well examin'd will settle the Mind and procure to it a real and solid Happiness Some Particulars needful to be examin'd and consider'd which will contribute very much to the Repose and Happiness of the Mind THE First Particular is the Knowledge and Fear of God And certainly this Philosopher had good Reason to recommend to us in the first place the right Ideas that we are to entertain of this Sovereign Being because he that hath a right Notion of him is so much inflamed with Love and Affection for God that he constantly endeavours to please him by an honest and a vertuous Life always trusting in his infinite Goodness and expecting all things from him who is the Fountain of all good By this means he spends his Life sweetly peaceably and pleasantly We shall not concern our selves here to shew the Existence of this Being seeing we have already done it elsewhere But shall only take notice that tho' Epicurus delivers some Notions that are very just and reasonable yet he hath others that are not to be entertained by pious Men tho' he interprets 'em after his own Fashion such are to be look'd upon as impious for he believes That God hath a Being as Lucretius makes him acknowledge in his first Book For whatsoe'er's Divine must live in Peace In undisturb'd and everlasting Ease Not care for us from Fears and Dangers free Sufficient to it 's own Felicity Nought here below nought in our Power it needs Ne'er smiles at good ne'er frowns at wicked deeds Now I say to believe such a supreme Being that exists to all Eternity is immortal and infinitely happy in it's own Nature enjoying all things within it self and stands in no need of us nor hath any Cause to fear that is not subject to Pain Anger nor other Passions are undeniable Truths and an Opinion that is Praise-worthy especially in a Heathen Philosopher but when he denies Providence as these Verses do intimate and when he thinks that it is not consisting with the highest Felicity as if God had no particular Care of Men That the Just are to expect nothing from his Goodness nor the Wicked are not to dread his Justice are such Opinions that our Reason and Religion will not permit us to entertain The second Particular relates to Death For as Aristotle observes Death is look'd upon as the most dreadful Evil because none is exempted being unavoidable Therefore Epicurus judges That we ought to accustom our selves to think upon it that we might learn by that means as much as is possible to free our selves from such Fears of Death as might disturb our Tranquility and consequently the Happiness of our Life and for that Reason he endeavours to perswade us that it is so far from being the most dreadful of all Evils that in it self it is no Evil at all And thus he argues Death saith he don't affect us and by consequence in respect of us is not to be judged an Evil for what affects us is attended by some but now Death is the privation of Sense He tells us also with Anaxagoras That as before we were capable of Sense it was not grievous to us to have no Sense so likewise when we shall have lost it we shall not be troubled at the want of it As when we are asleep we are not concerned because we are not awake So when we shall be dead it will not trouble us that we are not living He concludes with Archesilas That Death which is said to be an Evil hath this belonging to it that when it hath been present it hath never troubled any body And that it is through the Weakness of the Mind and the dismal Apprehensions that we have of Death that makes it seem so terrible to us when absent insomuch that some are struck dead with the very Fear of dying We may very well acknowledge That Death is the Privation of our External Sense or of Sense properly so called And Epicurus hath very good Reason to say That in Death there is nothing to be feared that may injure the Sight the Hearing the Smell the Tast or the Sense of Feeling for all these Senses cannot be without the Body and then the Body ceases to be or is dissolved But that which we are not to allow is what he affirms elsewhere That Death is also the Privation or Extinction of the Spirit or Understanding which is an internal Sense a Sense according to his Notion Therefore that we may not be hindred by this Impiety which has been sufficiently refuted in treating of the Immortality of the Soul let us proceed to give a Check to the extraordinary Apprehensions of Death and to those Fears that frequently disturb all the Peace and Quiet of our Life and with a sullen Blackness infect and poison all our most innocent Pleasures as Lucretius saith Those idle Fears That spoil our Lives with Jealousies and Cares Disturb our Joys with dread of Pains beneath And sully them with the black Fears of Death Let us therefore in the first place remember to give a Check to that fond Desire of prolonging our days without bounds Let us I say so remember this frail and infirm Condition of our Nature as not to desire any thing above it's Reach and Capacity Let us calmly and quietly without repining enjoy this Gift of Life whether it be bestowed upon us for a longer or a shorter time It is certain that our Maker may deprive us of it without doing us any wrong Let us thankfully acknowledge his Liberality from whom we have received it and add this to the number of those Benefits which we daily draw from his Bounty Nature favours us for a while with the use of the Prospect of those Enjoyments Be not angry that we must withdraw when the time is expired for we were admitted upon no other Terms but to yield our places to others as our Ancestors have done to us Our Bodies are naturally inclinable to Corruption and the manner of our Nativity renders our Death unavoidable If to be Born is pleasant let not our Dissolution be grievous to us to make use of Seneca's Words If the striving against this Fatality could any ways advantage us we should then perhaps approve of the Endeavours that are made but all our Strugglings are to no purpose we do but add to our pain The number of our Days is so appointed that the time of our Life slides away and is not to be recovered and we run our Race in such a manner that whether we will or not we are brought at last to the end As many Days as we pass over so many are cut off from that Life that Nature hath alotted to us So that Death being the Privation of Life we are dying continually as long as we live and that by a Death that carries not all at once but by degrees one step after another tho' the last is that unto which the Name of Death is assigned So true
lest by shunning of these they might fall into greater From hence we may learn that Debauchery is not to be shunn'd for its own sake nor Sobriety to be desired because it declines some Pleasures but because it procureth greater and more substantial ones We shall find the same Arguments for Fortitude for it is neither Labour nor Pain nor Patience nor Constancy nor Industry nor Courage nor Watchfulness that draw us of themselves but we are perswaded by these actions that we may live without Trouble or Fear and that we might free our selves as much as is possible from that which incommodes either the Mind or the Body for oftentimes the Calm of our Life is disturb'd with the extraordinary fear of Death and it is a miserable thing to be oppress'd with Pain and to bear it with a mean and feeble Courage insomuch that by this weakness of Spirit many have lost their Parents many their Friends and many their Native Country nay have altogether lost themselves But a generous stout and couragious Spirit is free from such Cares and Troubles because it despiseth Death and is so provided to receive Grief and Pain that it knows the greatest are cur'd by Death and the least have divers intervals of Rest and that as for moderate Griefs we are Masters of them Besides a noble Spirit considers that if the Pains be not extraordinary they are easily suffered but if they be very grievous we shall then willingly surrender and quit our Life which in such a case becomes unpleasant to us so that we leave it in the same manner as we go off a Theatre From hence we may conclude that Fear and Cowardise are not in themselves blame-worthy neither do Courage and Patience of themselves merit Praise But the first are slighted because they increase Pain and Sorrow and the other are desired because they procure real Pleasure There remains nothing else to be examin'd but Justice of which we may almost say the same For as I have already demonstrated that Wisdom Temperance and Fortitude are so joyned with Pleasure that they cannot be separated from it we ought to say the same of Justice which is not only inoffensive to all Men but does also constantly bring with it such advantages as by the strength of its own nature does quiet and settle the Thoughts by affording continual hopes of never wanting those things which an honest Mind may desire And as Timerousness Covetousness and Cowardise do perpetually torment the Mind and are continually vexing and disturbing its quiet So where Injustice bears sway in the Soul it begets much Trouble and Vexation and if it hath committed any evil action tho' never so secretly yet it can never be assured that it shall always remain undiscover'd Jealousy and fear of being found out do commonly attend evil Actions and we suppose every one to be our Accuser and ready to Inform against us Nay some out of fear of being Discovered have been their own Accusers If some think their Riches a sufficient shelter and capable of quieting their Conscience yet they have such a dread of the Justice of God in punishing their Crimes that upon a due resentment of this their Thoughts labour under a perpetual Agony and Disturbance Now their wicked Actions can never be able so much to lessen the anxiety of their Life as the gripings of a Wounded Conscience or the Laws of the Country and the hatred of their Acquaintance have to increase it Nevertheless such is the unsatiable desire of some Men after Riches Luxury Honour Dominion c. that in the obtaining of them they will stick at no indirect Means so that nothing but a severe Punishment inflicted on them by the Laws is able to stop their Career True Reason therefore directs all Men of sound Judgment to observe the Rules of Justice Equity and Fidelity which are the best means to procure to our selves the good Esteem and Love of others and which is absolutely necessary to render our Lives Pleasant and Sedate And the rather because hereby we have no temptation to do what is ill because that the desires which proceed from Nature may easily be appeased without doing wrong to any Person and as for other vain Desires we are not to regard them for they prompt us to nothing that is really worthy seeking after and Injustice it self brings a greater damage to us than the recompence it can be able to make us by the seeming good things it brings along with it Therefore we cannot say That Justice is of it self desirable but only because it is attended with a great deal of Pleasure and Content for we are not a little pleased with the esteem and good will of others which renders our Life Comfortable and Pleasant Thus we don't believe that we ought to shun Vice only because of the inconveniencies that fall upon the Wicked but chiefly because it never suffers the Mind to be at rest where it hath once taken possession I might here mention the Objections that are brought against this Opinion but they relate to nothing but sensual and dishonest Pleasures which Epicurus abhors in express words I will only take notice that the Pleasure that is here understood is such true real and natural Pleasure in which our Happiness consists We therefore say That Vertue is inseparably accompanied with it being the real and genuine cause of it for where that is supposed Happiness immediately attends and when that is removed Pleasure it self must needs decay In the same manner as the Sun is said to be inseparable from the Day because it alone is the true and necessary cause thereof for as soon as the Sun appears over our Horizon the Day must needs be and when it withdraws the Day dis-appears Now the reason why Epicurus supposes Vertue to be the efficient cause of Happiness is because he thinks that Prudence doth as it were contain all other Vertues for all the rest proceed from this and have in a great measure a dependence upon her CHAP. III. Wherein an Happy Life doth consist WHat we have already discours'd of tends to little else than to make a plain discovery of Epicurus's Opinion But now we must come closer to the Matter and strictly examin whether he had sufficient ground to say That Pleasure is the main End Here we must weigh two of his chief Maxims First That all Pleasure is of it self and of its own nature a real Good and on the contrary That all Grief and Pain is an Evil. The Second is That notwithstanding sometimes we must prefer some sort of Pains before some sort of Pleasures Whether all Pleasure be good of it self IN respect of the first Maxim It is not without ground that Epicurus asserts That all Pleasure is of it self good tho' by accident it happens sometimes otherwise for all Creatures are of themselves so inclinable to Pleasure and Delight that it is the first and chief thing that they naturally covet nor
