be condemn'd because he laughed at that too great Credulity and Superstition of the Heathens as well in Relation to Divination as in Relation to the Demons but it is to be blamed in that at least he hath not believed in general the being of Spirits seeing that not only Religion but Reason assures us of their Existence as it did really perswade those Philosophers amongst whom Plutarch reckons principally Thales Pythagoras Plato the Stoicks besides Empedocles and some others who affirmed that there were Demons who are living Substances and there are also Heroes who are Souls either Good or Evil freed from their Bodies For tho' they have erred as well in Relation to their Substance as to the Qualities that they attributed to their Demons yet however they judged aright when they believed that there were such But seeing we are to discourse of Divination perhaps it will not be amiss to speak first something of the Demons unto whom it was commonly ascribed Of Demons or Spirits according to the Opinion of Antiquity LET us suppose that they are those unto whom the Holy Writ gives usually the Titles of Angels and sometimes Demons Devils or Satan when it speaks of the Apostate Angels The Heathens call them not only Demons but also Genii tho' amongst them they were reputed to be of a Divine Nature or of a Nature little lower than the Divine They were also named Gods and Demi-Gods and Sons of Gods but yet Bastards as being born of Nymphs c. Not to insist upon the saying of Aristotle that they were separated Substances because not Corporeal and according to his Disciples Intelligences because they have Understandings Intelligences in Latin signifying the same as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek if what Lactantius and Macrobius after Plato have taught us is really true This being premised now that we may the better understand what notion Pythagoras Plato and the rest of 'em had of Demons we must call to Mind what hath been said of the Soul of the World For they who have received this Opinion have fancied that these Demons as well as our Souls were nothing else but Particles or small parcels of the Soul of the World And because they believed also that the Soul of the World was the same as God they imagin'd that the Demons were Particles of the Divine Nature and from them seveveral Heretick have taken occasion to discourse of Angels in the same manner in the infancy of the Christian Church for they fancy them to be taken out of the Divine Substance These Philosophers therefore thought the Soul of the World to be like a vast and bottomless Ocean from whence proceeds Angels and the Souls of Men upon Condition to return back again and reunite at last after a time as so many little Streams that run into the Sea Plotinus seems to compare them to the Body of a Tree whereof Demons and Souls were as the Branches the little Twigs the Leaves the Flowers and the Fruits Thus they fancied that in the same manner as the Water that runs through the Earth carries with it something of the Substance of the Minerals through which it passeth so the Particles of the Soul of the World clothed it often with the Substance of the most subtil Bodies unto which they remained chiefly fixed and tied And as they judged that this Soul though it is diffused through all the World it resided nevertheless more particularly in the upper Region and consequently amongst the Stars and chiefly in the Sun So they believed that when the Celestial Bodies spread abroad their Influences to revive and entertain the earthly Beings that they proceed from Heaven as so many Beams from this Soul that revives all things and that they Incorporate or become Bodies in a differing manner in their Passage clothing themselves with a kind of Airy Habit and remaining afterwards some in the Air and the others proceeding as far as the Earth So that they have believed that these kind of Substances which are thus composed of a thin Body such as is the Air and of a Particle of the Soul of the World are the Demons and the Souls Demons when they continue free from any mixture of the grosser Bodies of this Earth I shall not examin their other Fancy That if the thin Body with which the Particles of the Soul of the World is clothed be found to be of a sweet kind and favourable Composure then in their Opinion they happen to be good Demons or Spirits but evil when it is sharp and malicious Neither shall I take notice of their other Imagination That when our Souls are departed out of our Bodies they become again Demons not immediately nor equally because retaining some Relicks of the Human Body they could not be Demons until they were entirely stript but only Heroes or demi-Gods Let these be mention'd only in reference to the Opinion of those who chiefly follow Hesiod who as Plutarch relates hath made mention of four sorts of Beings that are endowed with Reason the Gods the Demons the Heroes and Men I say those who follow Hesiod for Plato Pythagoras and others who believe these last to be the greatest Protectors of Demons have divided Rational Beings into three sorts namely Gods Demons and Men. Moreover we may shew by several Passages that they fancied these Demons to be of a certain middle Nature between the Gods and Men or as they speak upon the Confines of Immortals and Mortals But no Man better explained this Opinion than Apuleius for after that he had said that 't is by their Means and Mediation that there is a Correspondence between the Gods and Men and as the other Regions