems to have more Relation to God as Power than as Reason to God cloth'd with Majesty and Glory than to God made Man and like us to Christ glorified than to Christ upon Earth and
immutable Order and the divine Law rather than refer themselves to the Counsels of Men who most commonly flatter them They should also consult the fundamental Laws of the State and consider them as the ordinary Rules of their Conduct So likewise the Bishops if they would not abuse their Authority are bound to observe the Laws of the Church which they have promis'd to keep at their Consecration XI But for Subjects I think it certain that they ought to obey blindly and without reserve when only their own interest is concern'd For provided their Obedience to one of the two Powers do not make them omit the payment of that which they owe to God or to the opposite Power without doubt they are bound to obey To censure the Actions of their Sovereign is to make themselves his Judges It is attributing to themselves a kind of independence to yield only to their own light It is a Contempt and a Rebellion against the higher Power to expect that he should give an account of his Actions to any one but God who hath ordain'd him But still this is when he commands nothing against God himself or against the Power which represents him For since the Obedience which we pay to our Prince is due to God alone and refer'd wholly to him it is clear that we may and ought to disobey him when he commands us that which God forbids either immediately by the divine and immutable Law or by the other Power which he hath ordain'd XII But when the eternal Law doth not answer our attention by its Evidence or when the written Laws are obscure and the two sovereign Powers give us contrary Commands there is a necessity that we should inform our selves of their natural Rights and draw from them such consequences as should govern our Actions We should have recourse to Persons of understanding and above all we should carefully examine the Circumstances and Consequences of the Command that is impos'd on us And when at length we find our selves bound by the Obedience which we owe to God to disobey either of the Powers which are his Representatives we should do it bravely and undauauntedly but yet with all the respect which is due to those that are in Authority For tho' we are not always bound to obey the Powers ordain'd by God which are no way Infallible yet we are scarce ever allow'd to cast of the Respect that belongs to them how much soever they abuse their Authority They do not lose their Dignity nor their Character by unjust Commands and therefore we must still honour God in their Person And they on their part should remember that they have a Master who will deal with them as they have treated their Subjects and that they as well as other Men ought to submit to the divine Law to which God himself if I may so say is subject And tho' they may be satisfied perhaps that they have a Right to force Obedience from their Subjects yet they should not be angry if in some difficult and intricate Cases they make a scruple of obeying them or do not readily perform their Commands For Men ought not to be forc'd to act against their Conscience They cannot all have the same sense of things when there are great difficulties to overcome before they can understand the Order of their Duties They should be govern'd by Reason and when they have not Light and Understanding enough to know it and do not otherwise neglect the Duties which they do know certainly they deserve compassion and indulgence XIII What I have said of the sovereign Powers belongs also to subordinate Powers We owe Obedience to a Magistrate a Governour or any one that executes the Orders of the Prince as well as to the Prince himself even as we owe to the Prince the Obedience which is due to God the Fountain of all Power We ought not indeed to pay them so profound a Respect nor so general and blind an Obedience as we do to the Sovereign even as we ought to obey the Sovereign in so universal a manner as we do the Law and the Power of God because they are not invested with the whole power of the Prince no more than the Prince is with the whole power and the Infallibility of God But we owe them an Obedience proportionable to their power and to the knowledge we have that they execute the Orders of their Master and ours If we are persuaded that they encroach upon us or require of us such Duties as the Prince doth not expect or approve of we may free our selves from their exactions by a dextrous management or by such ways as do not violate the Respect that is due to them in regard of the Person whom they represent We should inform our selves of the Prince's pleasure from the Prince himfelf and if we can have no access to him we should presume that he refers himself to his Ministers And then we should humbly and without murmuring sacrifice to God the Goods which belong to him and which he hath given us that we should offer them to him again and thereby merit the enjoyment of more solid possessions which no power shall be able to take away from us We should with a truly Christian bravery shew by a ready Obedience our Contempt of transitory Enjoyments and look upon the Cross of Christ not as the Instrument of our Punishment but as our triumphal Chariot which shall certainly carry us as it did our Forerunner and our Pattern to eternal Thrones where we shall Judge with him the great Ones of the Earth in the day when the Fire shall devour their Riches and make all their Grandeur to disappear CHAP. X. Of the Domestick Duties of