so saith St Paul was Adam our Fore-Father 1 Cor. 15. And while we live here we must bear as he there speaks the Image of the Earthy And so are not capable to understand what Joyes will be apt to suit with our Natures after their change into the state of Incorruption Only thus much is revealed unto us That as we have borne the Image of the Earthy so we must bear the Image of the heavenly 1 Cor. 15. That is as we have been hitherto like Adam so also hereafter we shall be in our glorified bodies like unto the glorifi'd body of Christ they are the expresse words of St Paul Phill. 3.21 That the Lord Jesus shall transfigure our vile bodyes and make them like unto his glorious body It is not saith St John 1 Epist. 3.2 manifest or Intelligible what we shall be only thus much is revealed and we know it to be true that when the Lord shall appear we shall be like him that is not only our Soules but our bodies also shall be purely spirituall even as the body of Christ was after his resurrection This is not vehemenisme but a great truth that there is a spirituall Body And however in the Notions of our present Philosophy Bodies and spirits are opposite and contradistinct yet not so but that the body of Christ now is and ours hereafter shall be undoubtedly spirituall we know but in part saith St Paul and truely the Nature of that spiritualty which we shall enjoy in our bodies after that great change is a mistery or that part of science which now we doe not cannot understand Maimonides hath an excellent discourse given us by the learned publisher of the Porta Mosis to this effect As saith he the blind Eye is not delighted by the most beautifull colours now the deaf Ear by the ravishing modulations of the sweetest Musick and as it is impossible that the fishes of the sea should know how to judge of the pleasures those creatures take that live in the quick and finest Aether under the Concave of the Moon Sicut nec caecue colores nec Sung dus voces nec impotens Veneris voluptatem veneris percipit ita nec corpora voluptates animi proprias assequi Et quemadmodum Piscis Elementum ignis non habet cognitum ita nec in mundo hoc corporeo voluptates Mundi spiritualis dignosci Maimonid in praefat ad Explic. cap. 10 Sanedrim apud Pocockium de Portâ Mosts so neither by us in this world can the delights of the spirituall world be discerned We have no true tast saith he of any but corporeall pleasures and purely mentall delights are so strange unto us that we cannot without much Industry and diligence have any tast or Apprehension of them On the contrary Angels are not sensible of any corporeall pleasures their senses are not as ours nor made to the same purposes And we after death shall no more relish or desire these bodily pleasures than a wise Monarch would desire to dethrone himselfe for ever and lay down all his Regalia that he might spend his dayes at play in the streets with that company and in those sports which when he was a child was more suitable to his temper than the excercise of his Royall power Such difference is there in the dignity and vilenesse of the delight of this corporeall and that spirituall World And therefore as that considering Rabbin well expresseth this matter God hath dealt with his people as a prudent and indulgent Master treateth the tender schollar whom he desires to improve He provokes him to his lesson with the reward of a fig or a piece of sweetmeates Et paulo post Non est Angelis voluâ—tas aliqua corporea nec cam percipiant cum non sint illis ut nobis seasus quibus ea quae nos percipimus assequantur Eodemque modo cum e Nobis quis dignus factus fuerit qui gradum istum pâ—st mortem consequatur Non amplius voluptates corporeas percepturus est eâsve appetiturus magis quam Rex magni Regni dominus Regno suo exuicuoiat ut ad Pili lusum in Plateis redeat etiamsi tempus faerit quo lusum istum Regno anteserret Fingas puerum minorennem ad praeceptorem deductum quo cum legem eâ—oceat quod magnum ei ob eam quam inde assequetur perfectionem Bonum est licet ipse magnitudinem istius boai prae intellectus imbecillitate non percipiat Coget Necessitas Praeceptorem qui ipso perfectior est scholarem sic provocare Dicet Lege ut tibi Juglandem aut ficum aut sacchari portiunculam demus ta fiet ut studcat Non ipsius Lectioâ—is gratiâ Cujus digaitatem nondum intelligit sed ut edulium istud accipiat c. apud Maimoniden cod lib. p. 138. deinceps or somewhat that will for the present work upon his phancy not with a discourse of nice speculation to evince a future satisfaction to the mind by the learning of the Law And this doubtlesse is the very reason why the holy Ghost bath had such frequent reference to corporeall pleasures in the Notices which he hath given us concerning the Joyes of