Patrons of Physical Predetermination would do well to consider 6. But when I make it necessary to the imputableness of an action that it be freely exerted I would not be understood of an immediat Freeness For certainly those rooted and confirm'd sinners who have by long use reduced themselves under a necessity of sinning are never the more excusable for the impotence they have contracted If there was Liberty in the Principle 't is sufficient 7. The next requisite and that which gives the last and finishing stroke to Formal sin is that it proceeds from the will sufficiently instructed by the understanding That is to make a man sin formally 't is requisite that he has not only a Power of avoiding that action which is a transgression of the Law but that he also know it to be a Transgression of the Law at least that he be in a capacity so to do that so he may be induced to exert that Power And 't is also necessary that he know that he commits it that is he must have or at least be in a capacity of having both notitia Juris and notitia Facti 8. The former of these depends upon that common Principle that Laws do not oblige till they are publish'd according to that known Maxime of the Canon Law Leges constituuntur cum promulgantur and that of the Civilians Leges quae constringunt hominum vitas intelligi ab omnibus debent And the latter also depends upon the equity of the same Principle tho somewhat more remotely for without this the Law with relation to that particular instance cannot be said to be properly known For altho I know such a species of action suppose Adultery to be a transgression of the Law yet if I know not that by such a particular instance I commit it I cannot be said to know that this my action is a Transgression of the Law and consequently supposing this my ignorance invincible am wholly excusable as appears in the case of Abimelech when he took Abraham's wife 9. So that to the Constitution of Formal sin these two things are required 1st that the Transgressor have a Power either immediatly or at least in the Principle of not doing that action which is a Transgression 2ly that he either do or may know that act to be a Transgression of the Law and likewise that he know when he commits it And thus have I shewn the rise progress and maturity of sin I have presented to view both the imperfect Embryo and the full proportion'd and animated Monster All which I shall briefly comprize in that compendious description of St. James Lust when it is conceiv'd bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finish'd bringeth forth death 10. There is one thing behind relating to the nature of sin in common which I shall briefly consider and that is whether its nature be Positive or Privative The latter is generally held both by Metaphysitians Moralists and Divines but upon what sufficient grounds I could never yet understand The Formal part of sin without all Question is Positive as is plain from the very notion of it For it denotes only that special Dependence which an irregular act has upon the will which is the same as well as the common substance of the act both in good and bad actions and consequently alike Positive 11. All the controversy therefore remains concerning the Material part of sin whether that be Positive or Privative And this too not with respect to the mere Act for that without question is positive but with respect to the irregularity of it 12. Here then I consider that according to the foregoing measures the irregularity of an action is not only its aberration from the Rule but its crossing or going contrary to it For 't is not only its not promoting but its opposing or at least its natural aptness to oppose the greatest and best of ends So that 't is not so properly an irregularity as a contra-regularity And therefore good and bad actions are not privatively but contrarily opposed and consequently both positive for contrarys are always so 13. For as to be in pain is not Privatively but contrarily opposed to being Happy for Pain is something more than want of Happiness so that action which causes Pain or misery is not Privatively but contrarily opposed to that which is effective of Happiness and consequently is as Positive as the other 14. Those sins which bid the fairest for Privation are sins of Omission But even these if we consider their Nature will appear to be also Positive For to speak properly their irregularity does not lye in the not doing or the not willing to do what ought to be done but in the willing not to do it But to will the not doing of a thing is as positive as the willing to do it as being not contradictorily or privatively but contrarily opposed to it The sins therefore of Omission are as Positive as those of Commission The only difference is that the Positiveness of sins of Commission lies both in the Habitude of the will and in the executed act too whereas the Positiveness of sins of Omission is in the Habitude of the will only 15. And what is here determin'd concerning Moral evil will I suppose hold equally true in all evil except only that which is Absolute that is whose evil is not its noxiousness to any thing else but only the want of some constituent Perfection due to its self according to that distinction mention'd by Suarez in his Disputation de Malo of Malum in se and malum alteri This indeed does import no more than a Privation And this I suppose might be the occasion of mistake to those who first thought Moral evil to consist in a Privation only for Absolute evil does so and they as I intimated above took Moral evil to be a kind of absolute Nature 16. Many things I know might be and are commonly objected against the Positiveness of sin but I can think but of one that 's worth considering which is that if Sin be positive it will be a real Entity and if so then we are press'd with a double absurdity 1st that God will be the Author of it as being the efficient cause of all Entity 2ly that it will be good goodness being a necessary Affection of Ens. 17. To this I answer 1st that I not only freely acknowledg but contend that sin is a real Entity But then I distingush of Entity There are Physical and there are Moral Entitys By the latter which alone needs explication I understand certain modes of determination superadded to Physical things or motions by intelligent Beings in order either to the interest or disinterest of the universe 18. This being premised I answer to the first part of the objection by denying that it hence follows that God is the Author of sin God indeed is the Author of all Physical Beings and Motions but not of those modes of
do not thou My Soul fixt here remain All Streams of Beauty here below Do from that immense Ocean flow And thither they should lead again Trace then these Streams till thou shall be At length o'rewhelm'd in Beauty's boundless Sea. Love. I. IMperial Passion Sacred fire When we of meaner Subjects sing Thou tune'st our Harps thou dost our Souls inspire 'T is Love directs the Quill 't is Love strikes every string But where 's another Deity T' inspire the man that sings of thee II. W' are by mistaken Chymists told That the most active part of all The various Compound cast in nature's mould Is that which they Mercurial spirit call But sure 't is Love they should have said Without this even their Spirit is Dead III. Love 's the great Spring of Nature's wheel Love does the Masse pervade and move What ' scapes the Sun's does thy warm influence feel The Universe is kept in tune by Love. Thou Nature giv'st her Sympathy The Center has its Charm from thee IV. Love did great Nothing 's barren womb Impregnate with his genial fire From this first Parent did all creatures come Th' Almighty will'd and made all by Desire Nay more among the Sacred Three The third subsistence is from thee V. The Happiest Order of the Blest Are those whose Tide of Love's most high The bright Seraphic Host who 're more possest Of good because more like the Deity T' him they advance as they improve Their noble heat for God is love VI. Shall then a Passion so Divine Stoop down and Mortal Beautys know Nature's great Statute Law did ne're design That Heavenly fire should kindle here below Let it ascend and dwell above The proper Element of Love. The Consummation A Pindarique Ode I. THe rise of Monarchys and their long weighty fall My Muse outsoars she proudly leaves behind The Pomps of Courts she leaves our little All To be the humble Song of a less reaching Mind In vain I curb her tow'ring flight All I can here present's too small She presses on and now has lost their sight She flies and hastens to relate The last and dreadful Scene of Fate Nature's great solemn Funeral I see the mighty Angel stand Cloath'd with a Cloud and Rain-bow round his head His right foot on the Sea his other on the Land He lifted up his dreadful arm and thus he said By the mysterious great Three-one Whose Power we fear and Truth adore I swear the Fatal Thred is spun Nature shall breath her last and Time shall be no more The Ancient