it is that the end of our Life depends upon the first Moment Let us therefore moderate our Desires according to the Rule that Nature hath prescribed and if the Destinies to speak according to the ancient Poets cannot be prevail'd upon so that against our Wills we are hurried away let us at least alleviate our Trouble by suffering our selves to be carried off willingly The best and only Remedy to pass our Life free and void of Trouble is to suit our selves to our Nature to desire nothing but what it requires and to esteem the last Moment of our Life as a free Gift of Providence and to dispose and prepare our selves in such a manner that when Death approaches we may say I have lived and I have finished the Race that Nature hath appointed me Vixi quem dederas cursum Natura peregi She calls away but I come of mine own accord Nature requires of me what I am intrusted with I yield it willingly I am commanded to die I expire without Regret We might also very well make use of the Advice of Lucretius and speak thus to our selves The greatest and most mighty Monarchs of the World are dead and Scipio that Thunderbolt of War and Terror of Carthage hath left his Bones in the Earth like as the vilest Slave Anchises the most Religious of all men and Homer the Prince of the Poets are dead and shall we murmur to die But more to comfort thee Consider Ancus perish'd long ago Ancus a better Man by much than thou Consider mighty Kings in pamper'd State Fall and ingloriously submit to Fate Scipio that Scourge of Carthage now the Grave Keeps Prisoner like the meanest common Slave Nay the great Wits and Poets too that give Eternity to others cease to live Homer their Prince the Darling of the Nine What Troy would at a second fall repine To be thus sung is nothing now but Fame A lasting far diffus'd but empty Name Let us say moreover Gassendus himself is dead and that great Man hath finished his Course like other Mortals he who in profound Learning and Wisdom excell'd the rest of Mankind and who rising like a Sun darkned the Light of all the Stars Nay Great Gassendi's Race of Life is run That Man of Wit who other Men out-shone As far as meaner Stars the mid-day Sun And can'st not thou O Wretch resolve to die Then how dar'st thou repine to die and grieve Thou meaner Soul thou dead ev'n whilst alive That sleep'st and dream'st the most of Life away Thy Night is full as rational as thy Day Still vext with Cares who never understood The Principles of ill nor use of good Nor whence thy Cares proceed but reel'st about In vain unsettled Thoughts condemn'd to doubt Thou whose Life is as half dead thou who spendest above half thy time in Sleep who snorest as I may say waking and feedest upon Fancies and who livest in the midst of Fears and continual Troubles It is what our famous Malherbe had in his Thoughts when he bewails the unhappy Fate of great Men who are subject to the same Laws of Death as the meanest Beggars Yet these are turn'd to Dust and Fate Rules with such Arbitrary Sway So binds its Laws on every State That all their Equal's Doom Obey With none e'er yet Impartial Destiny Of all it's num'rous Subjects wou'd dispense Hear this ye Vulgar Souls and hence Vnrepining Learn to Die But here some will object we shall be depriv'd of all the Blessings of Life as Lucretius Elegantly Expresses it Lib. 3. Ay but he now is snatcht from all his Joys No more shall his Chast Wife and Pratling Boys Run to their Dad with eager hast and strive Which shall have the first Kiss as when alive Ay but he now no more from Wars shall come Bring Peace and Safety to his Friends at home Wretched O Wretched Man one Fatal Day Has snatch'd the vast Delights of Life away It is true that this is commonly objected but they seldom Consider that this supposed Unhappy Man shall then have no desire at all for such things and that when he shall be really Dead he shall not see any like himself standing near his Tomb beating the Breast and languishing with Grief as the same Author Describes Thus they bewail but go no further on And add that his Desires and Wants are gone But the fond Fool n'er thinks that when kind Death Shall close his Eyes in Night and stop his Breath Then nothing of this thinking thing remains To mourn his Fate and feel sharp Grief and Pains May not we likewise thus Argue as Plutarch Observes and which often occurs in our Thoughts If our Life which we esteem very long when it extends to an Hundred Years were naturally but of one Days continuance as some Animals mention'd by Aristotle in the Kingdom of Pontus are And if like them in the Morning we were in our Youth at Noon in our Strength and full Growth and at Night in our Old Age It is certain in this Case we should be as well pleas'd to live one Day till Night as we are now to live an hundred years And on the contrary if our Life did now extend to a thousand years as did that of our first Fathers in that Case it would grieve us as much to Die at the end of six hundred years as to depart now at the expiration of threescore It is the same in respect of those who first came into the World if they had continued till this present time it would trouble them as much to Die now as it does us These Considerations therefore ought to teach us that our Life of what sort soever is to be computed not by its length but by the good Qualifications and Pleasures that attend it In the same manner saith Seneca As the Perfection of a Circle ought to be computed not by the Greatness but by the exact Roundness of the Figure O Vain and Indiscreet Diligence saith Pliny Men compute the number of their Days where they should only seek their true Worth Heu vana imprudens diligentia numerus dierum Computatur ubi quaeritur pondus We don't Consider that as the Mass of this Earth and all the World beside and a thousand other such Worlds if you please are but as a Point if compared with the vast extended space of the Heavens Thus the longest Life of Man were it as long as that of the Hamadryades or a thousand thousand times more is but a Moment if compared with Eternity This Life saith Seneca is but a Point How can we extend this Point In hoc punctum conjectus es Quod ut extendas quousque extendes Know saith Lucretius That by the prolonging of our Days we diminish nothing from the time and long continuance of Death and that he who dies to day shall not be dead a less time than he who died a thousand years ago What tho' a thousand years prolong thy breath How
can this shorten the long state of Death For tho' thy Life shall numerous Ages fill The State of Death shall be Eternal still And he that dies to day shall be no more As long as those who perish'd long before If Nature saith he again should in anger speak to us in this manner What Cause hast thou O Mortal to Weep and to Complain of Death If thy former Life hath been easie and pleasant and if thou hast known how to make use of the good things and delights that I have afforded thee why dost thou not as a Guest depart when thou art full and satisfied with Life and why dost thou not accept fond Creature of the agreeable Repose that is offered thee But if otherwise thy Life hath been to thee a burthen and if thou hast suffered my Bounties to perish why desirst thou more to mispend them after the same manner for I can give thee no new thing And if thou shouldst live thousands of years thou wilt but still see the same things repeated over again If Nature should speak to us in this Language should we not have reason to approve of this Discourse and own that it hath cause to Reproach us in this manner Fond Mortal what 's the matter thou dost sigh Why all these Tears because thou once must die And once submit to strong Necessity For if the Race thou hast already run Was pleasant if with joy thou saws't the Sun If all thy Pleasures did not pass thy Mind As thro' a Sieve but left some Sweets behind Why dost thou not then like a thankful Guest Rise cheerfully from Life's abundant Feast And with a quiet Mind go take thy Rest But if all those Delights are lost and gone Spent idly all and Life a burthen grown Then why fond Mortal dost thou ask for more Why still desire t' increase thy wretched store And wish for what must wast like those before Not rather free thy self from Pains and Fear And end thy Life and necessary care My Pleasures always in a Circle run The same returning with the yearly Sun And thus tho' thou dost still enjoy thy Prime And tho' thy Limbs feel not the rage of Time Yet I can find no new no fresh Delight The same dull Joys must vex thy Appetite Altho' thou coud'st prolong thy wretched Breath For numerous Years much more if free from Death At least we must acknowledge that a Wise Man who hath lived long enough to consider the World ought of his own accord to submit himself to the Course of Nature when he perceives that his time is come and cannot but suppose that his Race is Run and that the Circle that he hath finish'd is compleat and if this Circle is not to be compared to Eternity it is however with the continuance of the World As to what relates to the whole Prospect of Nature he hath often beheld the Heavens the Earth and other things included in the World He hath often seen the rising and the setting of the Coelestial Bodies He hath taken notice of several Eclipses and many other Phaenomenas or unusual Appearances in the Skye the constant succession of the Seasons and in a word many particular Generations many Corruptions and Transmutations And as to those things which relate to Mankind he hath seen or at least hath heard and understood from History the Transactions that have happen'd from the beginning of Peace and of War of Faith kept and violated of a Polite Life and of a rude and barbarous Behaviour of Laws Establish'd and Abolish'd of Kingdoms and Commonwealths in their first Birth and Declension and generally all other things that he hath any knowledge of or which have been told him and with which he is in any wise acquainted as if he had been present when they first happen'd So that he ought to consider that all the time that is gone before him relates to him as if his Life were begun with the things themselves And because we must judge of the future by the time past he ought also to think that all the subsequent time relates to him in the same manner and that there shall be nothing hereafter but what hath been already that there is nothing but the Circumstances of things that alter and that all things in general steer the same common Course and make the like appearances so that Holy Writ hath reason to say The thing that hath been it is that which shall be and that which is done is that which shall be done again and there is no new thing under the Sun Is there any thing whereof it may be said see this is new From whence we may conclude that a Wise Man ought not to fancy his Life short for by casting his eye upon the time past and foreseeing the time to come he may extend it to as great a length as the duration of the Universe Moreover tho' Epicurus had cause to say That it is ridiculous to assert that there is no evil in Death when it is present and yet to dread it and be troubled when it must come as if there were any reason to be disturbed for that which is absent which when present never gives us the least sorrow Nevertheless because other Considerations represent Death dreadful as the Evils and Pains that Usher it and those that we think will be its necessary Attendants Seneca therefore makes it his business to recommend divers Considerations wherein he shews that tho' Death in it self is no Evil yet it appears so much in that Notion that it ought not to be lookt upon as an indifferent thing for as he expresseth himself Death is not indifferent in the same manner as it is indifferent whether the Hairs of my head be of one length or not for Death is to be reckon'd amongst those things which tho' they be no real Evils yet they appear to be so for we love our selves and naturally desire to subsist and preserve our selves and we have an innate aversion from a dissolution because it seems to deprive us of many advantages and draws us away from that plenty of Enjoyments unto which we are accustomed There is yet one thing more which causeth us to dread Death We know the things present but we are altogether Strangers to those unto which we are a going and therefore we fear that which is unknown Besides we have a natural dread of Darkness into which we imagin that Death is leading us So that tho' Death is indifferent yet it is not of the number of those things that are easily to be despised we ought to inure and harden our Minds by a long accustomed Habit to enable us the more willingly to undergo and encounter with the dismal approaches of Death The Third Particular relates to the abominable Opinion of the Stoicks who were perswaded that in some Cases Men had the liberty to kill themselves for thus you see Seneca represents them arguing It is certainly a great