of the World have their Beings to inhabit and live there so the Superiour Region hath the Stars the Fire the small Animals mentioned by Aristotle the Sea Fish the Earth all our Terrestrial Animals So the Air ought not to be without its Inhabitants which are the Demons In this manner he explains himself The Bodies of the Demons saith he have very little weight which hinder them from ascending to the highest Regions nor are they so light as to fall down to the lowest They are Creatures of a third Nature suitable to the middle Region where they dwell They are between the Gods and Men being immortal as the Gods but subject to Passions as Men for as they are as we subject to Anger and to Mercy and like us suffer themselves to be overcome by Prayers and Intreaties by Gifts and Honours so they are like us stir'd up to Wrath by Injuries and Contempt In a Word saith he Daemones sunt genere animalia ingenio rationabilia animo passiva corpore aeria tempore aeterna Where you may observe what he saith of Eternity cannot agree with the Opinion of others who make them subject to Generation and Corruption unless we understand a long time for Eternity For as these last say Man is said to be Mortal because of the
just and lawful Moderation It is not without Reason that this Desire is Judg'd to be Natural for we may see it appear very early in Children and the very Bruits themselves are governed by it Nay tho' some may seem to neglect and despise yet there is no body that can absolutely and altogether free themselves from the desire of it 'T is also very requisite that it should be so highly esteem'd for it is commonly proposed as the reward of Vertue and that there is neither Kingdom nor Common-wealth but encourages their Subjects to Noble Actions by the expectation of it There is likewise this difference between a Noble Generous Mind and a base and mean Spirit that whereas the latter seeks nothing but Gain and Profit in the Undertakings the former desires nothing but Glory and Renown Besides Experience teacheth us and all Ages can Witness That where we remove from the minds of Men the desire of Honour and Glory there is never any mention made of those great Exploits by which Kingdoms are obtain'd Now this being supposed we may here take notice of two sorts of Pleasure for which Honour is desirable The First is that extraordinary Satisfaction that a Man expects to receive when his Fame shall be spread abroad and he shall become Renowned in the World The Story of Damocles is not unknown and the hopes that he proposed to himself of an unexpressible Joy for the Royal Honours they would bestow upon him And that of Demosthenes is no less Remarkable This Great Man confesseth ingenuously That he was well pleased to hear a mean Woman coming from a Fountain whisper softly to her Friend There is Demosthenes pointing at him with her Finger And we may without any wrong to Vertue believe the same of other Illustrious Men when in their Walks they hear themselves named and the People say of them publickly There is Chappellus the finest Wit of the Kingdom Here is Despreaux the Horace of our Age the everlasting speaker of Truths There is that famous Racinus who by the charming efficacy of his Verses knows when he Pleases how to force us to Weep Here is the Learned and unparallel'd Lady Sabbiere How pleasant is it to be thus taken Notice of in the World for some Perfection and pointed at by eminent Persons At pulchrum est digito monstrari dicier hic est And we know what is reported of Themistocles when after a notable Victory he observed That all the Spectators neglecting the publick Pomp had their Eyes wholly fixed upon him which transported him with so great Joy that he could not forbear thus to express himself This day says he I receive sufficient recompence for all the Toils that I have undergone for Greece The other sort of Pleasure that carries Men to the desire of Honour is that great Security that attends us the enjoyment of which is so pleasant and the rather because he that lives in a perfect and entire Security finds himself in power to act what seemeth him good and to enjoy all the Pleasures that he fancies without any controll Now we easily believe that Security is obtained by Honour because Honour is bestowed for Vertue 's sake or because of Offices and Performances that suppose Vertue to be there If it be for Vertue 's sake then it is certainly free from Contempt and the Reverenced Person can by no means sink into that Estate which is exposed to Injuries and Affronts If it be for the sake of Offices or Dignities and consequently for some Advantage expected or some Evil that we dread even for that cause we look upon them commonly as a great and strong Support But herein we may find this difference That the Honour that is rendred for the sake of Dignities is more Splendid and taking with the Common People therefore we see a great many very desirous of Dignities and noble Employments and very few look after Vertue As if those who are promoted to Dignities had wherewith they may Injure some and Pleasure others and therefore can secure themselves from the Power of some by Hope and of others by Fear CHAP. IV. What Advantage Moral Vertue procures NOw to mention something of Vertue it self Aristotle and Cicero declare Wonders about the delights and pleasures of Knowledge and Learning which make the first part of Moral Vertue Nature saith Aristotle the common Parent stirs up and gives unspeakable Pleasures to such as can attain to understand