Husband and Wife The Ground of these Duties Of the Duties of Parents toward their Children with relation to the Eternal and Civil Societies Of their instruction in the Sciencies and Morality Parents should give their Children a good example They should govern them by Reason They have no right to use them ill Children owe Obediene to their Parents in all Things I. THose that govern the State have not a continual relation to all the particular Members of which it is compos'd and there are a great many People who never in their life receive any Command from their Sovereign or his Ministers Therefore that which I have said in the last Chapter is not of so great and general use as the Explication of the mutual Duties of Husband and Wife Parents and Children Masters and Servants a Lord and his Tenants or those that are under his Jurisdiction and such Persons as daily converse together and have many different relations to one another We should inform our selves more particularly of these private and domestick Duties I shall therefore endeavour to fix the Grounds and Principles of them from which every one may easily deduce Consequences II. The nearest Union that can be betwixt any Persons is that of the Man and
Feast who disturbs the Table and interrupts the Musick Hinder not Musick verse 3. represents a Head who breaks the agreeable Harmony and Concert of all the Members of the Body which he ought to govern and maintain in a perfect Union and a mutual Correspondence The end of all Government is Peace and Charity and the means of attaining this end is to advance Reason to the sovereign sway for there is nothing but Reason that can unite Mens Minds put them in tune to one another and make them act in concert Reason is a natural and universal Law which few People observe in all Points but no one dares openly reject and which all Men pretend to follow even at the same time that they depart from it VII Wherefore a Magistrate a Father who is the natural Head of his Family a Master who hath Scholars or Servants under him in a word every Superiour ought to breath into his Inferiours a Spirit of Reason Justice and Charity as his and their inviolable Law He should assume to himself no other Right but the use of proper means to make them respect and submit to it But let him not doubt but that all those means are his true and natural Rights in proportion nevertheless to the Authority which he hath receiv'd from the Superiour Power For the Power which gives any Commission doth also give the same Right to the use of all lawful means for the execution of it which that Power it self hath if it self or Custom and especially Reason directs nothing in particular touching these Means Thus a Magistrate hath no power to punish Criminals but according to the Laws tho' he may by his own Authority make use of a thousand ways to prevent their Villanies where the Laws give no particular directions A Father may correct his Children with a Rod or a Cudgel and that severely but he must not kill or maim them and thereby render them unserviceable to the State on which he himself depends and to which they belong A Master may whip his Scholar but he can not use him cruelly and injuriously without injuring the Father who hath not given him this Authority any more than Custom or the Laws of the Community But excepting that which Custom Reason or a Superiour power prescribes those that are in Authority may challenge to themselves as their natural Right the use of all other fit means to reduce such as are under their command to the Obedience not of their own Will but of Reason of Reason I say not their own Will for neither a Father nor a Magistrate nor a Prince no nor God himself if this could be if the Word were not Consubstantial with him if it were possible for him not to beget and love it not God himself I say hath any Right to make use of his Power in obliging Men who were created for Reason to submit to a Will not conformable to Reason VIII Notwithstanding a Servant a Scholar or a Subject ought not to dispute the Will of his Superiours he should have so much Deference for them as to believe that they are rational Men as well as he and much more than he and when Evidence or the express Commandment of the Law of God prescribes nothing to the Contrary he is bound to obey instantly and without murmuring Nay he is not allow'd so much as to offer any Objections in order to be satisfied of his doubts but only when this kind of Liberty carries with it no signs of Contempt and cannot offend the Person in whom he ought to fear and respect the Power of God himself But Superiours on their part should have a great regard to the nicety and scrupulousness of other Men they must not imagine themselves to be infallible nor by their haughty and insolent manner of proceeding oblige those that are under them to fear them instead of fearing God in their Person The invisible God is not so terrible to weak Imaginations as the sensible and threatning Air of a cholerick Father or Master and many times a Superiour heated and disturb'd by Passion makes his Inferiours commit greater Crimes than he doth himself for the suddenness of his Passion having blinded him his Fault is less voluntary but the Offence of those that obey him contrary to Reason is the more hainous because for fear of displeasing and provoking him they deliberately offend against God IX Not that a Superior must never shew his Authority and make himself fear'd by those that are under his Command Reason requires that he should sometimes be angry that as this Passion mechanically produces something