affliction to live in want but there is nothing that obliges us absolutely to continue in it for which way soever we glance our eyes we may see the end of our Sufferings and our Deliverance either in a Precipice in a River by a Dagger by a Tree by opening a Vein or by Abstinence We ought to give God thanks that none of us is detained against his Will in this present Life The Eternal Decree hath admirably well appointed that there should be but one kind of entrance into the World but many out of it Death say they is to be met with in every place God hath very wisely contrived that there is none but may take away our Life but no Man can take away our Death tho' it hath a thousand Passages open to it Ubique Mors est optime hoc cavit Deus Eripere vitam nemo non homini potest At nemo mortem mille ad hanc exitus patent He that knows how to die can free himself and he hath always the Door of his Prison open True it is there is a Chain that holds us fast namely the Love of Life and this Love though we ought not absolutely to reject it yet we should at least mitigate it that if sometimes Accidents require it may not keep us back nor hinder us from being ready to perform at present that which we must one day do or suffer These following Tenets proceed from the same School The Wise Man lives as long as he ought tho' not so long as he may He knows where he ought to live with whom and how and what he ought to do He considers the manner of his Life and not the length If he meets with Crosses and Misfortunes he frees himself and don 't stay for the last necessity to set him at liberty but as soon as Fortune begins to frown upon him he seriously considers if he ought not at that time to end his days He believes that if he himself hastens his end or expects it from another hand it is the same thing or whether it be brought to pass sooner or later it grieves him not Nevertheless sometimes though his Death is certain and appointed and that he knows himself set apart for Execution yet he won't lend his helping hand nor will he be overwhelm'd with Sorrow It is a folly to die for fear of Death If he that is to kill thee is coming wait for him Why wilt thou prevent him and why wilt thou undertake to execute upon thy self another's Cruelty Dost thou covet the Office of an Executioner or wilt thou save him the labour Socrates ought to have ended his Days by Abstinence and die by Hunger rather than by Poison yet he continued thirty days in Prison in expectation of Death not because during this time he had hopes of a Reprieve but to shew himself Obedient to the Laws and to give his Friends the Pleasure of enjoying the Conversation of Socrates when he was ready to Die When therefore an outward Violence threatens us with Death we can't give any general or absolute Directions whether we are to prevent it or to expect it with Patience for there are many Circumstances to be considered But if there be two kinds of Death the one full of grievous Torments the other sudden and easie why may not we chuse the latter This was the Opinion of Hyeronimus of all the Stoicks and namely of Pliny who stiles the Earth a good Mother because it hath compassion of us and hath appointed the Poisons for our use It seems to be likewise the Opinion of Plato for tho' Cicero makes him say That we ought to preserve the Soul inclosed in the Body and without the command of him who gave it we must not depart out of this Life that we might not thereby seem to despise this gift that God hath bestowed upon Man Yet in his Book of Laws he declares That he who kills himself is not to be blamed but when he doth the act without being thereunto forced by the Sentence of the Judge or by some unsufferable and unavoidable accident of Fortune or by Misery and Publick shame Not to mention Cicero who in a certain place commends the Opinion of Pythagoras because he forbids to depart out of our Fortress or to quit our Station of Life without the appointment of the General that is to say of God Yet elsewhere he teaches That in our Life we ought to observe the same Rule that is in the Banquetings of the Greeks that is to say either to Drink or to Depart so that if we can't bear the injuries and affronts of Fortune we must undergo them by flying from them To speak nothing of Cato who seems not to have sought Death so much to avoid the sight of Caesar as to obey the Decrees and follow the Dictates of the Stoicks esteeming it his Glory to observe them and to leave his Name Famous to Posterity by some Great and Notable Action for Lactantius saith Cato was during his Life a Follower of the Vanity of the Stoicks What relates to Democritus Truly his Opinion as the same Lactantius informs us was different from that of the Stoicks yet he suffered himself to die by abstinence when he found in his very great Age that the strength of his Body and the abilities of his Mind began to fail Sponte sua letho Caput obvius obtulit ipse Which we may say is altogether Criminal for if a Murderer is an Offender because he kills a Man he that murders himself is guilty of the same Crime because he also kills a Man It is very probable that this is the greatest Crime whereof the Vengeance is reserved to God alone for as we do not enter upon Life of our own accord so neither are we to depart out of it of our own heads but by his Order who hath placed us in the Body to inhabit there And if any violence or injury be done us we must bear it patiently because the Life of a guitless Person that is destroyed cannot be unrevenged for we have a Powerful God unto whom Vengeance always belongs Finally As for Epicurus it is thought that he was not of the same Judgment with the Stoicks not only because he saith That the Wise Man is easie under his Torments but also because that he himself being grievously tormented with the Stone and Gravel he never hasten'd his Death but waited for it patiently Besides Seneca assures us that Epicurus does as much blame those that desire Death as those that fear it and that there is a great indiscretion nay folly in advancing our Death for fear of Death Yet this happens very often as Lucretius tells us not only because that the extraordinary fear that Death begets in us casts us sometimes into a dismal Melancholy which renders all things uneasie to us and proceeds so far as to make Life it self to become a troublesome incommodious and an intolerable thing and at last to seek
out the strangest means to deliver our selves from it and to procure our Death Et saepe usque adeo mortis formidine vitae Percipit ingratos odium lucisque videnda Vt sibi conciscant moerenti pectore lethum But this extraordinary Fear causeth by degrees a certain kind of Melancholy which depresseth the Heart enfeebles the Spirits and obstructs all the operations of Life It stops Digestion and draws upon us many Diseases that are the immediate Causes of Death However the Opinion of the Stoicks is not only contrary to the Sacred Precepts of our Religion but is also contrary to Nature and right Reason We must except some certain Persons who being directed by a Particular and Divine Instinct have been instrumental in procuring their own Deaths as Samson and others in the Old-Testament and Sophronia and Pelagia since the New for Nature furnishes all sorts of Animals with a Natural love of Life and there is none besides Man let them be tormented with never so grievous pain but labours to preserve Life as much as they can and to avoid Death This is a sign that none but Man doth by his mistaken Opinions corrupt the Institution of Nature when he refuseth the benefit of Life and advanceth his Death he acts then by a wickedness peculiar to himself for the true state of Nature is to be consider'd in the general body of the Creatures and not in some few individuals of one single Species that hasten their own destruction and cast away themselves before the time appointed by Nature From hence we may conclude that such are injurious to God and Nature who being design'd and order'd to perform a certain Race stop in the middle of their Course of their own accord and who being appointed to watch forsake and abandon their Post without waiting for Orders from their Superiors Besides Reason forbids us to be Cruel against the Innocent who never did us any harm and by consequence it don't allow that we should act inhumanly upon our selves from whom we never experienced any Hatred but rather too much Love Moreover upon what occasion can our Vertue appear more conspicuous than in suffering Courageously the Evils that our hard Fortune imposes upon us To die saith Aristotle because of our Poverty or for Love or for some other mischievous accident is not the act of a Man of Spirit and Courage but of a mean and timorous Soul for it is the part of a weak Mind to shun and flye from things hard to be endured Stout Men saith Curtius are wont to despise Death rather than to hate Life 'T is the trouble and impatience of Suffering that carries the Cowards to base Actions that makes them despised and scorned Vertue leaves nothing unattempted and Death is the last thing with which we must Encounter but not as timerous lazy and unwilling Souls I shall not here stay to examin the Opinion of those who imagining saith Lactantius that the Souls are Eternal have therefore kill'd themselves as Cleanthes Chrysippus and Zeno expecting to be transported at the same time to Heaven or as Empedocles who cast himself in the Night into the Flames of Mount-Aetna that by disappearing so suddenly the World might think that he was gone to the Gods or as Cato who was during his Life-time a Follower of the vanity of the Stoicks who before he kill'd himself as it is Reported had read Plato 's Book of the Eternity of the Soul or finally as Cleombrotus who after he had read the same Book cast himself down a Precipice This is a Cursed and Abominable Doctrin that drives Men out of their Lives Neither shall I trouble my self with that Cyrenaick of Hegesius who Disputed so Elegantly concerning the Miseries of Life and the Blessed Place of the Souls after Death that King Ptolomy was forced to forbid him to speak in Publick because so many of his Disciples after they had heard him destroyed themselves as Cicero Reports and some others For the Evils that we indure in this Life may happen to be so great and increase in such a manner that when the time of Death is come the loss of Life may not be unpleasant and that in such a Case Death may be esteem'd as the Haven that shelters us from the Miseries and Torments of Life But to aggravate our Afflictions so far as to beget in us a scorn and hatred of Life is to be injurious and unthankful to Nature as if the Gift of Life that hath been bestowed upon us for our use were to be rashly cast away or as if we were not to accept of it any longer nor honestly and quietly to enjoy it as long as is possible 'T is true what Theognis said formerly That it were much better for Men not to be Born or to Die as soon as they are Born is a