throw themselves headlong into Praecipices did not Despair withhold them did not she by her knowledge of their weakness divert them from their rash enterprizes she is also a faithful Counsellor which never doth deceive us and which deserves not to be blamed if not being sent for till our affairs be in a sad condition she gives us more wholsome than honorable advice we must accuse Hope which engageth us too easily in a danger and praise Despair which finds a means to free us from it The greatest Princes are only unhappy for not having listned unto her for would they measure their forces before they undertake a war they would not be enforced to make a dishonourable peace to take the law from their victorious enemy but the mischief is they never implore Despairs assistance but when she cannot give it them and they never advise with this Passion till all things be reduced to an extremity yet is she not unuseful at such a time and her counsels cease not to be profitable though precipitate For when Princes know that their forces are inferiour to those of their enemies and that all the advantage lies on the enemies side Despair wisely managed causeth them to retreat and this Passion repairing the faults of Hope and Audacity makes them keep their souldiers till another time when they may assuredly promise themselves the victory for Despair is more cautious than couragious and aims more at the safety than glory of a Kingdom it makes use of the evils which it hath observed and thinks it self glorious enough if it can escape the fury of him that doth pursue it 'T is true that when it sees all ways of safety barred up and that it is on all sides environed by death it chuseth the most honourable and recalling Hope which it had chased away resolveth either to die or overcome Therefore 't is that good Commanders do never put the vanquished to Despair but knowing that this Passion becomes valiant when provoked they make her bridges of gold open all passages to her and suffer this Torrent to disperse it self abroad in the open Champion lest her fury swelling by resistance overbear such works as are opposed to her impetuosity Herein the nature of Despair is strange for it ariseth from Fear and its greatest wisdom consisteth in its timorousness in the good which it offers it self it rather considereth the difficulty which may astonish than the glory which may attract and be it that it be more cold or less courageous than Hope it hath not so much an eye to good as to bad events yet when the danger is extream and that the mischief is so great as it cannot be evaded it makes virtue of necessity and gives battel to an enemy which Hope it self durst not assail it oftentimes plucks the Lawrel from out the Conquerors hand and performing actions which may pass for miracles it exceeds Nature it preserves mens lives in making them contemn them and wins the victory by seeking after an honourable death By all these effects it is easie to judge of the nature of Despair and to know that it is a violent motion by which the soul keeps aloof from a difficult good which it thinks it cannot compass and by which likewise it sometimes draws near unto it rather to shun the evil which threatens it than to possess the difficult good for in its birth Despair is fearful and hath no other design than to divert the soul from the vain seeking after an impossible good but in its progress it becomes bold and when it sees that by keeping aloof from a difficult good it engageth it self in an infamous evil it resumes courage and employs all its power to gain a thing which it thought assuredly to have lost so as this is not a single Passion to explain the nature thereof well we must say that she is mixt of Fear and Hope and that as in the beginning she is more faint-hearted than the former she is in the end more generous than the latter But at both these times she hath need of government that she may be serviceable to Virtue she must shun two dangerous extreams which bear her name and stain her glory the one may be called Faint-heartedness the other Foolhardiness she falls into the former when not knowing her own strength she keeps at distance from a good which she might compass she falls into the second when not regarding her own imbecility or the greatness of the danger she undertakes an impossibilty and engageth her self in a design which cannot have any good success It belongs to Reason to govern her and to see when she may eschew without infamy and when she may charge without rashness if it be a lawful good which may with Justice be expected it must seldom or never be despaired of upon such an occasion Opiniatrecy is commendable and a man is not to be blamed who attempts even an impossibility to purchase a happiness which his duty requires him to seek after but if that which he wisheth for be hard to come by and perishable he must cure himself of his vain desires and foolish â—â—pes by a rational Despair But he must beware that though this