Stager of the Day Has run his minutes out and number'd all his way The parting Isthmus is thrown down And all shall now be overflown Time shall no more her under-current know But one with great Eternity shall grow Their streams shall mix and in one Circling chanel flow II. He spake Fate writ the Sentence with her Iron pen And mighty Thunderings said Amen What dreadful sound 's this strikes my ear 'T is sure th' Arch-angel's trump I hear Nature's great Passing-bell the only Call Of God's that will be heard by all The Universe takes the alarm the Sea Trembles at the great Angel's sound And roars almost as loud as he Seeks a new channel and would fain run under-ground The Earth it self does no less quake And all throughout down to the Center shake The Graves unclose and the deep sleepers there awake The Sun 's arrested in his way He dares not forward go But wondring stands at the great hurry here below The Stars forget their laws and like loose Planets stray See how the Elements resign Their numerous charge the scatter'd Atoms home repair Some from the Earth some from the Sea some from the Air They know the great alarm And in confus'd mixt numbers swarm Till rang'd and sever'd by the Chymistry divine The Father of Mankind's amaz'd to see The Globe too narrow for his Progeny But 't is the closing of the Age And all the Actors now at once must grace the Stage III. Now Muse exalt thy wing be bold and dare Fate does a wondrous Scene prepare The Central fire which hitherto did burn Dull like a Lamp in a moist clammy Urn Fann'd by the breath divine begins to glow The Fiends are all amaz'd below But that will no confinement know Breaks through its Sacred Fence and plays more free Than thou with all thy vast Pindarique Liberty Nature does sick of a strong Fever lye The fire the subterraneous Vaults does spoil The Mountains sweat the Sea does boil The Sea her mighty Pulse beats high The waves of fire more proudly rowl The Fiends in their deep Caverns howl And with the frightful Trumpet mix their hideous cry Now is the Tragic Scene begun The Fire in triumph marches on The Earth's girt round with flames and seems another Sun. IV. But whither does this lawless Judgment roam Must all promiscuously expire A Sacrifice in Sodom's fire Read thy Commission Fate sure all are not thy due No thou must save the vertuous Few But where 's the Angel guardian to avert the doom Lo with a mighty Host he 's come I see the parted Clouds give way I see the Banner of the Cross display Death's Conquerour in pomp appears In his right hand a Palm he bears And in his looks Redemption wears Th' illustrious glory of this Scene Does the despairing Saints inspire With Joy with Rapture and desire Kindles the higher life that dormant lay within Th' awaken'd vertue does its strength display Melts and refines their drosâ—y Clay New-cast into a pure Aethereal frame They fly and mount aloft in vehicles of flame Slack here my Muse thy roving wing And now the world 's untuned let down thy high-set string Freedom I. I Do not ask thee Fate to give This little span a long reprieve Thy pleasures here are all so poor and vain I care not hence how soon I 'm gone Date as thou wilt my time I shan't complain May I but still live free and call it all my own II. Let my sand slide away apace I care not so I hold the glass Let me my Time my Books my Self enjoy Give me from cares a sure retreat Let no impertinence my hours employ That 's in one word kind Heaven â—et me ne're be great III. In vain from chains and fetters free The great man boasts of Liberty He 's pinnion'd up by formal rules of state Can ne're from noise and dust retire He 's haunted still by Crouds that round him wait His lot's to be in Pain as that of Fools t' admire IV. Mean while the Swain has calm repose Freely he comes and freely goes Thus the bright Stars whose station is more high Are fix'd and by strict measures move While lower Planets wanton in the sky Are bound to no set laws but humoursomly rove To his Muse I. COme Muse let 's cast up our Accounts and see How much you are in Debt to me You 've reign'd thus long the Mistress of
strictness of notion for a Production of somthing out of nothing is most confessedly a greater and more difficult performance as to the nature of the work than the Raising of the Dead can be Or if more largely for producing somthing out of praeexistent but naturally unapt matter yet 't is still at least equal with it He that with the bare energy of his omnipotent word could inspirit the dead stupid void and formless masse and make it move into a frame so elegant and harmonious that the mere Contemplation of its Beauty and Order has by many Philosophers been thought a sufficient entertainment of life may easily be presumed to be able to do the same in the lesser world and with effect to say to a rude and disorder'd heap of dust the Chaos of a human body stand up and live 24. But after all were this Article of the Resurrection much more thickset with difficulties than it is yet would we before we venture to determine against its possibility sit a while and consider that we are nonplus'd at a thousand Phaenomenas in nature which if they were not done we should have thought them absolutely impossible as for instance to go no further the Central libration of the Earth and now they are we cannot comprehend 'em that we have seen but a few of Gods works and understand yet fewer and lastly that as the possibility of the effect is above the comprehension of our Reason so the Power of the Agent is much more so we should discern great reason to be cautious how we set limits to the Divine Omnipotence and should rather support our Faith against all Objections with that universal Salvo of the Apostle I know whom I have believ'd 25. I descend now from the things that are to be believ'd to the things that are to be done in the Christian Religion And that those may appear to be a Reasonable Service I consider first in general that the Christian Law is nothing else but the Law of Nature retriev'd explain'd and set in a clearer light Christ indeed added some new Precepts that were not in the Law of Moses but not any that were not in the Law of Nature That he only restored and rescued from the Sophistications of ill Principles and the corruptions of degenerate manners For the clearer understanding of which Proposition 't is to be observ'd that the Law of Nature was twice retriev'd by Moses and by Christ Moses did it imperfectly with a shaking hand and with a rude Pencil He adopted 't is true into his Table as many of Natures Laws as were necessary to the present state and capacity of the Jewish people but he did not exhaust the whole Code and Digest of Nature For there are many Instances and Branches of the Natural Law which are no way reducible to the Mosaic Tables unless hook'd in by long tedious consequences which as the Law never intended so neither is one of a thousand able to deduce them from it as appears in the instances of Gratitude to Benefactors Love to Enemys Forgiveness of Injurys Humility and the like which are excellences of the first Magnitude in the Imperial constitutions of Nature but not transcribed in the Copy and Extract of Moses as too refined for the grossness of that Age for the hardness of the Jewish people and for the Infancy of that Dispensation 26. This therefore was reserv'd for the work of a Diviner Prophet who should retrieve the Law of Nature to the full and restore it as at the Beginning For he came as he testifys of himself and as was before observ'd to another purpose to fill up Moses his Law which implies that it was imperfect and deficient and wherein should its defectiveness consist but in wanting somthing of the Natural Law. The Christian Law therefore is only the Law of Nature retriev'd 27. This being premised 't is but now to consider what the formal notion of the Law of Nature is and we have found out one general measure whereby to judge of the Reasonableness of the Christian Law. Now by the Law of Nature I suppose we all understand certain Practical Maxims or Dictates the observing or transgressing of which considering the present system of the universe have a natural connexion with the well or ill being of man either as to his private or political capacity I say considering the present system of the universe For no question God might have so contrived the Order and Scheme of the Creation as that many of those things which are now for the interest might have been for the disinterest of mankind as he might have so framed the texture of a human body that what is now wholsome and soveraign might have been poisonous and pernicious and in this respect I conceive the Law of Nature may be said to depend upon the arbitrary will of God and to be mutable at his pleasure But yet it still remains immutably true in the general that whatsoever has such a natural ordination to or connexion with the well or ill being of mankind is good or evil respectively This is the standard of morality and immorality and the