either from the condition of the thing which is not capable to satisfie our desire at one instant As we see in drinking and eating to which we must returne diuerse times to entertaine life Or from the imperfection of enioying as they which haue but tasted the first sweetnes of friendship desire to haue a fuller content Like vnto those which loue Poësie who hauing heard a peece of a goodly verse such as Vergil wrote wish to heare the rest to make their pleasure perfect Or else it growes from the nature it selfe of Pleasure which is so sweete as it inflames the soule to desire the continuance The which is seldome seene in the pleasures of the senses and of the body but which is felt with infinite delight by those which drink of that torrent of Pleasure which the Scripture describes vnto vs in heauen for they drinke eternally and are neuer satisfied We must also remember that there is great difference betwixt the Pleasures of the senses and of the minde for the delights of the senses charging and as it were importuning our naturall dispositions becomes troublesome and tedious as it falls out when we suffer our selues to be surprized with the excesse of eating and drinking Whereas those of the mind neuer exceed the carriage nor capacity of the naturall disposition of the soule but rather adde perfectiō to her nature wherefore when they are fully enioyed they delight most And if there be at any time a distaste it is for that the actiō of the mind is accōpanied with the action of the inferior powers the which being corporeall they are tired with the cōtinuance of so long an imployment Wherefore they call backe the spirit that it may giue some rest vnto the body And doubtlesse it is the onely reason why those happy soules are neuer weary to behold the diuine Essence for that the contemplation of this pleasing obiect doth not ouercharge nor weaken the spirits but doth ease and fortifie them And moreouer she doth not worke by the meanes of the senses and corporeall Organs which are subiect to grow slack in their actions I might adde that this happy contemplation of the diuine Essence is alwayes accompanied with new subiects of admiration in regard wherof it can neuer be troublesome and moreouer although the obiect bee soueraignely simple yet it comprehends all the good things which may fall into the thought or desire of man so as it can neuer cause any distaste But this belongs vnto another discourse The pleasure of the senses produceth a pernicious and dangerous effect in vs it binds our reason and takes away the vse the which happens by three occasions The first for that imploying the soule wholly in the feeling and enioying of the sweetenesse which doth accompany it she retires it from the consideration of all spirituall goodnesse and makes it lesse capable of reason in regard of the heate of the passion which doth agitate it Secondly for that most part of the pleasures of the body at the least when they tend to excesse and disorder are contrary to the motions of reason And it is an vndoubted truth That one contrary doth alwayes expell and destroy another wherefore pleasure yeeldes no place to the motions of Reason The which made Aristotle to say that although that pleasure corrupts not the Theory and simple knowledge wee haue of things as for example she doth not hinder vs from knowing that a Triangle hath three corners and that the whole is bigger then its parts distinctly comprized yet shee depraues the iudgement and hinders the esteeme wee should make by the lawes of wisedome of that which is good For that although we know well that temperance is a vertue yet we flie it for that it is cōtrary to the pleasures of our senses which suffers vs not to esteeme it as we ought The third is for that the pleasures of the senses cause a greater and a more violent alteration and change in our bodies then that of the other Passions The reason is for that wee imbrace with more vehemency and tie our selues more strictly to the obiects which please vs when they are present then when they are absent These changes and sensible alterations in the body cause trouble to the soule As it appeares in those which are surprized with wine in whose actions there is no shew of reason the excesse of wine hauing altered their braine and made them incapable of the functions of the mind But honest and moderate Pleasure addes perfection to her actions as beauty and a good grace giues the last ornament to youth aswell for that she is the end and scope which wee propound vnto our selues when we meane to worke as also for that shee makes her actions agreeable by the content she ingrafts in our senses So as to entertaine this Pleasure shee causeth vs to imploy our selues with more heate and attention to accomplish them Wherefore an Ancient sayd that nature had ioyned Pleasure to actions necessary for the entertainment of the life of creatures or for the preseruation of their kinds as eating drinking and generation to the end it might bee as salt which seasoneth meate That is to say to the end it might make those actions delightfull and that the creatures might not bee drawne vnto them with distaste And touching that which concernes the allurements and inticements of honest Pleasures we must still remember the wise counsell of Aristotle who perswades vs not to obserue them at their first approach but at their parting for that although the entry bee sweete and pleasant the end is alwayes bitter and tragicall They say that among the Pagans there was a Temple of Diana whose image did shew a sadde and seuere countenance to those that entred to worship it but at their departure it seemed more pleasant and smiling But it is contrary in Pleasures for at their first approach they present nothing but roses and sweete contents and in the end they leaue vs nothing but thornes and importune griefes especially for that they diuert vs from the soueraigne Good and from the loue of spirituall delights without the which our soules can finde no solide nor soueraigne content Of Griefe and Heauinesse CHAP. 1. AS among all creatures there is not any one exposed vnto so many outrages of Fortune as man whom we may rightly tearme an image of misery and weaknes So it is most certaine that there is not any Passion wherewith hee is more afflicted in this life then with Griefe and Sorrow whose obiects present themselues continually to his sense and mind Wherefore although that by the light which we finde in contrary things when they are opposed and compared one with another we may iudge of the condition of Griefe and Sorrow by that which we haue spoken of Pleasure and Delight yet for a more ample knowledge of a thing which is so common vnto vs it shall be fit to treate more exactly vpon this subiect Griefe then is
of the soule so as if we should giue the name of passions to the motions of the vnderstanding or of the will it is by a kind of improper and figuratiue speech alluding to the passions of the senses with the which they haue some resemblance The reason why passions are not found in the rationall part of the soule is for that this part doth not imploy any corporeal organs in her actions and that her office is not to alter or bring any change vnto the body the which notwithstanding is an action which doth accompany the passions inseparably But seeing they are not to be found in any other part of the soule but in the sensitiue appetite there riseth heere a great question whether this appetite shal be diuided into the irascible concupiscible or desiring power as into two different and distinct powers or whether it makes but one power of both The common opinion is that as their obiects are diuers so they are two distinct powers whereof the reason is gathered by that which experience doth shew vs in all other things subiect to corruption for we see in other corruptible creatures that they haue not onely an inclination and power to seek after those things which are fit and conuenient for them and to flie those which may hurt or anoy them but moreouer they haue another faculty or power to resist and fight against that which may crosse their actions or destroy their beeing As for example fire is not onely indued with lightnesse to flie vp high but it hath also receiued heate from nature by meanes whereof it doth resist and fight against any thing that is contrary to his action In like manner it was necessary for the good of man that hee should haue two kindes of inclinations the one to pursue those things which are pleasing agreeable to the senses and to auoyde those which may any way anoy him and this we call the concupiscible or desiring power and the other by meanes whereofhee may incounter and vanquish whatsoeuer opposeth it selfe crosseth his inclinations or that tends to the destruction of his being or the decay of his contentment which is that wee call the irascible or angry power This differs from the concupiscible for that the concupiscible tends to the sensible good absolútely considered and without any crosses whereas the irascible doth alwayes aime at the good which is inuironed with some difficulty the which she striues to vanquish to the end shee may take all obstacles from the concupiscible power which crosse her content and hinder her from enioying the good which she desires to attaine vnto so as the irascible is as a sword and target to the concupiscible for that she combates for her content and resists any thing that may crosse her There are many things proue that they are two different and distinct powers For as Mathematicians hauing noted diuers apparent irregularities in the Planets and obserued that they seem sometimes to hasten their course and sometimes to slacke it sometimes they stand as it were fixed and sometimes to returne backe in the Zodiaque sometimes they seem neare to the earth sometimes they appear far off they haue held it necessary to multiply their heauens and to giue them many to auoyd all disorder in these excellent bodyes of the Vniuerse In like manner the diuersity of passions in man the contrary motions desires wherewith his soule is tost haue let philosophers vnderstand that there is in him not onely a concupiscible power but also an irascible for that many times we haue a desire of that which wee striue against and resist with vehemency and if wee suffer our selues to be vanquished wee are grieued as hee who desiring to see the bodies of such as had beene executed suppressed this desire and diuerted his eies from this infamous spectacle yet suffering himselfe to bee vanquished by his curiosity and hauing cast his eyes thereon witnessed his griefe and sorrow which remained to haue giuen so brutish a contentment to his eyes Whereby it appeares that desire and anger are two diuerse faculties seeing that one power is not carried at one instant to contrary desires And we finde in our selues that often times wee are inclined to angry passions are not much mooued with those of the concupiscible or to the contrary In like manner there are creatures which haue desires but no motions of choler as for example Sheepe Pigeons and Turtles make shew to haue impressions of desires and yet there appeareth in them no signe of anger So as to obserue their dispositions well we may call in question that which Aristotle saith that there is no creature but hath some touch of choler finally wee may obserue that sometimes the irascible makes vs to pursue things which are absolutely contrary to the concupiscible as when with the hazzard of life which is so deere and precious to all creatures we seeke to reuenge our selues of a powerfull enemy which hath wronged vs. For this reuenge which puts our life in danger cannot proceede from the same power which desires passionately to preserue it and so the irascible and concupiscible are two different powers And there is no part of passion properly taken but in these two sensitiue faculties which is one of the things wee gather from the definition wee haue giuen It appeares also by the same definition that the passions of our soule should alwayes bee followed with a sensible alteration in the body by the impression of the sensitiue appetite touched with the imaginatioÌ„ of good or euill which presents it selfe And here first we must not wonder if the â—oule doth impart her motions and causeth such great alteration in the body seeing that the body doth impart his paines when as it suffers any violence For if it be laid on the racke broken on a wheele or cast into the fire the soule grones vnder the burden of his torments the which happens for that beeing vnited as forme and matter and making but one body which growes from their vnion of necessity all things must bee common vnto them except those things which repugne and cannot agree with their particular natures and therfore by a certaine contagion they communicate their passions one vnto another But in this subiect there is a stronger reason for the which the soule excites these alterations in the body by her passions that is to say for that the soule doth not onely reside in the body as the forme but doth preside there in quality of the moouing cause by meanes whereof she doth change and alter it at her will For as the intellectuall power which mooues a heauen applying her vertue to mooue it makes it to change place and drawes it from East to West or from West to East euen so the soule which hath a moouing power commanding ouer the body changeth his naturall disposition and by her agitation puls him from his rest wherein hee was before shee troubled him in this
manner Moreouer wee must not wonder if the sensitiue appetite in particular make so great an impression in the body This proceedes from the sympathy which is found in those powers which are gouerned by the same soule which imployes them so as the sensitiue appetite comming to play her part shee doth stirre vp the mouing faculty of the heart the which dilates it selfe or shrinkes vp according to the nature of the obiects which haue made impression vpon the sensitiue appetite whence grow al the alterations which are made in the body of man And here we must remember that nature hath fashioned the heart in such sort as it is in perpetual motion according vnto which it sometimes extendes it selfe and sometime retires of it selfe with a certaine measure and proportion the which continuing within the bounds which nature hath prescribed it as conformable vnto the condition of the creature this motion is wholy naturall but if it once come to breake this law and shew it selfe more violent or more slow then the nature of the creature requires the naturall harmony is broken and there followes a great alteration in the body of the creature Of all the powers of the soule those of the sensitiue appetite onely cause the alteratioÌ„ of this motion whose actions alone may make it more violent or more slowe then the lawes of nature doe allow And hence it comes that none but the actions of the sensitiue appetite are made with a visible change of the body and with a sensible alteration of the naturall constitution Yet as in this change the heart receiues an alteration so the spirits the blood and other humours are agitated and mooued beyond ordinary the which doth wholy trouble the naturall constitution of the creature The which happens after this manner The obiects of the senses strike first vpon the imagination and then this power hauing taken knowledge of theÌ„ conceiues them as good or bad as pleasing or troublesome and importune then afterwards propounds them as clothed with those qualities to the creature which apprehending them vnder this last coÌ„sideration excites the concupiscible or irascible power of the soule and induceth them to imbrace or flye them and by the impression of its motion agitates the spirits which we cal Vitall the which going from the heart disperse themselues throughout the whole body and at the same instant the blood which deriues froÌ„ the liuer participating in this agitatioÌ„ flowes throughout the veynes and casts it selfe ouer all the other parts of the body So as the heart and liuer beeing thus troubled in their naturall dispositions the whole body fâ—eles it selfe mooued not onely inwardly but also outwardly according to the nature of that passioÌ„ which doth trouble it For in motions of ioy and desire the heart melts with gladnesse In those of sorrow and trouble it shrinks vp and freezeth with griefe In those of choler and resolution it is inflamed and all on fire In those of feare it growes pale and trembling A Louers words are sweete and pleasing and those of a cholerick man are sharpe and rough Finally there riseth no passion in the soule which leaueth not some visible trace of her agitation vpon the body of man Lastly wee may gather from the definition of passion that this alteration which happeneth in the body is contrary to the lawes of nature for that as we haue said it transports the heart beyond the bounds which nature hath prescribed it and doth agitate it extraordinarily Hence it growes that amoÌ„g al the motioÌ„s of the sensitiue appetite those only are propâ—â—ly called passioÌ„s which are accompanied with some notable defect For as we call passions of the body diseases wounds paines inflammations incisions and all other violent accidents which happen extraordinarily So wee properly call passions of the soule those infirmities wherewith she is afflicted and troubled as pittie feare bashfulnesse or shame loue hatred desires Choler and the rest For in this subiect the word Passion is not taken in that sense whereas wee say that a subiect suffers when as it receiues some new forme bee it that at the comming of this forme it lose any thing of its owne or not as when the ayre is enlightned with the Sunne beams without losing any thing of her first constitution nor in that sense wherein we say that a subiect suffers when as it receiues a new quality which doth expell another whether it bee concurrent to its nature or contrary vnto it as when water growes cold or is made hot But the word Passion is taken here for a change which is made in man contrary to his naturall constitution and disposition from the which hee is as it were wrested by this change In which sense the Phylosophers say that things suffer when as they are drawne from their naturall disposition to a course that is contrary to their nature In the mean time you must not wonder if we ground the irregularity of the change which these passions breed vpon the disorder which the sensitiue appetite stirred vp by the sensible obiects casts into the heart being a thing which wee must constantly beleeue that this power of the soule bee it the irascible or coÌ„cupiscible hath its se at and mansion in the heart The which cannot be denied in the subiect of feare for that such as are transported therwith call back the blood and heate vnto the heart as to the place where feare doth exercise her tyranny therewith to defend themselues considering also that those creatures which haue the greatest and largest hearts are most fearefull for that their heate is more dispersed and consequently lesse able to resist the assaults of feare Some haue not beleeued that it was so of other passions but haue appointed theÌ„ their seates else-where and haue maintained that some did reside in the liuer others in the spleene and some in the gall as for anger they haue lodged it in the gall whereas choler resides which doth inflame it But they haue giuen loue his quarter in the liuer for that the saÌ„guine coÌ„plexion is inclined to loue for ioy they haue seated it in the Spleen for that melancholy proceeds from the distemperature of this part But notwithstanding this it is most certaine that both the powers of the sensitiue appetite I mean the Irascible and Concupiscible reside in the heart the which beeing the fountaine of life of all vital operations must also bee a lodge retraite to those appetites which nature hath gigiueÌ„ the creature to preserue his life to chase away those perils which may threaten it Wherby we see that the passioÌ„s of desire or anger are felt preseÌ„tly in the heart trouble the natural coÌ„stitution as soon as they rise wherby followeth a strange alteration throughout the whole body for the springs caÌ„not be troubled but the streams wil feele of it And therefore the passions being too vehement and making a violeÌ„t impressioÌ„ vppoÌ„ the hart they cause
as much as reason may subiect them to her command and prescribe them a Law And in this consideration they may bee good or bad according to the quality of the will that gouernes them So wee see both good and bad feare desire and reioyce alike But the wicked haue bad feares wicked desires bad ioyes whereas the good haue none but good feares good desires and good ioyes for that the branches do alwaies participate of the nature of the roote For although the sensitiue appetite of her owne quality be destitute of liberty yet by reason of the strict vnion that it hath with the intellectuall and reasonable it doth participate as it were with a beame and some kind of borrowed liberty in regard whereof some haue maintained that it is capable of vertues as of temperance and fortitude which reside in this part of the soule If the Stoicks had well obserued this consideration they should haue seene that a wise man by the guide of reason may so moderate his Passions as they may be commendable and worthy the profession hee makes of vertue The which is nothing doubted of by Christian Philosophers seeing that he who was neuer subiect to sinne and whose soule was aduanced to the height of graces and vertues had Passions and humane affections the which could neuer command ouer reason or transport it but receiue a law from it But on the other side wee want no reasons to conuince and ouerthrow the opinions of the Stoickes For first of all vertue how eminent soeuer neuer ruines that which is wholy conformable to reason But what is more reasonable then to see a man moued with pitty and compassion of his like of his friends or of his kinsman what inhumanity were it for a mother to see her child in the throat of wild beastes or exposed to shipwracke or broken vpon a wheele or torne in peeces by tortures or only sicke of some violent infirmity and not to haue her soule sensible of griefe would wee that a vertuous man should not bee touched with indignation to see crimes honored and the wicked aduanced to the height of dignities Shall we condemne the spurres of an honest emulation wherewith he is toucht that reades the glorious exploits and vertuous actions of great Personâ—ges which â—aue gon before him will you haue him that owes his life and honor and whatsoeuer â—ee enioyeth to his friend insensible of the offices of his friendshp would they that the â—eares of an honest wife should haue no power oâ—er an husband that were ready to abandon her All these motions being so iust were it not a great cruelty to seeke to supprâ—sse them as it were in despight of nature But who knowes not that these Passionsâ—re â—re exercises of vertue To apprehend euill to feare punishments to attend recompences with ioy to long after promises are they not so many incourâ—gements to piety temperance and other vertuous actions who is it then that will blame so commendable a thing Nay is it not to quench the fruits of vertue and to deny it the content which is due vnto it in cutting off thus generally all Passions For who knoweth not that shee doth vsually plant in the soules of men an ardent loue of the goodly fruits which she produceth What iust man but feeles certaâ—ne pleasure â—nd sweetâ—nes in the effects of Iustice what sober man but receiues content in the actions of sobriety what valiant man but suffers himselfe to bee transported with the loue of braue exploits and a desire to seeke glorious death in combats And who will beleeue that euer vertue like vnto Polipus which eates his owne armes will euer ruine her proper obiects Who doth not know but the Passions of our soules are the obiects of many excellent vertues which doe moderate them and reduce them vnto reason when they seeke to flie out Fortitude is nothing but a mediocrity betwixt feare hardines That is to say it is nothing but a vertue by meanes wherâ—of we do moderate our exceeding feare and our immoderate boldnesse Take then feare and hardines from fortitude and it is no more a vertue And by the same reason you ouerthrow all courage and magnanimity whereof the one makes vs to vndertake the most terrible and difficult things with resolution and the other giues vs a lustre in our greatest actions You shall in like manner ouerthrow all patience and perseuerance whereof the one makes vs constantly and willingly to endure all the miseries of this life and the other confirmes vs against all the crosses of this world so as wee remaine inseparably 〈◊〉 to that which wee hold conformable to reason for all these vertues haue for their obiect the Passions of the Irascible appetite Temperance is no other thing but a mediocrity which wee keepe in the pleasures of tast and feeling and in the griefes and sorrowes which befall vs. That is to say it is a vertue by meanes whereof wee gouerne our pleasures and paines If then you take all pleasure and Paine from temperance you giue it the name of vertue in vaine And withall you put modesty and honesty out of the number of the vertues whereof the one makes vs apprehend infamies and reproches that is to say induceth vs to flie whatsoeuer hath any shew of dissolution And the other filling our soules with goodly things done with a certaine grace makes vs to flie whatsoeuer is filthy and worthy of reproch You shall also put out of the same number of vertues abstinency Sobriety chastity and pudicity whereof the two first moderate the delights of the mouth and the other the pleasures of generation For that all these verâ—ues haue for their obiect the Passions of the concupiscible appetite After all this the sensitiue appetite is a present of nature which God who is the Author hath freely bestowed vpon vs but vertue neuer destroyes nature but addes vnto it the perfection which it wants It must then suffer the sensitiue appetite to act according to his inclination yet moderating his motions and restrayning them vnder the lawes of reason And without doubt it seemes the Stoicks haue not obserued in man any other composition then that of the body and the soule and that they were ignorant of the diuersity of the intellectuall and sensitiue powers of reason and of sensuality For otherwise they would neuer haue suffered the sensitiue appetite to haue bene idle in man as it must of necessity remaine if it bee once freed from all motions of Passions And as for those wonderfull praises they giue to a wise man whom they imagine to bee freed from Passions they are like vnto the stately titles which are giuen to great shipps and to all that rich equipage and furniture wherewith it is adorned and yet it is subiect to the fury of stormes and suffers shipwracke as well as the smallest vessells Wee haue alwayes seene those which haue made profession of this sect grow pale and wanne aswell as