terrible in the Face his outward Air may strike a terrour into the Wicked and dispose them to Obedience If this will not do he must also add Threatnings and in the end proceed to Punishment and to a kind of Injury and Violence It is absolutely necessary that Power should make Men submit to Reason and force them to follow it when Reason it self tho' well enough known hath not Charms enough to attract them Men look upon Reason as impotent and unactive as unable to reward its followers and to punish those that side with its Adversaries But they must be deliver'd from this Error in which they are confirm'd by all the prejudices of their Senses and be convinc'd by their Senses and by a visible manner of proceeding that Reason and Power are not two different Deities that the Almighty is essentially Reason and the universal Reason Almighty Those that are powerful and reasonable amongst Men by the particular relation which they have to the divine Power and Reason should by force constrain unreasonable Minds to fear that Reason which they do not love as they should by Reason dispose such as love it to unite themselves to Power and to rejoyce in it in expectation of their Happiness which shall be given to them according to the ruses which the same Reason prescribes Wherefore those that despise Reason must be threatned punish'd and made miserable For since it is easier to obey Reason without Pleasure than to disobey it with Pain perhaps wicked Men being made sensible by the fear of Punishment of the greatness of those Miseries which they may avoid if they will conform themselves to Reason will be more easily dispos'd to follow the Motions of Grace without which no Man can pay to the eternal Law all the Obedience which is due to it X. The Passions are not evil in themselves Nothing is more wisely design'd nor more useful for the maintenance of Society than they provided they are rais'd and govern'd by Reason For sensual Men must be taught by their Senses and carried whether they ought to go by something which may impel and put them in motion A Scholar will not gain much ground under the conduct of a sober phlegmatick slow-pac'd Master without Spirit and without Passion Children and Servants whose Minds are not fashion'd according to Reason advance slowly toward Vertue if they
cloth'd with our Vileness and Infirmities But the Bishop hath more relation to God as Wisdom and Reason incarnate and compass'd about with our Infirmities than as absolute and independent Power to Jesus Christ upon Earth conversing familiarly with Men than to Jesus Christ glorified and made supreme Lord of all the Nations of the World Ye know saith our Saviour to his Apostles Mat. 20.25 that the Princes of the Gentiles exercise Dominion over them and they that are great exercise Authority upon them But it shall not be so among you The Son of Man came not to be ministred unto but to minister and to give his life a Ransom for many Not that Princes have a Right to use their Authority without Reason God himself hath not this miserable Right he is essentially Just and the universal Reason is his inviolable Law But the abuse of the Ecclesiastical Authority is more criminal in the sight of God than the abuse of Royal Authority not only because there is an infinite difference between spiritual and temporal Goods but also because the Ecclesiastical Power that acts imperiously and arbitrarily acts directly contrary to the Character which it bears of Jesus Christ who is always Reason and Reason humbled and proportion'd to the capacity of Men for their Instruction and Salvation V. The end of the institution of these two Powers is very different The Civil Power is ordain'd for the maintenance of Civil Societies The Ecclesiastical Power for the establishment and preservation of the heavenly Society which is begun upon Earth and shall never end The Duty of the Prince regards only the peace of the State the Duty of the Bishop the peace of Christ's Church The Prince should preserve and augment those Conveniences that are necessary for the temporal Life The Bishop by his Preaching and Example should instruct and enlighten the People and as the Minister of Christ diffuse inward Grace by the Sacraments in the Members of the Church and thereby communicate the life of the Spirit to those that are committed to his charge In a word the Power of the Prince is ordain'd for the temporal Good of his Subjects that of the Bishop for the spiritual Good of his Children VI. This being laid down as the first Principle the second which follows from it is That since God is the absolute Lord of all Things his Orders give a Right to all necessary and reasonable means for the execution of them A Servant who receives Orders from his Master to carry a message of importance with all speed to his Friend hath no right to take his Neighbour's Horse for the execution of his Master's commands because his Master himself hath not that right But God being the absolute Lord of all Things when he saith to St. Peter Feed my Sheep or when he commands the King to preserve his Subjects in Peace he gives to these two sovereign Powers as far as Order permits an absolute right to all Things necessary for the execution of his Will So that the natural essential and primitive Rights of the temporal Sovereignty are as far as Order permits all necessary means for the preservation of the State and the natural rights of the Ecclesiastical Power are all lawful means necessary for the edification of the Church of Christ VII But the Church and the State being compos'd of the same Persons who at the same