Celebrated Saying Non nasci res est mortalibus optima longe Nec Solis radiis acre videre Jubar Aut natum Ditis quamprimum lumen adire This is confirmed by the Example of Cleobis of Biton of Agamedes of Pindarus and of some others who having Petitioned the Gods to grant to them the thing which was best and most desirable were admitted to this great favour To die in a short time Answerable to this is the Custom of the Thracians who wept at the Birth of their Children but Congratulated the Happiness of such as Died. Not to mention Menander who wish'd a young Man dead because he was well beloved by the Gods Quem diligunt Dii Juvenis ipse interit Nor to say any thing of that Famous Sentence Vitam nemo acciperet si daretur scientibus That no body would accept of Life willingly if it were given to them that knew what it were But pray who will believe that Theognis and the rest have spoken seriously and without any Restriction I say without any Restriction for if they would have it that it is better for such only who are to be miserable all their Lives that they had not been Born or to have Died at the very moment of their Birth the Saying might be tolerable and allowable but to speak this in relation to all Men is to affront Nature the Mistriss both of our Life and Death that hath ordered and appointed our Birth and our Dissolution as she hath all other things for the preservation of the Universe It were to expose our selves to be contradicted if not by all yet by the most part of Men who are not weary of Life but seek to preserve it as carefully as they can For Life as we have already observed hath something in it very pleasing and lovely therefore he that speaks in this manner shall feel himself bound and held fast and I am apt to believe that he may be like the Old Man in Aesop who sent Death back again tho' he had often called for it before or like another who refused to make use of the Dagger that he had desired to be
which excites and animates them when they think that the Actions which they are going about shall procure Liberty to their Relations Friends or Country-men or perpetuate their Memory and make their Generations Famous in after Ages It is I say the thoughts of being rendered Famous to Posterity that thus Animates and Transports them This is to be understood of him who goes to a certain Death for when there remains any hopes of Escaping we need but see what Torquatus relates of one of his Predecessors It is true saith he that he wrested the Lance out of his Enemies hands but he endeavour'd as much as was able to secure himself from being Kill'd He run a great hazard but it was in the view of the whole Army What Advantage did he receive The Praises and Love of all the World which are very strong Supports to us to bear our Dangers without fear See likewise what Seneca saith Vpon the performance of any great and glorious Action there immediately arises an extraordinary Joy and Delight and tho' we reap no Advantage after Death yet the very thoughts of the Action that we are about to commit please us for when a generous Man represents to himself the reward of his Death namely the Liberty of his Country the deliverance of those for whom he sacrifices his Life he receives from thence a great deal of Pleasure and enjoys the recompence of the Hazard And he who feels that Joy which happens at the last moment of the Action runs on to Death without any Demur content and satisfied in the Goodness Piety and Holiness of the Action The same may be said of those severe Fathers who have punished with Death their own Children tho' they seem to deprive themselves of great Pleasures 'T is what Cicero continues to object to the same Torquatus who by giving a blow with his Ax to his Son prefer'd the Right of the Empire to that of Nature and Fatherly Affection for those who proceed to that Extremity understand the temper of their Children to be such that it is better for themselves and for their Children rather to Die than Live because they are likely to receive nothing from them but continual Sorrows and that their perpetual Shame would retort upon them Therefore when they consider that it is more grateful and desirable to them to prevent their future dissatisfaction and infamy by a present Grief and to expiate if I may so say that Disgrace that hath been committed by some Noble and illustrious Action rather than to sink themselves by a mean Baseness and a deceitful Weakness into an Abyss of Calamity This is the Pleasure which such relish who desire to free themselves from this Abyss Take notice also what the same Torquatus Answers He condemned his Son to Death but if it be without Cause I would not desire to be the Son of such an unnatural Father If he did it to secure and establish the Military Discipline to keep the Army within the bounds of their Duty by the fear of punishment during a moct dangerous War had an eye to the Preservation of his Country-men in whose Safety his own was included and comprehended Of Self-Love BUt that which is generally spoken of Vertue may be also said of Piety towards God seeing that it is not likely that there can be any sincere Piety if God be not purely and intirely lov'd for himself or because he is infinitely Good or because he is infinitely Excellent So that he who loves and honours God hath no respect to himself neither doth he consider his own Profit or Pleasure For my part God forbid that I should undervalue the Piety of any Person As there are some who don 't only persuade that we ought to love God in this manner and consequently don't only suppose that this is possible but to give Authority to this Doctrin and prevent the Objection boast and believe they perform all this Truly I don't envy nor shall I contradict them but far from that I approve and applaud their Happiness and that special favour of Heaven granted to them for we must believe that it is a Gift of God and Supernatural that any Man can prevail upon himself to love and honour God in such a manner But we are treating here of Piety and generally of Vertue which is sutable to Nature according to which Man performs all that he doth with some respect to himself May not we therefore say that God hath in such a manner complied with the infirmity of our Nature That as there is scarce any Passage in Holy Writ that allows or expresseth their Doctrin there are a great many that approve of loving God greatly because he hath pardoned them their many Sins or because he hath granted them many Favours or of loving him for the hopes of the promises of Heaven and who perform divers offices of Charity suffer Persecution keep the Faith c. because of that Kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of the World because of the extraordinary Rewards that wait for them in Heaven because of the Crown of Righteousness which God hath promised to them that love him May we not I say be of this Opinion and conclude from these Passages That there is nothing to hinder us from having in view those everlasting Delights which such are to enjoy who have loved and honoured God I will not appeal to the Consciences of any Person nor do I ask what they would do if after God had been Honoured and Loved if he took no care of those who had loved and honoured him and if in such a case he neither granted them any Advantage nor gave them hopes of any to be expected to all Eternity I do not ask them I say What they would do Whether they would Love or Honour him less I only desire them to take in good part this Question Whether they don't Love and Honour him because it is very pleasant to Love and serve him in this manner And whether they believe it not consequently very Pleasant and very Grateful to be thus disposed towards God purely and absolutely for his sake and without any regard to our selves Seeing he tells us That his Yoak is easie whereby to encline us to love him with all our Heart with all our Soul with all our Understanding and all our Strength certainly he excludes not this Sweetness and Pleasure But let this be hinted by the by the better to strengthen and confirm the Reason by which we prove according to the Judgment of Epicurus That Pleasure is the chief Good or the last End being desired in such a manner for it self that all other things are desirable for its sake Let us now say something of that other Reason which is deriv'd from a Comparison between Pleasure and Pain which is its contrary Let us suppose saith Torquatus a Man enjoying many great and continued Pleasures both of Body and Mind without any interruption or disturbance by
Disquietness of the Mind which proceed from an unconsiderate rashness and oppose all Reason leave no room for an happy Life For how can it possibly be but that he who always stands in fear of Death or Pain the one being often at Hand the other always threatned must needs be miserable Thus in the same manner if he dreads Poverty Shame or Infamy if he apprehends Infirmity or Blindness in a Word if he fears that which may happen not only to every Person in particular but also to the most powerful People I mean Slavery Can such a one be happy who is continually fearing such Things Can he enjoy the least shadow of Happiness In what unhappy condition is that Mind that not only dreads Calamities Banishment the loss of Goods the Death of Children but foreseing and apprehending them as already present Dies overwhelmed with Grief and Sorrow Can we suppose that he who suffers himself to be born down by so many tragical Thoughts and Apprehensions can be any otherwise than unspeakably Miserable Again when you see a Man furiously transported with a violent Passion coveting every thing with a greedy and immoderate Desire and still as he arrives to a higher and fuller degree of enjoyment of Pleasure the more eagerly he hunts after and pursues 'em Have you not great Reason to judg this Man very Miserable What think ye likewise of another who is always fluctuating and suffers himself to be transported by a foolish and immoderate Joy Dont such a one appear to you the more Miserable the more he thinks himself Happy As such therefore are Miserable these are on the contrary Happy who are not frighted with Fears who suffer not themselves to be overcome with Sadness who are not inflamed with Lusts nor moved by immoderate Joys and on whom the powerful Charms and Allurements of these soft and effeminate Pleasures have no powerful Influences Hearken to Torquatus Epicurus whom you say was too much addicted to his Pleasures declares That it is impossible to live Pleasantly if we live not Wisely Honestly and Justly and that we cannot live Wisely Honestly and Justly but we must of necessity live with Delight For as the Inhabitants of a City cannot be easy during a Storm nor a Family when the Masters are at odds much less can a Soul be happy when it agrees not with it self or is hurried about by divers contrary Passions It is not capable of any pure and free Pleasure and sees nothing but in a hurry and in a confusion If the Distempers of the Body interrupt the felicity of Life how much more do the Diseases of the Mind Now the Diseases of the Mind are the vain and immoderate Desires of Riches Glory Dominion and of mean and sordid Pleasures You may add to these Discontent Fretfulness and Frowardness which gall and fret the Minds of Men who will not consider that we should not afflict our selves for that which causeth no present Pain to the Body nor it may be never will You may add Death which threatens us continually and hangs always over our Heads as the Rock did over that of Tantalus You may add Superstition which never suffers the Person to be at quiet who is infected with it Such never think upon the good Things past they enjoy not the present and when they consider that what they are in expectation of is uncertain Grief and Despair afflict them But they are exceedingly tormented when they think that they have begun too late to seek after great Offices Riches and Glory finding themselves deprived of those Pleasures which they had hopes of enjoying and for which they have undergone so much Pain and Trouble Others have mean and low Spirits always in despair of every thing others Dream of nothing but how to do Mischief are Envious Fretful Pensive Slanderers and Angry others are unconstant and changeable in their Love others are Hasty Cowards Impudent Intemperate Wavering never continuing in the same Mind