or distastfull And for this reason sorrow and ioy discouer the inclination we haue to any one The second is that friends share equally betwixt them the good and euill They say that there are images of wax vpon the which inchanters deliuer such powerfull spells as being made to represent any person as soone as they are wronged the body of him for whom they were fashioned feeles paine In this sort there is such a bond of affection betwixt friends as the harme which happens to the one afflicts the other and fills him with bitternesse so as many times we haue seene true friends die with sorrow for the losse of their friend Yea prophane histories are full of Persons which haue slaine themselues for that they would not suruiue them whom they haue loued dearely In like manner the prosperity of friends passeth from one to another so as the tryumphs of Alexander are the coÌ„tentments of Ephestion and the glory of Ephestion is the ioy of Alexander The third is that they which loue should haue the same friends and the same enemies They say the Adamant or Loadstone doth not only make an impression vpon iron which it drawes but doth also impart his vertue by his touching so as the iron which it hath toucht drawes other iron vnto it and makes as it were a continued chaine In the same manner a friend brings his friends to him he loues and he reciprocally imparts vnto him his friends whereof there is framed a common bond which makes them ready to succor one another as if they were members of one body To what Persons Loue extends CHAP. 3. ALthough that loue hath for his generall obiect the bounty and beauty which shines in those things which present them selues vnto our eyes and soules yet there are diuerse particular considerations and diuerse beames which excite this Passion and fashion it in the hearts of men Aristotle numbers fifteene causes the which are also diuided into other branches whereof we will treate as briefely as wee may taking only that which shall belong vnto our subiect First sayth he men loue them which do them good or whom they thinke haue a will to do it or to their friends In truth there is nothing that more bindes the hearts of men and induceth them more to loue then benefits For euen bruite beasts feele the good which they receiue from men and there is no creature so wild whom good vsage doth not make gentle and tame They that gouerne Lyons feare not their rage but play about them without any apprehension of their fury for that this generous Creature knowes him that hath a care to feede him By continuall feeding they bring Elephants to do what seruice they desire And wee must not obiect against it that it hath beene a common complaint in the mouth of men in all ages that most of the benefits that are bestowed in the world are lost for that they fall vpon vngratefull soules who do not acknowledge themselues in any sort bound For as an Ancient hath obserued this proceedes not from the nature of the benefits which contrariwise haue a particular vertue to draw the affection and to charme the will but most commonly the fault proceeds from our selues for that wee either erre in our election doing good to vnworthy persons or we distribute it ill if we take away the grace For wee must not think that our benefites bind a friend if we suffer our selues to be too much courted if we make him to languish in the pursuite or if we do it with a kind of vnwillingnesse for by these meanes wee take away all the merrit and bond of the benefit for that no man will thinke himselfe beholding for that which hee hath purchased so dearely wherefore an Ancient called benefits of that nature a loafe filled with stones which no man can vse Men therefore thinke themselues bound to those from whom they receiue benefits whether they be great and worthy to bee acknowledged in regard of their greae shew and magnificence or that they which are the authors bestow them freely without importunity and with a singular demonstration of Loue or that such as giue haue made a sit choice of time to bind them assisting them when as they or their friends had extreame neede and when as they thinke that for their owne sakes they haue bound them by these benefits They also Loue the friends of their friends and such as haue any conformity with them in the subiect of their affection and that Loue those whom they Loue and who also make profession to be enemies to their enemy The reason is that reputing their friends good as their owne they beleeue that the good which is done vnto their friends extends vnto themâ—selues and that they do participate wholy thereof In regard whereof they loue the spring and fountaine And contrariwise they beleeue that the auersion and distast they haue of their enemies is a token of the loue they beare them They also loue those that succour them with their meanes or bind them with the hazard of their liues For first of all men loue bountifull friends passionatly imagining that they are borne for the good of mankind As for the second men loue great courages imagining that they are supporters of their liues that they will neuer suffer wrong to bee done vnto the weake and feeble They also loue such as they hold to bee iust and resemble not the Harpeys or rauening birds which liue of spoyle but content themselues with their owne fortunes committing no outrage nor offering violence to any And in this rancke they put labourers and handicrafts men to whom all the world seemes to beare an affection in regard of the innocency of their profession They also put in the same rancke temperate persons in whom they see some great modesty to shine which shew that their soules are not inclined to any kind of iniustice They againe esteeme those that leade a peaceable life which haue no curiosity and which pry not into the liues of other men but content themselues to order gouerne those that are submitted to their care and charge presupposing that such as containe themselues within these bounds thinke not of any iniustice or wickednesse Men also Loue famous persons who by their vertue haue attained to an eminent glory and an extraordinary reputation bee it generally in the world or only among good men or among such as they haue in admiration or by whom they themselues are admired and they especially make great shew of their affection when as they presume that these Persons in all their dignity and greatnes disdaine them not but are wel pleased with the testimonies of their Passion so wee haue seene people runne by whole troupes from all the corners of the world to see conquerours such as did triumph men of holy life and Persons indued with rare knowledge or wisedome aboue the common sort of men The reason is for that
his desires and intentions But whence comes the power which this Passion hath thus to vnite the subiects where it worketh This cannot well bee explicated without the aide of Philosophy First of all Loue say the Philosophers is a desire to enioy the good wee propound vnto our selues as proper for our content and capable to make vs in some sort better by the fruition But this enioying participation cannot bee effected but by vniting the obiect to our affection which is the same good we propound vnto our selues wherefore it is of the Essence of Loue that it produceth this vnion Hence it proceeds that the presence of the party beloued is so deare and pretious vnto vs and that we feele our selues filled with content when as we may enioy him to entertaine our thoughts to taste the sweetnesse of his company and to discouer our Passions whereas his absence and separation giues vs a thousand torments and afflicts vs with a thousand sorrowes and discontents which wee would redeeme with our liues Wherefore when as death doth take violently from vs those whom wee loue dearely and by this meanes hath condemned vs as it were to a perpetuall absence we striue to ease our griefe and sweeten our losse by transporting our selues often to the places where we were accustomed to see theÌ„ representing vnto our selues their portracts and images reading ouer their letters stil handling al the gages and monuments they left vs of their affection Sometimes the same gages and the same momuments of their affection displease vs and wee do so abhorre them as wee cannot indure to see them nor handle them but this growes from the griefe of their absence for that we then represent them as infallible signes of our losse which they figure vnto vs as irreparable by reason whereof their pictures fill vs with bitternes But on the other side when as the same things seeme vnto vs to supply the presence wee Loue them dearely and cannot bee weary to entertaine our selues with those thoughts And if amidst all this we can inuent any thing that may serue to preserue the memory more liuely in our soules wee imbrace the inuention and are wonderfully pleased with this art Wherein doubtlesse Artimesia Queene of Caria shewed an act of wonderfull Passion towards her husband Mausolus For death hauing taken him away this desolate Princesse not knowing how to pull the thornes of her sorrow out ofher soule she caused his body to be reduced to ashes and mingled them in her drinke meaning to make her body a liuing tombe whereas the reliques of her deare husband might rest from whom shee could not endure to liue separated The most subtile Philosophers giue a second reason of this vnion which ariseth froÌ„ Loue. Loue say they hath her feate in the Will they doe not consider it as a Passion onely which riseth in the sences but also as a quality which in the end becomes spirituall but there is this difference betwixt the vnderstanding and Will the vnderstanding goes not out of it selfe to ioyne with his obiect but rather he drawes the obiect vnto him whereof the Image is framed to produce his action like vnto a seale which prints its forme in the waxe But the Will being toucht with the Loue of her obiect suffers it selfe to bee drawne to his Image and going out of it selfe vnites it selfe vnto him to take his forme like vnto the waxe which receiues impressions of the seale So as by this reason Loue is thoght to cause the vnion of him that loueth with the party beloued for that his will rauished by his loue hath no other Passion but to see her self vnited vnto her But these meditations are too nice for our subiect The second effect they attribute to Loue and which is as it were a branch and bud of the first is that it causeth the soule of him that loues to bee more where it loues then where it liues and that reciprocally the soule of the party beloued is more with the louer then with his owne body The reason is for that the soules of such as loue are perpetually attentiue to coÌ„template the image of that they loue and haue no other thoght nor greater pleasure then that they receiue by this sweete entertainment By reason whereof the soule making shew of a more exact presence where it doth most frequently worke it followes thereby that it is more with the party beloued then in its owne body But let vs heare the opinion of the Platonicians vpon this point The soule say they which is toucht to the quicke with Loue dying in iâ—s owne body findes life in that it loues And when this Loue is reciprocall it dies but once wheras it reuiues twice For he that loues dyes truly when as Loue makes him neglect and forget the causes of his life to thinke wholly vppon the party beloued but hee recouers his life doubly when as he sees himselfe imbraced and entertained by the party beloued and that he finds in his armes his deer Image which hee preserues more carefully then his own life Who will not then say they hold this death happy which is recompenced by two such sweete liues But this discourse of the Platonicians presupposeth an equall correspoÌ„dency in Loue without the which they maintaine that this Passion is full of despaire leaues nothing in our soules but importune and troublesome thornes Wherfore the Ancients said that to make Loue grow shee had neede of a brother But wee haue treated sufficiently of this Subiect They attribute other effects to Loue that is to say languishings extasies and amazements but that Loue must bee very violent which doth produce them And moreouer wee may consider these extasies and rauishâ—ments which may happen in a violent Loue after two sorts First we may obserue them as a true alienation of the sences which ariseth for that the spirit and will of him that loueth being wholy imployed in the contemplation and enioying of the thing beloued suffereth himselfe to bee so transported with this content as the soule remaines as it were quencht and without motion The which may also proceed from a more powerfull cause that is to say either from God or from euill spirits which somtimes stirre vp these rauishments and extraordinary extasies Secondly we may consider these extasies rauishments as a kind of madnes which transports them that Loue and makes them to commit many follies wherefore an Ancient sayd that Iupiter himselfe could not be wise and loue at one instant These extasies and rauishments produce sometimes prodigious effects in their soules that are afflicted with this Passion For that his soule that loues intirely is perpetually imployâ—ed in the contemplation of the party beloued and hath no other thoughts but of his merit the heate abandoning the parts and retiring into the braine leaues the whole body in great distemperature which corrupting and consuming the whole bloud makes the face grow pale wanne causeth
of the Tuscanes who was rauisht with admiration seeing with what constancy he burnt his own hand suffered without amazement the violence of the fire into the which hee thrust it for that he had faâ—ld of his enterprize Neither should wee know the notable temperaÌ„ce of Fabrititus nor the moderation he shewed in refusing the gold and presents of Pyrrhus King of Albania if pouerty had not bene familiar vnto him So Regulus being pierced with nailes and torne in pieces with punishments seruing as a spectacle of the Carthiginians in humanity purchased an immortall name for his constancy So Socrates seeing himselfe condemned to drinke poyson and beholding the cup into the which the hangman powred that mortal draught without any palenesse or amazemeÌ„t deserued to be admired by his enemies After their example then a wiseman will conceiue that the afflictions of this life offer him a goodly occasion to shew his constancy and to make his vertues shine and therefore they shall not be able to afflict him immoderatly nor to torture his minde extraordinarily But that which should most fortifie him in this thought is that God which doth cast him into the middest of these combatts will crowne his constancy and not suffer him to remaine without reward Moreouer we may also striue to diuert it by some pleasing imployment which may cause vs to turne our eyes from the fearefull image of the euill which afflicts vs representing vnto our selues obiects which are more sweet and delightfull then those which torture vs so cruelly Finally to draw together as it were into one body all the meanes wee haue to charme our cares griefes heauines is disperst ether for that wee see our selues freed from the euill which did persecute vs or that wee recouer the possession of the good which had beene wrested from vs and wee had lost or else for that the misery wherewith wee haue beene crost is as it were recompenced by some other felicities which befall vs as the sweetnesse of these last contents takes away all the bitternesse of our forepassed afflictions as would befall him that should be drawne out of prison and from bonds to bee set in a royall throne and to haue a scepter put into his hand and a crowne vpon his head Griefe is also dispersed by diuertisments by affaires by the entertainment of wisemen by the discourse of such as are learned and feare God and by the force of our owne iudgement conceiuing with our selues that we should not suffer any misery to triumph ouer our constancy that to suffer our selues to bee vanquished by Griefe were to shew the weaknesse of our courrage and that to bee toucht with afflictions is a thing common to all men but the glory of this constant oppositioÌ„ belongs only to an eminent vertue And lastly that he who sends vs these afflictions is a Father and no executioner That it is that great God without whose decree there falls not a haire from our heads whose will no man may contradict vnlesse hee will shew himselfe desperately mad After all this we must remember that Griefe is neuer cured but rather inflamed by Griefe And therefore as in other infirmities of the soule a greater euill makes the lesse to be forgotten so wee may disperse a present heauinesse either by shewing that it is not the present misery which we must lament but others that are more cruell which threaten vs As if hee who is afflicted for the losse of his goods bee in danger to lose his life by publicke iustice Or else in fortifying our resolutions with a better hope as in representing vnto himselfe the glory of paradise after the miseries of this life and the crownes of heauen after the combatts of the earth All these things make great impressions in religious soules capable of the feeling of piety Besides all this there are remedies which are taken from the obiects of the senses which recreate the mind and body in the middest of Griefe For first whatsoeuer delights and giues ioy vnto the senses causeth ease to the heauinesse of the soule for that ioy is to the soule that which rest is to the body So as they which rest repaire their forces mollifying the paine which hath tyred theÌ„ so they which begin to taste any sweete pleasures feele their Griefe to decay by little and little and their heauinesse to vanish away go to smoake Wherefore it is fit to draw them that are afflicted into the fields to enioy a free aire and the sight of heauen It is good to shew them haruest riuers meadows and hills for that these diuerse obiects diuert the afflicted soule and make it forget a part of its Griefe so as all hideous shapes are defaced by the presence of these sweeter obiects Some haue thought that musique consorts and instruments are fit to charme our melancholies whereunto they referre that which the Scripture sayth that Dauid by the sound of his harpe did pacifie the euill spirit which tormented Saule but experience hath taught vs that all these things do many times rather entertaine melancholy then disperse it Wherefore in this subiect wee must obserue the nature of the infirmity and the quality of the musique which must be cheerefull to driue away heauinesse The vse of wine hath also a particular vertue to expell cares And we haue seene in our time a great Prince desperately afflicted for the death of his only sonne could finde no other remedy for his Griefe then to vse the strongest wine that could be gotten The reason is for that wine being moist and hot it doth at one instant both water sweetly and heat that bilious humor which is as it were the center roote whereunto melancholy doth fixe it selfe Sleepe also and the vse of Bathes are very behoouefull for that both the one and the other reduce nature to her first habite and restore her good constitution which Griefe had corrupted the which disperseth heauinesse and causeth ioy to enter into the afflicted soule Teares are also proper to disperse heauinesse yea wee finde many times in our bitterest griefes that teares diminish our paine and mollifie our miseries how sharpe soeuer The which happens for two reasons The first for that the things which are pernitious vnto vs and remaine inclosed within vs hurt vs more then when they are without But when wee powre forth teares we cast out that which afflicts vs emptying the humor which oppresseth vs and smothers vs within by this meanes we free our selues from a heauy burthen which lay vpon our hearts by reason whereof our soule helping her selfe to cast out the enemy of our life diuerts and frees her selfe from the importune thought of Griefe and imployes her imaginatioÌ„ in this diuertisement the which for this occasion is pleasing vnto her and doth ease her in her afflictions The second reason is for that it is a contentment to man to do an act befitting the estate wherein hee finds himselfe So
mollified for any tragicall accident which happened a thousand yeares since neither do we care much for that which shal succeed after the reuolutions of many ages Wherefore in old time the Romans to moue the Magistrates to mercy striued to make a more sensible impression of their miseries by causing their wiues children and families to come desolately vnto the place of iustice And as for themselues they appeared in iudgement with garmeÌ„ts befitting their fortunes all filthy and torne they opened their breasts other parts of their bodies to shew the wounds they had receiued in the seruice of the common wealth Yea they caused tables to bee drawne where their misfortunes were painted the which they preseÌ„ted vnto their Iudges to the end that hauing before their eies so mourneful a spectacle they might take coÌ„passion of their misery being most certaine that the voice attire carriage countenance gesture and presence of the miserable make powerfull impressions in our hearts and incite men more to pitty The which happens for that these things make vs as it were present by the sight of another mans misery And therefore a bloody roabe as that of Caesar murthered in the Senate being showne to expresse the misfortune of a Prince did not onely wrest forth teares but euen inflame the people to reuenge so pittifull an accident For the same reason wee feele our selues much touched with griefe and pitty when as wee heare the complaints sighes teares and lamentation of these which are opprest by some notable calamity As when we behold the Agonies of those that are exposed to a cruell and shamefull death And we are the more moued to pitty and commiseration when they are worthy and vertuous men whose vertue and glory past makes their ends the more lamentable and tragicall For this consideration moues vs the more both for that the euill is neere vs and that our eyes are spectators as also for that the Image of their vertue and the glory of their precedent liues increaseth the indignity of their punishment Of Indignation CHAP. 3. AS Mercy or pitty is a signe of a good soule so this other Passion which we cal Indignation and which is no other thing but a grieuing repining wee haue at the good Fortune which befalles the wicked who are altogether vnworthy is very commendable in vs. For as pitty is framed of the Griefe which we feele for the miseries of good men or whoÌ„ we iudge worthy of better fortunes so Indignation proceeds from the discontent we receiue to see the wicked flourish and enioy the worldly blessings which they haue not deserued so as either of these Passions is commendable for that as wee should afflict our selues to see vertuous men ouertakâ—n by miâ—fortunes from the which their vertue should exempt them so we should bee greiued to see men execrable for their crimes aduanced to the height of honors and wordly dignities which good men should enioy For whatsoeuer befalls a man contrary to his merrit is full of outrage and iniustice wherefore Aristotle did not forbeare to say that Indignation is a thing which is found euen in the diuinity to the which the prosperities of the wicked cannot be pleasing But to enter into the matter you must vnderstand that as Indignation is a griefe which wee feele a despight which we conceiue at the great prosperity of those whom wee hold vnworthy for their crimes yet this Passion is not framed in our soules for all kind of prosperities which may befall them For that no man hath any reason to bee troubled to see the wicked change their life vnto a better to imbrace piety to become iust valiant moderate wise and adorned with other vertues Yea the most innocent soules reioyce whensoeuer they see a man who was formerly vicious and disordered become vertuous and temperate There being no man liuing that is vnworthy of vertue seeing that vertue by her presence doth extinguish vice and makes man worthy of the blessings of this life whereas they that are destitute of this ornament deserue them not So as if hee who was formerly wicked becomes vertuous by this change hee makes himselfe worthy of all good fortune and therefore if any happen vnto him we should not be grieued as in like manner wee should not take pitty of those who remaine obstinate in their crimes and glory in their vices The goods then which we grieue and disdaine to see the wicked enioy are the goods of the body and those which we call of Fortune that is to say nobility beauty honors scepters Crownes Empires and such like As for example there is no good man but doth grieue and tremble to see the Tyrants of the East the cruell and infidell race of the Ottomans hold the goodliest scepter enioy the richest citties and command ouer the most powerfull prouinces of the world And in like manner there are no vertuous soules that can without griefe Indignation see other wicked men to flourish and abound in all sorts of honor and riches But especially our despight is inflamed when as they are men who haue crept vp to the height of glory in an instant and when they are very prodigies of Fortune being aduanced before they were in a manner knowne to bee in the world or at the least were in any sort respected For as for those which hold their Nobility from precedent ages who are rich by succession and inheritance and who hold all the aduantages they haue from nature although they be altogether vnworthy yet wee endure them with lesse impatiency then we do new men who are risen to a monstrous prosperity in one day The reason is for that they which enioy their glory and riches from their ancestors seem to haue nothing but what belongs vnto them by the right of nature and blood whereas men aduanced to new honors without merite seeme to bee rich with the spoyles of vertue and to enioy the goods which in no sort belong vnto them And for the same reason although that sometimes the goods of the body as beauty health and disposition meeting in men which deserue them not may raise in our soules some clouds of Indignation and despight to see these presents of nature so vnworthily prophaned yet wee do not conceiue so galling a discontent as when we see them enioy the goods which we call of Fortune as charges dignities offices the gouernment of state and the mannaging of great affaires all which things seeme to bee due to vertue For this coÌ„sideration it is an insupportable thing to see a man of the common sort wholy destitute of vertue and full of all vice attaine to the first dignities of a Realm and in the twinckling of an eye to become as powerfull as the greatest Princes And there is no doubt but all good men tremble when they see these prodigious aduancements of persons taken from the scumme of the people without any consideration of merit Yea these sudden changes are as
vnworthy They are angry also with such as dissemble things and make a ieast of that which they haue done seriously for this dissimulation and diuersion of their intensions is a signe of scorne Finally men are discontented with those which doe good to all the world yet do none to them in particular for they are conceited that such as haue no care to bind them vnto them shewing an inclination to oblige all the world witnesse thereby that they esteeme them not as they do other men but haue a most base conceit of their merit This consideration hath bred discōtents in the courts of great Princes for euery one holding himselfe as worthy as his companion to attain vnto the offices of State when as any one is aduanced without mention made of them they conceiue that his good fortune is a blemish to their glory makes them to be esteemed inferiour to his merite To cōclude forgetfulnesse prouokes choler for that forgetfulnesse is a signe of the little care they haue of men And this little care is a mark of contempt for that the things whereof they make account are most carefully recommended to memory CHAP. 3. Of the Effects and remedies of Choler AMONG all the Passions that trouble transport the soule of man there is not any accompanied with so great violence which shewes such brutishnesse or that produce such fatall and tragicall effects as Choler which seemes properly to be the spring frō whence flowes all the miseries and ruines which happen in the world For whereas other passiōs as Loue and Ioy Desire and Hope haue certain beams of sweetnesse which makes them pleasing Choler is full of bitternes hath no sweeter obiects thē punishments blood and slaughter which serue to glut her reuenge These be her delights these are her ioyes these are the sweetest and most pleasing spectacles which she can behold But if you desire to see how shee is the fountaine of all the horrors which are dispersed ouer the world and make it desolate reade in histories of the sacking of Townes of Prouinces ruined and made deserts obseruing the euersion and ouerthrow of Empires Diademes troden vnder foote Princes basely betrayed and smothered by poyson Kings murthered great Commanders in Warre cast into chaines and seruing as an example of humane miserie Consider that whole multitudes haue beene put to the sword or made Gallyslaues whole Natiōs rooted out the Temples wheras Diuinity dwels prophaned the Altars beaten down and whatsoeuer was most holy and most reuerend among men vnworthily violated and they shall find that all these tragicall spectacles are the effects of that cruell and inhumane fury But setting apart the horror of the effects which shee produceth generally let vs obserue the miseries whereof she is the cause in priuate persons that suffer themselues to bee transported with this Passion First then if the saying of Physitians be true that of all the infirmities wherewith we are afflicted there are none worse nor more dangerous then those which disfigure the face of man and which make it deformed and vnlike vnto himselfe we must conclude by the same reason that of all the Passions of man there is not any one more pernitious nor more dreadfull then Choler which alters the gracefull countenance and the whole constitution of man For as furious and mad men shew the excesse of their rage by the violent changes which appeare in their bodies euen so a man transported with Choler giues great signes of the frenzie that doth afflict him his eyes full of fire and flame which this Passion doth kindle seeme fiery sparckling his face is wonderfully inflamed as by a certaine refluxe of blood which ascends from the heart his haire stands vpright and staring with horror his mouth cannot deliuer his words his tongue falters his feete and hands are in perpetuall motion He vomits out nothing but threats hee speakes of nothing but blood and vengeance Finally his constitution is so altered and his lookes so terrible as he seemes hideous and fearefull euen to his dearest friends What must the soule then be within whose outward image is so horrible Wherefor an Ancient sayd that Choler was a short fury And another maintained that all violent Choler turned into madnesse The which we may confirme by that which is written of Hercules who growing furious knew not his owne wife and children vpon whom he exercised his rage tearing them inhumanely in peeces euen so they ouer whom Choler hath gotten absolute power forget all affinity and friendship and without any respect make their owne kinsfolkes and friends feele the effects of their fury For it is a Passion which growes bitter against all the world which springs aswell from loue as from hatred and is excited aswell in sport as in the most serious actions So as it imports not from what cause it proceeds but with what spirit it incounters As it imports not how great the fire is but where it falles for the most violent cannot fire marble whereas the smallest sparkles will burne straw Hereby wee gather that this Passion domineers principally in hot and fiery constitutions for that heate is actiue and wilfull and giues an inclination to these kinds of violence making vs to grow bitter easily yea vpon the least subiect that may be Finally to returne to our first purpose Choler doth not only disfigure the body but many times it ruines it wholy For some being extraordinarily moued haue broken their veines and vomited out their soule with the blood yea they which haue slaine themselues owe their misfortune to Choler which hath forced them to this last fury hauing then left such cruell signes of rage vpon the body she assailes the mind shee doth outrage to the soule and smothers reason in man and like vnto a thicke cloud will not suffer it to enlighten him and by this meanes fills him with disorder and confusion So as hee begins to shut his eare to all good aduice he will no more heare speake of that which may helpe to mollifie his courage which is full of bitternesse and violence so as taking pleasure in his owne affliction he abhorres all remedies and flies the hand of the Physitian which might cure him yea in this transport hee is offended at any thing and imitates the sauage beasts whom the most cheerefull colours thrust into fury An innocent smile a shaking of the head which signifies nothing a glance of the eye without dessigne is capable to draw him to the field But how often haue wee seene this inhumaine fury dissolue euen the most sacred friendship vpon very friuolous subiects hath shee not prouoked dearest friends to duells and made them serue as spectacles of infamy both to heauen and earth for quarrells imbraced without any ground It is then very apparant that this Passion is not only infamous but also most wretched seeing that vnder an weake pretext of reuenge she doth precipitate men into most horrible villanies makes them