essential difference between Vertue and Vice. And 't is as immutably true that some particular instances should have such a natural connexion stante rerum Hypothesi during the present state and order of things Now whatever has so is an essential branch of the Law of Nature and obliges us to act or not to act respectively to the Term of its Ordination So that Bonum honestum is that which in the order of things is Bonum utile and conduces as a Natural Medium to Felicity which is the End of man. 28. Hence then it follows that the Christian Law which is nothing else but the Law of Nature retriev'd consists only of such practical maxims which carry a natural relation to the true interest and well being of mankind and consequently contains nothing in it but what is reasonable very reasonable to be done But to evince this more particulary 't will be requisite to take a cursory view of the Christian Law. And this I shall consider first as I find it summ'd up in general by our B. Saviour in answer to the Lawyers Question what he should do to inherit eternal life and secondly in some of those particular instances of it which seem most to cross the present interest of mankind 29. As to the Ist the summe which our B. Saviour gave of it was this Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy Soul and with all thy mind and thy Neighbor as thy self These he told him were the two great Commandments and that there were none greater than these and certainly none more reasonable For since man is not his own end but has an Amorous Principle within him which transports him to good without himself since he is not a Central and selfterminating Being but by the weight
the measures of Justice and the Dictates of Common Sense that the bare doing an irregular act or the bare having an irregular propension should be punishable at all much more with eternal damnation as it must be if every dependence of an action upon the will be enough to render it imputable that is if every material be also a formal sin This I say would be very unjust because such irregular acts are no more a man 's own than those committed by another man. 8. But it is certain that God does not proceed by such measures as may be gather'd from the Oeconomy of his severest dispensation the Law. For when he forbad murther with such strictness and severity as to order the murtherer SECT II. A more particular and explicit consideration of Material sin and what it adds to the general nature of evil 1. AFter our Distinction of sin into Material and Formal and our justification of that distinction it follows that in the next place we give some more particular and explicit account of the nature of Material sin That it is an irregular act in general was intimated before but to speculate its nature more thoroughly we must set it in a clearer light and define what it is that makes an action irregular And the account which I shall give of this I shall ground upon that Definition of St. John who tells us that sin is a transgression of the Law. So that transgression of the Law is the irregularity of an action and is more explicitly the Material part of sin 2. Thus far in general But now to make Transgression of the Law fully adequate and commensurate to Material sin so as to extend to all kinds of it it concerns us in the next place to enquire what is here to be understood by Law and upon the right stating of this will depend the whole Theory of Material sin 3. By Law therefore in the first place is to be understood that which is Positive that is any rule of action prescribed to us by God consider'd only as prescribed Any action so prescribed be it otherwise never so indifferent for the matter puts on the force of a Law from the Authority of the Prescriber and every transgression of such a Rule is Sin. 4. But the Transgression of Law in this narrow sense of the word will not comprehend all the kinds of Material sin For altho Positive Law creates the first difference in some things yet it does not in all For had God never made any Positive Law yet the doing of some actions would have been sin nay there was sin where there was no Positive Law as may be probably collected from the fall of Angels But where there is no Law there is no Transgression There must be therefore some other law besides Positive Law. 5. By Law therefore 2ly is to be understood the Law of Reason that Candle of the Lord that lights every man that comes into the world in his passage through it This is twofold For 1st by the Law of Reason may be understood that Original stock of rational Tendencys or practical sentiments which prevent all Discourse and reasonings about what is to be done and answer to Speculative Principles For as the Animal and sensitive Nature is not only furnish'd with Sense and Perception but also with certain connatural instincts and impressions whereby Animals are directed and inclined to sensitive good so for the guardianship and security of Vertue against the danger either of ignorance or inadvertence God has furnish'd the Rational nature not only with the faculty of reasoning but with certain common Principles and Notions whereby 't is inclined to the good of the Reasonable life This is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so much talkt of and that which men generally mean by the Law of Nature 6. Or else 2ly by the Law of Reason may be understood a Power which a Rational Creature has of finding out by discoursing from first Principles what is fit to be done and of reflecting upon the reasonableness of those Moral Anticipations and impressions which he before entertain'd tho he knew not upon what ground 7. These two make up the adequate notion of the Law of Reason but we are not yet come to the adequate notion of Law. For if the Law of Reason be taken in the first sense for a stock of Moral Anticipations implanted by God in the Soul this will be but another branch of Positive Law. For Light of Nature and Light of Scripture are but different modes of Divine revelation and neither of these can be the ultimate Reason into which the Morality of every action is to be resolv'd 8. But if the Law of Reason be taken in the latter sense for a Power which a Rational Creature has of finding out by discourse what is reasonable to be done this will of necessity lead us higher namely to consider that there are certain antecedent and independent aptnesses or qualitys in things with respect to which they are fit to be commanded or forbidden by the wise governour of the world in some positive Law whether that of internal or external Revelation or both 9. We are therefore in the next place to resolve these antecedent aptnesses of things into their proper ground or to assign what that is which makes an action fit to be commanded or forbidden Which when we have done we are advanced as high as we can go and have found out that supreme eternal and irreversible Law which prescribes measures to all the rest and is the last Reason of good and evil 10. That therefore which makes an action fit to be commanded or forbidden by the wise governour of the world can be nothing else in general but its respective tendency to prompt or hinder the attainment of some certain end or other which that governour proposes For all action being for some end and not the End it self its aptness to be commanded or forbidden must be founded upon its serviceableness or disserviceableness to some end So much in general 11. I further consider that this end must be that which is simply and absolutely the best and greatest For no other is worthy of God. Now certainly there is none better or greater than the universal good of the whole Sisteme of things which is therefore to be regarded and prosecuted to the utmost both by God and all other Intelligent Beings 12. And hence arises this first and great Canon or Law that whatever naturally tends to the promotion of the common interest is good and apt to be commanded and whatever naturally tends to the disinterest of the public is evil and apt to be forbidden This is the great Basis of Morality the fixt and immutable standard of good and evil and the fundamental Law of Nature 13. And because there are some actions in specie which with relation to the present systeme both of the Material and Intellectual world have such a natural connexion with the