This is the Cause that during their Lives their Passions are in a continual Warfare without Cessation And therefore we cannot but mention the sincere Pleasure and Delight which he must needs enjoy who being freed from these Passions that tormented him understands his own happy State and finds himself as we have said before in Rest in a safe Haven after he has been tost and beaten with the Winds and Waves of the Sea But we shall have another occasion to speak of this particular Pleasure when we shall treat of the Vertues that are fit to calm the Passions and by that means to cause a sedate and peceable Temper of Mind Besides that Sweetness and Pleasure may easily be understood by that esteem which such a one hath who longs for it when he finds himself in Trouble or in actual Disturbance Like as that Person who is in the midst of a Tempest at Sea longs for a Calm and a favourable Gale or as he that is seized with a violent Distemper wishes earnestly for Health for none knows so well how to value these things as he who looks upon them in a contrary State and hath the Impressions still remaining Therefore I shall the rather speak a Word of that which I have already mentioned That we may the better preserve this Tranquility of Mind and by that means live Happily not only when at rest and out of the incumbrance of Business but also in the midst of the greatest and most important Employments Of Life and of Active Felicity AS this supposes that there are two kinds of Life and likewise two kinds of Felicities the one in Contemplation the other in Action wise Men have still preferred a contemplative before an active Life However this does not hinder those whom either their Birth Genius or necessity of Affairs have ingaged in Business from being altogether incapable of enjoying a Tranquility of Mind for whosoever undertakes this goes not Blindfold to Work but after he hath for some time seriously consider'd and taken a due prospect of the state of human Affairs not as from the midst of the Crowd but as from a higher Station and understands that in the active course of Life there may happen many Accidents that all the Wisdom of Man cannot foresee provides if not against each particular yet against the general Difficulties that may occur Such a one is always upon his Guard ready to take Advice upon all suddain Emergencies he knows that he can command what is in himself but cannot govern what depends not upon his free Will he acts according to his Power and does what becomes the Duty of an honest Man and afterwards whatever happens he thinks that he ought to be Content and Satisfied he dont flatter himself with the certainty of a happy success of all his Undertakings but thinks that matters may sometimes happen contrary to his Desires and Endeavours and therefore prepares himself in such a manner that tho he may experience Adversity he may nevertheless bear it
with Constancy and Patience Such a one I say thus resolved and prepared if he be ingaged in a busy Life may govern himself that in the midst of the hurry and incumbrance of Affairs he may maintain in himself an inward repose and calmness of Mind 'T is what Claudian so truly relates of Theodosius the Great and which we without Flattery may duly apply to our present Monarch the true Model of a wise Prince Nec Te tot limina rerum Aut tantum turbavit onus sed ut altus Olympi Vertex qui spatio Ventos Hyemesque relinquit Perpetuum nulla temeratus Nube serenum Celsior exsurgit pluviis auditque ruentes Sub pedibus nimbos rauca tonitrua calcat Sic patiens Animus per tanta negotia liber Emergit similisque sui c. Neither the projecting Thoughts of deep Designs nor the heavy Burthen of the Kingdom which he supports can disturb the Peace of his Mind but like the high top of Mount Olympus his Soul is always clear and serene hovering above the misty Clouds and storms of Thunder and always free and undisturb'd like it self Servat inoffensam Divina modestia vocem Temperiem servant oculi nec lumina fervor Asperat aut rabidas diffundit sanguine venas Quinetiam sontes expulsa corrigis ira Et placidus delicta domas nec dentibus unquam Instrepis horrendum fremitu nec verbera poscis A divine Modesty graces his Voice no offensive Words drop from his Lips his Eyes are never seen to sparkle with Anger nor his Veins distended with boyling Blood he knows how to Reprove without being Transported and calmly to correct the Failings of others Nile softly glides along without vaunting of its Strength or breaking its Bounds and yet it is one of the most useful of all the Rivers of the World The Danube which is yet larger and more rapid keeps within its Banks moving without Noise Yea the Ganges that vast River passes along silently rowling its Waves into the Depths of the Ocean Lente fluit Nilus sed cunctis Amnibus extat Vtilior nullas confessus murmure vires Acrior at rapidus tacitas praetermeat ingens Danubius ripas Eadem clementia saevi Gurgitis immensum deducit ad ostia Gangen Let the Torrents roar among the Rocks let them threaten and overturn Bridges and pursuing their Rage let them overwhelm or carry before 'em whole Forests 't is Peace and Tranquility that have a commanding Power and Effect far greater than Violence and Fury to force Obedience Torrentes immane fremant lapsisque minentur Pontibus involvant spumoso vortice Sylvas Pax majora decet peragit tranquilla potestas Quod violenta nequit mandataque fortius urget Imperiosa quies Besides when things are over and accomplish'd a wise Man doth not Vaunt and Applaud himself if they succeed well nor is he disturb'd or dejected if they happen amiss He doth not repent of the Measures he hath taken because every thing being well examined and duly considered it was most probable they should succeed and therefore he would take the same Course if the same Circumstances did again occur The Answer of Photion is remarkable who when he had dissuaded them from a War which nevertheless afterward proved very successful Tho' I am very glad said he that the Event happen'd so Prosperous yet I don 't at all repent of the Advice I have given It comes very near that of Cicero's It becomes a wise Man saith he to do nothing against his Will or what may cause him to Repent to do all things sedately and deliberately with a grave Steddiness and constancy of Mind neither supposing things to happen by an unforeseen Necessity nor to admire any thing as new and unexpected but to abide firm and stedfast in his Judgment A wise Man ought not to despise the Advices of other Men and to trust too rashly to his own Opinion but having well weighed Matters he ought not out of too mean Apprehensions or Diffidence of himself to suffer the Opinion of the Vulgar to sway with him For this Reason that Roman Temporizer deserves to be applauded who preferr'd the Safety of his Country before the Exclamations of the Populace Photion was of the same Temper who because he could not be prevail'd upon to rely on the Strength of his Soldiers and their Courage and head them on to Battle they accused him of Cowardise But he made them this prudent Answer My brave Companions you cannot make me Courageous and I will not make you Cowards it is sufficient that every one should understand his own Business Whether a Contemplative Happiness is to be preferr'd before an Active BUt after all that can be said in Commendation of an Active Felicity Aristotle had Reason to prefer a Speculative For Contemplation exerts the most Excellent and Divine Part of our Selves and besides this sort of Action is the most noble innocent and lasting and the most easily set on Work We shall not here repeat what hath been before said upon the first Part of Vertue to shew wherein the Happiness of a wise Man consists or the Satisfaction he receives in a Contemplative Life it will be sufficient to recite what Cicero very learnedly observes What Pleasures saith he don't a thinking Mind enjoy who is employ'd Night and Day in Contemplation and Study What extraordinary Delight is it to observe the Motions and Circumference of the World the infinite number of Stars that shine in the Heavens those seven Planets which being more or less distant the one from the other according as they are higher or lower wandering and uncertain in their Motions and yet never fail to fulfill their Course in their appointed time The Sight and Consideration of so many excellent Things persuaded the antient Philosophers to proceed to new Inquiries to examine into the cause and beginning of the World from whence all things proceed from whence they are engender'd what differing Qualities are crept into their Composition from whence Life and Death happen how the Alterations and Changes of one thing into another came to pass by what weight the Earth is supported and how ballanc'd into what Concavities the Waters are confin'd and how every thing press'd by its own weight naturally tends to its own Center Thus by discerning and continually meditating on these wonderful Things we at last arrive to that Knowledge which God heretofore recommended to Delphos namely That the pure Soul having shaken off all Vice should know it self and find it self united to the Divine Understanding or Being This procures it an everlasting and unspeakable Delight for the Contemplations upon the Power and Nature of the Gods cause it to have a strong Inclination for Eternity and when it once perceives the necessary Consequence of Causes guided and govern'd by an eternal Wisdom it believes not it self confin'd to the narrow Limits of this Life Therefore it considers human Affairs with a wonderful Tranquility it inclines to the
is the only Child if he hath had already any Children as if he hath none left behind if he be Debaucht and Untractable as if he were Wise and Vertuous CHAP. V. Of politick or civil Prudence WE shall now speak of Politick Prudence which Aristotle calls not only Science or Ability but supposes it to be the Lady and Queen of all the rest the knowledge of Morality being subject to it as a part of it for he tells us That it belongs to a Politician to understand what may make for the Happiness of the People that he is properly the Master and chief Contriver of their Welfare and that consequently it belongs to him to take cognizance of Pleasure and Pain and of Virtue and Vice which are the Springs of Pleasure and Pain Now the politick Prudence is like the Oecononomick for as the latter is to regulate a Family composed of several particular Persons so the Politick or Civil is to govern a City or Town composed of divers Families We ought therefore first to examine in whom this Prudence resides or ought to reside as in its proper Subject This appears not difficult to resolve for it is plain that it ought to reside in none more than in him who hath the sovereign Power the chief Authority or the absolute Right to Command which Right may be discovered chiefly by certain particulars which Aristotle mentions As to be able to conclude Peace or War to make Alliances and dissolve them to establish and disannul Laws to determin about Life Death Banishment confiscation of Goods or Restitution Of the first Origin of Sovereign Power according to the Opinion of the Ancients THIS Power is supposed by the Vulgar to have first taken its beginning when Men like Beasts wandred up and down the Fields without any subjection each enjoying his full Liberty according to his own Will and Pleasure Hereupon they contrived to make up Societies in which every one renouncing in some measure his own Liberty yeilded to the Will of the Multitude which by this means claimed a Right and Authority over each individual Person and provided not only for their Safety and quiet way of Living by giving a check to the most Powerful and Robust by hindering them from insulting over their weaker and more peacable Neighbours but also hereby they made a more equal Distribution of the Products of the Earth and likewise communicated to each other the effects of their Arts and Labours wherein any excelled another For that lawless freedom which they pretended to enjoy in those early Days must doubtless cost them dear because every one having an equal Right over every Thing and no Man being able to appropriate any thing to his own use which another was able to take from him they must needs be continually Warring and Contending with one another So that such a way of Living being full of