affect it and seeke it yet hauing a desire it imports not whether the knowledge be precisely in themselues or that some other cause supplies this defect and insinuates it selfe into this action to guide it The reason whereof is that although they be depriued of knowledge yet it hinders not the force of their motions for that they are vnited to that great intelligence which knoweth all things and cannot erre in her knowledge but guides all the naturall causes to their ends by her wise prouidence But these things haue alwayes neede of knowledge and desire to put them into action although that in regard of knowledge it is not absolutely necessary it reside in them but it sufficeth that it be imparted vnto them by the influence and assistance of a more eminent cause As for those which haue life it may be plainly obserued in the course of their liues But we must remember that the soule being the forme of liuing thinges and naturall formes hauing this in particular that the more Noble containes the perfection of that which is lesse Noble as a quadrangle comprehendes with a certaine eminency all that enters into the composition of a Triangle and as the formes of beasts containe the formes of the Elements It followes that there beeing three degrees of Soules that is to say that which giues life which is the lesse perfect that which giues sense which is the second ranke and the Reasonable which is the noblest of all this Reasonable soule which is peculiar onely to Man containes all the powers and perfections of the other and can effect as much as all the rest together By reason whereof man hath a Vegetatiue soule which is common with plants he hath the sensitiue which he hath common with bruit heasts But he alone is in possession of the Reasonable soule whereby he hath nothing common with the rest of the Creatures After this either of these soules hath a number of powers befitting the operations which must arise The powers of the Vegetatiue soule are principally those which nourish which contribute to the growing and increase and which serue to Generation And those haue other powers for instruments to their actions as the power to draw the power to retaine the power to expell the excrements the power to disgest the nourishment and others which Philosophers assigne vnto them Moreouer there is a power which is as it were the Queene of all the rest to whose command and conduct they referre all their actions And that is the power of the naturall Appetite the which as wee haue sayd is one of those two things necessary to accomplish the actions of Nature According vnto these Lawes we see that the power we call Attractiue drawes the nourishment vnto her for that the Naturall Appetite doth presse and command her and in like manner the power which they call Expulsiue doth cast forth and expell those things which the same Natural Appetite doth abhorre and so of the other Powers which are ordained to diuerse ends But for that the Appetite which is blind and voyde of all Knowledge is not sufficient in Vegetatiue things to exercise their action but withall it is requisite that they be accompanied with Knowledge it therfore happens that the Vegetatiue soule being not so Noble that among all her powers there is not any one indued with Knowledge the vniuersall Nature which prouides for all supplies this defect and conducts by her Light the inclination of Vegetatiue substances to their ends and by the same meanes guides all the other powers which follow her motions in their actions So as Nature knowing the substance fitting and proper for the Nourishment shewes it and instructs the Naturall Appetite and ordaines that it shal bee drawne and disgested and conuerted into Nourishment for the preseruation of the Vegetable Indiuidue and the like may bee sayd of the other actions wherein doubtlesse liuings things diffâ—r not much from those that haue no life And we must not obiect that Plants seeme to bee indued with Knowledge for that they can distinguish a Iuicâ— which is proper for them from that which is pernitious the which seemes to bee a marke of Knowledge for although there were Pilosophers which did aâ—tribute vnto Plants a feeling of things which they sayd was lesse pure and lesse actiue then that of Creatâ—â—es Yet it is most certaine that the Nature of the Vegetatiue soule is too earthly to bee fit for the functions of the Sences which require othâ—â— Organs then those of the Plants And therefore although they draw vnto them good Iuice and reiect the bad it proceeds not from any Knowledge wherewith they are indued but from their Naturall vertues and properties guided by that Soueraigne Intelligence which disperseth her care ouer al the Creatures how base and abiect soeuer And it is also by her motion that the same Plants fly their Contraries as the Vine shunnes the Bay tree and that they shew such grace beauty in their workes as we see in the Spring time So as all these things bind vs not to beleeue that they are indued with Knowledge But let vs returne to our discourse and leauing the Vegetatiue soule ascend a degree higher and come to the Sensitiue This as the more Noble hath in her selfe the possession of Knowledge and hath no need to borrow it like vnto the Vegetatiue soule 〈◊〉 things without Life Moreouer shee hath three kinds of Powers that is to say the faâ—ulty to know the faculty to desire and the mouing power Bâ— the mouing power I vnderâ—stand that which executes the motion from one place to another as it is commanded and ordained by the faculty where the Desire is framed after that it is enlightened and guided by Knowledge The Knowing powers are of two sorts that is to say the Exterior and the Interior The Exterior are the fiue sences of Nature as Seeing Hearing Smelling Tasting Touching the which as messengers 〈◊〉 to the Interior powers induâ—d with Knowledge whatsoeâ—er we can comprehend and desire These Exterior powers 〈◊〉 the sences answers in some â—â—rt to the bodies of the Vniâ—erse whereof they comprehend 〈◊〉 Colours the Sounds the â—melles the Sauors the Cold â—â—e Heat and the other naturall qualities wherewith they are clothed The Interior powers capable of Knowledge are three whereof the first is the Common sence the which is called by that name for that it is as it were the Center to which doe flow the formes which are sent vnto it from the other sences So as from the Eyes it receiues the formes of Colours which they haue seene From the Hearing the formes of Sounds which haue toucht the Eare from Smelling the formes of Sauors which it hath sented from the Tongue the forme of Sweetnesse or Bitternesse which it hath tasted and from the body the formes oâ— those things which fall vnder the sence of Touching And 〈◊〉 not oâ—ely receiues the formeâ— which the other sences send vnâ—to it but it
also Compares them Discernes them and Iudgeth of them the which the particular sences cannot do for that they are limitted and tyed to their particular obiects and neuer exceed the bounds thereof For the Eyes are onely imployed to iudge of the difference of Colours as betwixt White and Blacke and neuer seeke to â—eddle with that which concernes the Sound Smelling or the other Qualities which haue nothing common with Colours The Common sence then is necessary to iudge thus generally of all the obiects of the other Sences that by meanes thereof the Creature may distinguish that which is healthfull from that is hurtfull But to the end the Knowledge which this sence doth gather from the Obiects whose formes are presented vnto it by the Exterior sences be not lost by their absence it sends all it hath gathered Compared and Distinguished to another Power meerely Knowing which is called the Imaginatiue as that wherein are grauen the formes of things which are offred vnto it by the Common sence to the end the Knowledge may remaine after they are vanished away Besides this Imaginatiue there is another power proper to preserue things which is the memory the which although it bee not directly ordained to Iudge but rather to serue as a Store-house and Treasury to shut vp and to preserue the formes of things which are imprinted in her yet for that she doth continually represent vnto the Common sence the formes which are consigned vnto her she may well bee sayd also to helpe to Knowledge These then are the three Interior powers capable of Knowledge to the which although that some adde others yet I wil hold with their opinion who not willing to multiply the powers without necessity reiect them as superfluous seeing the Imaginatiue power sufficeth to do all the offices which are attributed vnto them There are then in the Sensitiue soule eight knowing faculties fiue Externall and three Internall as we haue shewed As for the Appetitiue powers where the desires are formed there are but two that is to say the Concupiscible or desiring power and the Irascible or Angry power The one of which without the other sufficeth not for the health of the Creatures For if the Lyon had no other inclination nor any other spurre of desire then to runne after meate fit for his nourishment doubtlesse the least difficulty and obstacle he should incounter would hinder the pursuite of his prey for that hee should be without any desire to surmount this difficulty and so he should not be able to preserue his life for want of nourishment In like manner men would bee daunted for the least crosses they should finde in the pursuite of any good thing or in the auoiding of euill and although the danger were not great nor vrgent yet would they not dare to oppose themselues and incounter it And so they would yeeld to these difficulties and not pursue the obiects of their desires how great soeuer their inclination were to seeke them Wherefore prouident Nature to preuent this inconuenience besides the other powers hath giuen vnto the Sensitiue soule two Appetites that is to say the Concupiscible and the Irascible whereof this last when as any difficulty ariseth and opposeth it selfe to the desire of the Concupiscible comes presently to succour it and inflaming the blood excites Choler Hope Courage or some other like Passion destinated and ordained to make him surmount the difficulties which crosse the contentment of the Soule For that which concernes the powers of the Sensitiue soule there remaines none but the faculty mouing from one place to another which is disperst and resides in the sinnewes Muscles and Ligaments and which is dispersed ouer all the members of the Creature This Power being commanded by the Appetite doth presently exercise his office seruing for an instrument to that part of the blood which for the great subtility and purenes thereof hath gotten the name of Spirit To come now to the Reasonable soule it hath two principall Powers the one indued with Knowledge which is the vnderstanding and the other capable of Desire which is the Will the which being blind as all the Appetites are naturally she followeth in the pursuite of her obiects the light of the vnderstanding by reason whereof she is termed the Intellectuall Appetite but more properly the Will The office of our vnderstanding particularly of that which we call possible is to receiue and in receiuing to know and in knowing to offer vnto the will those kinds or formes which are sent vnto it from the Imagination It is true that being a more Noble power then the Sensitiue it cannot receiue those Images and formes so materiall grosse and sensible as they are of themselues in their particular being for that they are not proportionable to the purity and excellency of her condition By reason whereof the Philosophers haue placed in our soules another power wonderfully Noble whose office is to purge and to clothe as it were with a new Lustre all the Images or formes which are found in the Imagination or fantasie and by the meanes of this Light to cause those formes which were Materiall Sensible and Singular to become so purified from these earthly conditions as they seeme Vniuersall and so well proportioned to the purenesse of our vnderstanding as they easily receiue the impression Thus then the powers of all the three Soules concurre in man in regard of the Rationall the which as more Noble then the Sensitiue or Vegetatiue comprehends all their powers and withall addes many things to their perfection In the meane time wee must consider that man hath no kind of command neither ouer the powers of the Vegetatiue soule whose actions are meerely naturall nor ouer those of the Sensitiue soule which are destinated to Knowledge as the Interior and Exterior sences vnlesse it bee by accident when as by a resolution of his will hee denies these powers the meanes which are necessary to put them in action but hee may well haue power ouer those of the Sensitiue Appetite which are proper to obey the discourse of reason and the command of the Will as ouer the Irascible and Concupiscible To the end then that amidst the bond of the Intellectuall powers with the Sensitiue and the communication and correspondency which is betwixt them for the exercise of their functions we may the better see how the lesse Noble obey and serue the more Noble and execute their offices wee must heere represent the forme As soone as the Exterior sences busied about the Obiects which are proper for them haue gathered the formes of things which come from without they carry them to the common sence the which receiues them iudgeth of them and distinguisheth them and then to preserue them in the absence of their obiects presents them to the Imagination which hauing gathered them together to the end she may represent them whensoeuer need shall require she deliuers them to thâ— custody of the Memory from
straÌ„ge accidents in man As for exaÌ„ple a furious anger drawing the heate violently from the heart to those parts which are most remote froÌ„ the Center of life and by the same meanes inflaming choler which by her naturall lightnes mounts vp to the braine may depriue maÌ„ of the vse of reason make him furious and mad In like manner an extraordinary feare drawing the spirits and heate forcibly to the heart whereas she meanes to fortifie her selfe against her enemy may quench the natural heate and suffocate the man shame may doe the like whereof we haue prodigious examples in histories which testifie that great personages haue died with shame and griefe for that they could not find the knot or expound certaine riddles or difficult questions which had beene propounded vnto them yea they say that great ornament and Gemme of Phylosophy Aristotle died with griefe for that he could not finde the cause of the flowing and ebbing of Eurypus Whereby it appeares that the heart which is thus opprest by Passions when they are violent is the seate of both the powers of the sensitiue appetite that is to say of the Irascible and Concupiscible And whereas they obiect to the contrary that Choller resides in the Gall inferring thereby that the Irascible power should reside there also It is easily answered for that the Choller which remaines in the Gall is not the reason for the which Anger is inflamed but for that it is a hot and dry humor the which are fit qualities to produce that effect The like may be sayd of Loue and that the aboundance of bloud doth not make men more inclined to the Passions of loue forthat the Concupiscible power resides in the liuer which is the place where the blood takes his forme but for that they which are of a sanguine complexion haue a hot and moist temperature which is proper to that passion And as for ioy wee cannot conclude that it resides in the Spleene for that it being infirme many are opprest with melancholly for the reason why melancholly doth torment them which are troubled with the Spleene is not for that ioy resides there but for that adust choller preuailing causeth a troublesome and importune heauines Yet we will not so restraine these two powers within the bounds and extent of the heart but wee will confesse that although they haue their chiefe residence there yet they disperse themselues through the whole creature whereof wee haue good proofe in Lizards which being cut in peeces feele paine in all the parts where they are offended For the last of our obseruations vpon the subiect of passions it remaines to shew whether of the concupiscible and irascible powers bee the more noble and excellent some giue the preheminence to the concupiscible for that it is destined to serue the soule and to make it enioy the obiects of her passions The which made Aristotle to say that beasts put themselues into choller and fight for their desires But this reason doth nothing abase the Irascible power but contrariwise it shewes how much it is more excellent then the Concupiscible For as those souldiers are most valiant which maintaine the shocke of a battaile and defend the weaker euen so by consequence the Irascible power must haue more generosity then the concupiscible seeing she is ordained by nature for her defence And as the noblest vertues are formed in the most excellent powers so we see that force or valour which resides in the Irascible is a more worthy and more commendable vertue then temperance which hath her seat in the Concupiscible We finde also that it is more shamefull not to bridle the motions of the Concupiscible then those of the Irascible for that these are lesse offensiue to reason In regard whereof we blame them more which abandon themselues to pleasure and voluptuousnes then those which are subiect to motions of choller Of the Number of Passions CHAP. 2. AS they that haue treated of the Nature of the Winds haue written diuersly some setting foure others eight some eleauen and some two and thirty to the which they assigne diuers points in the horizon So the Philosophers which discourse of the PassioÌ„s of the Soule agree not of the number some naming more some lesse Yea there was an Ancient affirmed that as there are many Passions whereof we know the names so there are an infinite number which we know not Wherefore hee compared man to one of the monsters of antiquity which they represent vnto vs composed of the members and formes of diuers creatures for that his Cupidities and Passions are so prodigious and so many in number as they are able to amaze any one that shall iudiciously consider of the multitude and diuersity First of all there were some which haue beleeued that as there were foure chiefe winds which excite diuers stormes be it at land or sea so there are foure principall Passions which trouble our Soules and which stir vp diuers tempests by their irregular motions that is to say Pleasure Paine Hope Feare and in truth these foure haue as it were the Empiry ouer all the rest which propound themselues as the obiects of their motions for whatsoeuer men do either they feare or desire or afflict themselues or are contented which be the effects of these Passions Others will haue onely two that is to say Pleasure and Paine and some assigne but one and that is Loue to the which they refer all the rest as to their center and roote Others haue multiplied them and haue made twelue and some eleauen Amidst this diuersity of opinions that is the trâ—est which is receiued at this day and imbraced by all those that make an exact profession of Philosophy that is to say that there are eleauen primitiue and generall Passions whereof all the rest are but as it were budds and branches These generall Passions are Loue Hatred Desire Flight Pleasure Paine Feare Courage Hope Despaire and Choller And thus the Philosophers finde out the number Of Passions say they some regard the good or euill absolutely and simply considered And these belong to the Concupiscible power Others regard the good or euill accompanied with some difficulty and they appertaine vnto the irascible those of the Concupiscible power are six in number whereof three haue for their obiects the good that is to say Loue Desire and Pleasure and the other three haue for their obiect the euil that is to say Hatred Flight and Paine for presently that the obiect which hath the forme of good offers it selfe vnto the Concupiscible power shee presently feeles herselfe surprized and Loue is framed If this obiect bee present she receiues Pleasure and Delight if it bee absent she is toucht with a Desire to enioy it And in like manner as soone as the obiect presents it selfe vnto the selfe same power vnder the shew of euill it doth presently stirre vp a hatred contrary to loue and if during this horror it bee
ioy then that which had succeeded if it had bin obtained without any difficulty considering that the enioying makes him forget all the precedent paines But from the beginning and breeding of desire or during the whole continuance thereof bee it with hope or without expecttance of the enioying of the obiect if it appeares to bee a thing absolutely impossible to enioy then not to suffer desire to consume it selfe in a vaine pursuite the Irascible stirres vp despaire to the end the Concupiscible power may not spend it selfe in a designe which cannot succeed And in like manner if an obiect presents it selfe vnto the appetiue power vnder the forme of euill as for example a powerfull enemy prepares himselfe to wrong vs then first of all hatred riseth in vs and makes vs apprehend the euill which doth threaten vs apparantly and then inclines vs to seeke the meanes to auoyd it bee it in putting our selues in defence or in retiring our selues and seeking some shelter for this storme or else in auoyding it by some other meanes the which breeds in vs the Passion of flight by the which wee vnderstand no other thing here then our striuing to flie the euill But in case that in this seeking of meanes to auoyde it there appeare not any difficulty then the irascible power doth not trouble it selfe to assist the concupiscible And for that to escape a danger and to auoyd a mischiefe is a kind of good this happening it begets ioy As on the other side if we fall into a misfortune which threatens vs although there appeare not any difficulty in the auoyding it will cause griefe But if whilst I seeke meanes to auoyd the storme which threatens me I finde that I cannot doe it without paine and difficulty then for that the least obstacles amaze and hinder the concupiscible power which neuer striues to surmount them the irascible excites courage which goes to succour it and supports the motion of this Passion which wee terme flight or auersion from the thing vntill the euill bee wholy auoyded and dispersed and then ariseth the same ioy which had happened if it had not incountered any of these difficulties And if amidst this resistance and striuing of courage the euill doth notwithstanding ariue then griefe is framed after the same manner as if this accident had happened without any incounter or difficulty But if whilest wee seeke the meanes to auoyde the euill wee discouer much difficulty to preserue our selues and that there approcheth an eminent danger to our persons then the irascible doth succour vs with feare which makes man discreet and aduised to the end that his too great hardines may not precipitate him into the danger which hee would auoyd Besides al this when as the obiect which presents it selfe vnder the forme of good seemes at the same instant impossible to be attained vnto then not onely hope dies but euen desire is banisht so as the first Passion which then springs vp in vs is despaire which the irascible stirres vp to the end there should grow no vaine desire for that naturally no man desires things which are impossible and vaine and vnprofitable actions are enemies to nature As for the contrariety which may bee found betwixt some of these Passions we must vnderstand that this contrariety may be considered after two manners that is to say either by reason of the diuers motions of the appetite which is inflamed as for example wee say that hope and despaire are contrary Passions not in respect of their obiects seeing they both regard the apparant good vnder the condition of difficult obtaining but by reason of the diuers motions they excite by their nature in the appetite for that hope striues to seeke and enioy the obiect and despaire to flie from it and auoid it Whence it growes that if we compare hope and courâ—ge we shall find them contrary Passions not in regard of the motion of the appâ—tite seeing that both agitate and stirre vp the spirit and serue it as a spurre to make it more ready in the pursuit of thâ—ir obiect but in respect of the obiect for that hope lookes to the apparent good and courage to the euill In like manner fe are and despaire are contraries by reason of their obiects and not in regard of their motions for that both serue rather to retire and stay the striuing of the appetite then to excite and stirre it vp Next desire and flight are contrary Passions by both reasons together considering that the one hath the good for obiect and the other the euill And moreouer desire stirres vp the appetite to seeke the obiect whereas flight makes it retire to auoyd it We may make the same comparisons of the rest of the Passions But this will appeare more plainely when wee shall treat of them in particular Of the quality of Passions whether they be good or bad CHAP. 3. AMongst the questions which haue beene seriously disputed in the Schooles of ancienâ— Philosophers there is not any one hath bene more famous nor whose subiect hath beenâ— argued with greater contention then that which concernes the quality of the Passions of the Soule that is to say whether they be good or bad and if they bee compatible with any eminent vertuâ— or can subsist with it The Stoicks seuere Philâ—sophâ—rs dissenting from the common opinions of the world haue maintained that a Soulâ— in which vertue hath taken deepe roote and which enioyes all the ornaments of true wisedome should haue gotten such a power ouer all her motions as it should neuer be transported with any perturbations The reason which moued them to this opinion was for that they held it an vnworthy thing for a wise and vertuous man to see himselfe subiect to the infirmities of the soule which is the name they giue to Passions But the Peripatitians haue held the contrary opinion and did beleeue that it could not bee denied but that the greatest Spirits and most accomplished in vertue and wisedome had sometimes a feeling of these Passions the heate whereof wisemen knew how to bridle and restraine And they ground their reason for that they rise not in vs by our election but are as it were siences of Nature which spring out of themselues This controuersie hath seemed to many great Personages to be more verbal then materiall But whatsoeuer it bee it is certaine that the wisest cannot exempt themselues from the motions of naturall Passions and yet their vertue is nothing diminished or made lesse perfect We must then remeÌ„ber that these kinds of Passions may be considered in two manners first in their particular extent that is to say as motions of the sensitiue appetite which of it selfe is not indowed with any reason and which is common to vs with beasts and in this consideration they are neither commendable nor blame worthy seeing that the weight and merit of that which parts from our soule depends of reason secondly they may be considered in