That knows their laws and how the Sun His dayly and his annual stage does run As if he did to them dispense Their Motions and there sate supream Intelligence IV. Nor is it he altho he boast Of wisdom and seem wise to most Yet 't is not he whose busy pate Can dive into the deep intrigues of State. That can the great Leviathan controul Menage and rule 't as if he were its soul The wisest King thus gifted was And yet did not in these true Wisdom place Who then is by the Wise man meant He that can want all this and yet can be content My Estate I. HOw do I pity that proud wealthy Clown That does with scorn on my low state look down Thy vain contempt dull Earth-worm cease I won't for refuge-fly to this That none of fortune's Blessings can Add any value to the man This all the wise acknowledge to be true But know I am as rich more rich than you II. While you a spot of earth possess with care Below the notice of the Geographer I by the freedom of my Soul Possess nay more enjoy the whole To th' universe a claim I lay Your writings shew perhaps you 'l say That 's your dull way my title runs more high 'T is by the Charter of Philosophy III. From that a firmer title I derive Than all your Courts of Law could ever give A title that more firm does stand Than does even your very Land. And yet so generous and free That none will e're bethink it me Since my possessions tend to no man's loss I all enjoy yet nothing I ingross IV. Throughout the works divine I cast my eye Admire their Beauty and their Harmony I view the glorious Host above And him that made them Praise and Love. The flowry meads and fields beneath Delight me with their odorous breath Thus is my joy by you not understood Like that of God when he said all was good V. Nay what you 'd think less likely to be true I can enjoy what 's yours much more than you Your meadow's beauty I survey Which you prize only for its hay There can I sit beneath a tree And write an Ode or Elegy What to you care does to me pleasure bring You own the Cage I in it sit and sing The Conquest I. IN Power or Wisdom to contend with thee Great God who but a Lucifer would dare Our strength is but infirmity And when we this perceive our sight 's most clear But yet I will not be excell'd thought I In Love in Love I 'll with my Maker vy II. I view'd the glorys of thy Seat above And thought of every Grace and Charm divine And further to encrease my love I measured all the Heights and Depths of thine Thus there broke forth a Strong and Vigorous flame And almost melted down my mortal frame III. But when thy Bloudy Sweat and Death I view I own Dear Lord the conquest of thy love Thou dost my highest flights outdo I in a lower orb and slower move Thus in this strife's a double weakness shewn Thy Love I cannot equal nor yet bear my own The Impatient I. WHat envious laws are those of Fate Which fix a gulph Blest Souls 'twixt us and you How 't wou'd refresh and chear our Mortal state When our dejected looks confess The emptiness of earthly bliss Could we in this black night your brighter glorys view II. Vain comfort when I thus complain To hear the Wise and Solemn gravely say Your grief and curiosity restrain Death will e're long this Bar remove And bring you to the Blest above Till then with this great Prospect all your longings stay III. But ah the joy peculiar here Does from the greater excellence arise 'T will be worth nothing in an equal Sphere Let me your noble converse have Blest Spirits on this side the grave I shall hereafter be as great as you as wise IV. Besides when plung'd in bliss divine I shall not tast or need this lesser joy What comfort then does from this Prospect shine 'T is just as if in depth of night You robb a Traveller of his light And promise to restore't when 't is clear day Content I. I Bless my stars I envy none Not great nor wealthy no nor yet the Wise I 've learnt the Art to like my own And what I can't attain to not to prize Vast Tracts of Learning I descry Beyond the Sphere perhaps of my Activity And yet I 'm ne're the more concern'd at this Than for the Gems that lye in the profound Abyss II. Should I my proper lot disdain As long as further good eclipses mine I may t' eternity complain And in the Mansions of the Blest repine There shall I numbers vast espy Of Forms more excellent more wise more Blest than I. I shall not then lament my unequal fate And why should larger Prospects now molest my state III. Where all in equal stations move What place for Harmony can there be found The lower Spheres with those above Agree and dance as free and briskly round Degrees of Essences conspire As well as various notes t' accomplish heaven's Quire. Thus would I have 't below nor will I care So the Result be Harmony what part I bear Against Knowledge I. WEll let it be the Censure of the Wise That Wisdom none but Fools despise I like not what they gravely preach And must another Doctrin teach Since all 's so false and vain below There 's nought so indiscreet as this to know II. The thoughtless dull and less discerning mind No flaws in earthly joys can find He Closes with what Courts his sight All Coin will pass by his dim light Though often baulkt he hopes for rest Sleeps on and dreams and is in Errour Blest III. But he that has refin'd and high-rais'd sense Can nothing tast but excellence Nor can he nature's faults supply By Fancy's happy Imag'ry He sees that all Fruition's vain Can't tast the present nor yet trust again IV. Our Joys like Tricks do all on cheats depend And when once known are at an end Happy and Wise two Blessings are Which meet not in this mortal Sphere Let me be ignorant below And when I 've Solid good then let me Know. Seeing a great Person lying in State. I. WEll now I needs must own That I hate greatness more and more 'T is now a just abhorrence grown What was Antipathy before With other ills I could dispence And acquiesce in Providence But let not Heaven my patience try With this one Plague left I repine and dye II. I knew indeed before That 't was the great man's wretched fate While with the living to endure The vain impertinence of State. But sure thought I in death he 'll be From that and other troubles free What e're his life he then will lye As free as undisturb'd as calm as I. III. But 't was a gross mistake Honour that too officious ill Won't even his breathless corps forsake But
under a double Capacity 1st as a Law and 2ly as a Covenant And first as a Law. 'T is most certain that Christ was a Law-giver as well as Moses only as he was an Introducer of a better Hope so he required better and sublimer Services The advantage of Christianity does not consist in having any abatements of Duty for Christ was so far from diminishing or retrenching the Moral Law for 't is of that I speak that he improv'd every part of it to higher senses than the most exquisite of the Jewish Doctors understood or at least conceiv'd themselves obliged to As is evident from his divine Sermon on the Mount which for the Perfection and Sublimity of its Precepts St. Chrysostom calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Top and Height of Philosophy 12. And that he thus improv'd the Law of Moses besides the evidence of Comparison we have his own express word for it I came not to destroy the Law but to perfect compleat or fill it up For so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly signifies The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or rude draught was Moses his part but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the painting to the life was Christ's Moses drew out the main lineaments the Skeleton of the Picture which was therefore call'd the Body of Moses but 't was Christ that fill'd up all its intervals and vacuitys and gave it all its graces Air and Life-touches And this is no more than what the Analogy of the Christian dispensation required The great end and design of God incarnate was to perfect Holiness as well as to retrieve Happiness to advance the Interests of the divine life and make us Partakers of the Divine nature and accordingly as he himself was the express image of his Fathers Person so 't was requisite he should consign to us an express image a correct Copy of his Fathers will. He was to make us better men and accordingly 't was fit he should give us a better law a Law that could not be satisfy'd but by such a Righteousness as should exceed even the strictest among the Jews that of the Pharisees So that we are by no means releas'd but rather more deeply engaged in Duty by the Gospel as 't is a Law. 13. Nor 2ly are we releas'd by it as 't is a Covenant Here indeed begin the Abatements of the Gospel not as to Duty and Obligation for the Gospel makes all that our Duty which the Law did and more only which in short is the true difference between the two Covenants it does not make the strict and exact performance of it the Measure the ultimate Measure whereby we are to stand or fall but admits of Pardon which the Law knew nothing of Not of absolute Pardon for then the Gospel would be a Covenant without a Condition nor of Pardon without Repentance and actual reformation of Manners for then the Gospel as a Covenant would interfere with it self as a Law but upon the sole Conditions of Faith and Repentance For 't is a great mistake to think that we are actually Justify'd or pardon'd by the satisfaction of Christ this wou'd be the most ready expedient to verify the false charge of the Scribes and Pharisees and make him in their sense a Friend to Publicans and Sinners to encourage all manner of vice and immorality and to turn the Mystery of Godliness into a Mystery of Iniquity No Christ in this sense has redeem'd no man. All that he either did or could in