out the strangest means to deliver our selves from it and to procure our Death Et saepe usque adeo mortis formidine vitae Percipit ingratos odium lucisque videnda Vt sibi conciscant moerenti pectore lethum But this extraordinary Fear causeth by degrees a certain kind of Melancholy which depresseth the Heart enfeebles the Spirits and obstructs all the operations of Life It stops Digestion and draws upon us many Diseases that are the immediate Causes of Death However the Opinion of the Stoicks is not only contrary to the Sacred Precepts of our Religion but is also contrary to Nature and right Reason We must except some certain Persons who being directed by a Particular and Divine Instinct have been instrumental in procuring their own Deaths as Samson and others in the Old-Testament and Sophronia and Pelagia since the New for Nature furnishes all sorts of Animals with a Natural love of Life and there is none besides Man let them be tormented with never so grievous pain but labours to preserve Life as much as they can and to avoid Death This is a sign that none but Man doth by his mistaken Opinions corrupt the Institution of Nature when he refuseth the benefit of Life and advanceth his Death he acts then by a wickedness peculiar to himself for the true state of Nature is to be consider'd in the general body of the Creatures and not in some few individuals of one single Species that hasten their own destruction and cast away themselves before the time appointed by Nature From hence we may conclude that such are injurious to God and Nature who being design'd and order'd to perform a certain Race stop in the middle of their Course of their own accord and who being appointed to watch forsake and abandon their Post without waiting for Orders from their Superiors Besides Reason forbids us to be Cruel against the Innocent who never did us any harm and by consequence it don't allow that we should act inhumanly upon our selves from whom we never experienced any Hatred but rather too much Love Moreover upon what occasion can our Vertue appear more conspicuous than in suffering Courageously the Evils that our hard Fortune imposes upon us To die saith Aristotle because of our Poverty or for Love or for some other mischievous accident is not the act of a Man of Spirit and Courage but of a mean and timorous Soul for it is the part of a weak Mind to shun and flye from things hard to be endured Stout Men saith Curtius are wont to despise Death rather than to hate Life 'T is the trouble and impatience of Suffering that carries the Cowards to base Actions that makes them despised and scorned Vertue leaves nothing unattempted and Death is the last thing with which we must Encounter but not as timerous lazy and unwilling Souls I shall not here stay to examin the Opinion of those who imagining saith Lactantius that the Souls are Eternal have therefore kill'd themselves as Cleanthes Chrysippus and Zeno expecting to be transported at the same time to Heaven or as Empedocles who cast himself in the Night into the Flames of Mount-Aetna that by disappearing so suddenly the World might think that he was gone to the Gods or as Cato who was during his Life-time a Follower of the vanity of the Stoicks who before he kill'd himself as it is Reported had read Plato 's Book of the Eternity of the Soul or finally as Cleombrotus who after he had read the same Book cast himself down a Precipice This is a Cursed and Abominable Doctrin that drives Men out of their Lives Neither shall I trouble my self with that Cyrenaick of Hegesius who Disputed so Elegantly concerning the Miseries of Life and the Blessed Place of the Souls after Death that King Ptolomy was forced to forbid him to speak in Publick because so many of his Disciples after they had heard him destroyed themselves as Cicero Reports and some others For the Evils that we indure in this Life may happen to be so great and increase in such a manner that when the time of Death is come the loss of Life may not be unpleasant and that in such a Case Death may be esteem'd as the Haven that shelters us from the Miseries and Torments of Life But to aggravate our Afflictions so far as to beget in us a scorn and hatred of Life is to be injurious and unthankful to Nature as if the Gift of Life that hath been bestowed upon us for our use were to be rashly cast away or as if we were not to accept of it any longer nor honestly and quietly to enjoy it as long as is possible 'T is true what Theognis said formerly That it were much better for Men not to be Born or to Die as soon as they are Born is a Celebrated Saying Non nasci res est mortalibus optima longe Nec Solis radiis acre videre Jubar Aut natum Ditis quamprimum lumen adire This is confirmed by the Example of Cleobis of Biton of Agamedes of Pindarus and of some others who having Petitioned the Gods to grant to them the thing which was best and most desirable were admitted to this great favour To die in a short time Answerable to this is the Custom of the Thracians who wept at the Birth of their Children but Congratulated the Happiness of such as Died. Not to mention Menander who wish'd a young Man dead because he was well beloved by the Gods Quem diligunt Dii Juvenis ipse interit Nor to say any thing of that Famous Sentence Vitam nemo acciperet si daretur scientibus That no body would accept of Life willingly if it were given to them that knew what it were But pray who will believe that Theognis and the rest have spoken seriously and without any Restriction I say without any Restriction for if they would have it that it is better for such only who are to be miserable all their Lives that they had not been Born or to have Died at the very moment of their Birth the Saying might be tolerable and allowable but to speak this in relation to all Men is to affront Nature the Mistriss both of our Life and Death that hath ordered and appointed our Birth and our Dissolution as she hath all other things for the preservation of the Universe It were to expose our selves to be contradicted if not by all yet by the most part of Men who are not weary of Life but seek to preserve it as carefully as they can For Life as we have already observed hath something in it very pleasing and lovely therefore he that speaks in this manner shall feel himself bound and held fast and I am apt to believe that he may be like the Old Man in Aesop who sent Death back again tho' he had often called for it before or like another who refused to make use of the Dagger that he had desired to be
which the Augures among the Romans pretended who predicted by the flight or chirping of Birds The Haruspices by looking into the Bowels of Animals The Sortilegi by Lot The Interpreters of Dreams that were dubious and obscure The Interpreters of Thunders Monsters and Prodigies Those skill'd in Physiognomy and Palmestry and such as pretend by the Lines of the Hand to foretel certain particular Events attended with the Circumstances of Places of Times of Persons and Things As to what concerns the Temper and natural Inclinations no doubt but there are signs of them in the Body but yet these signifie not that such and such things shall come to pass at such and such a time and that in such and such a manner As to that other sort of Divination which is not performed by Art or by the help of Signs or long Observation this is effected by some Apparition or a discourse with Ghosts or Spirits or by a certain Agitation or Fury of Mind either supernatural or caused by the Devil Such is that which we believe to have been in the Sybils and such as have been in an Extasie of those whose Understanding sometimes when they have been awake and other times in their sleep hath been so moved and exalted beyond its ordinary Station that it sees many things that in a natural and peaceable Temper it sees not As for artificial Divination 't is not needful that we should busie our selves to refute it seeing by that what we have said concerning judicial Astrology 't is certain that if this Art which among all the Arts of Divination is the Chief and yet is but vain and fantastical the rest ought not to be otherwise esteem'd And truly if there were any reality in these Arts why at present since they are of no use in any Religion should they be looked upon as of worth seeing that heretofore when their Religion