Heaven because while wee are here our body generally prevailes above our spirit and we do better resent corporeall than mentall pleasures Cum horro mortalis de aternâ gloriâ disserit Caecus de luce disserit Gregor Moral 27.26 But notwithstanding for the use of those that are more perfect and that we may not conceive to our selves as I said any hope of a Mahumetane Paradise or reality of grosse corporeall pleasures in the life to come the same Spirit hath made frequent attestations of the Spirituallnesse which we shall enjoy even in our Bodyes then and of the diversity of our delights there from these of this present world and therefore when we shall come to explain the Nature of Heavenly glory without the use of Metaphors which can be only done by Negatives because we cannot forme any direct Idea of it then all these pleasures of eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage and all corporeall delights are denyed of it But now since we have made so good a progresse in the way we designed let us indulge our selves the refreshment a little to look back and see how consistent and agreeable these principles of Religion are to the Notions of considering men among the Heathen And truly it is hard to find any thing more agreeable to us than the Philosophy of Socrates as it is represented by Plato in his Philebus and elsewhere dispersedly among his writings and was as I take it the ancientest Philosophy of the whole world Which in short is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 afterwards 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which testify that the ancients to Plato own'd the world to be govern'd by the providence of God He reckons this among the great and ancient Traditions inter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
assemble themselves with the Congregations of Robbers and use ill Arts of living but those who by Intemperance have spent their estates in making provision for their Lusts But above all others that Incontinence the 3d Species described by chambering and Wantonesse is the Mother of great varieties of Injuries If it runs out into Adultery it causeth the breach of Conjugall faith which is the foundation of all Domestick Union then Spurious heires are thrust into inheritances not belonging to them and insteed of Love that cements Families they are harraz't with the sad effects of Hatred and Jealousy which end commonly in Duels poisons and such other Malicious Revenges But if it run out into Fornication only It brings in murder of Infants or their ill Education the staines of Bastardy and 1000 other Inconveniences Lastly let us consider how dishonourable a thing it is for Man as Man who is confess 't to have a divine and rationall Soul to be made a slave to such bestiall filthy lust There is not a Man among the Heathen but apprehends himself made for better ends Os homini sublime dedit Coelumque videre Jussit Saith one of their own Poets Man was not made to be a sot Quod si Pupillum tibi Deus commifisset nuÌ„ iilum negligeres Te vero cuÌ„ tibi ipfi commendavit inquiens non habeo aliquem fideliorem cui te committam quam Teipsum Hunc volo ita mihi custodias quemadmodum ipsius Natura postulat scil pudicum fideleÌ„ altum infractuÌ„ affectibus malis vacuum moderatum Sobrium c. Apud Ariaâ—um in Epictet or to intend no more then what all beasts intend and enjoy much more than he No man was made for the Exercise of vertue and contemplation of God and communion with him and hath even as Heathen Philosophers have observed a Soul apt for such Employments How base therefore and dishonourable a thing were it for Man to wallow in the dirty puddle of his lusts which makes him unfit not only for communion with God but also for the exercise of Reason and vertue among Men. Who then but a fool would wish to live the life of sensuall pleasures when as I have prov'd unto you there is neither satisfaction nor content to be had in the Enjoyment nor safety either to the mind Body or estate to be had in the pursuance of those pleasures to which we are addicted by our Naturall Lusts besides that it is dishonourable and unworthy of a Man to be made a vassall and slave to such Enjoyments as are commun to him with the beasts that perish All this you will say you could have heard in the Morall Philosophy School and it is probable you might Morality is a great and acceptable part of Gods service and our Duty and he useth his Reason well who by it establisheth himself in Morall Reformation St Paul himself presseth a Morall Argument against the use of these Intemperances as 1 Cor. 6.18 where he telleth us that he who committeth fornication sinneth against his own body which is a Truth commended to us by all Moralists It is true wee that are