common to all His Revelations which he addresses to Men upon Earth this is to manifest Himself unto them cloathed with some of His Benefits that He may win their Heart by an Acknowledgment and Gratitude He was serv'd in the Old World under the Name of God who is and who is the Rewarder of them that call upon Him He was afterwards known under the Name of the God of Abraham of Isaac and of Jacob. After that He gave His Law by declaring Himself the Lord who had brought this People out of the land of Egypt Afterwards a Prophet declares that the Time is come in the which Men will no longer say the Eternal is He who brought His People out of the Land of Egypt but the Eternal is He that hath brought up His People out of the Country of Babylon Lastly so soon as the time for Man's Redemption is accomplish'd God is no longer call'd by any other Name than the God of Mercy and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. They therefore are very much mistaken who fancy 't is an Offence against God to love Him any otherwise than for the Love of Himself and His intrinsick Perfections and that there is no interested Motion in our Heart but what is Criminal In order to refute these Speculations we need but make reflection upon the Conduct of God who not only consents that we should love Him by the Motives of the Good which we find in the Possession of Him but also wills and proportions His Revelations to this Design and it may likewise be said that we glorify the Supream Good when we desire it ardently and feel no Repose or Joy but in Communion with it This grand Precept may be proposed to the Mortal Man to confound and baffle him by shewing him the Impossibility he lies under of fulfilling the Divine Law but 't is the Immortal Man alone that is capable of fulfilling this Duty 'T is not the dying Man that perceives himself under great Obligations to God but the Man that subsists to Eternity And 't is not in a heap of perishing Favours but in the Assemblage of incorruptible Goods that we find the Motives of such a Love and Gratitude as are worthy of God So also the Man of Nature consider'd as a Man that hath short and transitory Relations to other Men neither can nor ought to love others so much as himself Were we obliged to love an indifferent and unknown Person with the same degree of Affection that Children love their Parents certainly the whole World would be a Scene of Disorder and Confusion We ought to love our Children more than Persons that are indifferent to us now as it is the Love of our selves that makes this Inequality and this Variety of our Affections it follows that there is an Original Law of Nature which dictates that we should love our selves more than other Men. But the immortal Man hath other Views and Obligations all the divers kinds of Proximity and Relation which respect this Life disappear and vanish at the prospect of the Relations of that Eternal Society which we are to enjoy A Temporal Neighbour whom Nature points out to us is not so considerable as the Eternal Neighbour which Faith discovers in him But some persons love themselves to such an exorbitant Degree that 't is in no wise convenient they should be affected with the same Love if others as of themselves For pray tell me of One should say to a Man I wish you were Ungrateful Blind Passionate Revengeful Proud Voluptuous Covetous that you might take more Pleasure and Enjoyment in the World would he not have Reason to think that either we dote or have a Mind to make him a very course Compliment and yet this would be to love our Neighbour as we love our selves If we would love our Neighbour as our selves we ought to love him with Relation to Eternity None but the immortal Man is in a Capacity of observing this Precept strictly and well Perhaps the Question may be ask'd whether when the Law enjoyns us to love our Neighbour as our selves it means that we should love by the Motives of that Love we bear to God or of that which we have for our selves I answer by distinguishing still betwixt Rational and Sensual Love when we love our Neighbour with a rational Love 't is certain that the Motives of this Love ought to proceed from the Love we have for God When we love our Neighbour with a Love of Sense or sensual Love the Motives of Love should proceed purely from the Affection we have for our selves Thus it may be reply'd that we ought to love him by both these Motives and the Law of the Decalogue seems to confirm us in this Opinion for it puts the Precept which refers to our Neighbour immediately after that which refers to God to teach us that the One depends upon the Other and that we are obliged to love our Neighbour with the same kind of Affection that we bear to God And on the other side it calls him whom it recommends to our Love by the Name of Neighbour to intimate to us that we are concern'd to love him because he is a Person that belongs to us Reason tells us That God being the supream and infinite Beauty is Amiable for his own Sake and that all things become so