ordered them to be taken notice of the learned and most intelligible Men of those Times slighted them For we know what Advice Thales gave to Periander when a Monster half Man and half Beast was born of a Mare from whence the Chief Priest concluded that there would be a dangerous Sedition that would follow 'T is also known what Cato as Cicero tells used merrily to say That he wondered that when a Fortune-teller or Cunning Man met with another of the same Trade that is to say one Cheat met with another how he could contain himself from smiling Mirari se quod non rideret Haruspex Haruspicem cum vidisset 'T is the same thing which was said upon the occasion of a Serpent that had wound it self about a Lever that it had been indeed a wonder if the Lever had been wound about the Serpent Thus Hannibal spoke to King Prusias who was loath to fight because the Bowels of the Beasts were not favourable Had you rather give Credit to the Entrails of a Calf than to an able and experienced General of an Army as Hannibal Such another Story is related of Claudius Pulcher who was resolved to ingage in a Sea-Fight tho' the Chickens would not come out of their Coup Well said he to the Keeper who told him that it was but an ill Sign cast them into the Sea for seeing they will not eat they shall drink Quia esse nolunt bibant Marcellus also said pleasantly That when he would perform any thing he was willing to the better not to be hindered by these Men of Art was wont to march with his Litter shut And Mosamac who kill'd a Bird that hindered a whole Caravan from marching on their Journey because they saw it flying sometimes this way sometimes that spoke thus to 'em Are you such Fools as to believe that this Bird that knew not how to preserve its own life should know any thing of our Journey We may alledge our daily Experience certainly when Experience is constant there is nothing but ought to yield to it But how often do things happen contrary to what is foretold Flavinius saith Cicero obeyed the Sooth-sayers and perished with his Army A year after Paulus who was also persuaded by them was also killed with all his Army at the Battel of Cannae What shall we say of the Answers of the Augures I know of a great many that have had no Events or such as were contrary to their Predictions These Diviners forbid Cesar to pass over into Africa before Winter yet he passed over and Conquered If what we Dream of happens sometimes how often doth it never come to Pass and because sometimes it never happens ought we not to conclude that if it happens 't is Chance rather than to think that there is any Art in it Who is it that shoots every Day with a Bow and will not sometimes hit the Mark We sleep every Night and there is scarce any of us but Dream and we seem surprised when what we have dreamt of sometimes comes to pass You will say 't is an effect of the Providence of the Gods to intimate to us before hand by Signs the things that may befall us for there is nothing more useful to us But to what end should the Gods give us Signs of the Mischiefs that must fall upon us Why should they give us such Signs that we cannot understand without Interpreters Why should they signify to us what we cannot avoid and if the Signs are of a Divine Original why are they so obscure Is it probable that the Immortal Gods those Divine and Excellent Beings should busy themselves to buz about the Beds and mean Retirements of poor Mortals in what part of the World soever they be and that when they find any of them snoring they should present them with troublesome dubious and obscure Visions to fright them and to oblige them the next Morning to run and consult the Soothsayer Is not this a natural Effect that our active Spirits having been lately disturb'd should fancy to see sleeping what they had seen when awake Which of these is most becoming a Philosopher to Interpret things by the Superstion of Fortune-tellers and Conjurers or by the Explication of Natural Causes and the less we are to heed them because they who exercise this Profession are Fellows made up of the Dregs of the People and very Ignorant One that was to run in the Olypick Games dreamt as he was a sleeping that he was carried away upon a Chariot with four Horses In the Morning he went and consulted the Soothsayers they told him you will infallibly carry away the Prize the swiftness and the strength of the Horses intimate as much The same Person went to advise with Antiphon who assured him that of Necessity he would be overcome Don't you see that four ran before you A married Woman that desires to have a Child and questions whether she is Pregnant and fancies that her Womb is shut up The Soothsayer that she went to advise with in the Morning told her that she could
THREE DISCOURSES OF HAPPINESS VIRTUE AND LIBERTY Collected from the WORKS of the Learn'd GASSENDI By Monsieur Bernier Translated out of French LONDON Printed for Awnsham and John Churchil at the Black Swan in Pater-Noster-Row MDCXCIX THE PREFACE THE Epicurean Philosophers placing the Happiness of Man in the Satisfaction of the Mind and Health of the Body assure us that those two are no otherwise to be procured than by a constant Practice of Virtue And because they have had the hard Fate to be misrepresented by most of the other Sects as well Ancient as Modern and their Principles traduced as favouring the most brutal Sensuality the Learned Gassendi who had either examined their Doctrin with more Diligence or interpreted their Sentiments with more Candour and Justice thought he could not employ his Time better than to vindicate the Morals of Epicurus and his Followers from the Slanders of Mistake and Malice and to shew that their principal Design was to lead Men by smooth and easie Paths to a just sober wise and virtuous Behaviour as the only way to true Happiness This he proved at large and illustrated with the Sentiments of many great and excellent Men among the Greeks and Romans But because these Things were diffused through the voluminous Works of that Great Man Monsieur Bernier whose Name is a sufficient Commendation in the Common-wealth of Learning took the Pains to put them together and to form them into several intire Discourses which on account of their great importance to Mankind are here presented to the Publick OF Moral Philosophy IN GENERAL MAnkind having a natural Inclination to be happy the main bent and design of all his Actions and Endeavours tend chiefly that way It is therefore an undeniable Truth that Happiness or a Life free from Pain and Misery are such things as influence and direct all our Actions and Purposes to the obtaining of them And tho' several Persons who neither want the Necessities nor Conveniences of Life possessing great Riches promoted to Dignites and Honours blessed with a beautiful and hopeful Off-spring in a word who want nothing that may seem requisite to compleat their present Happiness tho' I say we find many who have all these Advantages yet they lead an anxious and uneasy Life disquieted with Cares Troubles and perpetual Disturbances From whence the wiser sort of Mankind have concluded That the Source of this Evil proceeds from the Ignorance of the Cause wherein our true Happiness consists and of the last end which every one should propose to himself in all his Actions which being neglected we are led blind-fold by our Passions and forsake Honesty Vertue and good Manners without which it is impossible to live happily For this Reason they have therefore undertaken to instruct us wherein true Happiness consists and to propose such useful Precepts for the due regulation of our Passions whereby our Minds may be less liable to be disturb'd This Collection of Precepts Reflections and Reasonings they name The Art of Living or The Art of leading an happy Life And which they commonly call Moral Philosophy because it comprehends such Doctrins as relate to the Manners of Men that is to say the accustomed and habitual Actions of Life From hence we may understand That this part of Philosophy is not only speculative and rests in the bare Contemplation of its Object but proceeds to Action and that it is as we usually say active and practical for it directs and governs our Manners rendring them regular and agreeable with the Rules of Justice and Honesty So that in this respect it may be said to be