Christians have more high and spirituall Reasons to move those who value the honor and Interest of their professions And therefore my third Conclusion was That the pursuance of lustfull pleasures was most of all Mischevous and dishonorable to Man as Christian Wee cannot serve God and Lust Simul esse possunt Simul regnare non possunt Heaven and Hell are not more contrary in their Rules designes and Ends than they For let a man put on the strongest Resolutions of Piety let him bind those Resolutions with the strongest vowes yet a Dalilah in his Bosome a reigning Lust will quickly ruine and nullify them all Seeing therefore we cannot serve God and our lustfull pleasures at the same time let us own our own Master his servants we are to whom we obey let us take heed we do not come under the Character 1 Tim. 3.4 of being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lovers of pleasures more than Lovers of God For they which are so have denyed their first profession which was to keep Gods holy Will and commandments and to renounce the sin full Lusts of the Flesh Secondly which is the other part of my Conclusion The pursuance of all sensuall pleasures is highly dishonourable also to Man as Christian. This may be learn't from that Argument of St Paul 1 Cor. 6.19 Know ye not that your Bodies are Temples of the holy Ghost that is as Churches and Temples are honored above other places by being consecrated to Gods service so are our Bodies honored above the bodies of other Men by being consecrated to the service and Inhabitation of Gods holy Spirit Sometimes for the like honor done unto them our Bodies are compared to holy and consecrated vessels and therefore the same Apostle telleth us that this is the will of God even our Sanctification that every one should know how to possesse his vessell in sanctification and honour 1 Thess 4 3 4. not in the lust of Concupiscence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 indeed which we translate vessell signifieth also any utensill or Instrument and the body being the Instrument not only of the rationall soul but also of the holy Spirit is therefore properly called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Its utensill or vessell but then as the Apostle intimates the utensils of the soul or Spirit are to be used honorably holily and cleanly and if Philosophy hath condemned the pleasures of Intemperance as unworthy the Aimes of Men much more will they appear to be below and unworthy of a Christian It was the Strict command of God by the Prophet Esay Depart depart touch no unclean thing yee that bear the vessels of the Lord. And if it be so strictly required that those should be clean that bear the vessels much more Reason is it that those should be clean that are the vessels of the Lord. Consider my Brethren the filthinesses that are consequent to all manner of Intemperances they are so very filthy they are not to be named in a Christian Assembly Of what Judgement then shall we be thought worthy if when we have consecrated our vessels unto God we afterwards dishonor and pollute them He acceps the gifts of our Bodies as well as that of our souls and Spirits and hath preferred them to be vessels of sanctification purity and Honor what a Judgement fell upon Belshasser when he was taken in the act of profaning the Material vessels of the Sanctuary in his Luxury and drunkennesse Dan. 5. But the sin of the loose and debauch't professor is worse than this For he polluteth the Temple it self the Sanctuary it self For such is every Christians Body unto Christ The Intemperate man may pretend much but he cannot truly boast of any Religion or love to the Church He hath a zeal it may be against the separatist but he considereth not that even in the
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. passim V. Platonem in Philebo and in his tenth book de leg he appointeth severe punishment for Atheists as for persons that are most destructive to the common-wealth of which he makes three kinds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. First that there is a God and a providence that Rules the whole world That man is a complext being consisting partly of an Immortall soul which is derived from God the great spirit that fills and governs all things and partly of a corruptible Body made of the Elements and corruptible parts of the world And consequently that the pleasures and delights of Man are diverse answerable to this Complexion and mixture Some pleasures are purely Intellectuall some purely corporeall some mixt of both That when any thing tends to the corruption of this complext and mortall Nature it causeth greif And that when any thing tendeth to the restoration of the same Nature it causeth joy or pleasure