time are both Christians and Members of a Body Politick Children of the Church and Subjects of the Prince it is impossible for these two Powers which ought to have a mutual regard to each other and should be absolute and independent in the Administration of their several Functions to exercise their Jurisdiction and execute the Orders of their common Master if they do not perfectly agree together and even in some Cases depart with something of their Rights to one another For this Reason it is that the Prince by the concession of the Church hath now a right of Presentation to many Benefices and the Church by the concession of the Prince enjoys temporal Possessions These are not natural rights because they are not necessary or natural consequences of the Commission which these different Powers have receiv'd from God They are only rights of concession depending on a mutual Agreement whose end ought to be no other than that which God propos'd to himself in the institution of these two Powers VIII The building of the Church of Christ the eternal Temple being the great or indeed the only design of God for all the Societies and Kingdoms of this World shall be dissolv'd when the Work of him who alone is immutable in his designs shall be compleated it is evident that the State hath a reference and should be subservient to the good of the Church rather than the Church to the glory or even the preservation of the State and that one of the principal Duties of a Christian Prince is to furnish Christ with Materials fit to be sanctified by his Grace under the care of the Bishop and to build up the spiritual Edefice of the Church For this end chiefly it is that the Prince should prefer the State in Peace give Orders that his Subjects be instructed in solid Learning such as gives perfection to the Mind and regulates the Heart and take care that the Laws ordain'd for the punishment of Vice and Injustice be strictly observ'd For a People well instructed and obedient to reasonable Laws is better fitted to receive effectually the influence of Grace than a rude vicious and ignorant People For this Reason the Prince ought to employ his Authority in causing the Decrees of Councils to be observ'd and keeping the People in the Obedience which they owe to their Mother the Church of Christ For in fine there is so close an Union between the Church and the State that he who troubles the State troubles the Church which consists of the same Members and he that makes a Schism in the Church is really a disturber of the publick Peace and Tranquility IX But whether a Prince doth or doth not propose to himself this great design of gaining immortal Glory by labouring for Eternity and carrying on a Work which alone shall last for ever it is not for private Men to censure his Conduct And provided that he requires nothing but what flows from the natural Rights given him by the Commission which he hath receiv'd from God he ought to be obey'd in all things even by those that hold the greatest Dignities in the Church X. It doth not belong to me to deduce from the certain Principles which I have here laid down such consequences as contain the particular Duties of those that have a right to command and besides there is more difficulty in it than may be imagin'd There are a great many circumstances to be consider'd which vary or determine these Duties Princes should examine their own Obligations in the sight of God by the light of the
Merit of him that dwells in it they open them insensibly to behold the beauty that courts and enchants them and join to the Person of the owner all the Gold and Marble with which the House is adorn'd But a Christian Philosopher beholds without being mov'd the Magnificence which astonishes and prostrates weak Imaginations and being persuaded that that which belongs to Man is not the Man himself and that greatness of Mind is not consistent with Injustice and abuse of Power he sees nothing more monstrous and deform'd than a low and despicable Soul dwelling in a proud and lofty Building and admir'd by all the World And whether he thinks himself oblig'd by his quality and the custom of the World to appear splendid and magnificent in the Eyes of other Men or looks upon those vain Ornaments wherewith the rich endeavour to hide their wretched Mortality he is still sensible of his own and others weakness he contracts and as it were annihilates himself within himself and measures great Men only by the merit which he finds in them III. But besides that there are very few of these Philosophers how much a Philosopher soever any Man is he is often surpriz'd unawares by the sensible impression and unexpected Motions of a rebellious Imagination and the vanity which fills Mankind doth so much favour the natural Judgments which are form'd in us without our consent touching human greatness that Men always have and ever will judge of the Esteem which they owe to other Men by the Train the Magnificence and the Splendour that environs them Now these Judgments which every one pronounces within himself in favour of Persons of Quality or such as have the appearance of Persons of Quality these Judgments I say which are pronounc'd more strongly and definitively by a submissive Air and a respectful Behaviour than by Words swell Men with Pride and beget in them an Opinion of their own greatness This is it which makes them despise Vertue and Reason in those that are below them and esteem without distinction every thing that is heightned and set off to advantage by the Quality of the Persons This is the Reason that a haughty Lord looks upon his