for the Love of him It therefore requires us to love Objects according as they stand related to God The Experience we have of our own Being accompany'd with Joy and Delight obliging us to love our selves in the first place Nature teaches us to love Persons according to the degree of Proximity and Relation which they have to Us. These two Laws are not opposite to each other the One as I may say is the Law of Reason the Other is the Law of Sense the one is the Instinct of the mortal and perishing Nature the other of the immortal and incorruptible Nature the one relates to the short and transient Society which we ought to have one among another the other to the Eternal Commerce and Friendship we ought to have in God CHAP. IV. Where we shew the Extent of the Natural Law by considering it in the Gospel and with Relation to the Immortal Man IF the Law of Moses were the Law of Nature accomodated to the Condition of the mortal Man and to the State of the Israelites in particular the Gospel is the Law of Nature accommodated to the State and Relations of the immortal Man This sufficiently appears from the different Genius and Conduct of the two Oeconomies Under the Oeconomy of the Law God seems to make no farther Manifestation of Himself than to break thro' Walls open the Abysses of the Earth inflame Mountains send down Fire from Heaven menace the Body with his Judgments or to execute the Arrests of his Justice upon the perishing Nature but under the new Dispensation of Grace we see Persons animated with the Spirit of
God contemn the Injury of the Elements and the persecution of Men suffer with so great Constancy as if they suffer'd in a Body which was not their own transported with Joy in the midst of consuming Flames and triumphing to see the Dissolution of that Compound which is so preciously and carefully preserved by other Men because they are supported and encouraged by the Idea of Eternity whereof the Divine Mercy has given them a distinct Knowledge Not but the Law of Moses includes some Relation to Eternity for this Law had at least the Shadow of good things to come also it cannot be deny'd but that the Gospel supposes the Idea's of Man's Vileness and Mortality for it includes all our Remedies and Consolations against it but thus much is true that the Law of Moses regards the present Life directly and Eternity indirectly whereas the Gospel regards Eternity as its principal Object and the present Life indirectly As for Nature that is equally discover'd under both Oeconomies The Gospel if I may so speak is hidden in in Nature Nature in the Gospel but we must here understand the immortal Nature and that will put us in a way to unravel some Difficulties which might possibly intangle and perplex us Indeed it seems contrary to Nature to love our Enemies to look upon Adversity as a Blessing and Afflictions as a subject of Joy and so far to yield up the Cudgels to Justice as to render not only as much but even more than it demands which are Maxims of the Gospel I confess all this goes against the Grain of the Corruptible Nature which measures every Thing according as it stands related to this present Life but 't is far from being opposite to the Interests of the immortal Nature which values not Time and exerts all its Actions in a prospect of Eternity Our Enemies are an Obstacle to the establishment of our Fortune in the World but nothing except the Hatred we may possibly bear them is an hindrance to our Salvation and this is the Thing which the immortal Man considers he despises those little Reasons of Hating which Concupiscence suggests to our Heart and regards those eternal Relations we have to Others in God who is our common Father as the most powerful Motives of the Love we have for our Neighbour Plenty and Prosperity charm such a Heart as hath limited the utmost of its Hopes and Pretensions to the transitory World but the immortal Man finds in that State so much more subject of Fear as there is more of Sense he dreads these imaginary Goods which buisy us and never satisfy these lively Sensations which hinder the Knowledge of his real Interests He looks upon Prosperity as the Reign of the Passions which seduce and misguide us He 's perswaded that Afflictions by depriving us of these agreeable Sensations do but only chase an infinite Troop of Impostors from the Territories of our Soul And he does not think that Worldly Goods deserve our Envy and to make us rival each other in pursuing them especially when Religion assures him that these Hatreds and Contestations which are occasion'd by the corruptible World are capable of doing him an Eternal prejudice For which Reason tho' Man has a Right of demanding what belongs to him God having for this End establish'd Tribunals in Society which would be but an union of Robbers and a succession of Murthers and Villanies without the Exercise of Justice yet the prudence of the immortal Man permits him not to exact his Rights with rigour and severity when he sees but the least probability of injuring by