Quarrels cannot be properly called a Freedom because of the many Inconveniences and Mischiefs that attend it Therefore true and natural Liberty is easier to be found in a Society where Men being obedient to the Laws of that Society I mean those Laws that were enacted and approved for their Benefit and Advantage act in all other things as they please and have a Right to their proper Goods so that no other can take them away because of the publick Authority and Power that protects ' em For this Reason Aristotle seems to disapprove of Plato's Common-wealth in which Women Children Estates and all other Things were to be common For if we take away Mine and Thine the Common-wealth is so far from being at Unity thereby and consequently more perfect and compleat that it is the only way to introduce again that primitive Barbarity and brutish manner of Living for what we Fancy to be common to every one belongs properly to no Body This made Colotes a Disciple of Epicurus to say That they who have made the Laws and have settled the Government and the Magistracy in Cities have thereby secured Mens Lives and settled them in a peaceable State and that if we offer to abolish them we must return to live like Beasts and devour one another There may perhaps be found some who in consideration to Virtue and out of their own good Inclination may Rule and Govern themselves But truly they seem Strangers to the generality of Mankind who Fancy that they will restrain from Acts of Injustice by the Principles of Reason or of Honesty rather than by the Terror of the Magistrates or of the Laws But to return to our Matter in hand I omit to speak of the sovereign Power or sovereign Authority translated by common Consent from particular Persons to all the People Now the People meeting together to deliberate and resolve upon any Business what was resolved by all or by the greatest part was taken to be the Resolution of the whole Society And because it is inconvenient that all the People should meet and that every private Person should declare his Sentiment it happened that all the People of their own accord made over this Power to a certain number of Persons or to one single Person or it may be that this one Person or a greater Number by Force or by Cunning have taken it upon them I observe only that we understand from thence why we commonly distinguish according to the saying of Tacitus Cunctas Nationes et Vrbes Populus aut Primores aut Singuli regunt Three kinds of Common-wealths or of political Governments namely Monarchy or the Dominion of a single Person when the sovereign Power resides in one who Commands all the People and is Commanded by no Body Oligarchy or the Dominion of a few particular Persons when the sovereign Power is in a small Number Poliarchy or the Dominion of many it may be of all the People when the sovereign Power resides in every private Person Moreover tho from these three Sorts we may observe and distinguish two Kinds one Good Lawful and Praise-worthy the other Vicious Unlawful and deserving Blame yet common Experience hath Taught us to call the good sort of the first kind Kingdom and the evil Tyranny but the good sort of the second Aristocracy or the Dominion of the Chieftains and of the best the evil ought to be called Kyristocracy or the Dominion of many wicked Persons but it retains the Name of Oligarchy Besides Plato Xenophon and several others Teach That the third kind is called Democracy or Dominion of the People Aristotle nevertheless tells us That the word Democracy is ascribed to the vicious Species of that kind of Government and that the best is named Common-wealth but according to the present Use and Practice the Three sorts or forms of Government are called Monarchy Aristocracy and Democracy Now 't is not necessary that we should busy our selves in giving the Character or Marks of each sort of Government they are sufficiently known I shall only here observe Two or Three particulars
the Innocent and Enemies of the Wicked of unjust Men and Tyrants And Agesilaus well deserved Praise when being asked If Justice was better than Fortitude answered That if all Men were Just there would be no need of Fortitude And because it is Anger that commonly carries those who are thought to be Brave to Unjustice Aristotle advises us to stand upon our Guard and to have an Eye to that Passion for fear that what is as the Stone to sharpen Fortitude should become as a Sword to cut the knot of Justice He saith moreover That tho there is no greater Provocation and Encouragement to encounter Danger than Anger yet there is no true Fortitude in it unless it be directed by Counsel and by the consideration of a just End It was this that made Taurus say in the Writings of Agellus The brave Man is not he who out of a brutish Humour Insensibility or Custom Fights as a kind of Monster against Nature and goes beyond his just Limits such as was Caesar's Gladiator who laughed at the Chirurgeons who cut his Wounds wider but true Fortitude or Bravery is that which the Antients have duly styled the Knowledge of that which is and of that which is not to be supported which discovers to us that there are certain things unsufferable and which Men truly brave ought to abominate From all this and what I have mentioned elsewhere we may observe that we have the Seeds of Fortitude truly springing in us but that they may grow up and become Virtues Exercise and Learning are absolutely necessary Of the several kinds of Fortitude BY what has been here said we may observe that commonly Men do not reckon several kinds of Fortitude because they make this Virtue to be employ'd about a very particular matter But if it be true that it respects all that may be judged Evil in this Life how much rather should this matter be General and why shall not we reckon as many sorts or kinds as there are kinds of Evil in our Life And as there are some who bear patiently the loss of Riches but not the loss of Honour and who suffer death bravely in War but not on a Bed of Sickness and so of the like why should it not be necessary for such diversity of things to form to our selves divers Habits and so to distinguish several kinds of Fortitude For as to what concerns those which some would have to be sometimes Integral parts in difficult Matters and sometimes Potential in less difficult namely Magnificence Magnanimity Constancy and Patience It is certain first for Magnificence that it belongs not to this Virtue but to Liberality because as Aristotle tells us it regulates the Expences of Mony and chiefly the Expences needful in great things as are the publick Shews and Stages the building of Ships to defend the Common-wealth and in short all other things which have something of Grandeur and commonly strike the People with Admiration And therefore agreably with this Opinion of Aristotle Cicero recommends to us this excellent Definition Magnificientia est rerum magnarum excelsarum cum animi ampla quadam splendida propositione agitatio atque administratio We ought also to take notice that as Magnificence is a Virtue and consequently a Mediocrity Aristotle names the two contrary Vices viz. On the one hand Proud Extravagant and Superfluous Expences and on the other doing things niggardly and mean parting with nothing but what is drawn from us by force against our free Consent always grudging and repining at what goes from us As for what concers Magnanimy or as we term it Generosity it is likewise manifest that it belongs not to this Virtue or if it doth 't is nothing else but Fortitude it self under another Name Indeed as Fortitude is properly concerned with difficult things it is certain that to undertake and endure such things we must have a great and generous Soul or as Cicero saith We must have a mind highly elevated and assured of it self with a certain hope having a regard to things good and honest Besides when Aristotle saith That Magnanimity or greatness of Mind consists in a Persuasion that we deserve much when really our Merits answer our Persuasion 't is evident that this opinion of Honour that we deserve relates to Justice or to the conveniency of Temperance and not to Fortitude which consists in encountering Dangers and courageously undergoing Labours As for Constancy or as the Holy Scriptures stile it long Forbearance or Longanimity 't is nothing else but Fortitude it self when it discovers it self by a sequel of many repeated Acts and by a long continuance of Time For a Man cannot be said to be brave but rather weak and feeble if he continues not resolute in what he hath undertaken but after he hath a while supported himself his Heart at last begins to faint and fail him From hence it is that Constancy and Perseverance being synonimous Cicero tells us That Perseverance consists in a continuing resolute a long time and constant in the things that we have proposed after that we have maturely considered upon ' em Lastly As for Patience it seems to be scarce any thing else but Constancy unless it be that it consists in suffering as the word imports rather than in attacquing Therefore Cicero saith That it consists in suffering willingly and a long time difficult things for the sake of Honesty or Profit Therefore not to insist any longer upon this Point let us observe with Epicurus That a mean Soul becomes insolent in Prosperity and dejected in Adversity Let us then conclude from hence by the Rule of Contraries That it is the property of a noble and generous Temper not to be insolent lifted up by good Success nor to suffer it self to be abased in a low Estate but to bear and suffer the good and evil Fortune with an equal Mind and in the same manner And because when all things prosper it plainly belongs to that part of Temperance which we name Moderation to moderate and govern our Thoughts and to hinder 'em from rising too high it follows that when Crosses happen it belongs to Fortitude to keep our Minds in a constant and even Temper Now as Calamities are nothing else but external Evils we must remember that they are not really Evils but only as they are accompanied by Pain which they cause in the Body or by Grief which they produce in the Mind by the means of Opinion so that only this Pain and this Grief are the real Evils Now it belongs to Fortitude to hinder these from causing Pain or at least obliges us to bear it patiently when it comes and to hinder it from oppressing and over-whelming the Mind with a vain Grief all which is to be effected by curing our Judgment of vulgar Opinions or false Persuasions without which it would have little or no Power upon the Soul Whether Evils fore-seen make the least impression upon us FRom hence it