wisdom do for us as satisfying was in short to instate us in a Capacity and Possibility of Pardon and Reconciliation by procuring a grant from his Father that Faith and Repentance should now be available to Justification which without his satisfaction would not have been accepted to that purpose Whereby it appears that he was so far from superseding the necessity of Repentance and good works that he design'd only to make way for the success of them He did so much that Repentance might not be in vain and he did no more that it might not be needless And thus does the wisdom as well as the goodness of God lead us to Repentance by so ordering the matter that we may obtain Pardon with it and not without it which are the two strongest engagements to action in any concern that our Reason either demands or our deliberation can suggest 14. This I conceive to be the true Hypothesis and state of Christianity which I might yet further confirm by infinite Authoritys from Scripture which every where presses the necessity of good works as Conditions to our Justification and acceptance before God but I think the more rational and unprejudiced part of the world are pretty well satisfy'd in that Point and know how to accommodate St. James and St Paul better then some late Reconcilers And besides the wisdom of the Hypothesis sufficiently approves it self 'T is such as becomes the Perfections of the Divine Nature to exhibit to the world and which the Angels may well desire to look into For 't is at once fitted to the necessitys of man and to the Honour of God to the infirmitys of the Animal life and to the advancement of the Divine to the relief of the Sinner and to the suppression of sin Here Mercy and Truth meet together righteousness and peace kiss each other The Sacrifice of the Altar does not prejudice the Ballance of the Sanctuary and the Divine Justice is so satisfy'd that the necessity of Holiness and Obedience remains secured Much is forgiven and much is to be done Duty continues as fast as ever and even the Law of Liberty is a Service 15. And now that this may not be thought a Hard saying and make some of Jesus his Disciples to go back as once they did and walk no more with him when they hear of Duty and somthing to be done I shall now proceed to demonstrate the Reasonableness of that Service which Christianity requires of us which was the 2d general Proposition I proposed to speak to 16. Religion is so very agreeable both to the Inclinations and Discoursings of Human Nature that as none is capable of being Religious but a rational creature so 't is almost impossible for a creature to be indued with Reason and not to be Religious Hence 't is that there is no Nation so barbarous and degenerate but what has some Religion or other and tho ignorant of the true Object as well as manner of worship yet rather than wholly abstain from Religious applications will adore implicitely and erect an altar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the unknown God. 17. Nay so great a congruity is there between Religion and the radical notices and sentiments of a human Soul that all mankind except only some few distorted and Anomalous heads for there are monstrositys in the Soul as well as in the Body are unanimously agreed upon the fundamental and substantial Maxims of it which
Faith of the Church of Rome is not a little concern'd 40. 'T will follow 2ly that no man ought to be persecuted or have any external violence done him for his Religion supposing that by overt acts he give no disturbance to the Public For since God has required nothing of us but what is agreeable to our Reason why should man 41. 'T will follow 3ly that sin is the very Height and Extremity of Folly and Disingenuity Of Folly because it crosses and defeats the excellent end of Man which is to live happily and commodiously And of Disingenuity because 't is committed against him who when he might by vertue of his supream Dominion have imposed upon us arbitrary Laws as that given to Adam or hard and severe ones as that to Abraham has been graciously pleas'd to make nothing the Condition of our Happiness but what upon other accounts would have been most advisable to be done This certainly will render sin exceeding sinful and leave the sinner without the least shadow of an excuse We commonly derive the aggravations of sin from the greatness of God but without question his goodness will supply us with as many and in this sense also 't will be true to say as is his Majesty so is his Mercy 42. Lastly hence 't will follow that we ought to perform this Rational will of God with Angelical alacrity and constancy partly for its own excellency as 't is a persuance of our interest and partly out of gratitude and generosity to God for giving us such excellent Laws in keeping of which there is so great Reward For not only the End of our Religion is Happiness but even her very ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace Quintilian I remember inquiring why former ages afforded better Oratours than the latter resolves the Problem into this because there were then greater encouragements and rewards And if great encouragements will make good Orators why should they not make good men Let us then make it our daily endeavour as we do our daily Prayer that this excellent will of God may be done here on Earth as it is in Heaven and the more we do so the more we shall still be convinc'd that it is our Reasonable Service A DISCOURSE CONCERNING PERSEVERANCE IN HOLINESS A DISCOURSE CONCERNING Perseverance in Holiness 1. ALL that is of any moment for the full Discharging of this Subject will be absolv'd in these three Considerations 1st that man has one way or other sufficient power to persevere in a course of Holiness if he will otherwise all exhortations would be in vain 2ly that 't is also possible for him to fall from a state of Holiness otherwise they would all be superfluous And lastly by shewing him what vast encouragements what infinite engagements he has to stand 2. I begin with the first that man has one way or other sufficient power to persevere in a course of Holiness if he will. Where by Perseverance I do not understand a continuedly uniform equal course of obedience and such as is not interrupted with the least act of sin for this is a perfection not to be hoped for under the disadvantages of mortality but only such a constancy of obedience as excludes all contrary Habits and likewise all such acts of sin as are said directly to wast the Conscience those I mean which are committed against the clear and express Dictate either of natural Reason or supernatural Revelation And withall to compleat the Character such an Obedience as is attended with a sedulous care and hearty endeavour to correct and subdue even those pittiable infirmitys which can never be wholly put off in this state but will always adhere like spots to the brightest Star in the Firmament This I conceive to be all one with that disposition of Soul which with more compendiousness we usually call sincerity in opposition to a perfect and sinless obedience Now that man has sufficient power to persevere in such a course of life as is here described not to call in the assistance of any other Argument seems to me evidently demonstrable from this single consideration that to be found in the state above mention'd is the condition of the New-Covenant upon the fulfilling of which all our hopes of Pardon and Salvation depend I do not say 't is the indispensable Condition of our Salvation that we persevere uninterruptedly even in this state of Evangelical Righteousness it being possible for a man after an interruption of a salvable state to recover into it again as is plain from the case of David St. Peter and many others but that we be found finally in this state is the Condition of our Salvation For if the Righteous man turneth away from his Righteousness and committeth iniquitys and dies in them the righteousness that he hath done shall not be mention'd in the sin that he hath sinn'd shall he dye Well then if Salvation be not to be had out of this state then it follows that it must never become impossible to a man without his own fault to be found in it since 't is repugnant to the very nature of a Covenant much more of this great Covenant of mercy to have a condition annex'd to it which in some circumstances and that without our fault may prove impossible 3. The Condition then of this new Covenant must be as possible to man in this state of degeneracy now his locks are shaven and his great strength is departed from him as the Condition of the first Covenant was to him in his primitive might and vigour Do this and live is equally common to both the only difference lies in the This that is to be done not in the possibility of the performance Or if there are degrees of possibility the advantage ought to lie on this side this being as was hinted before a Covenant of Grace and Mercy 4. Well then if to be found finally in the state above describ'd be the indispensable condition of our Salvation and if for that very reason as it has been prov'd it must not in any circumstance become impossible without our fault it unavoidably follows that 't is also possible to persevere in it without interruption because otherwise we having not the disposal of our own lives it will oftentimes prove impossible for us and that without our own fault to be found finally in that state which is the Condition of Salvation which is contrary to the supposition The short is to speak all in a word the possibility of being found in a salvable state cannot be sufficiently secured without a possibility of always persevering in it and therefore I conclude it possible for a man to do so which was the thing I undertook to prove 5. But now lest man upon a survey of his natural strength and of the Auxiliarys of the Divine grace should pronounce himself absolutely impregnable and should begin to say in his heart as the Psalmist did in