Vassals as Creatures of a despicable Species and that Servants hearken to their Masters as to Vertue it self and Reason incarnate In short this is the Cause that Superiours do not pay to those that are under them the Duties which are owing to their Nature and Inferiours think it meritorious to act contrary to the divine Law in obedience to the Commands that are impos'd on them IV. Human Nature being alike in all Men and created for Reason it is Merit alone that should distinguish and Reason that should govern them But Sin having left Concupiscence in those that first committed it and in all their Posterity Men tho' all equal by nature do not now join in a Society of equality under one common Law to wit Reason Force the Law of Brutes that which gives the Lion the command over the Beasts hath gotten the sovereign sway among Men and the Ambition of some and the Necessity of others hath oblig'd all Nations as I may say to cast off God their natural and lawful King and the universal Reason their inviolable Law and to choose them visible Protectors who by Force may defend them against Force It is Sin then which hath introduc'd into the World the difference of Qualities or Conditions for Sin or Concupiscence being suppos'd these differences must necessarily follow Reason it self requires that it should be so because Force is the Law that must keep those in their Duty who have cast off their Obedience to Reason In fine God himself approves this difference of Conditions as is plain from the Scriptures V. But the necssity of the Remedies shews the greatness of the Distempers We need not seek after them when we have no occasion for them and the esteem and use that ought to be made of Force is grounded only on the miserable necessity to which we are reduc'd by our universal Contempt of Reason Therefore those that have Authority to command other Men and to decide their Differences ought not to value themselves and to be proud of this Right They should rather be afraid of profaning their Power by making it subservient to their Pleasures for nothing is more Sacred nothing more Divine The Almighty their natural and lawful Sovereign will deal with them as they who are but subordinate Powers have dealt with their Subjects They hold their places but during his Pleasure They should continually reflect on this God can pull them down if they do not endeavour to set up Reason and sooner or later Death that cruel Enemy of their Power Riches and Pleasures will make them like other Men. It will present them before the living Law which penetrates the Heart and lays open all the folds and recesses of it and they will find the Reward or Punishment of their good or bad Actions written in eternal and indelible Characters in the immutable and necessary Order Wisd 6.5 6 8. Horribly and Speedily saith the wise Man shall he come upon you for a sharp Judgment shall be to them that are in high places For Mercy will soon pardon the meanest but mighty Men shall be mightily tormented a sore trial shall come upon the mighty Superiours therefore should look upon themselves as Lieutenants as I may say and Vicegerents of Reason the primitive and indispensable Law and should employ their Authority only against such as refuse to obey that Law They should never make use of Force the Law of Brutes but against Brutes against those that know not Reason and these that will not submit to it and should hearken to their Inferiours favourable calmly and charitably For if they confound their own desires with the immutable Order and the secret inspirations of their Passions with the dictates of the inward Truth that Truth which they slight and disregard shall be the Law by which they shall be judg'd by which they shall certainly be condemn'd and by the Efficacy of which they shall be eternally tormented VI. Eccles 32.1 2. If thou be made the Master of a Feast says the Son of Sirach lift not thy self up but be among them as one of the rest take diligent care for them and so sit down And when thou hast done all thy office take thy place that thou mayst be merry with them A Family a Community a Society whose Head applies himself wholly to maintain the Peace and supply the Necessities of it is in a continual Feast The Superiour ought not to take his place of Honour till he hath perform'd his devoirs nor put himself at the head of others but only to protect and defend them to reconcile their differences and to rejoice them with his presence Superiours and especially Princes are call'd in Scripture and in ancient Authors Shepherds of the People and the Governour of a
be not continually quicken'd and spur'd on But we should never correct them without enlightning them and letting them know what it is that is requir'd of them and not then neither except they can perform their Duty with more ease than bear the Punishment which is inflicted on them And as no one can determine his choice without some Motive we should put them in a condition to be able to choose with Pleasure and to do that willingly which is worth nothing if it be not voluntary The Springs of their Mind should be set in order as well as those of their Machine and the fear of Evil should only serve to carry them toward Good to bring them near to the Light and make them behold and love the beauty of Order It is this kind of correction which Men are made to suffer in the presence and for the honour of that Reason which they have cast off that enlightens the Mind and gives understanding and not inhumane and brutish Punishments which are sit only to manage Brutes to train up Horses and Dogs and to teach