the Causes of things and study Philosophy truly and to purpose If we cannot without Delight look upon the bare Images of Nature because in casting our Eyes upon them we behold the ingenuity and skill of the Painter or the Graver that made them How much more ought the Contemplation of Nature it self and of its admirable Wisdom and Contrivances to fill our Minds with Joy and Satisfaction Cicero also speaks of it to no less Advantage The Consideration saith he and Contemplation of Nature is the real and natural Food of the Soul It is that which raiseth and elevates our Thoughts for when we think upon the Coelestial things which are so Great Large and of such a vast Extent we despise these here below as Mean and of no Value Seneca's Expressions are no less Remarkable O! how Contemptible is Man saith he if he raiseth not himself above Human things We may say That then the Spirit of Man hath attain'd to its greatest Happiness that its Nature is capable of when it hath trampled upon all Vice and raiseth it self to sublime Matters and searches into the Secrets of Nature 'T is then that walking among the Coelestial Orbs it disdains the green Fields and all the Gold that the Earth produces for our covetous Posterity There are above us spacious Heavens which our Souls take then Possession of When it is there arrived it is nourish'd and increases and being free'd from its Earthly Prison it returns to its first Principle for it is a certain sign of its being of a Divine Nature that the Divine Objects are pleasing to it which it looks upon not as belonging to others but as its own Here it will not be amiss to mention the Pleasures and Transports of Joy that the Mathematical Sciences cause Plutarch relates That Eudoxius would have been willing to have been Burnt as Phaeton was if he could first have been admitted to approach so near the Sun as to have a full inspection of its Figure Greatness and Beauty The same Author tells us That Pythagoras was so ravish'd with Joy when he had found that famous Theorem which is the Forty seventh of Euclid's Book that immediately he offered a solemn Sacrifice He writes also of Archimedes That many times they have been forced to divert him from his deep Contemplations Nay so great a Pleasure he found in them that his excess of Joy was like to have cost him his Life when by laborious and tedious Study he had arrived to discover how much Brass might be mingled
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
Person of great Eminency who was severely tormented with the Gout but by my Advice yielding to live one Year very abstemiously and scarce to Eat any Flesh according to the Custom of the Indians who nevertheless are very healthy and strong and are rarely troubled with such Distempers was perfectly cured Thus it happened heretofore to the Senator Rogatianus mentioned by Porphyry in the Life of Plotinus So real a truth it is that Sobriety is an excellent Remedy to avoid and free us from Diseases Sixthly That for one Person who is sick by Fasting there are twenty Distempers occasion'd by too much Eating So that Theognides had Reason to say That Gluttony destroys many more than Hunger Perplures quam dira fames satias male perdit Qui justo cupiunt amplius esse sibi And Horace according to Epicurus tells us That a sober Man who Eats and Drinks but little is always strong and ready to perform the Duties of his Function whereas Wine makes the Body heavy and clouds the Vnderstanding and sinks down the Soul that part of the Divine Being to the very Earth quin corpus onustum Hesternis vitiis animum quoque praegravat una Atque affigit humo divinae particulam aura Alter ubi dicto citius curata sopori Membra dedit vegetus praescripta ad munera surgit Besides we might add this Consideration That he who endeavours to indulge his Palate in the midst of good Cheer loses that very Pleasure he would promote which is easilier obtain'd by a plain and sober Diet for a constancy sometimes tho' rarely admitting of a more plentiful Repast which at particular times may be allowed by the best of Men when as the Poet saith a solemn Festival invites us to chear our Spirits and repair weak Nature decay'd too much by Abstinence or Old Age. Sive diem festum rediens advexerit annus Sive recreare volet tenuatum Corpus ubique Accedent anni tractari mollius aetas Imbecilla volet In such Cases we are not to make the pleasing of our Palates our main Business but only by the By for we shall find that a sober and frugal Life is better to most Purposes Besides it is most certain that a wise Man ought rather as much as his State and Condition of life may permit him always to observe the same Manner Rule and Course of Living I say as much as the State and Condition of his Life will allow him For tho' the manner of Living in which we are ingaged may sometimes so intangle us as that it is no easie Task to keep exactly to the Rule and Manner of Living that we have prescribed yet there is no difficulty to keep pretty near to this Rule if a Man hath so much Constancy and Resolution of Mind as a truly wise and vertuous Man ought to have But if he be so weak and fickle as at the first Temptation to suffer himself to be overcome by his irregular Appetite it is apparent that Wisdom and Vertue have not taken Root deep enough in his Soul If we are perhaps sometimes obliged to be at well spread Tables where we may seem to be some-what uncivil in not complying with the earnest Intreaties and Sollicitations that we meet with 't is at this time