other men in dangers at sea or land they are alwayes seene subiect to the common desires of men and they haue in that regard more vanity then constancy So as they haue bene forced to excuse these first motions and to confesse that it was not in the power of man to suppresse them but they would sometimes breake forth What remaines then but to confesse that reason must gouerne them and reduce them to a mediocrity which is found in vertue For as health doth not consist in the ruine of contrary qualities which are found in man but in the temperature which a good constitution giues them And as to make a perfect musique wee must not take away the diuersity of tunes but reduce them to a good accord to make the harmony perfect so the striuings of vertue consistes not wholy to roote all naturall Passions out of the soule but to moderate and gouerne them by the rule of reason It is true there are some Passions full of offence and which wee detest to heare named as Impudency Enuy Hatred and these wee make no question but they ought to bee supprest But there are others whose very names are pleasing as Pitty Modesty Honest Loue and the like and these need not any thing but to receiue a tincture from reason and vertue to make them altogether commendable But to prescribe vs a man that is not moued with any Passion were to depriue him of all humanity and to make him a stone or a god They that make profession of this proud and arrogant Philosophie cannot but laugh when as they reade in the writings of Poets that there hath bene men of that constitution and as we may say of that temper that no swords lancâ—s or other armes could pierce them or wound their bodies And they that haue had most credit among them haue derided those Philosophers which beleeued that there were certaine Ilands and Countries in the world as Delos and Egypt which had neuer felt the violence of earthquakes and which had continued for euer immoueable amidst the motions of all the other parts of the world And these people paint vs out a wise man so perfect so eminent and so fortified with vertue as all the stormes of Fortune yea the most violent Shipwrackes tortures and infamies cannot make any impression in his soule so as he continues immoueable in the midst of flames wheeles gibbets and all the fearefull horrors of death and shame What is hee that will not laugh at this strange vanity But the Stoickes say that it is a thing vnworthy of a wiseman adorned with perfect vertue to see himselfe transported with passions which are the diseases of the soule Whereunto we answere that Passions considered as they submit themselues vnto the lawes of reason are no infirmities of the soule but in that sence they are the instruments and obiects of vertue and as it were liuely sparkes which inflame desires in our soules and as Aristotle speakes they are the armes of reason It is true that as one saith the flowers of Egypt being continually charged and watered with the Vapor of Nilus which are grosse and earthly yeâ—â—d not such pleasant smelles as they would do without this obstacle euen so soules troubled with Passions cannot produce the vertuous actions which they would do without this agitation for that the motions and impressions which they make in our soules are like vnto the force of a violent torrent which teares vp stones ouerthrowes plants and drawes after it whatsoeuer opposeth it selfe against his violence for that they quench the reason depriue vs of iudgement smother the vnderstanding and suffer not any image of vertue in a soule that is transported But this happens to those which abandon themselues wholy to Passion and not vnto these who like vnto wise pilots prepare against a storme and when it comes endeauour to auoid it not loosing his iudgement in an accident which terrifies others Wee tame Elephants Tigers Lyons Panthers and other sauage beasts and are not moued and will they not allow vs a power to suppresse the brutishnesse of the sensitiue appetite and to moderate the Passions when as they aduance themselues against reason without great perturbation Finally when as these motions of Passions preuent the reason and anticipate all the resolutions of man wee cannot hold them bad seeing they are meere motions of nature without any shew of liberty And it is most certaine that not onely an ordinary wisedome is subiect thereunto but euen the most excellent soules I speake not of those which haue speciall guifts from God yea those that are indued with Heroicall vertues feele agitation seeing that vertue how eminent soeuer cannot so subiect the sensitiue appetite ouer which she doth not command as a slaue but as a Cittizen but it will anticipate the Empire of reason And this the Stoickes are forced to confesse seeing they affirme that it is not in the power of a wise man to free himselfe from perturbation when as some fearefull formes presents themselues suddenly to his eyes so as whatsoeuer he doth in those accidents hee will grow pale he will be amazed and his heart will shrinke vp Yet say they all this will happen without consenting to these motions for that it is in his power not to consent They adde that there is this difference betwixt a wiseman and one that is distracted for that an vnreasonable man yeilds to passions and obayes them wholy whereas the wiseman although he suffers the motions yet hee resists them still and generously preserues in his soule the lawes and loue of vertue heerein truely they approach neere to the doctrine which we teach But we must still remember that the office of reason is not to pull out of the soule of man all the rootes of Passions neither were it expedient or necessary she should do it But her duty is to prescribe them their bounds and to reduce them to a mediocrity as vertue requires As for example let vs presuppose a brother which hath lost his brother whom hee loued passionately and they coniure him not to lament for this losse not to afflict himselfe nor to shew any signe of mourning to preserue the reputation of a wiseman and absolutely vertuous Is it not rather a meere stupidity then a true constancy They that make these discourses shew that either they haue no naturall disposition or else they neuer fell into these calamities otherwise so sensible a griefe wold haue pulled out of their spirits this arrogant Philosophie and had forced them to confesse that humanity cannot suffer them to remaine insensible at such cruell accidents In the meane time as these Passions preuenting reason cannot be held good nor bad so when as they suffer themselues to be moderated and gouerned by reason they get vs great commendations whereas when they flie out and exceed the bounds of vertue they procure vs nothing but blame and infamy To conclude Passions are in the soule as the
had neuer seene before Doth not this proue say they that it is nature which frames in vs this Passion and so they conclude that it cannot proceed but from the Author of nature others prefer the cause of loue to the Planets Starres and constellations and presuppose that the reason why Achilles loued Patroclus Alexander Hephestion and the Queene of the Amazons Alexander And to come to moderne examples that Charles the ninth loued the Marshall of Rais that Henry the third loued the Dukes of Ioyeuse and Espernon and Monsier de Termes that Henry the fourth loued the Duke of Suilly and that the King now gloriously reigning loues the Duke of Luines and his brethren are all effects of the aspects of the Planets which incountered at the natiuities of these Princes and Noblemen Others seeke the cause in the Parents as if they which bring vs into the world with our being did transfer and infuse into vs their Passions Others refer it to the good or bad education we receiue according to which wee frame our desires and affections The Platonicians imagine that wee must seeke it in the degrees of the harmony which is found in Soules which they beleeue are compounded as of a consort and proportion of numbers the which incountering equally in two persons incites them to loue one another But this is very mystical and requires a spirit accustomed to the imaginations of Plato To come then to the point it is certaine that God hath infused into our soules the seedes of loue seeing that he hath giuen vs the powers which are capable It is also certaine that the influence of the Planets may cōtribute to this Passion for that it resides in the concupiscible appetite the which is a sensitiue power and depends of the body ouer whose motions the Planets haue a kind of power It is also visible that nurture education sometimes the inclinations which our Parents haue ingrafted in vs may haue a share in the motions of our affections But to speake according to the rules of Philosophy wee must say precisely and absolutely that the bounty of things whether they bee found in them or that wee imagine them to be is the Spring beginning and mouing cause of the loue wee beare them For God the Author of nature who hath created all things in number weight measure hath also imparted to all Creatures inclinations and motions necessary to attaine vnto their ends So hee hath infused into his vnderstanding an inclination which makes him passionately to seeke the truth and to imbrace it when hee hath found it And in like manner hee hath ingrafted in the wil a desire and loue of good which is the only obiect which may moue it and enflame it to pursue it And as colours are the obiect of the sight which drawe it by a certaine attraction which growes from a naturall simpathy which is betwixt them like vnto that which is betwixt our vnderstanding and truth betwixt the eye and colours and betwixt the hearing and sounds Hence it growes that there is so strict a cōnexion betwixt the will and the good as the will cannot loue any thing which hath not a shew of good So as if it bee at any time deceiued and imbraceth the euill it is vnder a veile and shew of good which is imployed to abuse it and the like may bee sayd of the sensitiue appetite which in its motions follows the same instincts that the will doth But when as wee say that the good is the obiect of our will and loue vnder this good wee comprehend that which is faire for that goodly things haue an equall power with those things that bee good to inflame our wills as also beauty and bounty in effect are all one and differ not but only in our imagination The which the Platonicians demonstrate by excellent reasons calling loue simply a desire of beauty Yea to shew that beauty is louely of it selfe as well as bounty they adde that beauty which shines in the body is as it were a beame or image of the infinite beauty which is in God wherefore we admire it and loue it passionatly when it presents it selfe vnto our eyes and then say they the beauty of the body is also an image of the beauty of the mind for that the internall perfections ingender the externall as the lustre of pretious stones pearles growes from the perfect mixture of the foure Elemēts which are found in their constitution as flowers and leaues of trees borrow their beauty from the roote and as in beasts the good interior constitution is the cause of the beauty which appeares in the countenance So then wee conceiue that the external beauty of the body proceeds from the internall bounty of the mind so as bounty seemes to bee the roote of beauty and beauty the flower of that bounty which shines in creatures And therefore hee that containes himselfe within his bounds and in the innocency of loue seeing the beauty of the body imagines as it is true that this pleasing obiect is a beame of the infinit and immense beauty whereof the essence of God is as it were the center from whence shee deriues and takes her beginning and consequently that it is as it were a sience of the interior beauty which shines in the soule from whence the body hath taken life Thus the Platonicians proue that beauty as well as bounty makes an impression in our wills and proportionably inflames our desires begets affections and Passions which makes vs to seeke it But leauing all other reasons to proue this assertion wee will content our selues with the saying of Aristotle That to demaund why wee loue beautifull things were a question fit for a blind man for that the eyes feele and know how powerfull the charmes are to make an impression in the Soule By this which wee haue spoken it is easie to bee gathered that loue hath for obiect and mouing cause the bounty and beauty of things which by the sweetnes of the beames they cast forth make so powerfull an impression in our soules as they remaine as it were rauished or rather charmed with so pleasant a lustre so as to ascend vnto the Spring fountaine we must eleuate our selues to that great and immortal Essence which is as it were a notion of all the graces of all the beauties and of all the bounties which are infused into al the creatures We must I say raise vp our selues to that infinite and most happy Essence which is as it were the center from whence all the perfections which represent themselues so goodly vnto our eyes and so pleasing vnto our sense borrow their lustre and take their beginning And in this manner wee shall tie our affections to an obiect worthy of the generosity of their motions which should alwayes imitate the nature of fire which remaines vnwillingly in the earth and striues continually to mount towards heauen Finally wee must remember that Loue
their Authority by the terror of Armes and the terror of punishment yea they haue alwayes detested the furious words of him that said I care not to be hated so I may bee feared It were good among bruit beasts but men must be managed and gouerned by mildenesse And they willingly embrace such as they may trust and whose power is not fearefull vnto them Behold the persons to whom the Loue of men doth commonly extend In the meane time the true means to purchase Loue is to bind those whose friendship we affect by all sorts of benefites and good offices And to this end they must do good before it be demanded or that they bee forced to discouer their wants vnto vs for that were to put them on the racke to make them confesse our magnificence bounty Moreouer he must be carefull neuer to reproach the fauours which hee hath done them nor proclaime them to others with a vanity which seems to turne to their contempt He that obserues this mean in the benefits and fauours which hee bestowes seemes to haue propounded vnto himselfe the onely good of him whom he hath bound without any other particular interest In regard whereof he is also bound to acknowledge and Loue his freedome and bounty Of the Effects of Loue. CHAP. 4. AS the Ancient Romanes obseruing of the one side the conquests victories triumphes and glory which Caesar by his valour had purchased to their Empire and on the other side weighing the ruines miseries massacres and slaughters which he had caused in their Estate they were wont to say that it was difficult to iudge whether his birth had bene more fortunate or fatall to their Common wealth Euen so it is hard to say whether that Loue causeth more good or euill in the world It is true when as this Passion containes it selfe within the bounds of honesty it is a liuely spring and fountaine of all good things in the life of men It is also true that the author of nature hath ingrafted in vs the first motions and beames and it is true that it is borne with vs that it increaseth with vs that it doth alwayes accompany vs so as it cannot subsist without vs nor we Loue without it It is an immutable law which men haue not â—â—â—nd out lawgiuers haue not prescribed neither doth it depend vpon the examples or customes of nations but was grauen as we may say by the hands of nature in our Soules But when like a wild and vntamed beast it exceedes the bounds of reason there is no misery which it brings not into the world nor any disorder which it causeth not in our liues It is as it were a fatall source from whence flow all kinds of horror vncleanenes adulteries incests sacriledges quarrells warres treasons murders parricides cruelties and violences besides the particular torments it giues vnto the soules of such as giue themselues to be surprized filling them with enuies iealousies cares melancholies terrors yea and madnesse drawing them many times to despaire and to do things whereat heauen and earth blush and are ashamed wherein it is the more to bee feared for that as the first heauen by his motion doth violently draw whatsoeuer is beneath it so Loue prescribes a law to our other desires to all our other Passions so as we may tearme it the key and beginning of our thoâ—ghts of our words of our actions and of whatsoeuer wee do in this life So it makes the first impression in our soules where it excites the desire of that which we resolue to pursue then it fortifies this desire by hope which inflames vs to the pursuite of that we desire and if there appeare any obstacle it imbraceth Choller and hath no rest vntill it hath vanquished and surmounted all lets wherein she settles her coÌ„tentment rest And as the thunder breakes whatsoeuer resists it so this furious Passion being once inflamed striues to ouerthrow whatsoeuer opposes it selfe against her rage and violence Yet as the winds fill the sailes of Pyrats shippes but are not the cause of the murthers and thefts which they commit at sea But all these miseries proceed from the bad inclination and couetousnesse of these infamous Pyrats So although that Loue bee an assistant in many villanies which men commit yet it proceedes not from the malice of this Passion which contrariwise is framed to bring all good to the society of men but it growes from the liberty and excesse of men who peruert the vse of all things and conuert the causes of their felicity into instruments of their misery Let vs then see what bee the proper effects of Loue not staying at those which rise from the meere malice of men We will reduce them to three or foure heads the explanation whereof will giue sufficient light to the rest of the subiect The first effect they attribute to Loue is that it hath an vniting vertue by meanes whereof it causeth him that loueth to aspire to vnite himselfe to the thing beloued whereunto we may refer the fable of Androgenes where of Plato doth so much triumph but we must swallow so many fopperies before wee shall come to the mysteries of this fiction as it were better to passe it ouer in silence then to spend time to explicate it So it is that prophane and vnchast Loue seekes the vnion of bodies which is found euen among brute beasts and for this reason may be called brutish if it bee not sought with an honest intent by a lawfull marriage But chast and honest Loue seekes the vnion of affections and wills and exceeds not that which is decent and vertuous They which loue sayd Aristophanes would passionately desire to be traÌ„sformed chaÌ„ged one into another of two bodies to become one But for that this transformation cannot be without the destruction of their being they striue to recompence this defect by a ciuil and honest vnion which teÌ„ds not to the ruine of their nature but contents their affections that is to say they conuerse continually together entertaine their Passions and are as little absent as may bee one from another Moreouer they haue the same thoughts the same desires the same affections the same wils the same delights the same distastes seeme to be but one soule in two bodies So as that which is pleasing to him that loueth is in like manner to the party beloued what he affects the other imbraceth and what hee reiects the other flies and doth abhorre So as their willes being thus strictly vnited all their actions and carriages conspire to the same end and propound vnto themselues the same obiect For when as we haue graft the sience of one tree vpoÌ„ another stocke the fruits which grow follow the nature of the graft and sauor nothing of the stocke so the will of the louer being transported into that of the party beloued takes the tincture and doth not any thing but what is conformeable to
their soules fight for her honor and hold it a punishment to offend her But these are not the effects of Iealousie which contrariwise violates the honour which is due to the party beloued and by a prodigious manner to blind the world will haue her fauour by wronging her treading her merits vnder foote We must then put a difference betwixt a respectiue feare which always doth accompany those that loue perfectly and Iealousie which is neuer found but with an imperfect passion which cannot iudge of the perfections of the party beloued They which know that these things are diuerse and as remote one from another as the earth is from heauen wil easily passe on this side and yeelde that Iealousie is neither competible with Loue nor is any signe thereof Yet if wee shall yeelde any thing to the opinion of the Vulgar we may freely confesse that Iealousie in truth is a signe of Loue but as the feuer is an argument of life It is vnquestionable that a feuer is a signe of life seeing the dead are not susceptible of this bad quality But as a feuer shewing that there are some reliques of life in the patient that is tormented accompanies him to his graue so Iealousie is I know not what signe of Loue seeing they which loue not cannot haue any Iealousie But it is certaine that if wee expell it not it will in the end ruine Loue like vnto a thicke smoake which smothers the brightest flame This is all we can yeelde vnto the Vulgar so as according to this opinion which we haue held the most probable Iealousie is to Loue as thicke mists are to flowers haile to haruest stormes to fruites and poison to our liues Of Hatred or Enmity CHAP. 1. AS the Lawes of Loue and Hatred are directly contrary by that which wee haue spoken of Loue it will be easie to iudge wherein Hatred consists and how farre her effects extends Hatred then is An auersion and horror which man hath of all that seemes contrary to his good or preiudiciall to his contentment Or else Hatred is an horror which the appetite hath of that which seemes pernicious vnto it so as the sheepe hate the wolfe as the enemy and persecuter of his life But wee must heere obserue that as all that is befitting Nature is put in the rancke of good so on the other side whatsoeuer is opposite vnto it must be placed in the rancke of euill Wherfore as the good is the obiect of Loue so the euill is the obiect of Hatred To vnderstand this we must remember that whether it be in the minde or in the body there is a befitting estate and as it were a naturall harmony which makes vs to abhorre that which may dissolue this consort This harmony considered in the body is no other thing then the good constitution by meanes whereof we enioy a perfect health the which being impayred our nature receiues pain as when we indure great hunger and thirst or when as wee receiue any hurt or wound As for the soule this same harmony may bee considered first in the senses as well externall as internall cōsist in the proportiō they haue with their obiects which is such as they hate whatsoeuer puls them away or which diuerts them by any kinde of violence As for example the eyes hate darkenesse and obscurity and our imagination is terrified and troubled by the fearefull apprehensions of dreames which it frameth during our rest This same harmony considered in reason either it regards the simple knowledge of the truth which our vnderstanding conceiues with pleasure or the vse and execution of things which depend on wisedome which wee doe with content In regard of the first our spirit is enemy to lying although at some times it takes delight in the art wherewith they colour a thing to giue it some shewe of truth So as the wisest are delighted in the reading and report of fables when as the intention hath any grace And as for the second there is such diuersity of iudgements in humaine actions which are as it were the Element of prudence as it is a thing in a manner incredible for hardly shall you see two persons which haue the same feeling and apprehension of affaires in regard whereof this life is full of Hatred and factions which grow from these diuerse opinions As for that which concernes the will her harmony consists in the proportion Loue which she beares to the good which makes her detest and abhorre whatsoeuer presents it selfe vnto her vnder the shew of euill as pernicious and hurtfull to her content and rest And therefore the harmony of the sensitiue appetite consisting in the familiarity and concurrence it hath with the good of the sences it doth abhorre and beares an irreconciliable hatred to whatsoeuer shall offend them hence it comes that wee so much abhorre whippes tortures punishmēts hunger thirst wounds such like which tend to the destruction of our being This Passion was ingraft in vs by nature to the end that at the first approach at the first taste and imagination of euill wee may retire our selues and flie it lest wee runne into ruine This kind of hatred then is proper to the concupiscible which is offended at diuerse things yea at small things and many times at those which haue no subiect of offence for you shall see some which cannot suffer the presence of certaine creatures others cannot endure the sight of certaine fruites though otherwise they be exceeding pleasant Finally there is no creature so fantasticke in his Appetite nor so sudden in the motions of Hatred and distastes of things which present themselues vnto his senses as man who not able to endure any thing makes himselfe insupportable in a like manner to all creatures but principally to his like But to giue more light to this discourse we wil obserue that there are diuerse sorts of Hatred and Enmities which may bee referred to foure chiefe heads for there is a natural Hatred and a brutish Hatred a melancholy Hatred and a humaine Hatred The naturall Hatred takes her beginning from a certaine antipathy and contrariety of nature which is found in creatures the which as it were abhorre one another and cannot frequent or conuerse together although the subiect of this Hatred appeare not and that shewes it selfe more in the effect then in the cause whereof wee haue prodigious examples in nature in plants in beasts and in men Brutish Hatred is rather a rage then a Passion for that it seekes a furious destruction of that it hates and to see the last relliques consumed so as it is more fitting for rauening wolues or for monsters then for men Such is the Hatred of those who not satisfied to haue slaine their enemies make their bodies to feele their fury practizing a thousand cruelties vpon their carcasses and making them to suffer after death all the indignities their rage can deuise This detestable Hatred sometimes passeth