not so obliged will evidently appear from the proof of this one single Proposition That every one is not bound to do what is best The reasonableness of which Proposition appears from the very nature of the thing for since that which is Best is a Superlative it necessarily supposes the Positive to be good And if so then we are not bound to that which is best for if we were then that which is only good would be evil it being short of what we are bound to which is contrary to the supposition 8. This Argument I take to be Demonstrative and therefore 't would be a kind of Supererogation in me to alledge any more But however for the clearer eviction and stronger confirmation of this Assertion I farther consider that the Scripture consists of Counsels as well as Commands Now if some things are matter of Counsel onely 't is obvious to conclude two things 1. From their being counsell'd that they are good nothing being matter of Counsel but what is so and secondly from their being only counsell'd that they do not oblige and consequently that there are some degrees of good that we are not obliged to 9. It is farther observable that in Scripture there is mention made of a threefold Will of God. Rom. 12. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That Will which is good that which is well-pleasing and that which is perfect The first of these denotes absolute Duty the two last the various degrees of Perfection and Heroic Excellence Thus for St. Paul to preach the Gospel to the Corinthians was an Act of strict Duty which he could not leave undone without incurring that woe which he annexes to the omission of it 1 Cor. 9. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But to preach without charging them was an instance of Generosity and in that respect there was room for boasting Thus again for a Jew to allot the tenth part of his Revenue every third year toward the relief of the Poor was an act of express Duty and in doing of that he would but satisfie the obligation of the Law But now if in his charitable contributions he should exceed that proportion according to the degrees of the excess so would the degrees of his Perfection be Thus again in the matter of Devotion daily Prayer is generally concluded to be a Duty and by some Criticks that it be twice perform'd in proportion to the returns of the Jewish Sacrifices Morning and Evening But now if a more generously disposed Christian should add a third time or out of abundance of zeal should come up to the Psalmist's resolution of Seven times a day will I praise thee this would be a free-will Offering well pleasing and of sweet savour but not commanded 10. From these and many other instances which if necessary I could easily produce it plainly appears that Religion does not consist in an indivisible point but has a Latitude and is capable of more and less and consequently there is room for voluntary Oblations and Acts of Heroic Piety 11. I know it is usually objected here that what is supposed to be thus Heroically perform'd is inclusively enjoyn'd by vertue of those comprehensive words Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy Soul c. But I conceive that all which is intended by that phrase will amount to no more than First a sincere love of God as 't is opposed to that which is partial and divided and secondly such a degree of loving him as admits of nothing into Competition with him And thus far reach the Boundaries of indispensable Duty it being impossible that he who does not love God in this sense and degree should keep his Commandments But beyond this there are higher degrees which because we may fall short of without sin are the more excellent when attain'd So that in this Precept of loving God as in all other instances of Religion there is a great latitude it being very possible for two Persons to love God sincerely and with their whole Soul and yet in different measures which is observ'd even among the Angels the Seraphins having their name from their excess of Love nay for the same Person always to love God sincerely and yet at some times to exceed himself and with his Saviour who to be sure never fail'd of necessary Duty to pray yet more earnestly 12. There is another Objection yet behind which I think my self concern'd to answer as well in my own defence as that of my Argument Some perhaps may be so weak to imagine that by asserting such a thing as Heroic Piety and that a Christian may do more than he is commanded I too much favour the Doctrine of Supererogation But I consider that for a Man to do more than he is commanded is an ambiguous expression and may denote either that he can perform the whole Law of God and more or that tho he fail of his Duty in many Instances and consequently with the rest of Mankind is concluded under Sin Yet in some others he may exceed it by pressing forward to some degrees of excellency he is not obliged to I do not assert the former of these but the latter And I think I have sufficiently proved that there are certain degrees in Religion which we are not obliged to under Pain of Sin and consequently that he who arrives so far does according to the latter notion of the Phrase do more then he is commanded 13. Having in the foregoing Periods stated the Notion of Heroic Piety and demonstrated that there is such a thing I proceed now to my third and last undertaking which was to offer some Perswasives to recommend the Practise of it First then I consider that Religion is the Perfection of a Man the improvement and accomplishment of that part of him wherein he resembles his Maker the pursuance of his best and last end and consequently his Happiness And will a man set bounds to his Happiness Will he be no more happy than he is commanded no more than what will just serve to secure him from a miserable Eternity Is not Happiness desirable for it self as well as for the avoiding of Misery Why then do we deal with it as with dangerous Physic weighing it by Grains and Scruples and nice Proportions Why do we drink so moderately of the River of Paradise so sparingly of the Well of Life Are we afraid of making too nigh advances to the State of Angels of becoming too like God of antedating Heaven Are we affraid our Happiness will flow in too thick upon us that we shall not bear up against the Tide but sink under the too powerful enjoyment Hereafter indeed when we are blest with the Beatific Vision and the Glories of the Divine Brightness shall flash too strong upon our Souls so that our Happiness begins to be lessen'd by its greatness We may then with the Angels that attend the Throne veil our Faces and divert some
furtherance or prejudice of this great end therefore these by way of Assumption under the two general Propositions are intrinsecally and naturally good or bad and are thereby differenc'd from those that are made so only by arbitrary Constitution Tho yet in one respect these are arbitrāry too in as much as they depend upon such a particular Hypothesis of the world which was it self arbitrary and which if God should at any time change the relations of actions to the great end might change too that which now naturally makes for the common advantage might as naturally make against it and consequently that which is now good might have been then evil But still the two great Hinges of Morality stand as fixt and as unvariable as the two Poles whatever is naturally conducive to the common interest is good and whatever has a contrary influence is evil These are propositions of eternal and unchangeable verity and which God can no more cancel or disanull than he can deny himself 14. So that now to analyze the immorality of any action into its last Principles If it be enquired why such an action is to be avoided the immediat answer is because 't is sin if it be ask'd why 't is sin the immediat answer is because 't is forbidden if why forbidden because 't was in it self fit to be forbidden if why fit because naturally apt to prejudice the common interest if it be ask'd why the natural aptness of a thing to prejudice the common