Passion be in Nature oft-times innocent she is always guilty in relation to Grace for natâ—ral hope being grounded upon our proper forces it is lawful to forgo her to embrace Despair and there is nothing of inconvenience that man whose misery is so well known do quit his designs when he cannot compass them but supernatural hope being grounded upon divine power we must not forgo her and it is a capital fault to suspect God of falshood or of weakness Those therefore who despair of their souls health justle his highest perfections and make themselves unworthy to receive pardon of their sins from the time they cease to hope for since the holy Scripture teacheth us that God is good and all-powerful those who perswade themselves that he either will not or cannot save them commit outrage against his Power and Goodness and by one and the same fault give against his two most excellent qualities and if we will believe St. Austin they who despair imitate proud people and make themselves equal with God by losing the hope of their salvation for when they fall into despair they imagine that Gods Mercy is not so great as their sin is and by an injurious preferrence they raise their wickedness above his goodness they prescribe bounds to an infinite Love and bereave him of perfections who possesseth more than our souls can imagine True it is that if Despair be faulty in relation to Grace there is an excess of Hope which is not much less dangerous and there are certain Christians in the Church who are opinionated in their sins only out of a confidence they have of Gods Mercy they make use of his goodness only to injure him they think not of his favours to sinners save
salvation thy Iustice shines forth no less in making good use of those of thine Enemies to their Destruction For they become chains in thy hands to bind these Malefactors with thou forgest out of them Irons to punish these slaves and thou changest their Desires into Aversions their pleasures into pain Thou abandonest every sinner to the passion which possesses him thou commandest this domestick fury to revenge thee correct him thou turnest his sin into his punishment without imploying either Hell or Devils thou ordainest every sinner to be his own executioner and makest him taste as many torments as he nourisheth passions in his Soul Thus we see by experience that the irregular desire of honor is the punishment of the ambitious that the shamful love of voluptuousness is the torment of the Incontinent and that the insatiable thirst after riches is the penalty of the covetous Those chastisements which astonish us with their outward appearance are not the most rigorous those plagues which sweep away whole Kingdoms those wars that unpeople the world those thunders which grumble over our heads and those Abysses which gape under our feet are but the flourishes of thy anger thou makest thy Children feel those scourges when thou wilt correct them and these disorders of Nature are oftentimes rather favors from thy Mercy than chastisements of thy Iustice. But when thou wilt punish the guilty who have long offended thee that thou desirest to continue them in their sins that thou maist satisfie thy just fury thou givest them over to their own Lusts thou commandest their Passions to be their executioners thou permittest all the inclinations of their souls to be turned into so many sins and that delighting in their offence they no longer think of appeasing thee or of their own Conversion Since then thou dost so justly employ the passions both of thy friends and enemies vouchsafe to let me offer up these unto thee and that to do homage unto thine I may sacrifice to thee mine Suffer me to propound thy life for an example to thy faithful ones that not abusing them with false Virtues whereof Vain-Glory was the Soul and honor the reward I represent to them those which thou didst practise during those happy years thou wert pleased to converse with men Give me Grace to explain to them the Morality which is learnt in thy school And since the passions are the Seeds of Virtues and Vices favor me so far that I may so well express their Nature their Motions as that I may make all the readers of this my Book virtuous dissipate the darkness of my understanding that in handling this matter I may penetrat the depths of mens hearts I may discover the extent of their jurisdiction that I may bring all men to observe how passions are raised in them how they rebel against Reason how they seduce the Vnderstanding and what sleights they use to enslave the will After I have known the Malady teach me the Remedy that I may cure it teach me how a passion is to be stifled in its birth what means I must use to subdue a passion which finds her strength in her old age and which O the wonder is never more vigorous than when most ancient Teach me the dexterity we are to use for conquering those Passions that flatter us with their promises those which corrupt us with their subtilties those which daunt