to the Body That there is a joy or Pleasure that ariseth purely from the expectation of the soul alone and that there is another mixt kind For the soul may conceive pleasure in expectation of some good to happen to the whole compound And this well agrees with our Divinity For we professe that the souls of all good Christians rejoyce in the hope of that Glory of God that shall hereafter be extended both to our Souls and to our Bodyes And that very well agrees with our Divinity in this subject de Finibus which he affirmes That there is a sort of joy that is far more excellent than all the rest and that is a certain fruition and Speculative pleasure that ariseth from the knowledge and contemplation of things that continue eternally the same For such fruitions in the highest degree are enjoyed by all glorified spirits by means of the Beatifick vision 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ib. of the most Glorious objects of the world to come concerning which the Scholes have furnished us with large discourses that are not unpleasant but yet have this deficiency V. Aquin. supplem Quaest 92 93. Doctores passim de visione beatifi â. that they have more of Phancy and conjecture in them than certain evidence For seeing we neither now understand what our own Natures shall be then when we shall be exalted into the state of Incorruption Nor what kind of glorious Objects shall present themselves nor to what kind of senses they shall accurre 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Soc. lb. therefore it is impossible we should have a positive knowledge of the true Nature of the fruitions of that Estate Thus much is revealed that we shall not cat nor drink to restore Nature nor shall our Constitutions be discomposed by any disease and therefore neither shall we have any of those Pleasures that Plato speaks of which living creatures enjoy when they are restored to their own Natures we shall have none of those concretions and discretions None of those replettons and evacuations none of those increments and decrements corruptions and restitutions of Nature which are according to the Philosophy of Sorates Causes of greif or Joy in this world For St Paul hath declared that in the Resurrection Men shall have spirituall Bodyes that shall be immortall in themselves and therefore not to be preserved so by eating or drinking or the continued addition of new substance Quaerat fortasse aliquis de virtute gustabili virtute tangibili etiam odorabili si quae erit earum operatio vel usus in futura gloria Et revera est dubitandum quod vires illae non recedent ab Animabus humanis sed Operatio virtutis gustabilis qua Gustatio est cum non sit necessaria nisi propter nutrimentum restaurationem corporis non eritibi necessaria ficut nec operatio virtutis generativae quae generatio est Liberabuntur tamen istae vires a miseriis in quibus modo sunt Tu enim hic vides qualiter affligitur virtus gustabilis fame siti malisque saporibus De vi etiam generativâ notum est quae tormenta patiatur hic ab ardoribus concupiscentiarum libidinibus ab his igitur erit liberatunc Et erit Decus ejus Gloria castitas inviolabilis Non enim Sobrietas aut Abstinentia minus virtutes sunt aut minus Arma animarum humanarum in pace spirituali quam in bâ—llo Et hoc est quoniam non solum Armasunt sed etiam ornamenta pulchritudines animarum mirabiles at desiderabiles c. apud Gul. Parisientem part 1. de universo p. 2. c. 33. p. 696. And yet Bodyes they shall be still and in the Opinion of the best scholemen they shall have the same materiall senses of Tast and touch and smell though if they do continùe it is agreed that they must continue for Ornament rather than for those uses to which they were applyed in this world Let us conclude by adressing our thanks to God that he hath vouchsafed to reveal so much unto us concerning the Glory of the life to come which we could not have understood by Nature For the Naturall Man understandeth not these things of God and if we consider aright we shall find that we have Reason with all humility precious Reverence to thank God that we do not comprehend it all For it is the infinite Blessednesse of that condition that puts it beyond the reach of our senses and of our understanding as we shall declare more largely when we explain that Text where it is affirmed that Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor have those things entred into the heart of Man that God hath prepared for those that love Him Now to the great God who is maker of all things and judge and Rewarder of all men And to the Lord our Righteousnesse c. SERM. III. 1 COR. 2.9 It is written Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither have entred into the heart of