The Science or if this Term be scrupled at we may call it The Art of doing well I only make this Supposition for let it be stiled Art or Science 't is a difference only in Name which depends upon the manner of understanding those two Words and therefore requires no further Scrutiny into the matter We will rather take notice that Democritus Epicurus and divers others of no small Eminency have had so high an esteem for Moral Philosophy that they have judged the Natural to be no further regarded than only as it was found useful in freeing us from certain Errors and Mistakes in our Understanding which might disturb the Repose and Tranquility of our Life and wherein it might be serviceable to Moral Philosophy or to the better obtaining of that Knowledge which teaches us to live happily and comfortably I shall not mention the Followers of Socrates Aristippius Anthistenes with the Cyrenaicks and Cynicks who altogether neglecting the Natural gave themselves entirely over to the study of Moral Philosophy considering with Socrates what might make for the Good or Ill of Families and what might contribute to the Grief and Disturbance of Man's Life Quid siet in domibus fortasse malumve bonumve We may also here observe That tho' Socrates is supposed to be the Inventer of Moral Philosophy this is only to be understood so far as he did cultivate and improve a new and considerable part not that he laid the first and Original Precepts of it for it is certain that before him Pythagoras had much improved this sort of Knowledge And 't is well known that he commonly asserted That the Discourser of a Philosopher that cures not the Mind of some Passion is vain and useless as the Physick that drives not away the Distemper from the Body is insignificant It is likewise very certain That the wise Men of Greece who lived a little before Pythagoras were named wise only because they addicted themselves to the Study of Moral Wisdom Therefore at this present time their famous Sentences that relate to Mens Manners are generally known all over the World We might add if we would make farther search into the Antiquity of the Heroes that we shall find Orpheus by this same Study of Moral Philosophy drawing the Men of his time off from their barbarous and savage way of Living which gave occasion of that Saying of him That he tamed the Tygers and the Lions as Horace describes Orpheus inspir'd by more than human Power Did not as Poets feign tame savage Beasts But Men as lawless and as wild as they And first disswaded them from Rage and Blood Thus when Amphion built the Theban Wall They feign'd the Stones obey'd his Magick Lute In a word it was Morality that first set a Mark of Distinction between publick and private Good setled our Rights and Authority and gave Laws and Rules for regulating Societies as the same Poet expresses When Man yet new No Rule but uncorrupted Reason knew And with a native bent did Good pursue Vnforc'd by Punishment unaw'd by Fear His Words were simple and his Soul sincere No suppliant Crowds before the Judge appear'd No Court erected yet no Cause was heard But all was safe for Conscience was their Guard However we must acknowledge our selves much indebted to Socrates as to Moral Philosophy since by his applying himself
or Cure the Body is over so it is as ridiculous to say that the time to play the Philosopher that is to heal the Mind is not yet come or that the time is past to be Happy 'T is strange that we should thus miserably wast and consume our time and should not apply our selves to that which will be as useful to the Rich as to the Poor and which being neglected is as prejudicial to the Young as to the Old 'T is a Reproach that Horace applies to himself Fluunt mihi tarda Ingrataque tempora quae spem Consiliumque morantur agendi gnaviter id quod Aeque pauperibus prodest locupletibus aeque Aeque neglectum pueris senibusque nocebit Take from hence both Young and Old take from hence with you the Viaticum the Entertainment and the Consolation of poor Old Age. Petite hinc Juvenesque senesque miseris viatica canis For 't is of the Study of Philosophy that the Poet speaks according to Biantes Aristippus Antisthenes Aristotle and other Philosophers stiling it the Viaticum of Old Age. But to mention that chiefly which ought to perswade young Men to Study Philosophy is that there is nothing more Excellent and Commendable than to accustom our selves betimes to good things and to adorn the Beauty of Youth with the sweetness of Wisdom which commonly is the Blessing of a more mature Age. Nor is there any thing more agreeable than to prepare and make our selves fit to meet and receive Old Age which besides it's proper Blessings of Maturity may also shine forth with the lustre of those Vertues which were Splendid and Remarkable in our Youth So that by the frequent remembrance of the Vertuous Actions of our Youth we may in our Elder Years seem to grow young again Moreover Wisdom is not only a proper and true Ornament but a very useful Prop and assistance against the Inconveniencies and Infirmities of Age. 'T is that which animates Old Men with the same Vigour as it doth the young Here we again ought to listen to Seneca who when he was very Old was wont to hear the Lessons of Sextus the Philosopher The same was practis'd in imitation of him by the Emperor Antoninus Behold says he this is the fifth Day that I frequent the Schools and that I listen to a Philosopher who Disputes from Eight a Clock You may perhaps say 't is time indeed to Study in our younger years And why not in this Age Is there any thing more ridiculous than to refuse Learning because we have not Learn'd a long while before Shall I be asham'd to go and meet a Philosopher We ought to Learn while we are Ignorant and according to the Proverb As long as we Live Go Lucillus and make hast for fear that it should happen to you as to me to be oblig'd to Study in your declining years and make what speed you can the rather because you have undertaken that which you will scarce Learn when you come to be Decrepit But what advantage shall I gather may you say As much as you will endeavour for What do you expect No Man becomes Wise by Chance Riches may come to us of themselves Honours may be offered to us and we may be advanc'd to Employments and Dignities but Vertue won't come and seek us we must endeavour to find her for she never bestows her Blessings but upon such as take Labour and Pains These are the Particulars which the Ancient Philosophers and chiefly Epicurus have recommended to our serious Consideration as the best means not only to discover to us the surest way to true Happiness but also to render it easie and pleasant CHAP. II. What sort of Pleasure it is that Epicurus Recommends as the End of a Happy Life T IS strange that the Word Pleasure should have blasted the Reputation of Epicurus or to make use of the Words of Seneca That it hath given occasion for a Fiction for it is certain that this word comprehends the honest Pleasures as well as the loose and debauch'd I say it is certain for Plato Aristotle and all the other Ancient Philosophers as well as their Disciples speak in express words that amongst the Pleasures some are Innocent others Impure some are of the Mind others are of the Body some true others false We Believe saith Aristotle that Pleasure ought to accompany Happiness And as it is confess'd that amongst the operations that are agreeable with Vertue such as proceed from Wisdom are more Pleasant than the rest therefore Wisdom seems to contain Pleasures that are pure admirable and fix'd There is a Delight saith Cicero in seeking after great and hidden things and when there appears something of resemblance the Mind is fill'd with a sweet Pleasure In the Discoveries of Nature there is an unsatiable Pleasure and those who delight in pursuit hereof neither regard oft-times their Health nor their Fortune they suffer all things being Captivated with the love of Knowledge and Understanding and with great labour they pay for the Pleasure they acquire by Learning We read also in the Holy Scriptures that God himself in the beginning Planted a Garden or Paradise of Pleasure that the Blessed shall be filled with the Fatness of his House and drink of the Rivers of his Pleasures I mention this only because some imagin that this word Pleasure cannot