us with their threats and those which enchaunt us with their allurements That being illuminated by thy Light and assisted by thy Grace I may by one and the same Work inspire mens souls with the Love of Virtue and Hatred of Sin THE TRANSLATOR Upon the BOOK I. IF to command and rule o're others be The thing desir'd above all worldly pelf How great a Prince how great a Monarch's he Who govern can who can command Himself If you unto so great a Pow'r aspire This Book will teach how you may it acquire II. Love turn'd to Sacred Friendship here you 'l find And Hatred into a Just Indignation Desires when moderated and not blind To have to all the Virtues â—ear relation Flight or Eschewing you will find to be The chiefest Friend to spotless Chastitie III. You 'l find how Hope incites to Noble Acts And how Despair diverts Rash Enterprises How Fear from Wisdom nought at all detracts But is of use to her through just Surmises How Boldness may in hand with Valor ride How hair-brain'd Choler may with Justice side IV. How harmless Joy we may Fore-runner make Of that Eternal never-ending Bliss Whereof the Saints in Heaven do partake And how our earthly Sorrow nothing is But a sharp Corrosive which handled well Will prove an Antidote to th' pains in Hell Thus Rebels unto Loyalty are brought And Traytors true Allegiance are taught THE Translator to the Reader I Had once in my thoughts to have dedicated this my Product of some Leisure-hours to an exactly accomplish'd Lady of Honor but considering that my Author hath chosen our Saviour JESUS CHRIST for his Patron I thought I should do less should I chuse any other for my Patroness than the Kings Daughter his Spouse the Church who is all glorious within For though these be days wherein the Church may be compared to a Coppice in which the Under-wood grows much thicker and faster than do the Oaks and though she may be thought to suffer much in Dilapidations yet as Mr. Fuller saith hath she some Inner-more Chappel well in repair And truly when I considered the like coherence which is between a Wife and her Husband as between a Translation and its Original for if the one be Bone of the same Bone and flesh of the same flesh the other are composed of the same matter and as the woman is acknowledged to be the weaker vessel a Translation will never vie for worth or precedency with its Original I was somewhat confirmed in my Opinion yet when upon second thoughts which are or ought to be the best I called to mind the many Rivals she hath in these days which might peradventure cause both me and her to suffer should I say any thing of her or undertake her quarrel me by doing it her by my so ill doing it I resolved to pass over all Dedications yet could not forbear the Englishing of my Authors being thereunto invited both by the Piety and Elegancy of it as also by the like Dedications of Alstedius in his Encyclopaedia other Protestant Writers though I find it left out of some French Copies to content my self with thinking and to address my self in words only to thee my Reader and to tell thee that the Conde de Gondamor a Spanish Minister of State with whose name and fame this our Nation hath been well acquainted had wont to say If you will make a small inconsiderable Present to any great Man of the Court or to your Mistress you may do well to usher it in with some Preamble whereby to
of euring the Malady they serve only to make it the more contagious But those of Repentance drown sins save sinners and appease Gods just anger for he is so good as he is pacified with a little Sorrow He takes the dislike of of an offence for satisfaction and knowing that we cannot alter things that are past he is contented with our repenting for them As he reads mens hearts and understands the Tears which flow from a real Grief he never denies them pardon and before his Throne it is sufficient for an offender to get absolution if he confess his wickedness At the Tribunal of Judges men oft-times confound Guilt with Innocence they absolve a man who defends his sin by a Falshood and let him but deny a Murder of which there is no proof he forceth the Judg to give sentence on his side but if he yields under the violence of tortures or is surprised in his answers his Tears do not blot out his sins nor will his confession preserve his life In Repentance a man need but acknowledge his Fault and he is sure to obtain pardon for it the Laws thereof are so mild as God forgets all the injuries done unto him provided sinners mingle a little love with their Repentance and that the fear of punishment be not the only motive of their Sorrow Our own Interests do therefore oblige us to defend a Passion which is so advantageous to us and since the hope of our Salvation is grounded upon a Vertue which ows its Birth to Sorrow we ought to uphold her cause and to employ our best Reasons to authorize her who doth help to justifie us Mercy will find no less credit among men than Repentance and as there is none so happy but