Men to make their own Will the inviolable rule of their Actions XI Inferiors are oblig'd to pay a ready and exact Obedience not only to the Commands of their Superiors which are express'd and signified to them but also to their Will when it is clearly known tho' it be not signified And tho' he that stays for an express Order from his Superior before he obeys him and performs his Will doth not hereby shew any disrespect to his Person or any opposition to his Authority yet he doth not sufficiently respect in him the divine Power and Majesty But a Minister who by the asendent he hath over his Prince by his alliances and creatures draws all the Authority to himself and reduces his Master to such a condition that he is afraid to command him deserves to be treated like a Rebel An insolent Servant who by the knowledge he hath of his Master's concerns or of the weakness of his Mind deprives him of the liberty of signifying his Pleasure to him is many times more guilty of Disobedience than a lazy and negligent Servant who doth not perform the Orders that are given him A Son who by the rigorous constitution of his Mind and Body or by the Reputation and Fortune he hath gain'd in the World is got into such a Post that his Father who is in a low Condition weak and impotent dares not impose any Command on him violates the Duties of filial Obedience if he knows his Father's Will and doth not perform it A Wife who by her untoward and ungovernable Temper is grown so formidable to an easy good-natur'd Husband that he dares not discover his Mind to her is more Disobedient tho' she exactly performs every thing that he bids her Eph. 5.33 than one that fears and reverences her Husband according to the Apostles Precept tho' she do not always obey his Commands An inferior Clergy-man who by the Credit he hath gotten in the World or by his Personal Qualifications stops the Mouth of his Superiors and doth not do that which he certainly knows they require of him is guilty of Disobedience In a word he that withdraws himself in any manner whatsoever from the Obedience which he ows to others leaves his Post and rebels against Authority And tho' he may secure himself from the Censures of Men and the Laws of those that do not penetrate and search the Hearts yet he shall not escape the Judgment of the righteous Judge who unfolds all the turnings and windings of Self-love He that obeys Men as Men and not as God himself according to the Precepts of Religion and Reason cannot possibly fulfil all the Duties of Obedience as on the contrary he that desires to please God in obeying the Commands of Men is so happily guided and influenc'd by that desire that he performs easily and naturally every thing that the most enlightned Mind can impose on him CHAP. XII Of our Duties toward our Equals We should give them the place they desire in our Mind and Heart We should express our inward Dispositions in favour of them by our outward Air and Behaviour and by real Services We should yield them the Superiority and Pre-eminence The hottest and most passionate Friendships are not the most solid and durable We should not make more intimate Friends than we can keep I. THE greatest part of the Duties which we pay to other Men consist only in certain sensible Marks whereby we give them to understand that they hold an honourable place in our Mind and Heart Those who are satisfied that we have a particular esteem for their Worth and Qualifications cannot but feel some Emotion and Pleasure which must unite them to us And there is no Man but must be touch'd with a sensible Displeasure which will separate himself from us if he finds that we do not give him that place in our Mind which he desires how great respect soever we outwardly shew him For the place of spiritual Beings doth not lye among Bodies their Habitation their Seat their place of Rest hath no relation to that magnificence which strikes the Senses and is only the work of Men's Hands The Soul dwels with Honour in the very Souls of those that Honour it and rests with Pleasure in the Heart of an affectionate Friend What Glory what Honour is it then to possess the esteem of the universal Reason What rest and satisfaction will theirs be whom God shall take into his Heart and treat them as his Friends The vaniry of Men should raise in us these Thoughts and the Seeds of Pride which we all have in us should make us aspire to the Happiness of getting an honorable Place a fix'd and immoveable Seat in all intelligent Beings united to Reason and in Reason it self and of being our selves a sacred Temple where God himself may reside for ever For God who is a pure Spirit deth not dwell with Pleasure in material Temples tho' never so Costly and Magnificent II. It is the eternal Wisdom the immutable Order of Justice that should regulate these spiritual Places which are to be fill'd by substances of the same kind But as long as we are upon Earth subject to Error and Sin we deserve none of them at least we do not know which of them we deserve Therefore we ought always to take the lowest and expect to be remov'd higher according to the degree of our Vertue and Merit But Men never trouble themselves about the place which they hold in the divine Reason the indispensable Rule of that which they ought to possess in created Minds and labour only to advance themselves to a place which they do not deserve They hide their Imperfections they shew only their best side they endeavour by seducing others to get an empty Name to themselves and when they have or fancy they have deceiv'd them they entertain with extreme delight the