interest should make it fit to be forbidden the answer is because the common interest is above all things to be regarded and prosecuted if farther a reason be demanded of this there can no other be given but because 't is the best and greatest end and consequently is to be desired and prosecuted not for the sake of any thing else but purely for it self 15. So that now the last Law whereof sin is a Transgression is this great and Supream Law concerning the prosecution of the common interest And every sin is some way or other directly or indirectly a transgression of this Law. Those against any Moral Precept directly and those against a Precept merely Positive indirectly because 't is for the common good that the Supreme Authority be acknowledg'd and submitted to let the instance wherein Obedience is required be in it self never so indifferent 16. If it be now objected that according to these measures there will be no difference between Moral and Physical evil contrary to the common distinction between malum Turpe and malum Noxium the one as opposed to bonum utile and the other as opposed to bonum honestum I answer that I know of no good or evil but of the end and of the means Good of the end is what we call bonum jucundum good of the means is what we call utile Evil of the end there is properly none but that only is evil which is prejudicial to it Indeed the old masters of Morality discours'd of moral good and evil as of absolute natures and accordingly nothing so common among them as to talk of Essential Rectitudes and Essential Turpitudes But I think it greater accuracy to say that Moral good and evil are Relative things that bonum honestum is one and the same with that which is truly utile and that Malum Turpe is that which is naturally against the profit of the Community And herein I assert no more than what the great master of the Latin Philosophy and Eloquence professedly contends for throughout the whole third book of his Offices And therefore instead of evading the Objection I freely own its charge and affirm that there is no difference between Moral and Physical evil any otherwise than that Physical evil extends to all things in nature which obstruct Happiness whereas Moral evil is appropriated to Actions that do so SECT III. The second part of the Discourse which briefly treats of Formal sin with the requisites necessary to its constitution Where also 't is enquired whether the Nature of sin be positive or privative 1. WE are now come to the second part of our Discourse where we are to treat of the nature of Formal Sin that is of Sin consider'd not abstractedly for the mere act of Obliquity but Concretely with such a special dependence of it upon the will as serves to render the Agent guilty or obnoxious to punishment 2. And here the first thing to be observ'd is that altho material sin does neither in its notion nor in its existence include formal sin yet formal sin does always include the other Tho there may be a transgression of the Law without formal sin yet the latter always supposes the former and as St. John says whosoever committeth sin transgresses also the Law. 3. But that which formal sin adds over and above to material and under whose respect we are now to consider it is the connotation of that special dependence of it upon the will which derives guilt upon the Agent So that for a Definition of formal sin we may say that it is an irregular action or a transgression of the law so depending upon the will as to make the Agent liable to punishment This is in the Phrase of St. John 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to have sin that is so as to be accountable for it for he speaks of that sin which upon confession God is faithful and just to forgive and consequently not of material for where there is no guilt there can be no Remission but of formal sin 4. From this general notion of formal sin proceed we to enquire what that special dependence is that makes an irregular action formally a sin And here 't is in the first place supposed that not every dependence of an action upon the will is sufficient to make it imputable And with very good reason For otherwise the actions of Infants Fools and Madmen would be imputable for these as indeed all actions have some dependence upon the will at least as a Physical Principle 5. To be positive therefore that an irregular action may so depend upon the will as to derive guilt upon the Agent 't is necessary first that it proceed from the will as from a free Principle Free not only in opposition to coaction for so all the actions of the will are free but in opposition to necessity or determination to one part of the contradiction That is in one word 't is necessary to the imputableness of an action that it be avoidable To this purpose is that common saying of St. Austin Nemo peccat that is formaliter in eo quod vitare non potest And great reason the Father had to say so for he that cannot avoid transgressing the Law is not so much as capable of being obliged by it because no man can be obliged to what is impossible and if he be not obliged by it certainly he cannot Morally and Formally break it A thing which the
Proposition in the understanding before there is any misapplication in the will and 't is through the swimming of the head that the feet slip and lose their station And yet the sinner is no way excusable for this his deception because 't is the ignorance of that which he habitually knows and he might have attended better and 't was his fault that he did not 9. And 't is the recovering and awaking up into this Conviction that is the Principle of Repentance and reformation of life When a man by the aid of grace and the use of due attention resumes his interrupted Judgment of Sins being the greatest evil he then comes again to himself forms new resolutions never to commit it and returns to the wisdom of the just So great reason had the Psalmist to pray O grant me understanding and I shall live THE PRAYER O My God who art pure light and in whom there is no darkness at all who art pure Love and hatest nothing but sin and hatest that infinitely give me an heart after thine own heart that I may also abhor it without measure and without end Open thou mine eyes that I may see those two wondrous things of thy Law the Beauty of Holiness and the deformity of sin Inspire me with that Charity which seeketh not her own that I may ever propose and follow that great and excellent end which thou proposest that I may ever adhere to that which is simply and absolutely best and never for any self-advantage disturb the order of thy Creation O let me never so far abuse those facultys thou hast given me as to thwart the designs of thy goodness and wisdom and to interrupt that Harmony wherein thou so delightest But let all my designs be generous unselvish and sincere so as chiefly to rejoyce at the good of thy Creation at whose very material Beauty the Morning Stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy Holy Father 't is thy will that this thy great Family should be prosperous and happy and the better part of it thy Angels strictly conform to it O let this thy will be done here on Earth as it is in Heaven and grant that every member of this great Body may so study the good of the whole that thou may'st once more review the works of thy hands and with a Fatherly complacency pronounce them good Grant this for the sake of him who gave his life for the Happiness of the world thy Son Jesus Amen II. GIve me wisdom that sitteth by thy throne and reject me not from among thy children That wisdom which was with thee from the Beginning which knoweth all thy works and was present when thou madest the world and knew what was acceptable in thy sight and right in thy Commandments O send her out of thy holy Heavens and from the throne of thy glory that being present she may labour with me that I may know and thoroughly consider what an evil it is to affront thy Authority to break through the bounds which thou hast set to rebel against the most excellent and divine part of my nature and to oppose that which thou lov'st and which is of all things the most lovely O let thy wisdom dwell with me let my loins be always girt and this my Light always burning that I may never be deceiv'd through the deceitfulness of sin nor seek death in the errour of my life Thy words have I hid within my heart that I might not sin against thee O grant me understanding and I shall live Keep I beseech thee this conviction still fresh and fully awake in me that Sin is the greatest of all evils that so the fear of none may ever drive me to do the thing which thy Soul hates Consider and hear me O Lord my God lighten mine eyes that I sleep not in death Amen Amen AN IDEA OF HAPPINESS IN A LETTER to a FRIEND ENQUIRING Wherein the greatest Happiness attainable by Man in this Life does consist Sollicitis vitam consumimus annis Torquemurque metu caecaque cupidine rerum Aeternisque Senes curis dum quaerimus aevum Perdimus nullo votorum fine