put an end either to him or his Suffering If it ceaseth the Pleasure of being delivered from it and the health of Body that succeeds with a perfect Indolency are so pleasing and delightsome that we seem to be well satisfied with the Pain we have undergone from the Pleasure we enjoy of being freed from it And if it takes away the Sufferer it brings him to the end of all Sufferings So that this Suffering brings at least this Advantage with it that it makes our Life which we must needs part with less pleasing and Death less terrible wherefore many care not how soon they Dye expecting thereby to be delivered from their Pains so that every Day they talk after this manner Nor is Death Grievous whilst it ends my Pains Now as for Death we have already alledged so many things to shew that we ought to expect it and bear it patiently that it is needless to insist any longer upon this Particular Let us therefore conclude with that kind of general Consolation which Horace in few Words expresseth With equal Foot impartial Fate Knocks at the Cottage and the Palace Gate And the French Poet Malherbius imitates him The Beggar in Straw Keeps the general Law And when Death gives the Word must advance And the Guards that each Hour Take their Place at the Louvre Can't defend the great Monarchs of France CHAP. VII Of Temperance CIcero tells us That Temperance makes up the second principal Part of Morality The Greeks style it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say the Protectrice of Prudence or as Plato terms it the safety of Prudence from hence a temperate Man is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is one who preserves Wisdom or one who keeps his Senses entire and sound and herein he is opposed to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Imprudent Man or a Fool for he who is Intemperate seems to have lost all Prudence to have no due use either of his Sense or his Reason This Virtue also is sometimes taken in too large an extent sometimes too narrow and sometimes in a mediocrity and in this last Sense we shall now treat of it Now that it is taken sometimes in too large a Sense as generally comprehending all Virtues or for all that is excellent and commendable in any other Virtue even the Word it self seems to import for Temperance expresseth a Mediocrity and all Virtue is a Mediocrity Besides it is as we have said the Protectrice of Prudence without which no Virtue can subsist and according to the Opinion of Pythagoras 't is the Life and Vigour of the Soul Socrates names it the Foundation of Virtue Plato the Ornament of all good Things and Iamblicus the Breast-plate of all the most excellent Habits That 't is sometimes taken in too narrow a signification may appear when 't is understood only for that Virtue that gives a check to the Pleasures of Tasting and Feeling and comprehends only Sobriety and Chastity Lastly It seems to be taken in a moderate Latitude and Extent when we understand not only hereby the regulation of the particular Appetites of Tasting and Feeling c. but likewise such as puff up the Mind and carry it beyond the bounds of Decency and Honesty So that we may say that a temperate Man is not only such a one who lives Soberly and Chastly but he also who neither Speaks nor Acts any thing but agreeable with Justice and Moderation and which is accepted and approved of by all good and wise Men. Of Modesty and Decency WHerefore among the several species of Temperance Sobriety and Chastity are not only to be reckoned which we have before mentioned but also many of those which we name Potential as are Gentleness or Mildness Clemency Modesty and some others So that Modesty and Decency which are said to be the integral Parts are of a larger Signification as being too general Means the one to draw us from Intemperance and the other to incline us to it For Modesty tho Aristotle pretends that 't is no Virtue but rather a bashful disturbance as being nothing else but a certain fear of Infamy nevertheless this disturbance tends to oppose that sort of Pleasure which we may take in too great Confidence which produces a great Displeasure namely that which proceeds from Infamy and Disgrace And Decency at least as it is here taken is nothing else but a certain Conveniency 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 approved of which prevailing upon us by its Beauty causeth us to give a check to that daring Impudence so that thereby our good Reputation being preserved safe and sound it procures a certain Pleasure much greater and more sincere Now tho it is commendable to shun Intemperance and to follow Temperance because of Decency alone and good Manners 't is likewise commendable for Modesty's sake or for fear of Shame which would otherwise ensue For as we cannot hate Darkness but we must love the Light so we cannot hate Shame and Dishonour but we must have a love for a good Reputation and for an honest Name Therefore when Aristotle in his Book to Nicomachus seems to disallow Modesty he does not mean that Shamefacedness which appears in the blushing Countenance of young Persons who are apt to be too far transported by a juvenile Heat but he allows it not in aged Persons who ought never to commit any thing whereof they may be ashamed for elsewhere in his great Treatises of Morality he placeth Modesty among the other Virtues and gives to it this Definition A Mediocrity between Impudence and Insensibility as if he should say That Modesty is a certain kind of Shame occasioned not by the commission of any base and dishonest Action but proceeds to advise and hinder us from the committing of it Of Sobriety and Chastity in general THese two Virtues seem to deserve a particular Tract at large for they constitue two principal kinds of Temperance but we can scarce add any thing to what hath been formerly said when we have mentioned the great advantages of a sober Life and when we have instanced that noble and celebrated Maxim of Epicurus Sapientem non esse amaturum nunquam prodesse venerea Therefore I shall here only observe some things in general and then more particularly In general that the Praise and Advantage of these two Virtues seem for the most part to consist not in the withdrawing our selves from living after the manner of Brutes in respect of Lusts and Pleasure but rather to approach nearer to ' em This will not seem so great a Paradox if we do but consider that we are very frequently more intemperate and worse than those Creatures that follow the meer dictates of Nature whereas we debauch and abuse Nature For there is no doubt but that that strong Inclination and Desire which we have for Eating and Drinking is natural seeing we find it equally in all Animals and proceeds from the institution of Nature who has ordain'd that by Food
is Profitable and that which is Good to be but one and the same thing and therefore to the making up of what is Just and Right two things are prerequisite The First That it be Useful or that it hath Usefulness on its side The Second That it be prescribed and ordained by the common Consent of the Society for there is nothing perfectly Just but what the Society by common Agreement or Approbation hath thought fit to be observed 'T is true some are of Opinion That what things are Just are of their own Nature and unchangably so and that the Laws do not make 'em Just but that they only declare 'em and ordain 'em to be according to what they were naturally before Nevertheless 't is not so but herein 't is as in other things which are useful such as are those that concern our Health and a great many more such like wich are useful to some and hurtful to others and consequently vary from the End both in general and particular And truly as every thing ought always every where and to every one appear such as 't is by Nature because Nature never changes and is unalterable in all Occurrences pray tell me if the things that some name Just be every where at all times and in respect of all Persons really Just Are we not to consider that what is ordained and established by Laws and what is consequently Lawful and Just is not ordained nor admitted among all Nations but that some look upon 'em as indifferent and others reject 'em as prejudicial and unjust Are there not some who hold generally for useful that which nevertheless is not so and thus receive things which are not generally convenient only because that they seem so to them or to their Society and appear to have some general Utility or Advantage belonging to ' em We may then say for the most part that that is universally Just or agreeable with the Nature of Just which is useful or conformable to the Notion of Just that we have now given For to speak more particularly as Utility is otherwise and differing among the several Nations so likewise what is Just differs in the same manner so that what we fancy to be Just others look upon it as Unjust This being so when we enquire whether Just and Right is the same among all Nations I answer that universally 't is so that is something that is useful in the mutual Society but if we look to Particulars and consider the several sorts of People and the diversity of Circumstances we shall find that 't is not the same every where In a word a thing is and ought to be reputed Just or to have the Qualities of Just in a Society if its Usefulness respects all the Individuals associated but if it be not so 't is not properly to be called Just nor deserves to be so esteemed So that if a Thing or an Action having been useful in a Society if by any Accident or by any Alteration this Usefulness begins to cease that thing will also cease from being Just it being no longer so than only while it continues useful and profitable to Society And thus I suppose every one will judge who suffers not himself to be misled and blinded by vain and frivolous Discourses but has a general Respect to all things Of the Origin of Right and of Justice BUt to begin the Matter a little higher and trace it from its first Source Right Equity or Justice seem to be as ancient among Men even as mutual Societies are For in the beginning when Men were Vagabonds wandering up and down like Brutes and suffered many Inconveniences from those salvage Creatures and the Rigour of the Seasons some natural Inclination which they had for one another by reason of the similitude and mutual Resemblance of Bodies as well as Souls or Manners inclined 'em to unite together in small Societies the better to prevent in some measure such like Inconveniences by Building Cottages and so thereby strengthning themselves against the Cruelty of wild Beasts and the Severity of the Weather But because every one more regarded his own private Benefit than that of another this begot many Quarrels in reference to Eating and Drinking and upon the account of Women and other Conveniences of Life which they daily robb'd and forcibly depriv'd one another of until such time as they began to consider that they could not subsist quietly or live securely and conveniently unless they made some Contracts and agreed among themselves to do no Injury one to another so that if any wrong'd his Neighbours the rest were to punish him for it This then was the first Knot or Tie of Societies which as it supposed that every Person might have something belonging to him or what he might call his own either because he was the first possessor of it or because it was given him or because he had it by way of exchange or because he acquir'd it by his Industry I say this was the first Knot which confirmed to every private Person the possession of that which he thus challeng'd as his own Now this Knot or Agreement was nothing else but a common Law which all were bound to observe and which was to secure to every one his Right or Power to make use of that which thus appertained to him And thus upon this account the Law became the common Right of Societies I shall not here mention how a whole Society at length transfer'd their power of punishing to a certain select number of the wisest and honestest Men or it may be to one Person who was look'd upon as the wisest of all the rest I shall observe only two or three Things First That such in the Society were esteemed Just or observers of Justice who contenting themselves with their own Rights never invaded the Goods of others and by this means wronged no Body And such were deemed Unjust or doers of Wrong who being not satisfied with what was their own usurp'd the Rights of others and thus wronged 'em either by Robbing of 'em Beating or by Killing 'em or the like The Second relates to the preservation of Life as the thing that was the dearest to 'em of all and the strong confirmation of their Agreements or of their common Laws for the wise Legislators taking a particular Care of what best secur'd their Lives and minding also what usually happen'd among Societies declared That it was an horrible and abominable Crime to kill a Man and that a Murderer should be look'd upon as a most infamous Person and be shamefully put to Death for there was nothing more unreasonable than to kill his Fellow Creature for which Act we ought to have the greatest aversion and the rather because thereby accrued no advantage to Life and that this Deed could not proceed but from a Wickedness in Nature Thirdly That those who at first took care to promote the Utility of the Laws had truly no