Man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him IF you ask where this is written the Margin of your Bibles direct you to the 64th of Esay where the Church desirous of his second Advent addresseth thus to the desired Messiah Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens that thou wouldest come down that the mountains might flow down at they presence For from the beginning of the world so the fourth verse proceeds men have not heard nor perceived by the Ear neither hath the Eye seen O God besides thee what Hee hath prepared for Him that waiteth for Him There is one thing wherein I find the generallity of Men strangely inconsistent with themselves They cry out and declame against the present world and undervalue all its Enjoyments Why men preser earthy enjoyments before those of heaven and yet they are loath to leave it and in practice preferre it before Heaven it self Now this is a dangerous Misprision and the cause of it is not
of being their God this must be shewed in another life and consequently God must raise them up from the dead Comp. Heb. 11.16 with Exod. 3.6 that they may be made capable of it And the Author to the Hebrews interpreteth this phrase just as our Savior doth that Abraham and the Patriarchs by vertue of this promise expected a better Country that is an heavenly And he affirmeth that God is not ashamed to be called their God upon this very account because he hath prepared them a Citty intimating that his preparing for his people a Citty in Heaven a heavenly Jerusalem is the very thing that giveth Him a title to be called their God Now the soul as is above affirmed being alwaies immortall and this promise being made concerning the beatifying of their Bodyes and rendring them glorious in Heaven in both respects first in respect of what they alwaies enjoy in their Souls and secondly in respect of the certainty of Gods promise concerning the Resurrection of their Bodyes Abraham Isaak and Iacob are look't upon as being even now alive If God be just the soul is immortall For Abraham and other good Men have not had their Recompense of Reward in this life Nay if God be indeed faithfull and just he will be a God to whole Abraham Body and Soul Wee see while it is in conjuncture the Soul loves the Body and would not willingly be parted from it And it is all the Equity in the world that since the Bodies of Gods servants suffer much in Obedience to the Soul and Spirit they should bee partakers of Glory with the Soul and Spirit God made the whole Man and redeemed the whole Man and every good Christian giveth unto God the whole Man and therefore we may conclude that it is agreeable to the goodnesse of God to be kind to both parts body and soul and equally to glorify the whole Man As to the Opinions of wise and rationall Men among the Heathen we find as I shewed before that they perfectly agree with ours concerning the soul of Man I cannot say as much in that other point concerning the Resurrection of the Body though some possibly among them have believed that also And the Principles of others do rather favor than contradict it For this we have the Authorities of St Augustine and St Gregory Nyssene Gregory Nyssene telleth us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ita Phocylides inter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut Suidas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 illud poema appellat quamvis sunt qui dubitant an Gapita illa antiqui sint Phocylidis qui Olympiad 59 aut 60 floruit Non tamen est cur aut Judaeum aut Christianum ex stylo reputemus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. habot his aliena that even the Opinion of the Pythagoricall Transmigration hath a notion in it not very different from ours of the Resurrection Both hold that the same Soul may after its departure from the Body abide and informe some Elementary Body only our Doctrine is That the Soul shall abide and again informe the same Elementary Body St Augustine telleth us that there were a sect of Philosophers called the Genethliaci mention'd by Varro who were of Opinion that after certain periods of Time the same Soul and the same Body should be again reunited and comparing the Opinions of Plato and Porphyry he reports Plato's Opinion to be thus Animas sine corporibus in aeternum esse non posse Greg Nyssen de Anima Resurrectione p. 231. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ib. deinceps Videatur Augustinus de Civitate Dei lib. 22. capp 28 29. v. Forcatulum lib. 1 pag. 87 90. That our Souls will not endure to live eternally in disunion from our Bodies He reports Porphyries Opinion to bee That the Soul being in a separate estate from the Body and once made pure will never care to returne to those Evills to which it hath been obnoxious in Human Body But he observes in the conclusion that both these Opinions were reconcileable to Christianity Nay if they were both united they would make up perfectly the Christian doctrine and that if Porphyry had lent his Opinion to Plato and Plato his to Porphyry they both had been united to the Truth of the Gospell in this particular which is that our Souls in the End shall return to such Bodies in which they shall happily and immortally continue His words are Dicat c. Dicat cum Platone Porphyrrius redibunt ad corpora dicat Plato cum Porphyrio non redibuet ad malo ad ea cortora redire consentieat in quibus nulla mala patiantur Let Porphyry say with Plato that our Souls shall return to some Bodies and let Plato say with Porphyry that they shall not return to evill Bodies and then the conclusion must be that our Souls shall return to such Bodies in which they shall suffer no evills Which is the very doctrine and faith of those that professe Christianity But my Brethren we have diverse reasons to believe both the Immortality of the Soul and the Resurrection of the Body which those Philosophers wanted God hath begotten us to this Hope by great and powerfull Arguments It remains only that we make some good use of these Doctrines and the first and most genuine is this That as wise Men and good Christians we cherish this Hope Which we have great Reason to do First upon account of its Usefullnesse here secondly upon account of that Reward which God hath reserved for this Vertue in the life to come This Hope is a vertue not only usefull but necessary for us while we are in this militant condition Our life is sometimes compared to a Warfare and then this Hope of salvation is said to be our Helmet 1 Thess 5.8 which is as all know a most necessary piece of Armor and the defence of the most Principall part Sometimes our life is compared to a Voyage by Sea and then this lively Hope is represented as most usefull to us upon another account For if we are becalm'd in the midst of the Ocean of these worldly affaires Hope is the Wind that must fill our sails And this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 full Gale of this Hope will safely and in due time bring us to our desired Haven Heb. 6.11 But if on the contrary by reason of our own lightnesse and Vanity we are ready to be tossed to and fro with every Wave of Temptation This Hope of Heaven serves us for another Use For then as the Apostle to the Hebrews well observeth we are to have this Hope as an Anchor of the Soul sure and stedfast Heb. 6.19 In every profession and calling the Encouragement is from Hope He that ploweth ploweth in Hope and he that thresheth thresheth in Hope 1 Cor. 9.10 And in our generall calling of Christianity no man ever was made perfect without this Hope Men as Men desire Happinesse and would avoid misery But if
redeemed both and we have offered and given both Let us glorify him with both Both with our bodies and with our Spirits for they are his Let us hold to that Rule of the Apostle which is or ought to bee the great Rule of every Christians life whether we eat or drink or whatsoever we doe let us do all to the Glory of God so shall we never do amisse but the peace of God shall be with us and preserve us for ever Gloria Trinuni Deo ΠΑΡΑΚΛΗΣΙΣ AN Exhortation to the pursuance of the CHEIFEST GOOD WITH A breif Review of the Opinions concerning it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 12. MATH VI. 19 20 33. Lay not up for your selves treasures upon Earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where theives break through and steal but lay up for your selves treasures in Heaven to which adde v. 33. Seek ye first the Kingdome of God and his Righteousnesse IT is a certain truth that in every Man there is an innate desire of good and it is as true that very few attain to the Good that they desire For as Maximus Tyrius in his 19th Discourse hath ingeniously express't it It happeneth to us in this dark and muddy Region of the lower world as it doth to those who scramble for gold or silver in a dark night who while they want a light to distinguish what they feek after and only guesse at it by deceitfull circumstances fall together by the Ears for they know not what For he that hath gotten any thing will not part with it for fear he should have already gotten the desireable thing neither will he abstain from further scrambling for fear it should be yet to seek Here is all the Tumult and the strife the Clamors and the noise the sighs and the groanes the rapine and the suits and all the hurry of the overbusy world This is the same thing that is intimated by K. David in his fourth Psalm There be many that say who will shew us any good Not Many only but All even the