beati Victuros agimus semper nec vivimus unquam Manilius lib. 4. OXFORD Printed at the THEATER 1687. An Idea of Happiness c. SIR 1. THO you have been pleas'd to assign me the Task of an Angel and in that Respect have warranted me to disobey you yet since a considerable part of that experimental Knowledg which I have of Happiness is owing to the Delight which I take in your vertuous and endearing Friendship I think 't is but reasonable I should endeavour to give you an Idea of that whereof you have given me the Possession 2. You desire to know of me wherein the greatest Happiness attainable by man in this Life does consist And here tho I see my self engaged in a work already too difficult for me yet I find it necessary to enlarge it For since the greatest Happiness or Summum Bonum of this Life is a Species of Happiness in general and since it is call'd Greatest not because absolutely perfect and compleat but inasmuch as it comes nearest to that which indeed is so it will be necessary first to state the Notion of Happiness in General and then to define wherein that Happiness does consist which is perfect and compleat before I can proceed to a Resolution of your Question 3. By Happiness in the most general Sense of the word I understand nothing else but an Enjoyment of any Good. The least Degree of Good has the same Proportion to the least Degree of Happiness as the greatest has to the greatest and consequently as many ways as a man enjoys any Good so many ways he may be said to be happy neither will the Mixture of Evil make him forfeit his Right to this Title unless it either equals the Good he enjoys or exceeds it And then indeed it does but the Reason is because in strictness of Speaking upon the whole Account the man enjoys no Good at all For if the Good and the Evil be equal-balanc'd it must needs be indifferent to that man either to be or not to be there being not the least Grain of good to determine his Choice So that he can no more be said to be happy in that Condition than he could before he was born And much less if the Evil exceeds the Good For then he is not only not happy but absolutely and purely miserable For after an exact Commensuration supposed between the Good and the Evil all that remains over of the Evil is pure and simple Misery which is the Case of the Damn'd And when 't is once come to this whatever some Mens Metaphysics may perswade them I am very well satisfied that 't is better not to be than to be But now on the other side if the Good does never so little out-weigh the Evil that Overplus of Good is as
can make Menalcas does his kids and tender lambs forsake So I when slave to Galatea's eyes Did neither City nor the Country prize But all their sports and my flock too despise Hang thou my Pipe sayd I on yonder tree For then alas I had no tast for melody Obscurely in thick woods I sate alone And sigh'd in consort to the Turtle 's moan Men. 'T is not fond love that causes my distress No Thyrsis you 'r mistaken in your guess The glorious Prize I have in Triumph born I am no longer now Alexis scorn Or if I were I now could be unmoved At every scornful glance nor care where e're he loved A nearer grief preys on my spirits now And I beneath a heavier burthen bow The gentle god of the Arcadian plains Pan that regards the sheep Pan that regards the Swains Great Pan is dead Throughout the fields the doleful tidings ran A swoon seiz'd all the Shepherds at the death of Pan. Of Pan But see the rest that Tree will shew Which wears the sad inscription of my woe Where with the bark my sorrows too will grow Thyr. How Shepherd is it by Fames trumpet said That Pan the best of all the gods is dead Whom oft w'adored and whom because we knew As good as they we thought him as immortal too 'T is strange but Omens now I find are true In yonder Copse a shady Oak there stood Stately well rooted and it self a wood Her branches o're the inferiour trees were spread Who all adored her as their soveraign head Hither when heated by the guide of Day While their young wanton goats did skip amd play Hither the Swains would constantly repair Here sing and in the ample shade drink fresher air This Tree when I my goats to pasture drove While all was clear above and still throughout the grove Struck by some secret force fall down I saw The wood-Nymphs all were seiz'd with wonder grief awe Nor had I left this ruin far behind When lo strange sight a Nightingal I find Which from brisk airs enlivening all the grove Coo'd on a suddain like the mournful dove Amazed I stand and on my pipe estay With some brisk song her sorrows to allay But all in vain She from the lofty tree Kept on her sad complaint and mourn'd and droop'd like thee Men. And why these slighter things dost thou relate Nature her self perceiv'd Pan's mighty fate She fainted when he drew his latest breath And almost sympathized with him to death Each Field put on a languid dying face The sheep not minding food with tears bedew'd the grass The Lions too in tears their grief confest And savage Bears ê‘an's enemys profest The Nymphs all wept and all the noble train Of Deitys that frequent the Court of Pan. Eccho that long by nought but voice was known In sounds repeated others woes but wept her own Th' Arcadians mourn'd and press'd beneath the weighty care With cruelty they charg'd the gods and every star Thyr. And well they might Heaven could not shew a Deity More mild more good t' his Votarys than he He was all Love all Peace all Clemency H' allur'd the Love and melted down the hate Of all he had no enemy but Fate Pan kept the Fields from wolves secured the Stall He guarded both the humble Shrubs and Cedars tall The Summers heat obey'd Pan's gentle hand And Winter winds blew soft at his command He blest the Swains with sneep and fruitful made their land Weep Shepherds and in pomp your grief express The ground with flowers your selves with Cypress dress Let the Arcadians in a solemn train March slowly on let mournful accents fill the plain Do this at least in Memory of Pan. Daph. But why this vain expence of tears breath D' ye think Pan lost and swallow'd up in death He lives and with a pleas'd and wondring eye Contemplates the new beautys of the sky Whence on these Fields he casts propitious rays Now greater than our Sorrow greater than our Praise I saw for why mayn't I rehearse the sight Just as the Stars were kindled by the Queen of night Another new-made milky way appear I saw and wonder'd what event it might prepare When lo great Pan amazed my trembling sight As through th' Aethereal plains he took his flight Deck'd round with rays and darting streams of light Triumphant was his March a sacred throng Of gods inclosed him Pan was all their song The sky still brighten'd as they went along Men. Thy vision be all truth But who shall now the royal sheep-crook hold Who patronize the fields who now secure the fold Daoh Discharge that care the royal stock does yield Another Pan to patronize the field An Heir of equal conduct does the Scepter sway One who long nurtured in the Pastoral way In peace will govern the Arcadian plains Defend the tender flocks and chear the drooping Swains Thyr. Come then let 's tune the pipe t' a brisker Key Let 's with a dance our sorrows chase away And to new Pan in sports devote the day Satiety I. HAst on dull Time thy winged minutes hast I care not now how soon thou bring'st my last By what I 've liv'd I plainly know The total Sum of all below The days to come altho they promise more I know will be as false as those that went before II. The best of life tho once enjoy'd is vain And why ye Powers the self same o're again The Comedy's so dull I fear 'T will not a second acting bear No I 've enough I cannot like the Sun Each day the self same stage and still unwearied run III. What cruel laws are these that me confine Thus still to dig in a deceitful Mine Be just ye Powers my Soul set free Give her her native liberty 'T is ' gainst the Stage's law to force my stay I 've seen an Act or two and do not like the Play. The Reply I. SInce you desire of me to know Who 's the Wise man I 'll tell you who Not he whose rich and fertile mind Is by the Culture of the Arts refin'd Who has the Chaos of disorder'd thought By Reason's Light to Form and method brought Who with a clear and piercing sight Can see through nicetys as dark as night You err if you think this is He Tho seated on the top of the Porphyrian tree II. Nor is it He to whom kind Heaven A secret Cabala has given T' unriddle the mysterious Text Of Nature with dark Comments more perplext Or to decypher her clean-writ and fair But most confounding puzling character That can through all her windings trace This slippery wanderer and unveil her face Her inmost Mechanism view Anatomize each part and see her through and through III. Nor he that does the Science know Our only Certainty below That can from Problems dark and nice Deduce Truths worthy of a Sacrifice Nor he that can confess the stars and see What 's writ in the black leaves of Destiny