and greatest Advantage that we can reap from it But we must not fancy that he who hath secretly broken the Laws unknown to Men may enjoy as much Peace and quiet of Mind as he who is truly Just For as I have already said tho' he hath acted in the dark yet he cannot be assured that the Fact shall always remain concealed Tho' Crimes may indeed be done secretly yet this is no Security neither doth it advantage a Man who commits a wicked Deed to conceal himself for tho' he has had the good fortune of keeping the Fact conceal'd hitherto yet he hath no Assurance that it shall always so continue Tho' a wicked Act may at present seem to be quite forgot and as it were buried out of sight yet it is uncertain whether it will remain so till death few Wickednesses are so secretly acted but they give some cause of Suspicion for tho' at first they are only privately whisper'd yet soon after they are publickly talk'd of and then Fame spreads them and then a Process is begun and the Sentence suddainly follows Nay many there have been who have discovered themselves either in a Dream or in a Frenzy or in Drink or by letting fall an unadvised Word by the by So that tho' a wicked Man deceives as we say both the Gods and Men yet he must always remain uneasie and in a fear that his Wickednesses will at one time or another be detected From hence it is that tho' Injustice of it self and in its own Nature be no Evil because what is Just here is reputed Vnjust elsewhere nevertheless 't is an Evil because of that Fear that it stirs up in us which causeth a wicked Man to be continually tormented with remorse of Conscience so that he is still suspicious of something and apprehensive that his Wickednesses will come to the Knowledge of those who are appointed to punish them Wherefore there is nothing more conducive to our Security and our living Happily than to live honestly and observe inviolably those Contracts which we have entred into for the Preservation of the publick Peace Therefore a just Man seems to stand in Opposition to an unjust for as the one is free from Troubles and Apprehensions of Evils so the other on the contrary is continually allarm'd by ' em What is it therefore that can be more convenient and profitable to us than Justice and more hurtful than Injustice Can constant Troubles and perplexing Fears be pleasant and diverting to any Man Since therefore that Justice is so great a Good and Injustice so great an Evil let us sincerely love and embrace the former and altogether abominate the latter And if by chance our Mind should happen to be sometimes in an even Balance and doubtful what to do let us have always before our Eyes and in our Thoughts the Example of some good Man whom we may propose to imitate as a Pattern and so live as if he were a constant Inspector of our Actions and Privy to our most intimate Designs This Advice will be of use to us not only to keep us from committing Injustice but also from doing any thing in secret inconsistent with honest Dealing This just Man that we plac'd before us will serve to keep us in some awe and make us more watchful over our Actions we shall continually have some regard to him and say to our selves I would not do so if he saw it and why should I dare to do so in his absence he would blame me for it as a wicked thing why should I not fly from Evil of my own accord Do then every thing as if some body still look'd upon you for if you have this Veneration for any Person else you will quickly have it for your self Cicero treats excellently upon this Subject If every one saith he for his own particular Advantage should be always ready and prepared to intrench upon his Neighbour's Right and strip him of his Goods we should quickly perceive the ruin of human Society which is so agreeable to Nature just as if each particular Member should fancy that by attracting the Blood and Spirits from its Member it would be the better able to support it self but hereby we should find our selves much disappointed for certainly this would at length much weaken and decay the whole Body And thus all Societies and Communities of Men must needs be destroyed if every one the better to support his own Interest should violently take from and strip his Neighbour of what is his Indeed this may be said to be lawful and no ways to infringe the Bonds of Society viz. to be more careful and industrious in acquiring the things necessary and useful for the conveniency of Life but to use Fraud or Violence to dispossess another and endeavour to enrich our selves by our Neighbours miseries is more contrary to the Laws of Nature even than Death it self than Poverty than Pain than all the most dreadful things that may befal us There is nothing truly useful but what is Just and Honest and nothing Just and Honest but what is truly useful these are reciprocal and whosoever endeavours to separate 'em offers at the most pernicious thing that can befal human Life for from thence spring Murders false Witnesses Thieveries and innumerable other Mischiefs They judge of the usefulness of things by a wrong Medium and tho' they escape the Penalties of the Laws which they break yet they escape not the Disgrace and Infamy which to a generous Mind is far more grievous and intolerable They consider not that of all other worldly Goods the most important and considerable is the Reputation of an honest of a just and of a good Man and that there is no Profit or Advantage that can recompence this loss The Life of an unjust Man is full of Troubles Jealousies and Fears Gripings of Conscience and Anxiety of Mind and what Good what Profit can there be in such a Way that if he were depriv'd of it he would be honoured and respected by all the World 'T is therefore impossible that true and real Profit should be separated from Justice and that it should accompany or be joined to Injustice Now as Justice and Injustice are contrary the first being free from Trouble the other always encompass'd with it what greater Advantage can an honest and good Man desire to attain to than that which Justice affords him And what greater Mischiefs can a wicked Man dread than that which Injustice is attended with For what Profit or Satisfaction is to be had from Cares Fears and perpetual Inquietudes Whether we may wrong any Man without doing him an injury AS 't is one thing to do an unjust Act another to do an injury seeing that a Man may do an unjust Act and not believe it or perhaps fancying it to be Just So it is most certain that we can do no injury but when we have a design to do it and so he who doth it
might be done calmly and sedately as we have already said As he allows not that the Life of a Wise Man should be as a Torrent so he don't approve that it should be like a still and stinking Pool but rather like the Water of a River that glides along quietly and without Noise This is one of his Maxims That when Pain is removed Pleasure is not increas'd but only diversified and altered As if he would have said That when we have attain'd to this quiet State free from Pain there is truly nothing to be desired greater or to be compared to it but in the mean while there remain several pure and innocent Pleasures wherewith this State if not abused is Embelished in the manner of a Field which becoming Fruitful affords divers Fruits or in the manner of a Meadow which we see covered over with an admirable diversity of Flowers when the Earth is brought to be in a good Temper For this State is like a Spring out of which all the Pleasures that are Pure and Sincere are drawn For this cause therefore it ought to be esteem'd as the chief Pleasure in regard it is an universal Relish by which all the Actions of our Life are seasoned and by which consequently all our Pleasures are sweetned and become grateful And to speak all in a Word Without which no Pleasure can be Pleasure In reality What Satisfaction can there be if the Mind be troubled or the Body tormented with Pain It is a Proverb That if the Vessel be not clean it Sowers whatever is put into it Sincerum est nisi vas quodcumque infundis acescit Whoever therefore is desirous of pure sincere Pleasures he must prepare himself to receive them without any Mixture or Alloy that is By attaining as much as is possible to this State of Rest and Tranquility that we have described I add the words as much as is possible for As we have observed already The frailty of our human Nature wont suffer us to be absolutely and perfectly Happy for so compleat a Felicity altogether free from Trouble and Pain and crowned with all manner of Delights belongs to God alone and to them whom he calls to a better Life So that in this present World some have a greater some a less share of Afflictions and Pains He that will deal wisely ought to endeavour as much as the weakness of his Nature will permit to settle himself in that condition in which he may be as little sensible of Grief and Pain as is possible for by this means he will obtain these two Advantages which chiefly contribute to his present Happiness and which Wise Men have acknowledged to be almost the only solid and desirable Advantages of Life The Health of the Body and of the Mind Sunt Sanitas Mens gemina vitae bona Optandum est ut sit Mens sana in Corpore sano And that Epicurus never designed that his Pleasure should extend to a Sottishness or a privation of Sense and Action may be proved by what he was pleased with in his Retirements either in Meditating or in Teaching or in taking care of his Friends But let it suffice us here to say That from that state and condition of Life did arise certain Thoughts which of all things in the World were the most pleasing and delightful Namely when any shall call to mind the Storms that he hath couragiously weather'd in which some are yet tossed up and down he fancies himself as it were in a safe Haven possessing a calm and a serene Tranquility which Lucretius in his Second Book pleasantly sets forth 'T is pleasant when the Seas are rough to stand And view another's Danger safe at Land Not ' cause he 's Troubled but 't is sweet to see Those Cares and Fears from which our selves are free He tells us also That it is very pleasant to look from a high Tower upon two great Armies drawn up in Battel without being concerned in the Danger 'T is also Pleasant to behold from far How Troops Engage secure our selves from War But there is nothing so pleasant as to see our selves by the help of Learning and Knowledge advanc'd to the Top of Wisdom's Temple from whence as from an high Station serene and quiet we may see Men involved in a thousand Miseries without being concern'd But above all 'T is pleasantest to get The top of high Philosophy and sit On the calm peaceful flourishing Head of it Whence we may view deep wond'rous deep below How poor forsaken Mortals Wandring go Seeking the path to Happiness some aim At Learning Wit Nobility or Fame Others with Cares and Dangers vex each Hour To reach the Top of Wealth and Sovereign Power Whilst frugal Nature seeks for only Ease A Body free from Pains free from Disease A Mind from Cares and Jealousies at Peace Of the Tranquility of the Mind in particular BUt to say something more particularly of the Tranquility of the Mind let us again repeat That by this Expression we don't understand a slow and lazy Temper nor a sluggish and languishing Idleness But as Cicero Explains it out of Pythagoras and Plato Placida quietaque constantia in animi parte rationis principe A sweet and peaceable Constacy of Mind Or as Democritus says An excellent equal and sweet Constitution and Temper of Mind which makes the Man settl'd and unshaken in such a manner and to such a degree that whether he be Employed or at Leisure whether Prosperity favour him or Adversity frowns upon him he continues always Equal always like Himself and will not suffer himself to be Transported by an excess of Joy nor dejected by Grief and Sorrow In a Word he is at no time disturbed by such-like Passions Therefore this Tranquility of Mind was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies freedom from Trouble and Disquietness for in the same manner as a Ship is said to be in quiet not only when it is becalm'd in the middle of the Sea but likewise chiefly when it is driven by a favourable Gale which indeed causeth it to sail swift but nevertheless quietly and steddily Thus the Mind is said to be in Tranquility not only when it is at rest but more especially when it undertakes great and excellent Things without being disturb'd inwardly and without losing any part of its Steddiness On the contrary as a Ship is said to be disturb'd not only when it is carried away with the contrary Winds but when it is beaten by those that rise out of the very Waters thus the Mind is said to be disquieted not only when in its proceedings it is carried away with divers Passions but likewise when in the midst of Rest Care Grief and Fear are continually gnawing and fretting it and rendring it uneasy These therefore and such like are the Passions which by disturbing our Tranquility interrupt the Happiness of our Lives Cicero Speaks of them in this manner The turbulent Motions and the