soule as the enuy wee beare to them that are fortunate discouers a wicked dispositioÌ„ wherfore we disseÌ„â—ble not the Hatred we beare to such as wee know are wicked whereas wee disguise all we can the enuy we conceiue against them that are happy Againe Enuy kindling in our hearts by the great prosperity of another when as they decline and that we see them ouerthrowne by some notable accident of misfortune it relents and is by little and little quenched yea it is most certaine that enuious men are glad to haue some cause of pitty whereas Hatred and enmities neuer ceasâ—e for all the calamities which befall their enemies but when they are once framed and fixed to any one they neuer abandon him neither in good nor bad fortune Moreouer Hatreds and enmities are sometimes cured and quenched by letting the party that is tormented with this passioÌ„ know that he to whoÌ„ he wisheth euill hath not done him any wrong or that he hath changed his inclinatioÌ„ is become a good vertuous maÌ„ moreouer that he hath done him some kind of pleasure in occasions which haue bin offered to oblige him But althogh you perswade a man that hee hath not receiued any wrong from him that is happy and fortunate yet it doth not quench his enuy and in stead of suppressing it with this consideration that he is a good man and that hee hath indeauoured to doe him fauours yet he will shew it the more and let the world see that he can neither indure his prosperity nor his benefits for that the one proceeds from the good fortune which doth accompany him and the other is an effect of his vertue which are two recommendable things coÌ„sequently subiect to Enuy Lastly these two Passions differ in regard of the diuerse ends which they propound vnto themselues for Enuy hath that in particular that shee doth not alwayes cause vs to wish great miseries to those we enuy for wee see it dayly by experience that there are some which enuy their own kinsmeÌ„ or friends yet they would be loth to see any great misery befall them or an affliction which might tend to their ruine contenting themselues to crosse their prosperities and to hinder the lustre and glory of their fortunes But Hatred passeth further still watching for an occasion to ruine his enemy and is neuer satisfied with his miseries vntill they haue brought him to the period of his downefall So as shee induceth vs to procure irremediable mischiefs and extreame calamities to those whom shee pursues with obstinacy Wee must now seeke the source and fountaine of Hatred and shew what the causes be that frames it As she consists in the auersion of things which are contrary to our senses it may spring from three causes principally that is to say from choler from reproches or slanders and from the crosses or discommodities which wee receiue As for the first an Ancient had reason to say that hatred is an inueterate or rooted choler not that time doth change one of these passions into another for the Philosophers will neuer confesse that one kinde may passe into the nature of another but for that choler hauing exasperated our courage if wee entertaine long the forme of an offence which doth gall vs in the end wee lay aside choler and beginne to hate him against whom our wrath was kindled So as choler is not of the Essence of hatred but many times the cause As for the second it is certain that nothing doth more excite our Hatred then slanders reproches the which may euen trouble the wisest and most vertuous for wee haue seene great Personages who had as it were renounced all feeling of the other Passions yeelde o the griefe of detraction and haue suffered themselues to haue beene so caried away with griefe of minde as they haue fallen into a generall disdaine of all the world and to abhorre all Mankind by reason of the fury of such as had defamed them So as slander is like to a huge waue which wrests the helme out of the Marriners hand for that she troubles the most vertuous and makes theÌ„ to giue way to the griefs of Hatred Besides if they which slander vs giue vs other crosses and are the cause of some notable preiudice as if they accuse vs before the Magistrate if they bring vs in questioÌ„ of our liues if they cause vs to lose our goods if they persecute our kinsmen if they torment our friends all these causes together frame a deepe Hatred in our soules the which retaine for euer the forme of these bloody iniuries vnlesse they make some great and solemne satisfaction Finally the reasons why choler detraction and crosses or discommodities ingender Hatred is for that all these things tending to the destruction of the being or honour of men they are so many subiects and spurres of Hatred against those that procure them those displeasures Yet Hatred is not framed in our hearts by these causes onely but there are other particular motiues from whence it may proceed as when we see our selues deceiued in our trust and of the good opinion we had of men to whom we were tied by affection Wherefore an Ancient had reason to say that Hatred is commonly framed in our soules by our bad elections for that wee loue before we know and before wee haue tried the merit and fidelity of those to whom we will trust so rich a treasure as friendship We are too easily perswaded that they are vertuous and worthy of all fauour and confidence and in the meane time wee finde them treacherous and vnworthy so as wee fall into such a disdaine and do so abhorre them as we cannot inindure to heare them spoken of Finally to draw to a head the causes of this Passion wee hate vgly and deformed things as the monsters and scorners of nature and arte and those which are filthy troublesome and importune for that wee esteeme them as enemies to our senses and content As for those which are subiect to the motions of this Passion wee obserue that faint and base mindes are sooner mooued then generous spirits The reason is for that Cowards feare euery thing so as their hatred is inflamed against all such as they thinke may hurt them bee it in their person in their goods or in regard of their friends Hence it growes that great men which haue no courage are commonly cruell as we haue monstrous examples in Nero Caligula and other effeminate Princes whose rage no murthers could satisfie And for the same reason they that haue offended a great Personage who hath meanes to reuenge himselfe hate him irreconciliably which makes them to desire his death to see themselues freed from feare Whence groweth that famous saying He that offends neuer pardons The proud and enuious are also subiect to the motions of Hatred The first for that they thinke they are not honored as they should be and the last for that all the prosperities
of their equalls offend them They that loue themselues too much are wonderfull apt to the same motions for that they take euery thing as an iniury and are so nice as they cannot endure any man But as Loue springs from a feeling of good and Hatred from an apprehension of Euill it happens that for that the good things we enioy in this life are neuer pure nor much durable they make no great impression neither do they leaue any great remembrance nor Loue of them in our soules But contrariwise euill things being very sensible long take deepe rooting in our hearts where by reason of our corruption they are are as it were in their proper Element so as we do more easily preserue the seeds of Hatred then of Loue Wherefore an Aâ—â—ient sayd that he whic◠〈◊〉 with griefe remembers it but hee that enioyes pleasure forgets Finally if wee would make good vse of our Hatred wee must imploy it against vice and against those obiects the Loue and pursuite whereof may pollute our hearts and blemish the Image of God which shines in our soules This Hatred must take her course from causes contrary to those which we haue formerly said are proper to induce Loue. As for example to roote out of the soule a dishonest Loue we must leaue to thinke of it and diuert our minds and sences from the continuall contemplation of the image which beginnes to make vs to feele her power lest that the beames of so pernitious an obiect kindle and nourish in our hearts bad desires and moreouer to fortifie our Hatred we must iudiciously weigh the defects which may incounter in the subiect which we Loue. And of this sort from the most perfect creature in the world being subiect to great imperfection we may easily if wee will finde occasion to separate our selues Wee must in like manner represent the miseries which do commonly accompany the pursuites of Loue we must also set before our eyes the shipwracke of so many famous peâ—sonages which haue lost themselues vpon this shelfe We must represent the infidelities cares crosses paine and torments which this wretched Passion doth cause And aboue all a Christian should apprehend the wrath of God and the horror of his iudgements which hee powres out vpon vncleaenenesse But this belongs to another Discourse Of Desire or Cupidity and of the flight and horror we haue of things CHAP. 1. AS NATVRALL things being farre from their center haue no rest vntill they attaine vnto it so man hauing a particular inclination to good as soone as he propounds vnto himselfe the obiect and ties it to his imagination if the enioying bee denied him he feeles himselfe surprized with a certaine vehemency which makes him to seeke it passionately And if it bee a good of the mind his will is inflamed and if this good concernes the contentment of the body his sences receiue the impression and long to enioy it According to this last motion Philosophers affirme that there is Passion in man which they call Cupidity or Desire which concerneth those things which we possesse not and which we thinke are fit and proper to giue vs content This Cupidity or Desire is no other thing but a Passion wee haue to attaine vnto a good which we enioy not which we imagine is fitting for vs. It differs from Loue and Pleasure for that Loue is the first inclination the first taste or as we may say the first sweetnesse we feele of good things or of those which are goodly or faire which rauish our sences and breed in vs this desire and longing to enioy them after which hope doth arise the which succeding the effect filles vs with ioy and contentment which is properly the pleasure wee conceiue when the thing hath succeeded Or to deliuer it more plainely Desire differs from Loue and Pleasure for that Loue is the first motion and the first Passion we haue of any good thing without respect whether it be present or absent Desire is a Passion for a good that is absent and pleasure a contentment wee haue to enioy when wee haue gotten it Whereby it followes that Desire as we say is a particular Passion for that it regards a sensible good vnder a sensitiue consideration that is to say vnder this consideration that it is absent and that in this absence it drawes vnto it the affection of man to pursue it For the sensible good which is the obiect of the sensuall appetite moues otherwise when it is present then when it is absent For when it is present the Appetite is at rest by the presence of the thing beloued whereas being absent the Appetite is moued and agitated with a desire and longing to pursue it and get it But there are two kinds of Desires and Cupidities which may make impression in our senses the one is naturall the other rise from our choice the naturall are those which agree with the nature of the creature as drinking eating sleeping and these are common to men brute beasts for that both the one and the other haue obiects befitting their nature Those which arise from our election are such as regard the things which are not altogether necessary for the creature but man hath inuented them for his greater ease and commodity as the delights of drinking eating baths play sights riches honor reputation and such like As for naturall desires they are not infinite but haue their bounds for that as nature contents it selfe with a little so shee prescribes vnto her selfe certaine limitts within the which she containes herselfe tying herselfe to the obiect which is fitting without any diuersion But those which follow our election haue no bounds so they grow infinite For as they depend of the imagination of man as this power represents the formes and images of infinit obiects so these desires multiply infinitely to pursue all those good things which the imagination hath propounded Whereby it happens that representing at one instant any thing that seems pleasing or profitable we desire it passionately and then changing opinion wee wish another and after it a third So as we feele as it were a swarme of desires disclose themselues in our thoughts which draw vs to diuerse obiects without rule or measure For as no aboundance of water can satisfie them that are sicke of the dropsie so there is no kind of goodnesse or pleasure that may content our desires The ancient Philosophers compared the first matter to an infamous strumpet who is neuer glutted with present pleasure but doth still meditate vpon new imbracings for that the first matter is neuer content with the formes which she enioyes but still desires new not caring whether they be more noble then that wherewith she is adorned But we haue more reason to apply this comparison to our Cupidities and Desires which shew themselues insatiable in all they pursue with what kind of Passion soeuer And herein appeares the great misery of man who
the heauens makes his motion vppon the two Poles of the world which are as it were the two points where it beginnes and ends So it seemes that all the Passions of our soules depend vpon Pleasure and Paine which grow from the contentment or distaste which we receiue from the diuerse obiects which present themselues vnto vs in the course of this life If we loue it is for that wee finde a sweetnes in the subiect that doth rauish vs. And if we hate it is in regard that wee imagine the obiect which presents it selfe vnto our imagination is full of griefe contrary to our apprehension The pleasure wee take in the Idea of a good thing which we enioy not and yet promise to ourselues the possession in pursuing it constantly begets hope as contrariwise when we think it is not in our power to obtaine it the griefe wee haue afflicts vs and leades vs to despaire Desires in like manner are framed in vs by the imagination we haue of a benefit which may giue vs content and the distaste wee haue of things which we flie is for that we imagine they may cause our discontent and vexation So as in all the other Passions wee still finde Pleâ—sure and griefe intermixt in regard whereof wee may rightly tearme them the two springs and fountaines from whence deriue and flow all the other Passions Yet they haue their particular reasons and considerations which giue them their rancke and put them in the number of other Passions duly exactly considered Wherefore Pleasure or Delight is a Passion motion which is framed in our soules with a certaine sweetnes which filles our senses with contentment and ioy when as they receiue the impression by the enioying of a good which is pleasing vnto them Or else Pleasure is a Passion which proceedes from the sweetnesse which our senses receiue from the obiects which delight them Or to vse Aristotles definition Pleasure is a motion of the soule which putts it suddenly and sensibly in an estate fit for the nature of man Whereupon wee must first obserue that as things meerely naturall tend to their perfections by those meanes which nature hath prescribed so all creatures striue to attaine vnto those which are proper vnto them by the meanes which the same nature hath made subiect to their power But there is this difference betwixt inseÌ„sible creatures those which haue sense that the inseÌ„sible hauing attained to the height of their perfection feele no ioy So as it seemes the Sun is vnhappy in that respect that being indued with such a shining brightnesse and such perfect beauty yet it hath no feeling nor knowledge of his glory whereas creatures haue a feeling of their good when they haue gotten it So as this feeling filles their senses with ioy and causeth pleasure which makes their nature coÌ„tent let vs now see what conditioÌ„s are necessary to frame this delight to beget in vs the pleasure of things which touch our senses First of all the good must be vnited to our senses be it really in effect or in thought and imagination For wee must remember in all this Treaty of Humaine Passions that it imports not for to stir them vp that the obiect which incites the motions be really in the nature of things or simply in the imagination for that there are some men which suffer themselues to be more transported with the images which Fancy frames in their braines then by the true obiects of things which subsist really As we reade in Histories that a certaine Athenian called Thrasillus had a certaine foolish conceite that all the shipps with their loading which came into the Port of Pyrea were his But when as his friends had caused his braine to be purged and had brought him to his right senses he complained of them and blamed them for that they had depriued him of an infinite content Moreouer it is requisite in Pleasure that the obiect of good which makes an impression in our senses should be agreeable to our nature The which cannot be if it be not in some sort agreeable vnto their capacity Wherefore there must bee such an agreement and proportion betwixt the senses and obiect as there may bee betwixt them a certaine resemblance and affinity so as that which caused the Pleasure must neither bee too strong nor too weake to make his impression Wherefore a moderate light is more pleasing to our eyes then that which is more glistring And in like manner a sweete sound coÌ„tents the eare more then that which is loud And we take more delight in a speech which we vnderstand then when wee vnderstand not the words for that this intelligence wee haue of the words frames a kind of conformity betwixt them and vs whereby the speech doth insinuate sweetly into our eares and makes a more pleasing impression in our soule Thirdly it is requisite to breed delight in our senses that wee haue knowledge of the good which breeds the impression and that we find it is fit for vs that we enioy it either in effect or by imagination For that we cannot receiue any ioy of a thing vnknowne or which we find not that it is good for vs or are ignorant that it is in our power So a hidden friendship doth nothing touch vs and yet if we had any perfect knowledge we should be rauished with ioy and burne with desire to imbrace it Finally it is requisite to beget Pleasure in our soules that our Appetite from whence desires do arise should receiue an alteration or change by a sweet impression which the obiect being the cause makes in our senses For this sweetnesse is of the Essence of Pleasure which cannot subsist without her wherefore shee consists rather in the end of the motion then in all the rest of her progresse therefore Aristotle tearmes it not onely a motion but also a rest of the soule In the mean time there are two kinds of appetites in man that is to say the intellectuall which is the reasonable will and the sensitiue which is diuided into the Irascible and Concupiscible as we haue said the intellectuall reioyceth at good things which are conformable to reason whereof the vnderstanding is iudge And the Sensitiue takes delight in things which concerne the senses We also obserue this difference that those things which delight the senses cause a sensible alteration in the body As in ioy wee feele our heart open and dilate it selfe especially if this ioy proceede from an vnexpected thing which concernes vs much it may be so mooued and agitated as death may follow As it happened in those women of Carthage who hauing newes that their sonnes had beene slaine in battaile when as they saw them liuing before their eyes this ioy happening contrary to their hopes they dyed suddainely But the pleasures of reason cause no other thing then a simple motion of the will which reioyceth the minde without any alteration of the body
in the company one of another as Eagles loue Eagles Lions take pleasure to bee among Lions and men loue to see themselues among men and for that euery thing loues that which resembles it All men loue themselues althogh some with more vehemency then others and by consequence they commend their owne workes they esteeme their discourses they loue commonly flatterers who praise them they are passionate for glory for their friends and for their children who are as wee may say their owne workes And by the same reason they are pleased to finish that which they haue begunne which is to giue perfection to the labour of their hands Wisedome which consists in the knowledge of many excellent admirable things procures ioy to him that is adorned for that it raiseth him aboue the ordinary of men and giues him a kind of power ouer others which man desires naturally and for that men are naturally ambitious of honor they take delight to shew their authority in commanding others and in reprehending them they make demonstration that they cannot allow of their actions Moreoue rman hath a singular delight to practize those things wherein he thinkes to excell for he is neuer tired to shew his industry doth willingly spend dayes and nights to become more perfect and to exceed himselfe The which we haue seene in Apelles Zeuxis Protogenes and other excellent Painters of antiquity Finally for that the sports and recreations of the minde are pleasing and that wee take delight to laugh and to spend the time Iouially it followes that all the things which may ferue to that end as iesters their actions and words giue vs content and procure delight to behold them These in some are the obiects of Pleasure which wee feele in this life we must now see what kind of Pleasures are allowed and which are iustly forbidden For the explaining whereof we must vnderstand that there haue beene Philosophers who not knowing how to set a difference betwixt the vnderstanding and the senses and imagining there were no other Pleasures but those of the body haue condemned them generally as detestable and pernitious But they had no reason for their assertion seeing there is not any man that can liue without some kind of sensible and corporall Pleasure seeing the author of nature hath vnited this kind of Pleasure and sweetenesse to the actions of this life to the end wee might with more courage indure the toyles and paines and that they might bee as salt which seasoneth meate and which makes it more pleasing to our taste Wee must then know that Pleasure being a rest of the soule which she hath gotten by some kind of operation there are some which being conformable to the rules of reason and to the eternall law which God hath established among his creatures cannot be held bad but are meerely innocent as those which God hath tied to the procreation of children when as they are tasted in a lawfull marriage such as hee hath ordained for the preseruation of mankind Yet we must confesse that the discordes of men do commonly peruert the vse not keeping theÌ„selues within the bounds of reason nor of the law of God the which is visible in the excesse they commit in drinking and eating in women perfumes play dancing and other Pleasures of the body which are seene at this day to be no other then subiects of offence whereby we may see how infamous the opinion of the Epicures was from the which notwithstanding many great Personages did beleeue that Epicurus himselfe much dissented affirming that hee made no account but of the Pleasures of the mind who with a visible reproach to humaine nature haue placed the soueraigne good of man in the Pleasure of the senses which notwithstanding are common with bruite beasts In like manner wee may gather what wrong they did vnto vertue who by a notable effeminacy represented the image of Pleasure sitting in a throne like a great Queene which had vnder her the vertues as slaues to attend her commandements As if a man in the course of this life should haue no other obiect in all his actions yea in the most vertuous then the satisfying of his Pleasures and the contentment of his senses Our resolution then is that we must not imagine that all the Pleasures of the senses are to bee reiected as pernitious neither all to bee imbraced as beames of our soueraigne good But as Pleasure is a rest and contentment to the soule which enioyeth some good whereof she tastes the sweetnesse if it bee an absolute good without exception the Pleasure is innocent and allowable to man But if it bee a good pleasing only to the senses and contrary to the rules of reason and the law of God as the Pleasures of the flesh out of a chast marriage the effect is pernitious and the enioying damnable But for that we haue formerly sayd that Pleasures regard either the remembrance of that is past or the enioying and feeling of a present good or the hope of a future it shal bee fit to shew which makes the most powerfull impression in our senses and delights vs most We must then know that Pleasure taking her beginning in our soules by the presence of a good which incounters our senses or which vnites it selfe vnto vs by some other meanes this presence or imaginary good is framed by the simple knowledge and the only Idea which wee haue of this good so as the obiects wherof we haue knowledge make an impression of their formes in our soules or else this presence consists in a real vnion of the good with our senses whether that wee do actually enioy it or that wee haue a certaine hope to get it Wherefore as the reall vnion of the obiect with the power is greater and more strict then that which is but imaginary and as the actuall vnion is stronger then that which is but in power wee must necessarily conclude that the sweetest Pleasure is that which proceeds from the feeling and actuall enioying of the good which is really present with our senses But the ioy which springs from hope is greater and the Pleasure more sweete for that in this kind of ioy there is an vnion bâ—twixt our soule and the good which pleaseth vs Not only according to the imagination which represents vnto vs the perfections but also with this condition that the possession is in our power for that otherwise wee could not hope for it Wee put in the last rancke the Pleasure wee feele of good things which are past as the least of all for that those good things not being vnited to our senses but by the imagination and memory which is the weakest vnion that can bee betwixt our senses and the obiects which delight them the ioy which we receiue must also be lesse sensible Of the effects of Pleasure CHAP. 2. THe effects which arise from the Pleasure we conceiue of the obiects which are delightfull to our sense may
be better vnderstood by experience then expounded by words Fiâ—st of all there is not any man which doth not feele in the midst of the ioy which hee receiues his heart to dilate it selfe and as it were open with gladnesse from whence it sends the signes tokens to the countenance by the laughter whicâ—â—t â—irres vp in the mouth where it causeth a visible change They that are tender hearted are apt to receiue the impressions of ioy and heauines like vnto soft wax wherein they do easily imprint the formes which are laid vpon them They that haue them firme and hot by reason of the heate conceiue ioy easily by reason of their constancy preserue it longer Whereas contrariwise they that haue it cold and hard are capable of heauinesse melancholly which makes an impression easily by reason of the coldnesse with the which she hath an affinity maintaines it selfe long by reason of the hardnesse as we see happen vnto melancholy men For sadnesse is an earthly Passion cold and dry whereas ioy is moist and hot And therefore it is easily framed in the hearts of children of young men and of those which are of a good complexion from this ioy which makes the heart to spread and dilate it selfe like vnto a flower growes laughter which is no Passion but an exterior effect of an interior Passion For the sweetnesse of Pleasure makes the heart to moue and open to receiue the forme euen as when wee go to meete a friend and open our armes when he presents himselfe vnto vs. And this his motion and interior ioy ascends vp vnto the countenance but it appeares chiefely in the opening of the mouth whereas laughter is framed and hath his seate from thence disperseth it self to the eyes and the rest of the face although that some hold it hath his seate within man and about his heart But to take away all kind of difficulty wee must vnderstand that sometimes laughter comes meerely from a corporall motion as that which proceeds from the tickling of the arme holes so as there haue bin seene sword players die laughing for that they haue beene wounded in that place Sometimes it riseth from indignation and despight which we haue conceiued of any thing we behold vnwillingly as we reade of Hannâ—bal who seeing the Carthaginians lament their estates for that the Romaines were maisters of their fortunes beganne to laughâ— whereat one being amazâ—d said vnto him that it was an act of great inhumanity to laugh at the teares of his fellow Citizens to whom he answered that this laughter was no signe of his ioy but a token of his despight for that he scorned the fruitlesse teares of those who lamented rather their particular losse then the misery of their common weale But when it is an effect of our passion and a signe of pleasure which our heart receiueth from pleasing obiects which present themselues vnto our senses it comes from a quicke and suddaine motion of the soule which desiring to expresse her ioy excites a great abundance of hot blood and multiplies the vitall spirits which agitate and stir vp the muscles which are about the heart those raise vp the muscles which are of either side of the mouth which vpon this occasion opens with a visible change of the whole forme of the face But it riseth from the pleasure and ioy which our soule conceiueth by reason of the pleasing obiects which present themselues vnto our sense It is certaine that as new things and not expected prouoke most ioy in our hearts so they stirre vs vp sooner to laughter For proof whereof hauing once accustomed our selues to see spectacles and sights how pleasing soeuer they be they doe not moue vs to laugh as they did when wee first behelde them And in like manner profound cogitations and meditations hinder laughter wherefore wise men doe not laugh so easily as others as well for that they haue alwayes their spirits busied and imployed about some serious meditations which will not suffer them to regard such triuiall things as commonly make the Vulgar to laugh As also for that the great knowledge they haue of things hinders them from esteeming many of those things newe or strange which the common sort admire And withall their complexion doâ—h contribute thereunto for that most commonly it inclines to melancholy which makes them pensiue and more difficult to moue to ioy The reason why many things please at the first approach and afterwards lose this grace by custome and continuance proceedes from nothing else but that at the first sight our thought is â—ied vnto it with a certaine vehemency which yeelding by little and little makes the pleasure decay The which is not onely seene in the obiects of the sight whereof our eyes growing weary by little begin to slacke in their action and to become more negligent in beholding them but also in the obiects of all the other senses wherewith our soule is loathed in the end after too long a continuance The reason is for that as in the action of the eyes the vitall spirits consume by the vehemency of the attention so in all other operations of the senses the disposition of the Organs alter and are changed by the motion and by the impression which the obiects that vnite themselues vnto our senses make so as it is impossible that the creature should long enioy one kinde of pleasure or suffer the same griefe And moreouer as we haue sayd before that diuersity as an Image of the changes of Nature is pleasing hath also a place in this subiect for that men are weary alwayes to enioy the same pleasures and see the same obiects Wherefore the continuance causeth distaste how sweete soeuer the possession be And therefore Lucian brings in a man who beeing made a god was weary of his diuinity and desired to dye that he might bee no more and his reason was that the life of men did not seeme tedious vnto him but onely for that hee still beheld the same things one Sunne one and the same Moone the same Starres the same meates and the same Pleasures which change not their face wherfore sayd he tasting nothing but the same thing in this Diuinity where I am I am weary and thereupon would needes dye to change Moreouer there are men who are wonderfull sensible of ioy which bee they to whom all things seem new as children and the ignorant multitude whom any sights prouoke to laugh whereas wise men are nothing mooued The complexion doth also helpe much to ioy as they which abound in blood and haue it not cholericke and adust but pure and sweete are Iouiall by nature and loue to laugh Whereas mellancholy men are hardly mooued to ioy The delight or pleasure which wee conceiue of the obiects which are agreeable vnto vs doth vsually stirre vp in vs an ardent desire and as it were a thirst of a new or a more full enioying The which proceedes