that means the Interests of his Soul Whence we may conclude That the Morality of the Gospel is but purely the Expression of the immortal Man's Heart but we shall have an Opportunity to speak more of this elsewhere We have seen that the Perfections of Man roll upon his Immortality which alone can render him capable of Happiness and we have just now seen that this Immortality founds the Extent of our Duties and Obligations We proceed to shew that 't is this also that makes the Strength of our Soul or the Weight that can determine us to well-doing CHAP. V. â—f the moral Strength of Man or the Motives which he finds in himself for determining him in his Actions HAd God been an Enemy to Man He would have fix'd Pain to all those Obâ—ects whereunto it pleas'd Him to fix Delight â—nd Pleasure he could have done One as easiâ—y as the Other and then Man would have â—een his own Enemy whereas now he is naturally a Lover of himself For it needs must follow by an essential Consequence that he who feels Pain hates â—t and if this Pain be constant and inseparaâ—le he hates his own Being as knowing veâ—y well that unless he existed he should not â—ndure this Pain 'T is very easy to conceive That the damn'd Spirits hate themselves for â—heir Punishment and that tho' Self-love has been in this World the Source of their Corruption Hatred of themselves becomes hereafter Instrumental to their Punishment Moreover we conceive that 't is impossible to have a Sense of Pleasure without loving it and wishing the preservation of this Self which is the Subject of it Pleasure makes 〈◊〉 love our Existence because without our Existence this pleasure cannot subsist Thence it follows that 't was in the power of God when He form'd Man either to make him love or not love Himself since it depended upon His Will to affix or not affix Pleasure to certain Objects Thus the Love of our selves is in it self a natural Inclination 't is Nature that causes us to love Pleasure and hate Pain and 't is Nature that makes us love our selves This Inclination does not wait for intellectual Reflections to give it Birth in our Soul it precedes all our Reasonings The Stoicks have justly deserv'd to be scorn'd and ridicul'd by all posterity if they really held those Opinions which are usually attributed to them They pretended that the way for a Man to be Wise was to put off Humanity this at the first dash was a very great piece of Extravagance but they fail'd no less in conceiving a kind of Infirmity and Baseness in the most natural Spring of our Heart Secondly Self-love is an Inclination most Divine in its Original We love our selves for this very Reason because God has loved us Had God hated us we should likewise hate our selves therefore 't is unreasonable and groundless to cry down all those Actions which Self-love excites us to as if they were so many Crimes and Infirmities according to the dangerous Morality of some who have pretended to annihilate the Excellency of all the Vertues upon this principle That they all proceeded from the Womb of Self-love and were grounded meerly in Interest a very bad Consequence since Self-love is an Inclination of a most Divine and Heavenly Extraction Lastly the Love of our selves is a necessary Inclination it must not be imagin'd
for the same reason tasts not any criminal Pleasure in being a Superiour regarding his Condition as a provisional and transitory State which scarcely deserves his Care and Attention In a word the Immortal Man has no Passions but what are very moderate about 〈◊〉 Objects of this Life and as his pleasure in the World is proportion'd to the Degree of his application to these Objects 't is easy to conceive that he finds himself situated above the Sphere of Voluptuousness in which certainly he cannot be said to lose any thing being advantagiously indemnify'd by the Commerce of Love Gratitude Zeal Joy and Consolation which he holds with God who by the Sentiment of his holy and unspeakable Delights raises him above the melancholly Scene of our sad and intoxicated Pleasure Wherefore Man does not escape the fond Embraces of Pleasure as 't is usually fancy'd either by Pride Interest Revenge or Ambition he that shuts himself up in the narrow limits of this Life will be Voluptuous do what he can Let the Pagan Philosophers tell us as many fine Precepts of Vertue and prescribe as many Remedies as they please against Intemperance we 'll indeed admire their Maxims because of the secret Relation they have to our natural Dignity of which we have a confus'd and imperfect Knowlege But shall never find our selves any farther dispos'd to practice 'em than as we are convinc'd of our Eternity CHAP. XIV Wherein we Treat of the general Disorders of self-Self-love and particularly of Pride PLeasure and Glory are the two general Goods which give a season and relish to all the rest They are as it were the Spirit and Salt of all the others differing in this as we before observ'd That Pleasure becomes amiable and desirable purely for its own sake whereas Glory