nor ought not to be taken but in an ill sense Therefore when Epicurus saith that Pleasure is the chief End they fancy that he cannot and ought not to be understood but of sordid and forbidden Pleasures So that when we say or when they read that there have been some Philosophers who were called Voluptuous they presently take Epicurus for their Chieftain or Leader But let us examine this Business from the bottom and first let us begin with the Accusation which they bring against him And as amongst those who allow other Pleasures than of the Body there are some that will have what he saith to be understood only of Bodily Pleasures let us weigh his own words as they are found in Laertius for there he expresseth his Mind and declares plainly what that Pleasure is which ought to be the End of our Life and the Chief Good The End of an Happy Life saith he is nothing else but the Health of the Body and the Tranquility of the Soul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Because all our Actions aim and tend to this End that we may be free from Pain and Trouble 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And because this End he stiles by the Name of Pleasure some took occasion from thence to scandalize him saying that hereby he understood the mean and sordid Pleasures of the Body Therefore he makes his own Apology and clears himself from this Calumny by declaring plainly what kind of Pleasure he means and what not for after having made it his main business to recommend a Sober Life which is satisfied with plain Food and easie to be got you
shall hear what he saith next When we say that Pleasure is the main End we mean neither the Pleasures of Debauchery nor the other sensual Delights which terminate in the very moment of enjoyment and by which the Senses are only gratified and pleased as some ignorant Persons and who are not of our Opinion or who being enviously bent against us do thus Interpret But we only understand this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To feel no pain in the Body and to have no trouble in the Soul for 't is not the Pleasure of continual Eating and Drinking nor the Pleasure of Love nor that of Rare Dainties and delicious Bits of large and well-furnish'd Tables that make a Pleasant Life but a sound Judgment assisted by Sobriety and consequently by a serenity and tranquility of Mind which throughly enquires into the Causes why we ought to embrace or avoid any thing and that drives away all mistaken Opinions or false Notions of things which might raise much perplexity in the Soul I might add another Passage which I shall only mention Venereorum usus nunquam prodest praeclareque agitur nisi etiam noceat That the Delights of Venus are not only unprofitable but it is very rare if they be not mischievous But this ingenuous and plain Declaration of his meaning is sufficient to justifie him from the slanderous Accusations of his Enemies Let us nevertheless take notice of the difference and contrariety that Laertius puts between Epicurus and Aristippus for this difference or antithesis shews clearly that Epicurus believed no other Pleasure to be the End but that which consists in a constant Repose namely a freedom from pain of Body and trouble of Mind But Aristippus would have it consist in that Pleasure of the Body which is chiefly Communicated to us by action or by which our Senses are actually pleased and gratified This contrariety I say discovers Epicurus's Opinion to have been misrepresented and taken in a wrong sense such as Aristippus's deserved So that all the Reproaches that were due to Aristippus have been cast by this mistake upon Epicurus and the other hath escap'd unblemish'd The Famous Dispute of Torquatus in Cicero plainly discovers this Truth Hear his words I will explain saith Torquatus what that Pleasure is that I may prevent all cause of mistake in them who understand not the matter and that I may make them apprehend that this Doctrin which they fancy to be loose and debauch'd is Grave Chast and Regular We do not pursue that Pleasure which gratifies Nature with a little seeming sweetness and that is relish'd by the Senses with a haut-gust But we esteem that to be the chief Pleasure that is taken without any sense of Pain for as Thirst and Hunger are allayed by Eating and Drinking this deliverance freedom or privation from that which is troublesom and uneasie causeth Pleasure so in all other things a deliverance from Pain begets Pleasure Epicurus therefore admits of no Medium between Pain and Pleasure for he maintained that what appear'd to some to be a Medium namely the privation from all Pain was not only a Pleasure but the chief Pleasure In truth he that rightly understands himself and knows what ails him or what Condition he is in he must needs be either in Pleasure or in Pain Now Epicurus was of Opinion that the chief Pleasure consisted in a privation from all Pain and by Consequence that Pleasure may be diversified and distinguished but not augmented and encreas'd We might here produce some Witnesses of this matter Certainly Seneca may be heard and credited before all others as being without doubt a Person of great worth unspotted Reputation of an Exemplary Life and Manners and addicted to a Sect which had chiefly drawn upon Epicurus all the shame and disgrace that is commonly cast upon him instead of Aristippus being thereunto encouraged by the evil sense and meaning that they have given to his words According to Epicurus saith Seneca there are two Advantages required to the compleating the Sovereign Good or Chief Happiness of Man The First is That the Body may be without Pain The Second That the Mind may be calm and sedate These advantages don't increase if they be compleat for how can that which is full increase When the Body is free from Pain what can be added to that Freedom when the Mind enjoys it self and is quiet what may be added to this Tranquility Like as the Serenity of the Heavens is perfect and can't admit of any other new degrees of Light when it is absolutely clear and without the least shadow or mist Thus the Condition of Man is perfect when he hath taken care of his Body and Soul making his chief Happiness to consist in the advantages of both together in a Freedom from all trouble of Mind and from all pain of Body for we may then say that such a Man is arrived to the full accomplishment of all his Desires And if beside all this there happens to him an additional Repose it don't increase his chief Good but it only seasons it for this compleat Happiness the perfection of the Human Nature is comprehended in the quiet of the Body and the Mind In which words we may take notice that Seneca expresseth clearly and plainly Epicurus's Opinion as it is related by Laertius Moreover because that Epicurus gave the Name of Chief Good or Compleat Happiness to a freedom from Bodily Pain and a perfect Tranquility of Mind the loose and Debauched Persons of his time took incouragement from thence mistaking the word Pleasure and boasting that they had a Philosopher to countenance their Debaucheries For this Reason Seneca argues with them in this manner in his Book of a Happy-Life 'T is not Epicurus that forces or perswades them to Luxury and Debauchery but being accustomed to these Vices they endeavour to conceal their Vices under the Covert of Philosophy and they flock together when they hear Pleasure mentioned with Praise Non ab Epicuro impulsi luxuriantur sed vitiis dediti luxuriam suam in Philosophiae sinu abscondunt eo concurrunt ubi audiunt laudari Voluptatem Without doubt it is not the Pleasure of Epicurus which is esteem'd and sought after I know how sober and innocent that Pleasure is But they skip at the Name of Pleasure seeking some protection and veil from their Lasciviousness and filthy Delights Nec aestimatur Voluptas illa Epicuri ita enim me Hercules sentio quam sobria ac sicca sit sed ad nomen ipsum advolant quaerentes libidinibus suis patrocinium aliquod ac velamentum My Opinion saith he again is for I will speak it in despight of the Vulgar The things that Epicurus teacheth are fair and just and have something of solid and serious if we consider them exactly for his Pleasure is reduc'd to very few things He prescribes to it the very same Rules that we do to Vertue and appoints it to be Obedient to Nature