chiefly that we must shew our Resolution and Constancy and if a Civil and Modest Excuse will not suffice we must free our selves from that Dusopia or childish Bashfulness so much condemned among the Greeks and according to Plutarch's Advice speak plainly and boldly to any Friend what Creon saith in one of his Tragedies It is better that you should be now angry with me than that I should be to morrow distemper'd for having complied with you Te praestat infesum Hospes esse nunc mihi Quam si obsequutus deinde graviter ingemam For to cast our selves saith he into a Fit of the Colick or into some extream Agony meerly to avoid being look'd upon as a Clown or Vncivil is to become both a Clown and a mad Man and not to understand how we are to behave our selves with Men in relation to Eating and Drinking We must not here forget that excellent Expression of Epicurus That a sober and frugal Life unto which we have by long use habituated our selves makes us undaunted against the Assaults of Fortune For as Horace elsewhere says Which of the two may better trust to himself and to his own strength in relation to the Casualties and Mischances that may happen He who hath indulg'd his Mind with vast Desires and us'd his Body to a soft and rich Attire Or he who being content with a little and fore-seeing the time to come shall in a time of Peace as a wise Man ought make Provision of such things as are needful for War Let Fortune vex such a one and take from him all that she can how much can she diminish of that which is necessary Vter-ne Ad casus dubios fidet sibi certius hic qui Pluribus assuerit mentem corpusque superbum An qui contentus parvo metuensque futuri In pace ut Sapiens aptarit idonea bello Soeviat atque novos moveat fortunna tumultus Quantum heinc imminuet c. Nor are we to forget what Epicurus boasts of That his daily Food did not quite amount to one pound and that of Metrodorus weighed but just a pound Nor must we omit that excellent Advice which Seneca hath so well deliver'd Thou dost not perhaps believe saith he that in a spare quantity of Food there is sufficient to satisfy Nature There is and to spare for there is Pleasure not a light and transitory Pleasure which we must recruit every Moment but a more fixt and lasting Pleasure without Interruption For a Draught of Water and a Piece of Barley Bread are things not very pleasant to the Gust but then it is a great Pleasure that we can confine our selves to that which an adverse Fortune cannot deprive us of The Allowance of a Prison is more Sumptuous and Plentiful and a Malefactor who is kept in Chains condemned to Death subsists with a small Pittance What an honour is it to condescend of our own accord to that which is not to be feared by them who are reduc'd to the lowest State By this means we shall prevent the Treachery of Fortune and stop all her Avenues For what Power can Fortune have over him who reckons not as his own that which she glories in giving and taking away and is satisfied with that which depends not upon her thinking it too mean to stoop to her proud Empire I 'le here cite what Xenophon tells us of Socrates That he lived upon so small a Pittance that there was no Handicraftsman if he took never so little Pains but might get more than was needful to nourish him That which hath been already said of Anacharsis That he sent back the Mony offer'd him because he needed it not to supply his slender Expences And
natural Law or according to Nature not only because there is nothing more Natural or more according to Nature than Society and Society being not able to subsist without this Precept it ought also to be esteemed Natural But also because God seems to have imprinted it in the Hearts of all Men and that this Law contains in such a full manner all the other Laws of Society that no Man can invade the Right of another but he must violate this Law Therefore this Law alone ought to be look'd upon as the Rule of all our Actions that concern our Neighbour And truly as every one desires that his Right may be Religiously preserved to him so that no Man may attempt upon it he need but think the same thing of others and to put himself in their Place and Condition to understand what he ought or what he ought not to do Therefore as there is nothing nearer at Hand and more ready nor more infallible than our own Conscience every one may consult himself and he alone may be his own proper and true Casuist So that he who seeks for others seems not so much disposed to be willing to do to another what he would not have done to himself as to not dare to do it if he hath not some Body upon whom he may cast the Blame And upon this Point Cicero treats very well in his Offices That those who prohibit any thing to be done whereof there is a Question whether it be Just or Unjust cannot prescribe any Rule nor Precept more useful and reasonable because Equity here appears and is plainly discoverable and that our doubting is a sign that we think or design to do Evil. Bene praecipiunt qui vetant quidquam agere quod dubites aequum sit an iniquum aequitas enim lucet ipsa per se dubitatio autem cogitationem significat injuriae Upon this Subject I remember what Monsieur de la Moignon first President of the Parliament of Paris a wise and learned Judge said to us one Day as we were walking in his shady Retirement in the Wood de Baville That that Maxim of Cicero if it were duly practis'd among Men would be of a wonderful use and that for what concerns those who have such sort of doubts and