he may become miserable I perswade my self she will not want Advocates The Stoicks calumnies will not be able to banish her from off the Earth the weaknesses which men impute to her will not stain her glory If Injustice beat down her Altars Piety will erect others to her and if her Temples of Stone and Marble be thrown to the ground men will build up living and reasonable Temples to her They accuse her of being unjust and that she rather considers the Misfortune than the Sin of Offenders they blame her for bestowing Tears on persons that deserve them not and that she would break open prisons that she might confusedly let loose from thence as well the Guilty as the Innocent But whatsoever these inhumane Philosophers say 't is the best employment we can make of Sorrow it is the most sanctified use of Grief it is that feeling of the Soul which is most Universally approved of and men must have proceeded from Rocks or lived amongst Tygers if they condemn so reasonable a Passion She takes her Birth from Misery she imitates her Mother and she is so like unto her as she her self is another Misery She makes her self Master of the Heart by the Eyes and coming forth by the way she entred at she disperseth her self in Tears and evaporates in sighes Though she be accused of Weakness she stirs our desires and interessing us in the afflictions of the miserable she endues us with strength to assist them After she hath witnessed her fellow-feeling of them by her Sorrow she gives them testimony of her power by the Effects and giving out her Orders from the Throne where she is seated she engageth the Eyes to shed Tears for them the Mouth to comfort them and the Hands to relieve them She descends into Dungeons with Prisoners she mounts up to the Scaffold with Malefafactors she assisteth the afflicted with her Counsels she distributes her Goods amongst the Poor and not seeking any other motive than Misery it sufficeth her that a man be unfortunate to take him into her protection All these high endeavours proceed only from Sorrow and were not Grief mingled with Mercy she would not operate with so much Vigor for Self love hath put us so much out of order that divine Providence hath been fain to make us miserable by Pity so to interess us in the Miseries of others did not she touch us we should not seek out a remedy for them neither should we ever dream of curing a malady which were indifferent to us but because Mercy is a sanctified Contagion which makes us sensible of our Neighbours sufferings we ayd him to comfort our selves and we help him at his need to free our selves from the Grief we feel Thus Misery teacheth us Mercy and our own evil teacheth us to cure that of others Who can condemn so just a Resentment and who dares blame a Passion to which we owe our Innocence If the miserable are sacred Persons are the merciful prophane if we respect them whom Fortune hath set upon shall we censure those that assist them if we admire Patience shall we despise Compassion if Misery draw Tears from our Eyes shall not Mercy draw Praises from our Mouths and shall not we adore a Vertue which Iesus Christ hath pleased to consecrate in his own Person Before the Mystery of the Incarnation he had only that mercy which delivers the unfortunate without tasting their Misfortunes which cures the Disease without taking it upon her and which comforts the afflicted without adding to their number He saw our Miseries but had no Feeling of them his goodness making use of his Power succour'd the miserable and was not afflicted with them But since he hath vouchsafed to make himself Man he hath mingled his Tears with ours he hath suffered our Sorrows to wound his Soul and was willing to suffer our Miseries that he might learn Mercy We may then lawfully exercise a Vertue which Iesus Christ hath Practised and may well become miserable without any stain to our Honour since the Son of God in whose Person the least shadow of Defect cannot be found would be sensible of his friends Afflictions and shed Tears to bemoan them before he would work Miracles to relieve them All the Philosophers do also honour this Passion and to exalt her merit which the Stoicks have in vain laboured to debase they give her a glorious Title and admit her into the company of the Vertues they acknowledg she may be serviceable to Reason is all the chances of Life and that provided she agree with Justice a man must be 〈◊〉 not to reverence her when she helps the poor and pardons the guilty From all these Discourses 't is easie to gather that there is no Passion in our Soul which may not profitably be husbanded by Reason and by Grace For to sum up in a few words all which hath been said in this Work Love may be changed into a Holy Friendship and Hatred may become a Just Indignation Doâ—â—â—s moderated are helps to acquite all the Virtues and Eschewing is Chastities chief Defence Hope encourageth 〈◊〉 gallant Actions and Despair diverts us from Rash Enterprizes Fear is 〈…〉 to Wisdom