whole world pretend to be and really are in the pursuance of this good But as St Paul observed concerning the Jews that they obtained not to Righteousnesse because they sought it where it was not to bee found So the Masse of Mankind attain not to the Possessron of Happinesse because they seek it where it is not They search for the living among the Dead The Psalmist had observ'd concerning the Joy of the vulgar that it was such a delight as did alwayes ebbe and flow according to the increase or decrease of their Corne and Wine and Oyl For in these lay their Treasures and upon their Treasures they laid their Hearts but he had setled his Eye upon the true Joy His hope was the hope of Heaven His expectation was the Expectation of the beatifick Vision His desire was to have the face of God eternally reconciled to Him The light of Gods countenance was more to Him then was the Joy of the Worldly man When his Corne and his Wine and his Oyl increased Psalm 4.6 7 8. This was the Happinesse of David the Man after Gods own heart who had an understanding whereby He was enabled to call Good Good and Evill Evill and was guided by the Spirit of God to have his Will and affections rightly placed which the greater part of the world neither had then nor have to this Day Philosophers Historians Poets and all observers of human Manners and Nature have taken notice of a vast variety in human inclinations All pretend and all seek yet in all this variety of Pretenders and seekers few have designed few have sought the greatest good Some place their happinesse in Luxury and Ryot others in Parsimony and thrift The Merchant in his gold the Drunkard in his Wine the effeminate in his Loves The witty Man in pleasant Conversation the Orator in fine and well adorned speech the Martiall man in fights and triumphs some sportive men have been so vain as to think there could be no greater Happinesse upon Earth then to bee a renowned Victor in the Olympique Games and to get a branch of Olive as a Trophee of Mastery in those feats of Activity Sardanapalus I 'le watrant you thought himself a pretty Man and a Prince indeed when he was curl'd and dress't and richly cloath'd and shut up in his Palace among his concubines but few others have thought that a design of life well chosen for so great an Emperor Xerxes thought himself little lesse then the God he worship't if indeed his pride then allow'd him to worship any when he 〈…〉 his fetters upon the Sea and joynd Europe and Asia with a bridge not considering how short should be the Glory of that Action and that it should suddenly end in being utterly overthrown There are no things done from the great Atcheivments of Alexander and Caesar to those little Arts that are not worthy to be named in a pulpit that are not practiced with some design of good But this is the misery of our Condition that in all this variety the Ends we design are generally if not Base and Wicked yet poor and mean and yet though poor and mean and eagerly pursued are seldome notwithstanding sufficiently attained But it is more worth our Notice and Admiration that Philosophy it self the great Mistresse of Curiosity should professe to correct the Aims of the Vulgar and to design so Wisely and yet should fail as notoriously as any other profession of doing any thing worthy of all her anxious Disquisitions That it should challenge so great a Name and procure so little Good that they should erre so widely in their searches after the Summum Bonum or cheifest Happinesse For I do not find that they had the good luck to attain to any thing that might give them just Occasion to cry out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have found it I have found it And those who seem to bee the adepti and to have gotten most considerable attainments contented themselves generally with a very mean Quarry a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Maximus Tyrius Dissett 19 ad Finem Ad vos nunc refero quem sequar◠c. Cicero Academ Q. l. 4. It hath been anciently observed that Pythagoras his Learning ended in a few Musicall Iingles Thales's Wisedome in some uncertain Astronomicall Phansies Heraclitus's Contemplations concluded in solitude and weeping Socrates his renowned Philosophy led Him to the practice of unnaturall lust Diogenes his sharpenesse of wit to use his Body to endure all manner of nastinesse and course labor E. picurus's Inventions and Discourses of which he boasts so proudly set Him down contented with any kind of Pleasure We shall do Aristippus no wrong at all if we joyn Him with the more renowned Epicurus And why may not the Stoicks and Peripateticks Clubb also who are both represented to make the bare Action or vertue its own Reward Such are the Ends and so great is the