trouble themselves to seek for Casuists to support them he had read an excellent Saying in a Spanish Author That such Persons seek to pick a Quarrel or to play the Cheat with the Law of God Quieren pley tear contra la lay de Dios. Let us observe more-over that the Holy Scriptures have said very well That the Law was not made for the Just because he who is truly Just observes it not out of fear of the Punishments that the Law threatens but out of a love for Justice it self and out of a respect for it so that if there were no Law nor Magistrates he would notwithstanding still live in Obedience to Law and Justice Therefore that excellent Expression of Menander is thought praise-worthy If you be Just your Manners will be to you instead of Laws And the Answer of Aristotle is remarkable when he was questioned what Profit he had found and received from the study of Philosophy To do said he of my own accord and without constraint what others do for fear of the Laws This obliged Horace to say That we ought not to do any thing for fear of Punishment Nihil esse faciendum formidine poenae From whence we may remark that Corrections and Punishments are not only ordained for the Wicked and Criminals that they may perish and be extinct but that by their Destruction they may also terrify and restrain others as Seneca observes and according to Lactantius who brings in Plato saying That a wise and prudent Man punishes not because 't is a Crime for he cannot make that which is already done to be undone but that others may not commit the same Crimes But let us hearken to Epicurus discoursing of the great Advantages that there are in observing Justice That there is great Reason to live up to Justice JVstice having been established by a common Agreement every one ought to think that he is born and admitted into the Society whereof he is a Member upon this Condition either express or understood That he shall do wrong to no Man nor no Man to him and thus we must either keep to this Agreement or depart out of the Society seeing that he is suffered there but upon the same Condition that he was admitted From whence it follows that as naturally he don't desire to be evilly dealt withal he ought not to deal ill with others nor do to others what he would not that others should do to him This being granted we may say that the Laws have been established in favour and for the sake of wise Men not to hinder them from committing Injustice but to prevent others from doing them wrong for of their own accord they are so inclined that if there were no Laws they would injure no body for they have limited their Desires and confined them to the necessities of Nature to supply which there is no need of doing Injustice for there is no Pleasure Nature allows of which will cause us to wrong any body for those exorbitances and irregular Desires which proceed from our vain and unruly Passions and Lusts are the only Causes of Mischief The Truth is the Products of the Earth such as Corn Fruits Water c. are to be obtain'd without any great difficulty and the enjoyment of these as often as Hunger and Thirst excite us afford us no small Pleasure and Satisfaction without being hereby tempted to Riot and Excess or to commit Robberies or other enormous Crimes upon our Neighbours which Men are more apt to become liable to and guilty of when they indulge their extravagant Lusts in living splendidly and sumptuously and by unjustly heaping up of Riches to maintain such their Extravagances Nor shall I here stand to take notice of Particulars such who are not satisfied with decent Habits with one Habitation nor one Wife and so of the like who passing the Bounds that Nature hath appointed are daily hurried away by their Passions and endless Desires beyond all Limits Moreover as the wise Man acts all things for himself and for his own Good and Satisfaction there is nothing that will contribute more to this purpose than in carefully observing the Rules of Justice for when he renders unto every one what belongs to him and that he does wrong to no Man he preserves and supports as much as in him lies the Society in which his own Safety is involved he provokes no body to do him Injury neither doth he fear the Penalties and Punishments which the Publick Laws threaten So that his Conscience being free from Guilt he is at quiet and ease within himself without any private Checks or Gripes which is one main design of Justice to procure and the most excellent
Understanding yet I say it is certain that in this Supposition we may still save our Liberty in that when we are ready to act and prepared 't is always in our Power to stop and desist from acting and to consider seriously of things so that if we distinguish the real advantages from those that are counterfeit we should cause the false Reasonings in the Understanding to be rectified and by that means cause this Propensity that is in the Will to be inlightned and so consequently not to seek after an apparent good instead of what is real Vice instead of Virtue CHAP. II. Of Fortune and Destiny THO' according to the Opinion of Cicero Folly Mistake Error Blindness and Ignorance of Things seem to have introduced and brought in fashion the Names of Nature and Fortune and that therefore Fortune cannot be without Ignorance Nevertheless 't is not generally agreed upon that this is only a foolish vain and imaginary Name seeing there are many that hold that 't is not only a Cause but a Divine Cause which occasioned these Verses of Juvenal Fortune was