a great many excellent things and very vertuous Fifthly That Cicero acknowledges as he was a very Popular Man that he did not tie up himself to speak according to the strict Opinions of the Philosophers but agreeable with the Notions of the People Verum ego non quaero nunc quae sit Philosophia verissima sed quae Oratori conjuncta maxime Not to say that he could not bar himself from speaking well of Epicurus as being a Man without Malice or rather a right honest Man Venit Epicurus Vir minime malus vel potius Vir optimus And when he speaks of the Epicureans he saith that they are very good Men that he hath never met with a sort of Persons less malicious that the Epicureans complain of his endeavouring to speak ill of Epicurus that whole Crowds of Epicureans came frequently to visit him but that nevertheless he doth not despise them Quos tamen non aspernor These are his own words Wherein Epicurus and Aristippus differ NOW that we may see exactly in what Epicurus differs from Aristippus we need but Examin Laertius They differ saith he First in Relation to the word Pleasure in that Epicurus ascribes it not only to that which proceeds from present action and the immediate gratification of the Senses but likewise to that which he saith is settled firm and abiding and is found in that sweet Repose which he Names 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tranquility and a freedom from Pain whereas Aristippus ascribes it to that only which proceeds from action laughing at that Tranquility and Exemption from Pain of Epicurus which is like the Condition of a Sleeping or a Dead Man They differ therefore in this that Epicurus hath placed the End or the Happiness of Man in that Pleasure that is in a continuing state in statu or in duration but Aristippus in that which is in motion in motu transient Epicurus places it in that of the Mind but Aristippus in that of the Body Epicurus amongst our Pleasures reckons the remembrance of past advantages and the expectation of those which are to come but Aristippus values them as nothing But as we have before mention'd these Particulars so we shall at present hint but two things to you First That when Atheneus declares that not only Aristippus but also Epicurus and his Disciples declared for the Pleasure that is transient and flitting this relates to that Scandal which hath caused some to believe that Epicurus was of the same Opinion as Aristippus and which according to the Expressions of Atheneus belong to Aristippus properly These are his words Aristippus saith he being wholly addicted to the Pleasures of the Senses judges those Pleasures to be the End and Happiness of Life and making no account of former Enjoyments nor of the expectation of any to come he knows no advantages but such as are present as the most Debauched Persons do and as those who are immerged in Delights And his Life was answerable to his Doctrin for he spent it wholly in Luxury and the great expences that he was at for that purpose he never dissembled nor offered to excuse but answer'd in a pleasant manner jesting I enjoy Lais but she don't enjoy me I live Sumptuously but if that were Criminal it would not be so much practised in the Festivals of the Gods I give fifty Drachms for a Partridge for which thou wouldst not spare a Half-penny I buy a Dainty Bit dear for which thou would'st grudge to bestow three half-pence I have not therefore so great a fancy for Pleasure as thou hast for thy Mony The Second thing that we must here take notice of is that these words of Seneca I shall never call an exemption from Pain Happiness which a Worm a Bird or a Flea enjoys c. cannot nor ought to be understood of an exemption from Pain or the Pleasure that Epicurus places in a setled Rest for that thereby he never understood a Lazy Life or a Rest like that of a Drone or of a Worm but such a Life as Seneca himself praiseth and highly esteems when he saith why may not that Rest in which he will dispose and settle the Ages to come and will give Instructions to all Men as well to them that are as shall be be convenient for an Honest Man or when speaking particularly of Epicurus he saith Nor is that Person of whom we are wont to speak hardly for maintaining a soft and idle Pleasure but for such as is consistent with Reason As if he should describe it like that which Aristotle represents proceeding from a Life of Contemplation or that State of Rest and Tranquility which is employ'd in Speculation and Meditation and therefore ought not to be call'd Idleness and Laziness for Contemplation is such an action which alone does compleat the Divine Felicity Besides the same Aristotle declares action is not in motion but that there is some in Repose and that Pleasure consists rather in a Repose than in Motion And what Seneca asserts speaking of Pleasure that it chiefly consists in action is much to the purpose This Pleasure saith he is extinguish'd when the Delight appears in its greatest strength it is soon accomplish'd it soon passeth over and becomes tedious after its first impress Now that which comes and passeth away so speedily and perisheth in the use and in the very act hath neither substance solidity nor duration but ceaseth the same moment that it appears and in the very beginning it looks to the end and perisheth 'T is true what Plato speaking of this Concern maintains that it may as well be stiled Pain as Pleasure because as it is a Pleasure to pass from Pain to this so it is Pain and Grief to fall from Pleasure into the same Nor is it near so grievous to cease from the enjoyment of Pleasure in case no Pain succeeds as it is grateful to cease from being tormented with Pain tho' no Delight follows therefore this State is reckon'd to be a State of Pleasure rather than of Grief This is the meaning of Torquatus in Cicero I suppose that when Pleasure is removed nothing immediately succeeds that is uneasie unless by accident Pain follows after that Delight On the contrary we rejoyce to be deliver'd from Pain tho' none of those Pleasures which gratifie the Senses succeed from whence we may inferr what a great Pleasure it is to be free from Pain But let us listen to Seneca who esteems this State of Life to be not only a Pleasure but even the chief Happiness of Man The Condition and Satisfaction of a Wise Man according to Epicurus's Opinion THE Wise-Man saith Seneca is he who like the Gods lives pleasant and easie without trouble or discontent Now examin your selves if you are not often dejected froward and at some times transported with too violent Expectations and earnest Desires which render you uneasie If your Mind continues always Day and Night in the same even temper equal in
Rash and Proud Man he chose rather to return to Carthage and prefer'd an apparent Danger tho' he thought it not to be so great because of the Carthaginian Prisoners in the hands of the Romans to an undoubted Infamy and to a Life which he saw was Languishing and very short because of the Poison which the Carthaginians had given him However when Regulus had done nothing at Rome but having return'd back to Carthage that he kept his Word doubtless he cannot be too much esteem'd and applauded But when he dissuaded the Senate from what he had promised to persuade them to How can that be judg'd as a commendable thing seeing it was a manifest Perjury If he had contented himself with the plain delivery of his Message without persuading or dissuading any thing his proceeding might then admit of some colourable Excuse But thus openly to violate the Sacred Laws of Oaths how can this be Palliated And when he did it in Secret for fear saith Appian lest the Ambassadors that came along with him might come to understand it that also increaseth the Suspicion and aggravates the Crime Pretend not the Welfare and Glory of his Country to excuse him Truly our Country is to be secured by good Advice by Strength and Courage but not by wicked Artifices and by perfidious Dealing And we ought not to approve our selves Citizens whereby to become good Men. You may perhaps alledge what we find in Euripides That he swore with the Tongue but not with the Heart Illum jurasse Lingua Mentem gessisse injuratam But this is only to seek a Cloak for Perjury for as Cicero saith 'T is not Perjury to Swear falsly but not to perform what the Oath signifies according to the common