a violent Passion of the Soule entertained by some sensible discontent Or else Griefe is a torment of the mind and body Or againe Griefe is a Passion of the mind afflicted by some kind of euill which presents it selfe Or to describe it more particularly Griefe is a Passion of the Soule which riseth from a discontent she receiueth from obiects contrary to her inclinations which present themselues vnto the senses and afflict them But wee must obserue that there are two kinds of Griefe The one which resides in the sensuall Appetite and the other hath his seate in the rationall This last which afflicts the minde is properly called heauines and differs from the other for that a sensible Griefe is alwayes accompanied with a visible alteration and change of the body which is moued whereas the Griefe of the mind hath not alwayes an agitation of the body but most commonly containes it selfe within the bounds of the power where it is framed in regard whereof it is sometimes attributed to God and the Angells These two kinds of Griefe differ also one from another for that the cause of the sensible Griefe resides in the body which suffers some violent impression that alters it But the cause of the intellectuall Griefe resides in the rationall part and in the mind which represents vnto it selfe the euill which she receiues from the obiects which present themselues vnto her thought They differ againe for that the apprehension and knowledge which the exterior senses haue of things they do only regard the present obiects which make an actuall impression in them but the vnderstanding not only conceiues things present but euen those that are past and which may happen or fall vnder the imagination of man Hence it comes that corporeall Griefe which followeth the apprehension which present things make in the senses growes onely from the presence of obiects contrary to their inclinations Whereas the Griefe of the mind following the knowledge of the vnderstanding may grow from obiects that are present past or to come and from those which man doth presuppose may succeed vnto him So as the noblest powers of our soule and those which are the richest ornaments of our nature as the vnderstanding imagination and memory helpe to increase our paines and to augment our afflictions As if the presence of heauen which giues vs some prerogatiue ouer beastes should make vs more miserable For the most sauage beastes flie dangers when as they present themselues vnto their eyes But being escaped they remaine quiet and assured whereas we not only torment our selues for the euill which doth oppresse vs but euen for which is not yet happened But you must vnderstand that to speake properly Griefe which is one of the Passions of the soule is that which is framed in the sensitiue appetite with a visible alteration of the body which is agitated and moued exteriorly by the euill or paine which it suffers So as the cause doth reside in the body which receiues some kind of outrage But the motion of Griefe is alwayes framed in the soule for that the body is not capable but by the presence of the soule Wee must also remember that as to excite Pleasure in our senses the pleasing obiect must not only be vnited but also knowne and perceiued by the senses as we haue formerly obserued so to cause Griefe the afflicting obiect must touch our senses so as by the impâ—â—ssion it makes thâ—y must pâ—rcâ—iue at it 〈◊〉 painefull For it is certaine that as there is no good but that which is sensibly present can cause Pleasure to the senses so there is not any but a present euill can procure a sensible Griefe But vnder the obiect of Griefe we comprehend not only the euill which afflicts vs but also the good which we haue lost For euen as the weight of bodies causeth that not only they haue an inclination to rest in the center but also is the cause that they are neuer farre remote without suffering a visible violence in their nature So men are naturally carried not only to Loue but with a sensible Griefe of their losse So the couetous man torments himselfe for the losse of his wealth The voluptuous is grieued to see an end of the obiects of his content The mother afflicts her selfe for her only son we see many who after good cheare great feasts and dancings hauing spent the time in all kind of Pleasures suddenly grow heauy and pensiue and yet can giue no reason of this sudden change which proceeds only from the disquietnesse of our minds which grieues at contentments past and afflicts it selfe the which makes him heauy and this heauinesse conuerts into melancholy which augments his anguish and torments him without any other forme of euill that presents it selfe vnto his senses As for the causes of griefe and Heauinesse being consisidered in regard of their subiects where they incounter we obserue three For first of all our Cupidities and Desires do many times cause great vexation and discontents as when any one is surprized with the Loue of a pleasing obiect if they hinder the enioying or but only delay the possession they are so many thornes of Griefe which pierce his soule For as the hope to obtaine the possession causeth Pleasure and Delight so the despaire to attaine vnto that we passionatly desire giues cruell afflictions and insupportable torments Moreouer the Loue wee beare to the preseruation of our beiâ—g doth oftentimes cause sorrow and 〈…〉 for that we apprehend the destruction euen as wee see all creatures afflict theÌ„selues for that which offends them and are very carefull to shelter their bodies from all outrage Wherefore wee may say that Griefe is no other thing but an apprehension and feeling of the destruction of our good which makes vs impatient Thirdly the soule helpes to afflict herselfe whether that melancholy workes this effect or that the continuall afflictions oppresse her in such sort as she doth nothing but sigh vnder the burthen of sorrow and like vnto a bad Pilot which abandons his ship to the waues and storme shee suffers her selfe to be so ouercome with Griefe as she augments her owne paine and increaseth her misery For we often see men who in the middest of their afflictions and discontents do nothing but sigh and powre forth teares and will not yeeld themselues capable of any kind of consolation But although wee shew our selues more sensible of the Griefe of the senses then that of the mind yet it is most certaine that the interior Griefes which afflict the soule are much greater then the exterior paines which torture the body For that the apprehension of the mind and imagination is much more powerfull and more noble then that of the senses and especially then that of feeling which hath the greatest share in corporeall paines For proofe whereof wee see great courages to auoyd inferior Griefe expose themselues voluntarily to the exterior paines of torments and punishments
which are in some sort pleasing vnto them for that the interior ioy doth mollifie their paine Whereof wee haue glorious examples in the constancy of our Martyres who to auoyd the blame and aspersion which had bene layd vpon them to haue offended God in burning incense to Idolls haue exposed themselues to the fire to tortures to wheeles and to the rage of wilde beasts for that they would not bee subiect to that ignominious reproach Finally heauines hath troublesome effects for that first of all if it be excessiue it quencheth the spirit and takes from it all meanes to attend the search of truth The reason is for that all the powers of our soule being tied vnto their essence as the branches vnto the tree it doth of necessity follow that when shee is wholy busied in the functions of one of her powers shee abandons the rest and cannot assist them in their actions Wherefore when as any thing drawes the soule wholy vnto it and imployes her whole action shee cannot attend any thing else by consequence whereof an exceeding heauines seazing vpon her it drawes her away so as shee cannot thinke of any thing else feeling her selfe opprest with Griefe as with a heauy burthen which beares her downe and hinders the liberty of her functions It is therefore generally true that there is no action of the soule whereunto heauines is not a hindrance and let The which we find verified in our selues for wee neuer do any thing so well being possest by cares as when we are in ioy whereof the reason is visible for that the will is the cause which excites vs to act the which hath the good for obiect and makes the more powerfull effect when it appeares pleasing and is accompanied with delight It is true that when there remaines any hope to surmount the causes of our displeasure then heauines may serue to fortifie our action and to inflame our courage for that the more we feele any Griefe the more wee striue to bee freed from it But if there be no hope remaining we become as it were senselesse and abandon our selues in prey to Griefe We flee the company of men we hate the light wee find the comforts and consolations of our friends importune and we haue no content but to feed our selues with bitternesse Besides the torments which heauines giues vnto our spirits she doth also produce fearefull effects vpon our bodies for that it is a maligne colde and dry Passion which wasteth the radicall humor and by little and little quenching the naturall heate of the body thrusts her poyson euen vnto the heart whose vigor shee causeth to wither and consumes the forces by her bad influence whereof wee see the signes after death when as they come to open those that haue beene smothered with melancholy For insteed of a heart they find nothing but a drie skinne like to the leaues in Autumne So as all things exactly considered we may say that there is not any thing that doth so much aduance our dayes as this cruell Passion which thus consumes our forces causeth our heart to languish and makes our life short but extreamely miserable There are many remedies against this Passion but most commonly the Griefe is so obstinate as all applications are vnprofitable To cure it we must first take away or at the least diminish the opinion of the euill which afflicts vs the which is easie to do seeing it depends of our opinion For as dignities honors crownes and triumphs giue vs no content but what wee take our selues when as they arriue for that we haue seene many weepe euen in the middest of all this pompe so the paines of this life ignominies banishment the losse of goods and kinsfolkes with all other miseries afflict vs not extraordinarily vnlesse wee our selues make them more bitter and violent by our owne weaknesse for that we haue seene many laugh in the middest of all these miseries wee must then represent these things otherwise then the Vulgar esteeme them for that the true cure of the euill must not bee expected from time but by our reason which must preuent it Otherwise wee shall receiue this disgrace that it will cause vs to do that we would not although it were in our power For there is no Griefe so bitter but time doth moderate seeing that as wee haue sayd the greatest pleasures decrease by too long enioying which causeth our soule to grow slacke so it is most certaine that excessiue sorrow by little and little decayes by the continuance and custome which the soule takes of the Griefe The which may also happen for that time doth change the condition of things and giues them another face and so doth mollifie or wholy take away the sorrow But not to yeeld to the euill when it comes to seaze vpon vs we must foresee the accidents of this life not as if they should happen infallibly for that were to make vs miserable before the time but as incident to all men and that being of this number if any crosse or misery shall fall vpon vs we may bee the lesse amazed For the crosses of Fortune which wee haue foreseene strike vs more gently and make a weaker impression in our soule Wherefore a wiseman of the world who had prepared himselfe for all the accidents of this life receiuing the heauy newes of the death of his sonne was no otherwise moued but only sayd I knew I had begotten a mortall creature Doubtlesse it is the effect of an exact and singular wisedome to haue this feeling of humaine accidents not to bee amazed at that which happens nor to see any thing befall him which he hath not foreseene So as a wiseman must alwaies remember that dangers losses banishment infirmities yea the death of his children wife and that which he holds most deare are things which may happen dayly and which threaten all men and therefore if hee bee exempt it is the benefite and guift of God and if they befall him that they are the miseries of his nature For hauing this consideration of the common miseries of men he finds himselfe bound â—o suffer constantly and with patience the necessities and crosses of this life Least he should seeme to fight against God who hath layd this yoake vpon him to punish his offences or to keepe him in awe But to mollifie our sorrowes wee must remember that the miseries of this life giue vs a glorious subiect to exercise our vertue and to shew our constancy before the eyes of heauen and earth which are witnesses of our combatts For as Pilots cannot shew their art and industry but in stormes nor soldiers giue proofes of their valour but in the middest of dangers So a vertuous man hath no meanes to make his vertues shine but amiddest the aduersities which befall him in this life as for example wee should haue knowne nothing of the great resolution of Sceuola if hee had not fallen into danger before the King
escaped them or which apprehend to feele the rigor And for this reason they which haue liued long are commonly inclined to pitty both for that experience hath taught them that neither Diademe nor Crowne nor riches honors health nor present prosperities can shelter man from the stormes and tempests which assaile his life as also for that age filles them with iudgement and makes them wise not to trust to fortune which seemes to haue no other constancy but alwayes inconstant in the fauours which she bestowes vpon vs. In like manner men subiect to infirmities weake persons and destitute of meanes who see themselues exposed to all kinds of outrages yea and learned men who haue the knowledge of the accidents and miseries of this life are easily moued to pitty for that they can duely consider of things and iudge vprightly of the affaires of the world Wherefore an excellent and wise Romane Captaine hauing defeated a mighty King of Macedon in battaile when as they brought this miserable Prince prisoner vnto him hee rose from his seate and with teares in his eyes went to meet him as a great personage fallen by some misfortune or by the wrath of the gods into that lamentable accident And hauing cast himselfe at his feete hee could not endure it but raisd him vp with all humanity Afterwards retiring himselfe and thinking deepely of the miseries of this life he made a speech vnto his children and to the young men that were about him to purge their soules from all insolency and vanity by so prodigious an example of humaine frailty But wee must returne to our discourse They that haue wife children and a great number of friends are also inclined to pity for that as we haue said they still apprehend the common miseries and think that the like misfortunes hang ouer their families But they that are transported with a violent Passion of Courage Choller or Hardinesse are nothing moued for that the heate of their blood and the excesse of their Passion will not suffer them to thinke seriously of these things and to care for future euents An extraordinary feare doth also hinder the feeling of pitty for that they which are seazed therewith being tied to their priuate miseries haue no time to thinke of another mans So he that hath lost his children or seene his house burnt thinkes not of him that is led to the gallowes or to bee broken on a wheele But we put in the ranke of those which are touched with pitty those soules which haue not yet lost all feeling of mankind but beleeue that there are yet good men liuing in the world For they that imagine there are no vertuous persons vpon earth perswade themselues also that all men deserue the miseries they suffer and by that reason beleeue that they are vnworthy of compassion Whereof we haue a monstrous example in that Athenian who had no Pleasure in this world but to see the â—â—ine of mankind Finally men suffer theÌ„selues to be moued â—o pitty when as they remember that they haue groned vnder the burthen of afflictions which they see other men endure Or when as they apprehend the â—ike calamities may befall them or their friends But let vs see what things are worthy of pitty and compassion They are generally all those which cause Griefe to the mind or torment to the body Those which take away life make families desolate and cause some gre at changes and alterations in the fortunes of men As for example punishment violent deaths disgraces pouerty in age incureable diseases great languishings insupportable want or extreame pouerty treachery or losse of friends burnings and shipwracke are all miserable things and excite to pitty Wee may also put in this rancke the monstrous deformities of counterfaite bodies the accidents of limmes lamed or benummed and the ruines which happen to men by the treachery of those from whom they should expect all support Wee may also comprehend the miseries which befall vs often or which happen after other accidents And in like manner the benefits which come out of season As if a Prince should send presents of gold and siluer to one that were dead of hunger Finally it is a miserable thing neuer to haue felt any good or contentment in this life or if any hath happened not to haue had meanes to enioy it But for that these obiects of misery do not alwayes make an equall impression in our senses we must now know who they bee whom wee do chiefely pitty when we see them ingaged in any misery First of all wee are greatly moued to compassion and mercy to those persons whom we haue knowne familiarly and with whom we haue had some kind of friendship at the least if they be not strictly tied vnto vs by naturall affinity and blood For as for those which touch vs so neere we haue a feeling more violent then that of pitty In regard whereof wee reade of Amasis King of Egypt who seeing his own son drawne to execution he neeuer shed one teare as if he had had no feeling whereas perceiuing one of his friends opprest with pouerty and begging his bread hee wept bitterly thinking that teares were not sufficient to witnesse his first Griefe but they were due vnto the second In like manner those strange accidents which happen to those of our blood and which touch vs so neere are full of horror amazement and by their excesse suppresse our teares yea and depriue vs of our speech as if the spirit were wholy retired to consider of the violence of our Griefe whereas the miseries of our other friends mollifie our courrages and by the wound they make in our hearts send teares vnto the eyes which we powre forth and are as it were the blood of that part wounded and opprest with affliction Moreouer men haue pitty of those whom they see neere vnto some great misfortune As when they are ready to be buried in the waues of the sea by some accident of shipwracke or of those who are to haue a member cut off or to receiue some notable violence yea or some indignity Particularly men are toucht with pitty when as they that are exposed to outrages or endure great calamities are their equalls in age in humors in quallities in exercise or in breeding For all these things make deepe impressions in the thought that they are subiect to the like miseries wherefore they are moued to take coÌ„passion of their miseries being an ordinary thing to pitty those which suffer any affliction which we ourselues apprehend And to the end we may be sensible in the feeling of a misfortune which befalls another wee must haue it as it were present before our eyes for that we are not much moued with those miseries whose forme is remote from vs. As for example wee are not much moued to teares by the relation of the miseries which the slaues of Byserte and Algier endure And in like sort our hearts are not much
it were odious contrary to nature which requires time in her actions And for the same reason wee see that the people submit themselues willingly vnder the obedience of a Prince who holds the scepter of his Ancestors and is come to the Crowne by the right of succession but when they seeke to giue them a new maister which is not issued from the extraction of their Kings they cannot endure him but easily shake off the yoake whereunto they haue not bene accustomed And in like manner no man is grieued to respect them that are descended from ancient Nobility but they can hardly yeeld honor to those whose nobility is but newly discouered The reasoÌ„ is for that men beleeue that the ancient Nobility being in possession of this glory no man should repine to yeeld him that which time hath gotten him which is a right in a manner equall to that which nature giues for that the things which we enioy by a long continuance of yeares seeme to be gotten and held as it were inpropriety not by the indulgence of men but by the bounty of nature And withall that which hath continued so long hath a greater affinity with the truth whose lasting is eternall then that which is but newly sprung vp within few dayes But there is one thing that filles our soules with Indignation when as wee see any one enioye those goods which haue no coherence with his quallity As when to the great reproach of piety wee see a Knight a Captaine a Souldier or any other making profession of armes to hold bishopprickes to enioy Abbeys and to possesse other dignities of the Church we hold this much more vnworthy then if they gaue the charge of Campe-maisters and of Colonels of foote or horse to religious men or Bishops Or if they made a singing man or Clarke of the Kings Chappell Generall of his armies Finally we hold it a thing very vnworthy to see a yong man inferior in all kind of qualities to a reuerent old man contest with him of merit and glory especially when it falles out betwixt men of the same profession betwixt whom this inequalitie is remarkeable And admit they be not men of the same profession yet we hold it an vnworthy thing that one who is inferior in all poynts to another should contest against him As if a Musitian would equall himselfe to a President or Counsellor of the Court remembring not that the charges of Iustice are farre more honorable then the profession of Musicke this would make all men to tremble which know what difference there is betwixt gold lead They which easily conceiue indignation are first of all men indowed with some eminent quality who see themselues reiected from dignities and offices or which see men altogether vnworthy aduanced to the same honours whereunto they haue attayned by their vertue For doubtlesse it is no iust thing to place so vnequall persons in the same ranke Moreouer vertuous soules and adorned with bounty haue a great disdaine to see good men depriued of the iust reward of their vertue and the wicked raised to honours which they could not hope for The cause is for that those soules haue their iudgement pure and can esteeme things according to their weight and value And therefore they abhorre vice and haue vertue in singular recommendation Againe they that loue honors and charges are subiect to indignation especially when as they aspire to those places which are held by vnworthy persons In like manner they that haue a good opinion of themselues and â—ho beleeue they deserue â—ore then all the world besides are subiect to the motions of indignation when as any one enters into comparison with them Whereas contrariwise seruile soules men borne in barbarisme and grosse spirits are not transported with any thing hauing nothing in them that may quicken this passion Yet there are some which do rather referre the motions of ambitious presumptuous men to meere enuy then to a iust indignation For that indignation being a commendable passion which proceeds from the feeling of vertue it cannot subsist with the vanity and arrogancy which accompany those men but it must bee another passion which kindles in their soules this kind of despight Of Enuy and Emulation CHAP. 4. AS Crocodiles haue their breeding and liue in the goodliest and richest riuer in the world and as other venemous beasts are commonly found among the most exquisite and sweetest flowers whose grace and beauty they pollute and corrupt so Enuy which is a venemous and maligne Passion doth commonly assaile the most vertuous men and such as haue attained to the greatest honor glory in the world Wherefore one of the most famous Captaines of antiquity being yet in the flower of his age was wont to say that he knew hee had done nothing that was generous or commendable for that he did not find any man that did Enuy him which shewes that there can bee nothing imagined in this world more vniust or more wicked then this infamous Passion which seekes her owne torment and finds her punishment in the glory and contentments of another It is also the reason why men are ashamed to confesse openly that they are troubled with this Passion And being conuicted they labour to palliate their error yea they had rather accuse themselues of all other imperfections then to iustifie this And therefore they giue it other names excusing themselues that it is not Enuy but hatred feare or choller which transports them the which is a silent confession they make that of all the infirmities of the soule they should most dissemble it least they expose themselues to a visible shame and disgrace But before we blame it we must first know it with her nature and properties Enuy then is a griefe which is framed in our soules by reason of the prosperities which we see happen to our equalls or such as be like vnto vs not that wee expect to reape any fruite by our Passion but for that wee cannot endure the glory of another man without Griefe It riseth first betwixt equalls or such as are alike that is to say betwixt those of the same blood of the same age of the same profession of the same wealth and betwixt those that aspire to the same honors So as we see kinsmen Enuy their kinsmen and are grieued at the increase of their fortunes Young men also cannot suffer with griefe that they of their age should be aduanced before them In like manner Philosophers are iealous of the glory of Philosophers and Painters Enuy the reputation of Painters great Commanders in the warre cannot behold but with impatiency the tryumphes of their companions rich men in like manner crosse the rising of such as are their equalls and finally they that affect the same offices do what they can to keepe backe their companions The reason is for that Enuy being alwaies accompanied with a certaine competition and contention which riseth betwixt those that