never Worship'd by the Wise But set aloft by Fools usurp'd the Skies That it is not really so Plutarch according to Plato holds That it is a Cause by accident which unexpectedly follows things acted according to Counsel And agreeable with this is Aristotle's Opinion That it is a Cause by accident in things done for a certain End and that this Cause is uncertain and changable For this example is alledged as a common Instance he who digging in the Ground with an intent to Plant a Tree found a Treasure which he never thought of now the Discovery of the Treasure is an Effect by accident that is to say that it happen'd beyond the Expectation and Intention of him that acted So that he who digged being the cause of the Pit made in the Earth is also the cause by accident of the Discovery of the Treasure 'T is in this manner that the Notion of Fortune is commonly explained Nevertheless it may seem by this Name that something else I know not what is understood and that they call not proprerly Fortune either him who digs or his action Therefore often we call a casual thing by the name of Fortune or that which happens unexpectedly And it seems by this Name of Fortune we are to understand The concurrence of several Causes that happen without any mutual dependence or advice so that from them proceeds an event or an effect called Casual which all the Causes or some of them or at least he to whom it happens had never in his Mind and Intention So as by the casual Discovery of the Treasure 't is not only requisite that some should dig in the Earth but that some other body should first hide the Mony 'T is manifest that Fortune or the cause of the Discovery is the concurrence of the hiding of the Mony and of the diging in the Earth in that place I say without any mutual dependence or advice and beyond or besides the Intention of all or some of the Causes Because tho' one or many of the Causes may have designed it and intended it 't is no less Fortune in respect of that Cause that never was thought upon As if one hides a Treasure with a design that he whom he foresees will dig in the Earth should find it In this Case the Event is not truly Casual in regard of him who hid the Treasure but it will be nevertheless in regard of him who was ignorant that any thing had been there concealed Thus that which happened at the opening of the Sepulcher of Nitocris was not absolutely a Hazard or Casual in respect to Nitocris for he imagined that some King would come to open it being induced by this Inscription If any of the Kings of Babylon that shall come after me be in want of Mony let him open this Sepulcher and let him take as much as he please but let him not open it unless he hath need for in such a Case it will avail him nothing But the Event was a Hazard or Casual in relation to Darius because instead of Mony he found this written within If thou wert not unsatiable of Mony thou would'st not have opened the Sepulchers of the Dead We must nevertheless acknowledge that we call that properly Fortune that of all the Causes which concur together not one of them foresees what will happen from thence An eminent Example of this is instanced in delaying the death of Socrates after Sentence had been pronounced For the cause of this delay hapned thus The day before the Sentence was given it hapned according to the yearly Custom a Ship was Crowned in order to be sent to Delos and in the mean while till its return it was not lawful to execute any Person But here neither the Priest in Crowning of the Ship nor the Judge in Pronouncing the Sentence ever thought by this accident to delay the death of Socrates Now 't is not without cause that Epicurus persuades us so much that we should not acknowledge Fortune as a Goddess for the weakness of Men is such that they don't only admire that which they understand not but they fancy it also as some divine Thing and above Nature So that when they had perceived that sometimes Fortune was favourable and sometimes adverse and contrary they adored it under several Shapes and erected Temples to it under these several Titles Fortunae Bonae Malae Blandae Averruncae Calvae Equestri c. This hath given occasion to the Complaints of Pliny That all over the World and at all times Men address themselves to Fortune so that she alone is called upon she alone accused and condemned she alone is praised and blamed that she alone is worshiped with Scoffs Many fancy her uncertain unconstant blind favouring those who deserve it not c. From hence is that common Expression The May-game or Sport of Fortune And this hath caused the life of Man to be likened to playing at Dice or Cards which is equally hazardous to the Gamester whether he understand the Game or not 'T is true that as the Play and the Life of Man are managed by Industry a skilful Gamester and a a wise Man commonly succeed best but this happens not always for often the ignorant Gamester is more fortunate than the skilful and the weak Man more successful than the wise and very frequently Fortune hath as much or more a hand in things than Wisdom This caused Plutarch to say That Fortune and Wisdom tho' very much differing often bring forth very unlike Effects And as there are but few Men who make Profession of Wisdom that know well how to manage and govern the Proceedings of Fortune Theophrastus hath been so bold as to say That 't is Fortune and not Wisdom that governs our Life Vitam regit Fortuna non Sapienta And Lucretius speaking according to the Vulgar saith That Fortune often