intention of the Words Truly if it were lawful without wounding the Conscience to mean one thing and speak another it were to permit Lying in reality and to deceive him who hears us speak and with whom we converse This would cause the Faith of every one to be suspected and consequently would introduce a great Confusion in the Transactions and Affairs of Mankind You may also say that this was lawful because the Carthaginians themselves had broke the Faith they had given him But if you be a Wicked Person I ought not therefore to be less Honest otherwise What difference would there be between you and me We ought to deal with perfidious Persons either with a great deal of Precaution or with open Force but it is not lawful upon any account whatever to violate our Faith It is an old Maxim That either we ought not to Promise at all or else to keep it But it seems the Carthaginians put him to grievous Tortures for no other end but because contrary to the Faith he had given them he had dissuaded the Romans from concluding a Peace and the Exchange of the Prisoners It is true as Tubero saith That the Noblest Prisoners were delivered into the hands of Regulus 's Children who put 'em to Death with the same Torments that Regulus suffered But pray consider whether Regulus had any reason to prefer the Destruction of those Prisoners to the Lives of five Hundred Roman Soldiers who had been taken with him and who for the sake of his Vertue cruelly perished in the same manner with him at Carthage But to return to our present purpose in relation to Happiness I would fain be resolved how the Happiness of Regulus was greater than that of Thorius when he was Tortured in the manner that the forementioned Tubero relates They kept him a long time says he in dismal dark Dungeons then they cut off his Eye-lids and when the Sun shone brightest they brought him forth and exposed him to the Sun-beams forcing him to hold his Eyes that way knowing it was not possible for him to shut them Cicero informs us that he was bound in an Engin and that after they had cut off his Eye-lids they destroyed him by Watching Seneca terms this Engin a Tub stuck through with Nails in which he was Inclosed Sylvius presents us with this Description With desp'rate Rows they arm'd the sloping Wood And tor'tring Nails at equal distance stood Thus robb'd of Sleep by never sleeping pain He grows his own Tormentor and in vain Attempts his Limbs by turning to relieve While only varied Wounds the varied Postures give But possibly you 'll say That Thorius embrac'd Pleasure in an Effminate manner whereas Regulus for the good of his Country prefer'd these Tortures and suffer'd them Courageously First Thorius was not so soft and Effeminate but that when the Well-fare of his Country required he did not decline the Wars but at last died fighting in defence of it as Cicero himself testifies And tho' it be a great support in the midst of our Sufferings to preserve our Conscience Pure and Unstained considering that we suffer in an honest Cause and for the Well-fare of many yet it don't thereby appear that we are therefore more Happy than we should be by living Vertuously Wronging no body but endeavouring to do all the good we can and every way discharging the Duty of a good Man and an honest Subject spending our lives in this manner in a great deal of Pleasure and little Pain In short suppose a Man of the greatest Resolution and Courage who would not upon a good account be daunted at the greatest Difficulties or Dangers I say if it were offered to such a one without any prejudice either to his Duty or Reputation to take his choice of the two kinds of Life mentioned by Torquatus Where is the Man I beseech you among all those that thus exclaim against Pleasure and extol Vertue and Sufferings that would give the preference to the latter and willingly embrace it But to confirm what hath been said before That Pain is the greatest Evil for that hath been as the Antecedent from whence we may conclude by the Rule of Contraries That Pleasure is the chief Good By the same Reason by which we have proved That Pleasure is the sovereign Good which Naturally we seek Primum familiare seu accommodatum And consequently the chief Good By the same Reason it hath been proved That Pain is the chief Evil which Naturally we avoid Primum alienum se incommodans And consequently the chief Evil. For Nature hath not only given to all Creatures a natural love for Pleasure but hath also fix'd in 'em a natural hatred of Pain Let us now take notice of two or three Particulars First By the word Pain we are not to understand only those that we call the Pains of the Body but also those which we term the Pains or Inquietudes of the Mind and which are far more anxious and insupportable than those of the Body as we have already said Secondly That as we have before observ'd Vertue and Goodness have something within them which naturally afford Pleasure and Delight so likewise we may now affirm that Vice or that which is
Infamous and Dishonest hath that in it which causes great Pain and Uneasiness From whence it is that as Vertue and Goodness is attended by many and great Advantages so Vice or Wickedness is succeeded by many and great Evils So that in short among the things which are to be desired in order to obtaining our chief Good Vertue is that which we are chiefly to aim at and among the things that we are to shun in order the better to avoid the greatest Evils Vice and Wickedness is that which we are chiefly to fly from Lastly This Doctrin seems to be very conformable to the Sacred Rules of Faith By which as we believe that our chief Good or Happiness consists in enjoying the everlasting Delights and Joys in Heaven So we believe That our greatest Unhappiness or Misery consists in being tormented in Hell with uspeakable Tortures in everlasting Flames CHAP V. That a Wise Man is only capable of enjoying Moral Vertue WE have hitherto treated of Pleasure as it is generally understood We shall now speak of that particular specifick Pleasure unto which a Wise Man confines himself as being in its own Nature not only very easie to be obtain'd but also most lasting and free from Repentance In a word that Pleasure that we before called the Tranquility of the Mind and the exemption of the Body from Pain now we have great Reason to call it most Natural for at this sort of Pleasure Nature seems chiefly to aim as not having regard to other Pleasures which are always shifting and in a constant Motion any otherwise than to make them useful in the obtaining this as for Instance It hath appointed the Pleasure of Tasting to make the action of Eating more grateful and by that means to oblige us to the Act whereby to satisfie our Hunger which is that pain we feel and caused by the cravings of an empty Stomach But in reference to the satisfaction and tranquility of Mind which we enjoy when Hunger is appeas'd This Nature hath reserv'd as her last End and designed it as her chief Good We have great reason to say that it is very easie to be obtain'd because it is in every one's Power to moderate his Desires by supplying himself with things necessary for his Body whereby to free it from Pain and thereby render his Mind calm and easy I say That it is very lasting because other Pleasures pass away in a Moment and free from us whereas this continues the same unless it be interrupted and perish by our own Miscarriages Lastly I describe it to be very free from Repentance for all other Pleasures may be attended by some Evil whereas this is altogether innocent and draws upon us no such Mischief I know that Cicero at first quarrels very much with Epicurus because he gives the Term of Pleasure to this Tranquility and freedom from Pain which he pretends to be proper to nothing but that which consists in Motion or to those things which please the Senses But methinks Cicero should not differ with him about a bare Word for suppose according to common Custom we did not call this Tranquility of Mind and freedom from Bodily Pain Pleasure Why should we hinder Epicurus the giving it that Name and esteeming it so great a Pleasure that among all others that bear that name none is to be compared with it This hath been and always will be allowed in cases of Opinion especially here where Pleasure and that which is Good and Desirable are