or long life which are particular vnto themselues And the reason is for that Enuy rising from this desire to bee esteemed in the world and from the Passion we haue to see our selues more respected then other men the qualities which recommend them make the deeper impression of Enuy in our soules the more capable they are to purchase reputatioÌ„ to him that enioyes them And there is no question but the things which may bring pleasure profit or honor not only to him that enioyes theÌ„ but also to all men that shall possesse them are euer esteemed more honorable and more glorious then those whose pleasure profit or glory extend but to one in particular wherefore they doe also stirre vp more Enuy. There is another Passion which is also a bud or branch of Headinesse as well as Enuy and that is Emulation which hath some affinity with it but yet they are very different Passions For although that Emulation bee A griefe which we haue conceiued for the prosperity of our equalls yet it riseth not from any bad affection wee beare them but onely from a desire wee haue to see our selues attaine vnto the like felicities Wherefore Emulation doth not merit the blame which Enuy doth but many times it is commendable in vs. As for example when as wee see some vertue shine in one of our equalls we striue in imitation of him to attaine vnto it This Emulation is worthy of praise So Caesar is commended to haue propounded Alexander for a patterne as Alexander did Achilles And Themistocles did shewe that hee was borne to great matters when as he said that the triumphes of Miltiades would not suffer him to sleepe for that it was a testimony that hee was troubled with an honest Emulation of his vertue Emulation then is found among equalls or at the least among those which are almost alike for that this Passion stirring vp a desire in vs inciting vs to seeke the perfection which shines in those whose glory hath made this impression in our soules wee must of necessity imagine that it is in our power to attaine vnto them for that we neuer desire those things which are impossible Wherefore wee haue no Emulation of those who haue so great an aduantage ouer vs as it is not in our power to come neere them Reciprocally we haue no Enuy in regard of those that be so farre inferior vnto vs as we see no commendable quallity in them which wee enioy not with much eminency Among the rest young men are naturally inclined to Emulation for that by reason of the heate of their youth they are found more hardy and being full of good hopes they shew themselues more actiue to vndertake for that all things how difficult so euer seeme easie vnto them And for the same reason great and couragious spirits are very capable of Emulation by reason of the greatnesse of their minds which makes them conceiue that there is no designe aboue their valour and that there is nothing so difficult but they may surmount Among other things which may induce vs to Emulation those which may make a man necessary or profitable to many hold the first rancke As for example learning eloquence riches power the mannaging of affaires and such like are greatly subiect to the force of this Passion And therefore it is often commendable that is to say when shee propounds vnto her selfe no sort of externall goods but the only treasures of the soule and the riches of the mind which shee sees to shine in another subiect whose glory inflames her and makes her aspire to the possession of the same graces For this consideration also we haue a particular Emulation and desire passionately to equall or to imitate those who are respected throughout the world whom all the world commends and al men loue and especially when their vertues are honored by excellent pennes For that all these things are so many glorious testimonies of their merits These bee the Personages whose vertue makes so glorious a shew as wee desire earnestly to imitate them As contrariwise wee contemne and are ashamed to resemble those which are destitute of all these goodly qualities Wherefore as man should carefully free his soule from Enuy which doth but trouble his rest and afflicts him more then the party against whom it conspireth so in some sort hee should giue way to an honest Emulation which proceeds not from any euill will hee beares to another but from the good hee desires to himselfe to the end that in propounding to himselfe the examples of magnificence valour Iustice modesty prudence wisedom and of the other vertues which shine in the liues of great Personages of his condition he may become magnificent valiant Iust moderate prudent wise and endowed with all the other qualities which make them glorious which are adorned therewith But wee haue spoken sufficiently of the Concupiscible Passion we must now treate of those which make their impressions and stir vp the Irascible Of Hardinesse or Courage CHAP. 1. AS in the ancient sacrifices of the Pagans they did carefully obserue the generosity of the beasts that were to bee sacrificed so as â—he priest comming to passe a naked sword before their eyes if they were affrighted with the brightnesse thereof they were chased from the Altar whereas if they stood stil without amazement they were held worthy to bee offred to the diuinity So base and deiected minds which grow pale at any danger were alwayes held in great contempt whereas generous and resolute spirits whom no kind of perill could terrifie or amaze haue euer beene held in singular admiration This resolution and courage proceeds from an excellent nature wherewith they are endowed which makes them to looke vpon all the accidents of the world without any alteration being resolued to vanquish whatsoeuer presents it selfe to encounter their constancy Shewing thereby that they apprehend a disgrace more then a misfortune and that they had more care to preserue their honors then to prolong their liues Seeing then that true Hardinesse and Courage is so commendable a thing and that many of the most excellent men of antiquity haue preferred it before riches the disposition of the body beauty and the other ornaments whereof men do vsually glory we must seeke out the Essence and shew what courages she doth accompany and in what soules shee is found Hardinesse then is no other thing but a resolution of courage whereby promising vnto himselfe to be able to surmount the calamities which threaten him he sees them comming without amazement and is not terrified when they are befallen him Or else according vnto others Hardinesse is a Passion of the soule which doth fortifie it and makes it assured against the miseries which are most difficult to auoyd and which doth encourage it to pursue those good things which are most painefull to obtaine Whereby it followes that Hardinesse is alwayes accompanied with a certaine hope to bee able to vanquish and disperse
those fearefull things which present themselues vnto the imagination of man This confidence may grow from the opinion wee haue that the euill which treatneth vs is far from vs or from our beleefe that if it should present it selfe we should bee able to surmount it As when a Citty hath a conceit that no man will attempt any thing against the peace of her Cittizens and if they should they were able to repell the iniury and to endure the attempts of their enemies this beleefe makes them hardy and assured Secondly it may grow for that although wee finde our selues weake and vnable to resist our enemies yet wee beleeue that wee shall bee powerfully assisted by our Allies with whose ayde wee hold our selues inuincible As for example although the Duke of Saiwy bee not able of himselfe to resist the Armes of Spaine yet being fortified with the alliance of this Crowne hee doth not apprehend them neither is hee affraid to incense them knowing that the assistance of the Christian King protects him of that side Thirdly this confidence may grow for that wee beleeue wee haue neither receiued nor done iniury to any man which should make vs apprehend reuenge And againe for that we thinke wee haue no enemies or else that they are so feeble and weake as they cannot annoy vs. It may also grow in regard that they who haue power to hurt vs are our friends and liue in good correspondency with vs and haue assisted vs in our occurrents as for our part we haue endeauored to bind theÌ„ vnto vs by al occasions which haue bene offered So the Allies of great Kings feare not their power although it be fearefull to the rest of the world By this meanes wee find that there are diuerse sorts of persons which are full of Hardinesse and assurance First they are hardy which imagine that all things shall succeed happily in regard of their former felicities So Alexander vndertaking the conquest of India apprehended nothing by reason of the happy victories and tryumphes which he had gotten ouer the Persians So Caesar being ouertaken with a cruel storme and in a small barke feared nothing but to confirme the resolution of his Pilot whom the storme had amazed he wisht him not to feare seeing hee carried Caesar and his fortunes Secondly they are hardy who hauing beene ingaged in great dangers haue yet escaped for they imagine that good Fortune which hath beene so fauorable vnto them in so many other occasions full of despaire will not abandon them in that present danger Finally men are not troubled in dangers for two reasons either for want of experience or for the hope they haue to be speedily releeued As for example they that go by sea hauing neuer seene the horror of tempests imagine that the maisters and such as guide the ship are expert in their facultie and that they will easily preserue them from shipwracke so as they are not amazed although the stormes and waues seeme to threaten them their death Thirdly men are full of assurance when as they see such as equall them not or do not exceed them in power make no demonstration of feare conceyting that they are assured they haue more cause to continue constant Men not only hold them inferior vnto them whom they haue exceeded but also such as cannot enter into comparison with them or at the least are not more powâ—rfull then those whom they haue vanquished Againe men are full of Courage and resolution when as they see themselues furnished with all those things which may make theÌ„ feareful to their enemies Among the which we put store of coyne disposition of body greatnesse of minde extent of Empire support of friends the power of Armies and a great prouision of all that is necessary for the maintenance of a war Moreouer men hold themselues assured when they haue not offended any man or when such as they haue offended are not able to reuenge the iniurie And withall men are much assured when as they thinke that God is fauorable and assistant in their designes Wherefore in old time great Captaines of war were not wont to giue battaile before they had sacrificed vnto their gods and had seene in the intrailes of their sacrifices some happy presage of diuine assistance For the same occasion they consulted with Oracles attended the answers and were carefull to obserue the signes which were seene before the battaile so that sometimes the flying of an Eagle hath assured Armies that were amazed But without all these signes and presages men thinke that God is fauourable when as they thinke they fight for a good cause As when they haue taken Armes for religion for the seruice of their Prince for the maintenance of his Crowne and for their Countrey yea when as they imagine that the reuenge they pursue is iust and that they haue beene vnworthily abused The reason is for that Choler which is alwayes enflamed by the iniury receiued and not by that which wee doe vnto others makes men hardy perswading themselues that God assists them that are wronged and vniustly persecuted Lastly they that begin a warre are commonly hardy especially when they haue a conceit that the action will succeed and that the euent will answer the expectation As for the constitution of the body which may contribute to the Hardinesse and resolution of man It is certaine that such as haue much blood and spirits and which abound in heate are most commonly hardy and valiant For they haue great mindes and full of generosity which makes them to coÌ„temne dangers And if in the middest of hazards some part of the blood retires inwardly yet the better part keepes her seate and remaines firme and constant so as they neuer grow pale nor tremble like to other men But if before they fight the appreheÌ„sioÌ„ of daÌ„ger makes any impression in their soules they recouer themselues suddainely and expell the feare which would surprize them And for the same reason they which are full of wine may become more hardy not that this defect of it self doth contribute any thing to the greatnesse of Courage but for that wine enflames the blood by accident makes men valiant and withall they that are ouertaken with wine haue their reason captiuated and their iudgement troubled so as they cannot consider duely of the greatnesse of perill but imagine that all dangers are inferior to their force and resistance In the meane time we obserue that many which shew a great Hardinesse and courage to cast themselues into danger as soone as they finde themselues engaged are often amazed as we see in those that go valiaÌ„tly to a charge but finding resistance they turne their backs to the enemy where of wee can giue no other reason but that they are not valiant by iudgment but by the bounty of nature So as apprehending not the greatnesse of the danger before they enter but imagining that they shall vanquish whatsoeuer opposeth it selfe against them when
terror into the mighty they wil more easily doe it in them that are weake Seuenthly wee should bee watchfull of those which haue already tried their forces against such as are more powerfull then our selues and haue preuailed or that haue vsed some surprize or treachery to bee reuenged of such as were not equall to vs in power For that the first may easily perswade themselues to bee able to master vs hauing vanquished those that did exceede vs. And the second seeing their successe against the weaker they will take courage in their crime and promise themselues the like successe against them that are more powerfull to whom they imagine they should be fearefull by reason of that which they had formerly done Eighthly we should apprehend the friends of those whom wee haue offended not such as are prompt to choler and which speake much for that it is easie to discouer them to beware of them but those that are close dissembling and full of arte for that it is a difficult thing to knowe what is in their soules and to discouer if they practise any thing against our liues Among the things which make an impression of Dread the most fearefull are those which surprize vs and which wee had not fore-thought The which happens for two reasons the one for that befalling vs thus vnlooked for they take from vs the meanes to thinke of the remedies whereof wee doe commonly make vse against the disasters that doe threaten vs and the other for that speaking of the accidents of this life bee they good or bad the more wee consider of them the more the opinion which we had formerly conceiued is extenuated In regarde whereof as there is no griefe so violent but time doth mollifie so there is no apprehension so great which is not in some sort diminished by preparing our selues for the miseries which threaten vs. Wherefore Feare increaseth when we are surprized and haue not meanes to thinke of the remedies Secondly those things are most fearefull when as if wee commit a fault it is no more in our power to repaire the error but if there bee any remedy it depends wholly on the will of our enemies For this reason wee haue often seene generous resolutions and great Captaines apprehend much to giue battaile for that as the euents of war are doubtfull so if he chance to lose it there is little means to repaire the error but most commonly he must receiue a law from the Victor in stead of giuing it him Thirdly among fearefull things wee apprehend those which stirre vp compassion in our soules and mollifie the heart with griefe if wee see them befall other men as shipwrackes burnings racks tortures executions desperate diseases the losse of goods kinsfolkes or friends and al other accidents which may make men miserable Wee must not forget that â—eare augments in vs when as the causes which produce it come to increase Wherefore as it riseth from the consideration of dangers which threaten vs so many times they which doe exactly consider the hazards and dangers which threaten this life are most subiect to Feare as wise and discreete men such as haue had a long experience of worldly affaires whereas fooles drunkards and young men apprehend nothing but hope for all Moreouer the excesse of danger encreaseth Feare especially when it is neere vnto vs when it presseth vs and when wee see no remedy nor meanes to auoyd it as when an Army or a City is surprized and neither Captaine nor souldier endeauours to repulse the enemy Yea after that any one hath escaped a great danger the very imagination to haue beene freed from so great a misfortune is able to kill him for that the imagination hath that force to represent vnto vs the thing as if it were yet present and as if wee were in the midst of the danger As they report of a Iew who hauing by night past a bridge whereas no man did passe by reason of the danger who when hee came to thinke of the perill wherein hee had beene was so surprized with Feare and horror as he died On the other side it helpes much to dissipate Feare to imagine there is no kinde of danger in that where-with they would terrifie vs. The which may proceede from two causes that is to say either from an exact knowledge of the nature of the things which wee haue carefully obserued and knowne and find therein no subiect of Feare and this course is ful of discretion Or else from meer ignorance which makes vs to iudge of things otherwise then wee ought imagining that there is no danger in places or things which are full of amazement which is a signe of want of iudgement Finally there is a kinde of people which feare nothing that is to say such as haue renounced all feeling of things whereof we haue iust cause to apprehend the losse As they which haue lost all honor abandoned all shame wasted their fortunes and their goods and those whose liues are tedious vnto them For what can they feare who haue nothing remaining to trouble them For this reason wee must greatly apprehend desperate persons and such as haue abandoned the loue of this life for as an Ancient said Hee that contemnes his owne life is master of another mans Yet there are diuers things which may free our soules from all Feare whatsoeuer preseÌ„ts it self For as they that are perswaded that nothing can hurt them haue no apprehension nor Feare yea if the heauens should fall they would not be amazed at their ruines In like manner men do not feare to lose those things which they thinke are safe from the outrages of their enemies As wise and vertuous men doe not feare that the rage of Tyrants can preuaile ouer their minds to blemish their constancy If Tyrants threaten them with any shamefull death they are ready to say as a resolute spirit did once vnto a Prince who threatned to hang him This sayd he would amaze the gallant Courtiers but as for mee it is indifference whether I roâ—te in the Ayre or in the Earth Thirdly men Feare not those whom they think haue not power to hurt them although in effect they should apprehend them This false perswasion hath oâ—ten ruined great Commanders in the warre who contemning the enemies and making shew not to Feare them haue lost the victory and fallen miserably into their power In like manner men Feare not when as they conceiue that the occasions which should make them Feare are taken away As they which apprehend the persecution of a Tyrant lose all Feare when as they see his power ouerthrowne Whereby it appeares that men Feare when there is apparence that they may suffer some iniury Or when as hee that is threatned is exposed to outrages Or when as they that threaten are powerfull Or that time and occasion fauours him that would do an iniury By all this we may gather that there are two kinds of men
his innocence whereupon he pardoned him This sudden change of the prisoners haire proceeded without doubt for that the vehemency of his feare caused the heate retire from his braine As in like manner old men grow white for want of heate which decayes with age Finally they that haue little hot blood about the heart are naturally fearefull So as those Creatures which haue great hearts to the proportion of their bodies as Stagges and Panthers are more subiect to feare for that hauing little heate it is weakned dispersing it selfe into a large exteÌ„t euen as a litle fire cannot so warme a large roome as it would do one that is lesse So as the blood growes cold is lesse able to warme the heart which is the seate of courage Whereas other creatures which haue more heat and the heart proportionably lesse are more hardy and couragious For that the heat abounding in them it is more actiue and the subiect where it workes dispersing not her action by extent shee workes more powerfully so as she enflames them to all generous enterprizes and glorious designes But let vs come to the effects which Feare breedes in the minde of man Besides all these strange accidents which she doth produce in the body shee causeth other disorders in the soule filling it with such confusion as shee leaues him neither memory nor iudgement nor will to encounter any danger that threatens his ruine Wherefore it is not the worke of an ordinary courage to haue a constant resolution in the middest of greatest dangers and suddenly to finde remedies against the mischiefes that threaten him As histories giue this commendation of Hannibal Iugurth Caesar Alexander and some few of those great spirits of former ages whose iudgements were neuer danted with apprehension of any danger but in the middest of combates they could speedily redresse all accidents which happening suddenly might amaze their Armies and depriue them of the victory Moreouer Feare like a feruile and base Passion depriues man of all courage and whereas the apprehension of danger is a spurre to generous spirits to fortifie them and to make them seek powerfull meanes to auoyde the danger it doth so deiect faint-hearted and fearefull men as they remaine as it were immoueable and vncapable of all action Moreouer it makes a man ashamed and confounded and to contemne himselfe he crosseth his armes and flatters them basely and vnworthily whom hee thinkes may ease his griefe It fills him also with amazement and as if it were able to conuert him into a rocke it reduceth him to that stupiditie as hee forgets himselfe and becomes as it were insensible of the miseries which oppresse him althogh they vexe him worse then death But you must remember that wee speake of a disordered Feare which doth wholly trouble the imagination of man for there is a kinde of moderate feare which striking reason but gentlely makes vs aduised to the which the Stoickes giue the name of circumspection to prouide with iudgement for that which concernes vs for that it makes vs carefull and atentiue to looke to our affaires and to giue order for that which is necessary to shelter vs from stormes Of Shame CHAP. 1. SEEING that Shame is as it were a shoote or a Sience of Feare wee must shew wherein it consists and what effects it doth produce to the end we may leaue nothing behinde that may concerne this subiect Shame then is A griefe and a confusion which growes from the apprehension of some crosses which may make man infamous And vnder this kinde wee comprehend those calamities which are preseÌ„t past or yet to come so as they bee of that nature as they may trouble and breed a confusion in the soule of man And impudency on the other side is a contempt of the same misery for want of feeling By the definition of Shame we may gather that men are ashamed of those things that they thinke will breed them infamy or lay some aspersion vpon them or their friends or vpon such as belong vnto them So as first of all all vices and all things that doe resemble or haue any shew of vice are capable to breede Shame in our soules As for example it is a shamefull thing to flye from the Army in a day of battaile for that this flight is a signe of basenesse and want of courage In like manner it is a shamefull thing to refuse to restore that which hath beene left with vs in guard and which hath beene consigned to our fidelity for that this refusall is a proofe oâ— our iniustice disloyalty It is also a shamefull thing to run indifferently into all dishonest places in the which as Diogenes said to a young man the fartheâ— he enters the more his infamy encreaseth for that it is a testimony of intemperance and dissolutenesse And againe it is a very shamefull thing to seeke to reape profite from all base and abiect things like â—o that Romane Emperour who said The fauour of gaine was alwayes sweete from whence soeuer it came for it is a signe of a prodigious couetousnesse Moreouer it is a shamefull thing to refuse to releeue them that are in misery and implore our aide with money or any other thing for it is a signe of our inhumanity yea it is a Shame not to assist them bountifully according to their meanes But especially when they are our kinsfolkes our Allies our friends or such persons as at another time may require the offices wee haue done them in their necessity It is a Shame to begge for fauor or to borrow money of an inferiour or that is poorer then our selues and wee cannot but blush to require money of him in lone who hath first demanded it of vs or to require of him who would gladly bee payd that which we owe him All these things cannot proceede but from a base minde and voyde of integrity Moreouer wee blush when as wee praise any one aboue his merit and when as we seeke to excuse in him the defects that are inexcusable to the end that wee may obtaine some fauour some present or some assistance from him And in like manner we cannot but blush when as to insinuate our selues into the fauour of any one wee abandon our selues to impudency to extoll his good fortune and the successe of his prosperity without measure As also wee are ashamed of the extraordinary demonstrations we do vsually make to men afflicted to witnesse vnto them the feeling wee haue of their griefe as when to comfort our Friend for the death of some one that was deere vnto him we wish although it bee farre from our thought that we were able to redeeme him whose losse is so bitter vnto him with the losse of our owne blood or life for all these are signes of insupportable flattery which cause euen our friends to blush when they heare vs. Wee blush in like manner when as wee refuse to endure the toyle of honorable imployments which
any time surprized let vs bee angry but sinne not let Nature worke her first effect but let vs stay her violence and aboue all let not the Sunne go downe vpon our wrath Of those against whom we are angry CHAP. 2. HEe which said that man was a creature which is passionate for glory seemes to haue discouered all the roots of Choler for if we obserue the obiects which excite it and against whom we are angry we shall finde it generally true that it neuer discloseth it selfe in our hearts nor is framed in our soules but vpon a conceit we haue that they seeke to diminish our glory and to blemish our reputation with some notable contempt or by some great outrage which wee cannot beare so as this passion is kindled first by a contempt and an iniury which we imagine we haue receiued the which maketh an impression in our soules the griefe and discontent to haue beene wronged makes vs to seeke meanes for reuenge beeing thrust on by the nature of griefe which alwayes seekes ease and which in this occasion cannot finde it but onely in reuenge the desire whereof makes his heart to swell and stirres vp his courage For it is certaine that reuenge quencheth the heate of Choler and we are pacified when as wee see the wrong which we haue receiued sufficiently punished For that we conceiue by this meanes that our reputation is repaired and the contempt reuenged But before this reuenge the griefe of the iniury stickes fast vnto our soules and imflames vs to seeke reparation An Empresse of Constantinople hauing let slippe certaine words of contempt against Narses that generous Captaine who had reduced Italy vnder the obedience of the Empire and sayd in disdaine that they must send for that Eunuch and make him spinne amongst her women this valiant man being incensed at this outrage protested in the middest of his griefe that hee would weaue such a webbe for the Emperour and his Empresse as all their power and industry should not be able to vndo And thereupon he drew the Lombards into Italy and dismembred those goodly prouinces from the Empire whereby it appeares how dangerous it is to incense a great spirit Secondly when we are much transported with Passion and do vehemently affect any one thing wherein we are crost haue some obstacle giuen vs be it directly or indirectly by ouert meanes or secret practizes our Choler is inflamed against those that are the authors of this let And therefore sicke men are angry with such as to repaire their health refuse them water or fruits or some other thing which they earnestly desire And they that are in loue frowne on them that flatter not their Passion and which seeke to diuert them from the pursuite of that they loue But aboue all men are bitterly incensed when as they contemne their present condition and the estate whereunto some calamity or their owne indiscretion hath brought them Hence grow the complaints and vexations of the miserable of poore people of the diseased of those which apprehend some notable afafliction and of those which see themselues exposed to the violence of the mighty yea there haue beene men which haue died of sorrow griefe for that they were reprocht with an imperfection of nature which they broght with them into the world Moreouer we are discontented against those who wee thinke are the authors or abettors of any disastrous accident which wee expected not holding them for our friends For as any great felicity which befalls vs beyond our expectation fills vs with extraordinary ioy so great misfortunes which happen not foreseene and contrary to our expectance afflicts vs strangely and excites vs wonderfully to Choler And sometimes the circumstance of places where wee are the humors wherein we are the time wherein they take vs with a thousand such like serue to prouoke vs to wrath As for example when wee are sad and full of sorrow Choler doth easily become mistresse of our senses opprest with griefe And in like manner if they giue vs any words of cōtempt in cōpany or before such persons as we loue we beare thē impatiently and let slippe the reines to Choler These are the chiefe roots of anger which breeds in our soules and these are the powerfull obiects that may excite it But moreouer there are other mouing causes which haue power to prouoke it although they bee alwayes grounded vpō the contempt which is done vs For men are also discontented against those that cause them to suffer some indignity or that scoffe at them or at such persons whose reputations are as deere vnto them as their owne So the Cittizens of Millan being beseeged by the Emperour Frederike hauing spoken something against the honor of the Empresse the Emperour bare it so impatiently as hauing them in his power he caused them to suffer all the indignities that might bee inflicted vpon the vanquished yea hee ruined their Citty and sowed it with salt to take from them all hope of rising or to see it built againe The reason of this extraordinary Choler is for that these opprobrious scoffes are signes of a notable contempt Men are also moued against those which do them some sensible outrage the which brings no profit to the author but dishonors him that receiues it Wherefore Choler made a powerfull impression in the soule of the Emperour Iustinian the second by reason of the outrage which they of Constantinople deposing him from the Empire caused him to suffer in cutting off his nose who being restored to his estate whensoeuer there distilled any humor from his wound hee sent for some one of them whom he thought to haue had a part in the conspiracy and put him presently to death or sent him into exile The reason is for that these kinds of outrages blemish the things wherein they take any kind of content as they that are passionatly affected to armes canno◠endure to heare the profession taxed without Choler Neither had it bene the meanes to winne any great fauour with Caesar Alexander and Great Henry to haue made discourses vnto them in disgrace of Martiall exercise And in like manner they that loue Philosophy cannot see it contemned without perturbation Yet wee must obserue that such as thinke they haue attained to the perfection of any thing are not so apt to bee moued for words that are spoken to the disgrace of their profession as they that haue but weake beginnings and are but new apprentices and which thinke they haue no great opinion of them or which know their owne defects For these men are easily incensed for any thing that is spoken against the profession they imbrace Whereas the others being assured by the knowledge they haue of their owne merits make shew to neglect the blame is giuen thē without iudgement But there is no contempt more insupporable then that we receiue from our friends and from such as wee thinke are bound to contribute to our glory for