is perceiv'd meerly upon the account of that Pleasure which attends it But tho' Glory be perceiv'd only by means of that Pleasure wherewith 't is accompany'd yet may it still be said in some sense to be desirable for its own sake at least it must be certainly acknowledg'd that 't is no easy matter to find out the primitive and ancient Reason upon which our Love of Esteem is founded This is no satisfactory Solution to say that we desire Esteem because of its appendant Pleasure For this Pleasure being a Pleasure of Reflection the Difficulty is not so easily ended since it still remains to know why this Esteem which is something forreign and remote in respect of us should cause our Satisfaction Nor is it more to the purpose to alledge the Utility and Profit of Glory for tho' the Esteem and Repute we acquire may serve to make us succeed in our Designs and procure us divers Advantages in Society yet there are Circumstances under which this Supposition will not hold good What prospect of Advantage could Mutius Leonidas Codrus Curtius and all those other Heroes propose to themselves who laid down their Lives in the Field and pursuit of Honour What Advantage could they see in sacrificing their Goods and Themselves upon the Altar of Pride Thro' what Principle of Interest do those Indian Women who burn themselves in the Funeral Pile of their deceas'd Husbands seek even in despight of Laws and Remonstrances for an Esteem which they Survive A certain Person hath said upon this subject That Self-love delights to foster and cherish an Idea of our Perfections which is as it were its domestick Idol being unable to endure any thing that opposes this Idea as Contempt and Injuries and on the other hand passionately searching after all that flatters and magnifies it as Esteem and Commendations According to this Principle the Advantage of Glory would consist in this That the Esteem which others have for us confirms the good Opinion we have of our selves But that this is not the principal Source of the Love of Esteem and Honour appears from hence That Men for the generality make more account of the apparent Merit which they obtain by the Esteem of others than of the real Merit which attracts the Esteem of themselves or if you will that they had rather have those Faults which Men esteem and value than such good Qualities as are not priz'd in the Eyes of the World and that moreover there are multitudes of Persons that seek to make themselves considerable and valu'd by such Accomplishments and Qualities as they very well know they are not endu'd with which destroys the Opinion that they have recourse to an outward and forreign Esteem to confirm the good Sentiments they have of themselves 'T is equally groundless to imagine that we desire Esteem meerly for this reason That we may be distinguish'd and rais'd above the common Rank for this is to explain the Cause by the Effect We don't seek for Esteem that we may distinguish our selves but we distinguish our selves because we would be esteem'd by departing from the Multitude and leaving the Dungeon of our former Obscurity Lastly The Love of Esteem in its general Idea can't be said to proceed from this Idolatry of Self-love which aims at being Eternal and Immense like GOD exhibiting to us an imaginary Eternity in the memories of Men to save us from the Shipwrack of Time and maugre its consuming Malignity to perpetuate our Name and trying to enlarge our Dimensions and extend 'em to the utmost limits of the World by buisying the Minds of Men with the Consideration of our Actions and Grandeur If that were the only Source of the Love of Esteem and Honour 't would follow that we cou'd not innocently desire the Esteem of other Men nor consequently be blamable for dreading Infamy and Disgrace which is contrary to Reason Tho' we search ne're so long for the Springs of this Inclination I 'm perswaded that the reason of it will no where else be discover'd but in the Wisdom of the Creatour For as God imploys the Use of Pleasure in order to preserve and propagate our Body to unite us together and make us sensible of the Good and Preservation of Society wherein we are plac'd so there 's no doubt but his Wisdom makes use of the Love of Esteem to defend us from the Debasements of Pleasure and put us upon exerting honest and laudable Actions which so well agree with the Dignity of our Nature and at the same time to unite us more conveniently one with another This Pre-caution would not have been necessary had Humane Reason acted only by it self and independently from Sense For then this Reason would be able not only to shew us what is Honest but also to prefer it before what is Pleasant But because this Reason is Partial and many times judges in favour of Pleasure tying Honour and Decorum to that which delights us the Wisdom of the Creatour thought fit to give us for the Arbitrator of our Actions not only our own Reason which suffers it self to be corrupted and brib'd by the softness of Pleasure but also the Reason of other Men