the same thing Therefore this State or Condition of Life which of all other seems most desirable may be very well esteem'd and called Pleasure Besides we may not only bring Aristotle here to controll him in express words That there is a greater Pleasure in Repose than in Action but also St. Chrysostom who thus expresseth himself For what is Pleasure but to be free from Inquietude Trouble Fear and Despair and generally to be exempt from such kind of Passions Pray which of these two may be said truly to enjoy Pleasure He who is furiously distracted by Passions and so continually overcome with vicious Lusts that he hath no command of himself or He who is free from all these Disturbances and rests in Philosophy as a quiet Haven I may truly call that Pleasure when the Soul is in such a State that it is in no wise disquieted nor disturbed by any bodily Passion That which Cicero objects concerning Children and Brutes which are as the Looking-glasses of uncorrupted Nature and yet desire not that Pleasure which is in Rest of which we have been speaking but only that which is in Motion seems to make most against us But let his Judgment of the Brutes and the Nature of Animals be what it will tho' they came into the World uncorrupted and are well instructed for the obtaining their End after they have satisfied their Pain which is caused by some Want naturally they tend to Rest contrary to several Men who being corrupted in their Imagination constantly cut out and make to themselves Work by provoking the Appetite and never stop at any thing Whatever be the case of the Beasts we shall speak only of Men of whom it is certain whatever is Objected is easily Answer'd by what we have already mentioned For in the first Place Nature hath appointed a fix'd Pleasure for the chief End And tho' Action be design'd as a necessary Means to obtain it it makes use of the Pleasure which is in Motion that the Action might pass with more Delight and Satisfaction From whence it happens That tho' Man or any other Creature seems to be more apparently and expresly stir'd up and inclin'd to active Pleasure nevertheless this hinders not but at the same time he really and secretly tends to that which is stable and that by the Instinct or Bent of Nature who looks upon it as her chief Aim and principal End Besides because Man's Understanding in process of time is corrupted vitiated apt to make divers gross Mistakes and as we commonly say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to make that Principal which is but Accessory he sets up a fleeting moving Pleasure for his principal Mark and by abusing this Pleasure by his Intemperance he draws upon himself a Mischief when he loseth that Pleasure which is more fix'd and solid and which Nature hath made the First and Principal and this is succeeded by Sorrow and Repentance For this cause it is that Epicurus adviseth That Wisdom should interpose which teacheth Man to govern his Pleasure that is to say to consider and look upon the Assistant as Assistant and the Principal as Principal In the mean while we need not concern our selves much about what the Cyrenaicks Object in Cicero That this Pleasure of Epicurus is like the condition of a sleeping Person For he hath declared That his Tranquility and freedom from Pain is not to be Stupified but to be in such a State that all the actions of our Life
might be done calmly and sedately as we have already said As he allows not that the Life of a Wise Man should be as a Torrent so he don't approve that it should be like a still and stinking Pool but rather like the Water of a River that glides along quietly and without Noise This is one of his Maxims That when Pain is removed Pleasure is not increas'd but only diversified and altered As if he would have said That when we have attain'd to this quiet State free from Pain there is truly nothing to be desired greater or to be compared to it but in the mean while there remain several pure and innocent Pleasures wherewith this State if not abused is Embelished in the manner of a Field which becoming Fruitful affords divers Fruits or in the manner of a Meadow which we see covered over with an admirable diversity of Flowers when the Earth is brought to be in a good Temper For this State is like a Spring out of which all the Pleasures that are Pure and Sincere are drawn For this cause therefore it ought to be esteem'd as the chief Pleasure in regard it is an universal Relish by which all the Actions of our Life are seasoned and by which consequently all our Pleasures are sweetned and become grateful And to speak all in a Word Without which no Pleasure can be Pleasure In reality What Satisfaction can there be if the Mind be troubled or the Body tormented with Pain It is a Proverb That if the Vessel be not clean it Sowers whatever is put into it Sincerum est nisi vas quodcumque infundis acescit Whoever therefore is desirous of pure sincere Pleasures he must prepare himself to receive them without any Mixture or Alloy that is By attaining as much as is possible to this State of Rest and Tranquility that we have described I add the words as much as is possible for As we have observed already The frailty of our human Nature wont suffer us to be absolutely and perfectly Happy for so compleat a Felicity altogether free from Trouble and Pain and crowned with all manner of Delights belongs to God alone and to them whom he calls to a better Life So that in this present World some have a greater some a less share of Afflictions and Pains He that will deal wisely ought to endeavour as much as the weakness of his Nature will permit to settle himself in that condition in which he may be as little sensible of Grief and Pain as is possible for by this means he will obtain these two Advantages which chiefly contribute to his present Happiness and which Wise Men have acknowledged to be almost the only solid and desirable Advantages of Life The Health of the Body and of the Mind Sunt Sanitas Mens gemina vitae bona Optandum est ut sit Mens sana in Corpore sano And that Epicurus never designed that his Pleasure should extend to a Sottishness or a privation of Sense and Action may be proved by what he was pleased with in his Retirements either in Meditating or in Teaching or in taking care of his Friends But let it suffice us here to say That from that state and condition of Life did arise certain Thoughts which of all things in the World were the most pleasing and delightful Namely when any shall call to mind the Storms that he hath couragiously weather'd in which some are yet tossed up and down he fancies himself as it were in a safe Haven possessing a calm and a serene Tranquility which Lucretius in his Second Book pleasantly sets forth 'T is pleasant when the Seas are rough to stand And view another's Danger safe at Land Not ' cause he 's Troubled but 't is sweet to see Those Cares and Fears from which our selves are free He tells us also That it is very pleasant to look from a high Tower upon two great Armies drawn up in Battel without being concerned in the Danger 'T is also Pleasant to behold from far How Troops Engage secure our selves from War But there is nothing so pleasant as to see our selves by the help of Learning and Knowledge advanc'd to the Top of Wisdom's Temple from whence as from an high Station serene and quiet we may see Men involved in a thousand Miseries without being concern'd But above all 'T is pleasantest to get The top of high Philosophy and sit On the calm peaceful flourishing Head of it Whence we may view deep wond'rous deep below How poor forsaken Mortals Wandring go Seeking the path to Happiness some aim At Learning Wit Nobility or Fame Others with Cares and Dangers vex each Hour To reach the Top of Wealth and Sovereign Power Whilst frugal Nature seeks for only Ease A Body free from Pains free from Disease A Mind from Cares and Jealousies at Peace Of the Tranquility of the Mind in particular BUt to say something more particularly of the Tranquility of the Mind let us again repeat That by this Expression we don't understand a slow and lazy Temper nor a sluggish and languishing Idleness But as Cicero Explains it out of Pythagoras and Plato Placida quietaque constantia in animi parte rationis principe A sweet and peaceable Constacy of Mind Or as Democritus says An excellent equal