tread all diuine and humaine lawes vnder feete to satiate her inâ—olency and rage Wherein doubtles she is more to bee blamed then all the other Passions wherewith the soule of man is afflicted For that the other Passions haue this property that euen at the very instant when as they are as it were in the height of their transport giue way somewhat to reason and yeeld in some sort vnto her commandements when as shee presents her self to pacifie them Whereas Choler doth like vnto Marriners which are amazed or corrupted and will giue no eare to the voice of their Pilot Or as mutinous souldiers which will not heare the aduice of their Leaders Yea shee despiâ—es truth if shee opposeth against her rage and although she come to know the innocency of the party whom shee persecutes yet she holds obstinacy more honorable then repentance So as nothing shal be able to make her desist from her vniust and violent pursuites And continuing this Iniustice against himselfe shee sometimes constraines the most couetous profusely to cast away their most pretious treasure and to make a heape of their wealth and then to set fire on it and many times also shee forceth ambitious men to refuse and reiect the honours which they had passionatly affected before their despight who doth not then see that this Passion more then any other quencheth the light of reason The cause is for that of all the Passions whether they haue the good for their obiect or regard the euill those cause the greatest perturbations in our soules which are the most violent there is not any that doth exceed or equall Choler in violence which doth inflame the whole blood and all the spirits which flowe about the heart which is the most powerfull organ of Passions by reason whereof there followes a wonderfull disorder not onely in the sensible and corporeall powers but euen in the reason For although she vse no corporeall organs in her proper functions yet to produce them forth shee hath need of the powers of the sences whose actions are crost and disquieted by the trouble which riseth in the heart and the whole body by reason whereof Choler doth darken yea hinder the whole light which she striues to cast forth whereof wee haue two apparant signes for that the members wherein the image of the heart doth most shine as the tong the eies the countenance feele the most violent force of this fury It is true that Aristotle sayth that Choler doth in some sort giue eare to reason But that must be vnderstood touching the report which she makes of the iniury receiued wherein shee takes a singular content but shee giues no â—are vnto her but reiects her aduertizements in the measure and moderation which shee ought to hold in the reuenge So as in truth there must bee some kind of reason to prouoke Choler for that men which are stupid dull are not capable of these motions but when this Passion is fully inflamed then she doth wholy darken reason And as the same Philosopher sayth that they which are full of wine and drinke are not mooued with any thing for that their reason being drowned in wine they are not capable to ballance an iniury or to obserue a contempt But such as are not fully drunke are moued to Choler for that there remaines some weake beames of iudgement to discerne that which hath an apparance of iniury or outrage but this PassioÌ„ riseth in them without subiect and without any great occasion for that their reason is captiuated by the wine which hath gotten the maistry Euen so in the beginning of Choler reason may giue some light to the Irascible power but wheÌ„ she hath gotten the absolute coÌ„mand and is become Mistresse of the senses Reason is darkened and is of no vse in a soule thus transported But we must not conceiue that this mischief is absolutely incurable but wee must rather imagine that as Helleborum hath power to cure mad men so there are remedies against Choler The most powerful are those which are taken from the Law of God who teacheth vs nothing but patience charity mildenesse humanity and sufferance But wee will rest satisfied to set downe the instructions of Philosophy which may serue to this effect First of all Philosophers aduise vs to entreate this passion as they do monsters and serpents whom they striue to smother as soone as they are disclosed for they will that man should haue a care to the beginning of Choler which many times ariseth from so light an occasion and so poore a subiect as it is vnworthy a great spirite should bee transported therewith And as it is easie to quench a fire of straw in the beginning but if we suffer it to take holde of more solid matter it passeth all our labour and industry and makes a pittifull ruine euen so he that will obserue Choler from the beginning seeing it beginne to fume and kindle for some light quarrell and small offence it is easie for him to suppresse it and to stay her course But if shee be once setled and beginnes to swell and that he himselfe blowes the bellowes that is to say if hee stirres it vppe and enflames it it will bee hard for him afterwards to quench it whereas he might easily haue done it before by silence Wherefore as Pilots foreseeing a tempest doe vsually retire themselues into a road or vnder the Lee of some rock before the storme come so he that feeles the first motions of Choler should haue recourse to reason and oppose it to the passion to controule her violence For the first meanes to vanquish Choler as an vniust tyrant is not to yeelde any obedience to her nor to beleeue her in any thing she saith or doth to inflame vs to reuenge we finde in other Passions that the liberty wee giue them brings some ease As when young men which are enflamed with Loue goe in maske make dances combates or feasts in fauour of the party they loue all this giues some ease vnto their passion and when as they suffer those that are afflicted to weep in the midst of their afflictions the teares they powre forth carry with them a part of their griefe But Choler hath nothing of al this she growes bitter and is incensed by the liberty wee giue her and is enflamed the more in that we giue way to her fury And as they that are subiect vnto the falling sickenesse hauing any signe or beginning of their fit retire themselues suddainly and take all the remedies which may diuert so troublesome an accident or at least hide the shame so they which see themselues transported with Choler should retaine themselues and striue to moderate their passion and diuert the infirmity which seekes to seaze vpon them Wherevnto they should the more willingly resolue for that all other passions doe but draw men to euill but this doth precipitate them those doe shake them but this doth ouerthrow them Those
when they haue the vpper hand suffer themselues to bee curbed but this beeing mistresse will obey no law like vnto the thunder-bolt which being once falne from the cloud wherein it was enclosed can no more bee stayed Other Passions stray from reason but Choler treades it vnder feete and leads it as it were in triumph Wherefore by all these considerations men should be carefull not to fall into the hands of so furious a mistresse The second remedy that may be giuen is to represent the defects of this passion the miseries wherewith she is accompanied the which are such as it seemes they carry the Palme of vice and to bee more detestable then all other crimes wherewith the soule may be polluted Auarice in truth is a shamefull greedinesse of getting but yet it sometimes gathers together that which falls into the hands of a good man that succeedes a miser whereas Choler scatters all For what expences what profusiō doth she not to attaine vnto the reuenge which shee doth meditate How often doth shee make a man ruine his owne fortune the husband to separate himselfe from his wife the sonne abandons his father the people arme against the Magistrate and he which aspired to honour checks himselfe and giues ouer his pursuite Choler is also worse then voluptuousnesse for that lusts make men to plunge themselues in particular plesures whereas Choler makes them of so bad a disposition as he is delighted in another mans miseries It is much more wicked then Enuy for that if Enuy desires to see any one miserable it is Choler which procures the misery But we must not continue our great desires in the reuenges of Choler for generous spirits are as it were impenetrable to offences whereas they that cannot resist shew their weakenesse whereby we see that women children sicke folkes and olde men are most subiect to these motions and impressions The highest and goodliest part of the world and neerest to the firmament and starres is neuer couered with clouds and in whose bosome there is neuer any haile rain windes nor other tempests congealed there is neuer any thunder nor lightning although the thunder-bolts fal from thence vpon the earth In like manner a spirit truely eleuated a generous soule is alwayes quiet moderate and graue neuer suffering it selfe to bee transported with the furious motions of Choler shee represents vnto her selfe the defects of this passion shee sees that they which abandon themselues vnto it disrobe themselues of all shame and lose all reason for who is he that in the middest of his despight wrath seems not to haue renounc'd all moderation and modesty Can hee refraine his tongue or containe the other parts of his body in their duty But how many great personages haue we seene expose themselues to bee a scorne of the world by the excesse of their Choler Witnesse that famous Prince who wrote letters to a Mountaine and who caused a Riuer to bee whipped which had beene an obstacle to his passage Wherefore as in seeing the shamefull motions of them that are drunke we conceiue a certaine horror of the excesse of wine so great spirits seeing the deformity of Choler endeauour what they can not to bee infected with a vice which is as it were a reproach to humane Nature But to preuent it wee must first flye all affaires that are aboue our reach lest that finding our selues opprest as with an insupportable burthen griefe kindle our waywardnesse and Choler We must also flye the company of quarrelsome persons lest by a certaine contagion they poyson vs with their Passions Drunkards prouoke to drinke voluptuous men mollifie the most couragious and auarice poysons those that haunt the couetous In like māner cholericke men infuse into vs their troublesome humours or at the least in frequenting them wee expose our selues to the dangers of quarrels with them whereas conuersing with quiet men besides the good example we are freed from that danger Philosophers produce other remedies to cure Choler aduising them that haue any inclination to this passion to leaue al great and waighty occupations of the minde yea the most serious studies and they exhort them to imitate those that are weake sighted who ease themselues in fixing their eyes vpon the most cheerefull colors aboue all things they coniure them to auoyde the occasions and subiects which are giuen thē to remember that it is not expedient for man to see all nor to heare all and that wee must let many things passe which are spoken against vs for that many times hauing neglected them it is a kinde of iustification That which prouokes vs to Choler say they is the opinion we haue to haue beene outraged but we must not so suddenly giue credit to this opinion nor presently receiue the reports which are made vnto vs how cleere and euident soeuer the proofes of the iniury may seeme vnto vs for there are many things which hauing a shew of truth are notwithstanding false so as wee must reserue one eare to heare the reasons of him that is accused or else shut them both to the reporters who many times take a delight to sowe discord and to breed quarrells for their owne pleasures And doubtles we may many times repent to haue run rashly to reuenge whereas we haue cause to bee glad to haue deferred it For the same reason wee must flie suspitions and iealousies which many times incense vs as well as the iustest subiects of Choler for that taking in ill part a looke a smile or some other light action wee conceiue a despight and runne to field against those that are innocent and which had no desire to wrong vs. Finally of things that offend vs some wee haue by report others wee haue either seene or heard ourselues As for those which are reported wee must not easily giue credit vnto them considering the practizes which are vsed at this day to abuse the most credulous A flatterer will seeke to insinuate himselfe into fauour by accusing an innocent he wil suggest an outrage make a bad discourse to perswade that hee hath heard it with griefe of mind another will seeke an occasion to dissolue the most sacred bonds of friendship Another full of venome poyson will desire to haue the sport of a quarrell and will bee glad to bee spectator of a combate which he hath kindled so as he be none of the party It is then a notable lightnesse to condemne a friend suddenly before he be heard and without an exact knowledge of the matter whereof he is accused and it is a prodigious iniustice to bee incensed against him before that hee know who accuseth him or what crime is imposed vpon him As for those things whereof we our selues are witnesses we must cōsider the disposition will of those that haue committed them if it bee a young man let vs impute it to his age and beare with his youth Is it a father Hauing receiued so many other
whence retiring them when occasion requires she propounds them vnto the Appetite vnder the apparance of things that are pleasing or troublesom that is to say vnder the forme of Good and Euill and at the same instant the same formes enlightned with the Light of the vnderstanding and purged from the sensible and singular conditions which they retaine in the Imagination and insteed of that which they represented of particular things representing them generall they become capable to be imbraced by the vnderstanding the which vnder the apparance of things which are profitable or hurtfull that is to say vnder the forme of Good and Euill represents them vnto the Will the which being blind referres it selfe to that which the vnderstanding proposeth vnto it And then as Queene of the powers of the soule she ordaines what they shall imbrace what they shal fly as it pleseth her whereunto the Sensitiue Appetite yeelding a prompt obedience to execute her command from the which it neuer stâ—aies so long as it containes it selfe within the bounds and order prescrib'd by Nature quickneth all the powers and passions ouer which shee commands and sets to worke those which are necessary to that action and by their meanes commands the mouing power dispersed ouer all the members to follow or fly to approch or to recoyle or to do any other motion which it requireth And shee obeying suddenly if shee bee not hindred moues the whole body with the Organs which reside in the parts and induceth them to fly or imbrace things according to the command which she hath receiued After this manner Man proceeds in his free operations if he will obserue the order which he ought The which I say for that oftentimes â—ee ouerthrows and peruerts this order either by bad education or by custome or the organs being vnsound or for that his will hath bad inclination so as reason cannot enioy her power subiect the Sensuall Appetite vnto her but contrariwise hee abandons himselfe in prey vnto this disordered Appetite and suffers himselfe to bee transported by his furious motioÌ„s So as suddenly when as fantasie offers to the Appetite the formes which shee receiues from the Sences vnder the shew of Good or Euill he without stay to haue them iudged by the discourse of vnderstanding and chosen by the will commâ—nds of himselfe the mouing power makes it to act according to his pleasure And herein consistes the disorder which the passions cause in the life of man which diuert him many times from the lawes of Reason But wee haue spoken enough hereof let vs now enter into the subiect and beginne by the definition of passions to know their Nature and Essence To his long-lou'd and worthy friend Mr. Edward Grimeston Sergeant at Armes of his vnwearied and honored labors SVch is the vnequall and inhumane vice Of these vile Times that each man sets his price On others Labors And the lasiest Drone That neuer drop of honey of his owne Brought to the publique Hiue distasts all ours And in the worlds wit feeds far worthier Powers T is Noble to be idle Base to be Of any Art Good Mind or Industry Another sort of dull Opinionists Consume their stupid liues in learned mists Yet wold be seene poore soules beyond the Sun But that like Dolon in the darke they run Other Explorers fearing And these men Like Cheaters foyst in false dice to their Den To win mens thoughts of th' onely truly learnd And feede on that conceit before t is earnd To strengthen which their Markeâ—s are the Marts Where sounds and Names of Artsmen all Arts They stuffe their windy memories withall And then when ere their Creditors shall call They pay them with these Tokens all they owe Then Honest men they are then all things know When all employd in priuate conference They count all rude that are of open braines Feare to be fooles in print though in their Cels In Learn'd mens vizards they are little else They that for feare of being cald fooles hide Like hid men more they stir the more are spied Whose learnings are as ignorantly applied As those illiterate Peripaticke soules That all their liues do nought but measure Poules Yet neuer know how short or long it iâ— More then their liues or all their idle blisse In short All men that least deseruingâ— haue Men of most merit euer most depraue How euer friend t is in vs must assure Our outward Acts and signe their passe secure Nor feare to find your Noble paines impeacht But write as long as Foxe or Nowell preacht For when all wizards haue their bolts let fly There 's no such proofe of worth as Industry E merito solers Industria reddat honorem George Chapman A Table of the Chapters contained in this Treaty Of Humane Passions CHAP. 1. What Passion is fol. 1. CHAP. 2. Of the number of Passions fol. 29. CHAP. 3. Of the quality of Passions and whethey they be good or bad fol. 51. Of Loue the Preface fol. 78. CHAP. 1. Of the beginning of Loue. fol. 83. CHAP. 2. Wherein the Essence of Loue consists fol. 103. CHAP. 3. Of the persons to whom Loue extends fol. 121. CHAP. 4. Of the Effects of Loue. fol. 152. CHAP. 5. Of Iealousie whether it bee an effect and signe of Loue. fol. 175. CHAP. 1. Of Hatred and Enmity fol. 184. CHAP. 1. Of Desire and Cupidity and of the flight and horror we haue of things fol 216. CHAP. 1. Of Pleasure and Delight fol. 244. CHAP. 1. Of the Effects of Pleasure fol. 297. CHAP. 1. Of Griefe and Heauinesse fol. 317. CHAP. 2. Of Mercy and Indignation fol. 354. CHAP. 3. Of Indignation fol. 375. CHAP. 4. Of Enuy and Emulation fol. 389. CHAP. 1. Of Hardinesse and Courage fol. 411. CHAP. 1. Of Feare or Dread fol. 428. CHAP. 1. Of Shame fol. 473. CHAP. 2. Of the Effects of Shame 494. CHAP. 1. Of Hope and Despaire fol. 507. CHAP. 1. Of Choler fol. 547. CHAP. 2. Of those against whom wee are angry fol. 575. CHAP. 3. Of the Effects and remedies of Choler fol. 598. CHAP. 1. Of Mildnesse and Gentlenesse fol. 633. CHAP. 1. Of the diuers Passions of men according to their ages and conditions fol. 654. A Table of Humaine Passions CHAPTER 1. Wherein is expounded what Passion is SEeing there can be no better order obserued to expresse the nature of things then to beginne by the definitions which haue vsually giuen vs a full light of their essence wee must enter into this treaty of passions by the definition which Philosophers giue That which is called passion say they is no other thing but a motion of the sensitiue appetite caused by the apprehensioÌ„ or imagination of good or euill the which is followed with a change or alteration in the body contrary to the Lawes of Nature Whereby it appeares that passions to speak properly reside onely in the sensitiue appetite and that they are not fashioned but in the irrationall part
praised his house was neuer empty all the Orders went to consult with him as with an oracle or rather as the soule of the Empire But as soone as his fauour began to shake presently hee saw the affections of such as had so shamefully flattered him decay and die and when it was wholly falne there followed so prodigioâ—s a change in the affections of the Court and people as after they had vnworthily massacred him they drew his body through the streete into the riuer of Tiber his statues were beaten downe all his kinsfolkes persecuted his memory detested and the name of Seianus was held in execration to all the world But this is the ordinary course in Court whereas Fortune is alwayes adored As the affections which depend vpon profite decay as soone as the profite ceaseth in like manner that friendship which is supported only by pleasure continues no longer then the subiect of pleasure indureth For they that loue in consideration of beauty when as age or infirmities makes it to wither and decay their affection is gone and they esteeme no more that which they had formerly honored So as there is no true nor solid friendship but that which is grounded vpon vertue and honesty The rest hauing inconstant and wandring obiects are also inconstant and mutable and the interest and pleasures ceasing they die whereas honest loue propounding vnto it selfe a constant and durable obiect knowes no change They that Loue in this sort wish all good to him they loue for his owne sake and not for their priuate interest The third thing wee must consider in Loue is that wee are bound to imploy all our meanes to procure good to them wee loue For as the Sunne should not deserue the name of Sunne if it gaue not light to the whole world so wee cannot esteeme him a true friend which doth not imploy himselfe with all his power and meanes to bind him whom he makes profession to loue And this admits no limitation nor bounds for there is not any thing which Loue will not make him do that loues perfectly euen to contemne his owne life for the safety of him hee loues It is true that a perfect friend should wish that he to whom he hath ingaged his affection should haue all things happy and prosperous in the course of his life that hee be neuer shaken with any storme and that hee neuer feele any crosses of fortune but as the condition of man is fraile and exposed to a thousand calamities if it chance that hee fall into any infirmity he must participate of his paine If a tempest carries him through the waues of the sea hee must hoist saile to follow him yea if the billowes ouerset his ship he must seeke him in this shipwracke If Tyrants seaze vpon him if they cast him into prison loade him with chaines hee must offer his owne body to free his bonds and if they send him to execution he must present his head to redeeme his friends If hee see him assaulted by his enemies who seeke to murther him he must present himselfe to beare their blowes And if he see him in the throat of lions exposed to the rage of wild beasts hee must hazard himselfe to free him from danger and if he die he must in like manner abhorre life Hee that loues perfectly sayd Plato by the mouth of Phedro will rather abandon himselfe to death then expose that he loues to dangers And there is no man so faint hearted whom Loue doth not fill with courage and inflame with a force to make him in this subiect equall to the most generous soules For that which Homer saith that the Worthies are inspired with a diuine force and furie is more truely verified in those that loue whoÌ„ loue hath often inspired with a diuine fury which hath made them to contemne death to preserue the life of those they haue loued The last thing that is to be considered in Loue is that we wish vnto our friends the things which we thinke truely are good for them that is to say that we desire for them the things that are iust and that are adorned with all the circumstances of vertue In regard whereof hee spake wisely which answered his friend who would haue him forsweare himselfe that hee was a friend euen vnto the altars hauing no intent to serue his friend against his conscience In this case then Loue admits bounds limitations and it were to abuse the name to bind him that loues to commit vniust things in fauour of them to whom he wisheth well So when as Charles of Burbon to reueÌ„ge his priuate discoÌ„tent abandoned France and his King and imbraced the party of Spaine the Emperour the Princes Noblemen his friends whereof he had many in Court did not hold themselues bound to follow him and to make themselues confederates of his despight and rebellion So as these words which are at this day in the mouth of many that they are ready to turne Turkes for their friends yea and to follow them into hell is the speech rather of a fury then the discourse of men transported with true Loue for Loue must coÌ„taine it selfe within the bounds of iustice honesty and vertue and not make vs do any thing which may breed vs shame And moreouer they that make these impious protestations haue them more in their mouthes then in their harts and I know not how they can make them without blushing By al this which we haue sayd it is easie to gather wherein the essence of Loue doth properly consist the which we may define in this manner Loue is a wellwishing which we testifie with all our power to those to whom we haue an inclination procuring them for their owne sakes all the good we think may giue them content According to which hee is a friend that loues and is reciprocally beloued for loue being as it were a torch which lightens another friends must beleeue that affections are reciprocall and that as they loue so they are beloued wherein they must not shew themselues vnpleasing or importune to sound the hearts one of another which will bewray a diffidence and distruct But content themselues with the true signes of loue which their friends shew them These signes of true Loue are reduced to three principall heads The first is that friends reioyce grieue for the same things wherfore Homer describing AgamemnoÌ„s affliction when as he was forced to sacrifice his daughter Iyhigenia he represents al his friends accompanying him to this sacrifice with mournefull countenances full of sorrow and at Rome when as any one was accused and brought in question for his life al his friends changed their robes with him to shew that they did participate with his affliction The reason is for that sorrow and ioy are the markes of our affections and of that wee haue in the soule which reioyceth or afflicts it selfe as the obiects which present themselues are pleasing