and sweet Constitution and Temper of Mind which makes the Man settl'd and unshaken in such a manner and to such a degree that whether he be Employed or at Leisure whether Prosperity favour him or Adversity frowns upon him he continues always Equal always like Himself and will not suffer himself to be Transported by an excess of Joy nor dejected by Grief and Sorrow In a Word he is at no time disturbed by such-like Passions Therefore this Tranquility of Mind was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies freedom from Trouble and Disquietness for in the same manner as a Ship is said to be in quiet not only when it is becalm'd in the middle of the Sea but likewise chiefly when it is driven by a favourable Gale which indeed causeth it to sail swift but nevertheless quietly and steddily Thus the Mind is said to be in Tranquility not only when it is at rest but more especially when it undertakes great and excellent Things without being disturb'd inwardly and without losing any part of its Steddiness On the contrary as a Ship is said to be disturb'd not only when it is carried away with the contrary Winds but when it is beaten by those that rise out of the very Waters thus the Mind is said to be disquieted not only when in its proceedings it is carried away with divers Passions but likewise when in the midst of Rest Care Grief and Fear are continually gnawing and fretting it and rendring it uneasy These therefore and such like are the Passions which by disturbing our Tranquility interrupt the Happiness of our Lives Cicero Speaks of them in this manner The turbulent Motions and the
with Constancy and Patience Such a one I say thus resolved and prepared if he be ingaged in a busy Life may govern himself that in the midst of the hurry and incumbrance of Affairs he may maintain in himself an inward repose and calmness of Mind 'T is what Claudian so truly relates of Theodosius the Great and which we without Flattery may duly apply to our present Monarch the true Model of a wise Prince Nec Te tot limina rerum Aut tantum turbavit onus sed ut altus Olympi Vertex qui spatio Ventos Hyemesque relinquit Perpetuum nulla temeratus Nube serenum Celsior exsurgit pluviis auditque ruentes Sub pedibus nimbos rauca tonitrua calcat Sic patiens Animus per tanta negotia liber Emergit similisque sui c. Neither the projecting Thoughts of deep Designs nor the heavy Burthen of the Kingdom which he supports can disturb the Peace of his Mind but like the high top of Mount Olympus his Soul is always clear and serene hovering above the misty Clouds and storms of Thunder and always free and undisturb'd like it self Servat inoffensam Divina modestia vocem Temperiem servant oculi nec lumina fervor Asperat aut rabidas diffundit sanguine venas Quinetiam sontes expulsa corrigis ira Et placidus delicta domas nec dentibus unquam Instrepis horrendum fremitu nec verbera poscis A divine Modesty graces his Voice no offensive Words drop from his Lips his Eyes are never seen to sparkle with Anger nor his Veins distended with boyling Blood he knows how to Reprove without being Transported and calmly to correct the Failings of others Nile softly glides along without vaunting of its Strength or breaking its Bounds and yet it is one of the most useful of all the Rivers of the World The Danube which is yet larger and more rapid keeps within its Banks moving without Noise Yea the Ganges that vast River passes along silently rowling its Waves into the Depths of the Ocean Lente fluit Nilus sed cunctis Amnibus extat Vtilior nullas confessus murmure vires Acrior at rapidus tacitas praetermeat ingens Danubius ripas Eadem clementia saevi Gurgitis immensum deducit ad ostia Gangen Let the Torrents roar among the Rocks let them threaten and overturn Bridges and pursuing their Rage let them overwhelm or carry before 'em whole Forests 't is Peace and Tranquility that have a commanding Power and Effect far greater than Violence and Fury to force Obedience Torrentes immane fremant lapsisque minentur Pontibus involvant spumoso vortice Sylvas Pax majora decet peragit tranquilla potestas Quod violenta nequit mandataque fortius urget Imperiosa quies Besides when things are over and accomplish'd a wise Man doth not Vaunt and Applaud himself if they succeed well nor is he disturb'd or dejected if they happen amiss He doth not repent of the Measures he hath taken because every thing being well examined and duly considered it was most probable they should succeed and therefore he would take the same Course if the same Circumstances did again occur The Answer of Photion is remarkable who when he had dissuaded them from a War which nevertheless afterward proved very successful Tho' I am very glad said he that the Event happen'd so Prosperous yet I don 't at all repent of the Advice I have given It comes very near that of Cicero's It becomes a wise Man saith he to do nothing against his Will or what may cause him to Repent to do all things sedately and deliberately with a grave Steddiness and constancy of Mind neither supposing things to happen by an unforeseen Necessity nor to admire any thing as new and unexpected but to abide firm and stedfast in his Judgment A wise Man ought not to despise the Advices of other Men and to trust too rashly to his own Opinion but having well weighed Matters he ought not out of too mean Apprehensions or Diffidence of himself to suffer the Opinion of the Vulgar to sway with him For this Reason that Roman Temporizer deserves to be applauded who preferr'd the Safety of his Country before the Exclamations of the Populace Photion was of the same Temper who because he could not be prevail'd upon to rely on the Strength of his Soldiers and their Courage and head them on to Battle they accused him of Cowardise But he made them this prudent Answer My brave Companions you cannot make me Courageous and I will not make you Cowards it is sufficient that every one should understand his own Business Whether a Contemplative Happiness is to be preferr'd before an Active BUt after all that can be said in Commendation of an Active Felicity Aristotle had Reason to prefer a Speculative For Contemplation exerts the most Excellent and Divine Part of our Selves and besides this sort of Action is the most noble innocent and lasting and the most easily set on Work We shall not here repeat what hath been before said upon the first Part of Vertue to shew wherein the Happiness of a wise Man consists or the Satisfaction he receives in a Contemplative Life it will be sufficient to recite what Cicero very learnedly observes What Pleasures saith he don't a thinking Mind enjoy who is employ'd Night and Day in Contemplation and Study What extraordinary Delight is it to observe the Motions and Circumference of the World the infinite number of Stars that shine in the Heavens those seven Planets which being more or less distant the one from the other according as they are higher or lower wandering and uncertain in their Motions and yet never fail to fulfill their Course in their appointed time The Sight and Consideration of so many excellent Things persuaded the antient Philosophers to proceed to new Inquiries to examine into the cause and beginning of the World from whence all things proceed from whence they are engender'd what differing Qualities are crept into their Composition from whence Life and Death happen how the Alterations and Changes of one thing into another came to pass by what weight the Earth is supported and how ballanc'd into what Concavities the Waters are confin'd and how every thing press'd by its own weight naturally tends to its own Center Thus by discerning and continually meditating on these wonderful Things we at last arrive to that Knowledge which God heretofore recommended to Delphos namely That the pure Soul having shaken off all Vice should know it self and find it self united to the Divine Understanding or Being This procures it an everlasting and unspeakable Delight for the Contemplations upon the Power and Nature of the Gods cause it to have a strong Inclination for Eternity and when it once perceives the necessary Consequence of Causes guided and govern'd by an eternal Wisdom it believes not it self confin'd to the narrow Limits of this Life Therefore it considers human Affairs with a wonderful Tranquility it inclines to the