set it free in this manner That the Consequence of so doing would be Slavery and not Liberty pag. 356. ERRATA PAge 12. Line â—…lt read obtaining p. 35. for too r. to ib. after what add is more Common p. 40. l. 2 r. Author p. 44. l. 20. r. net so illâ—…itedly p. 45. l. 1. dele of ib. 23. f. us r. as p. 49. marg r. dure p. 57. marg del in bis p. 64. l. 3. f. becomes r. comes p. 68. l. 11. r. if not to be p. 73. l. 21. del is p. 78. l. 1. r. what p. 80. l. 10 del Manliness and the â—…ks foll p. 107. l. 22. r. loss of p. 110. marg r. Agostini p. 119. f. NON COMPOS r. FELO DE SE. p. 136. l. 1. f. must r. may p. 139. l. 8. â—…r supposing p. 146. l. 9. r. Friends p. â—…47 l. 25. r. Bacchanalia p. 151. marg r. projecere p. 160. l. 7. r. Anaxagoras p. 169. l. 11. r. Numantia p. 173. l. 7. f. is r. his p. 175. l. 10. f. till r. ' t is p. 176. l. 12. r. mdanâ—…lic p. 177. l. 20. r. but how p. 178. l. 17. r. that though he p. 191. l. 21. del p. 227. l. 24. r. suthâ—… one p. 233. l. 26. del 〈◊〉 it p. 242. marg f. lib. 4. r. lib. 43. p. 271. l. 10 del of p. 291. l. 8. del any ADDENDA Page 20. Line 13. after has any right to Punish him add that is as to those Faults which he câ—…its against himself as Intemperance c. ib. l. 22 after Destruction of it add If it be â—…s Crime as shall be prov'd There are some litteral Mistakes as also in the Pointing occasion'd by the Transcribing which the Reader is desir'd to Correct or Excuse Lately Printed THE Certainty of the Christian Revelation and the Necessity of Beleiving it Established In Opposition to all the Cavils and Insinuations of such as pretend to allow Natural Religion and reject the Gospel By Francis Gastrell B. D. and Preacher to the Honourable Society of Lincoln's-Inn A Conference with a Theist in 4. Parts By W Nicholls D. D. Printed for Tho. Bennet AN ESSAY Concerning SELF-MURTHER c. Introduction TO treat of this Subject by such Arguments only as may be drawn from Reveal'd Religion or to mix these and such as may be brought from Natural Reason together wou'd be to raise the greatest Prejudices in those Persons who are most concern'd For they who undertake to defend the Lawfulness of Self-Murther of which there are many in this Age proceed chiefly upon Natural Principles and will not hearken to any Thing from Revelation till these are answered Wherefore my Design at present is to consider this Action according to the Principles of Natural Reason only To this purpose it might perhaps be thought necessary by some People to prove in the first Place the Being of a God But since this has been both readily allow'd and studiously maintain'd by the most considerable Advocates of Self-Murther I shall take it to be granted and upon this Supposition endeavour to prove that Self-Murther is naturally unlawful CHAP. 1. Man considered in the Individual The State of Nature Of Humane Life What and from whence it is Where the absolute Propriety of it is to be plac'd BY Self-Murther I mean a Man's depriving himself of Life wilfully and advisedly For the proving this Act to be unlawful we are to consider what Humane Life is From whence Man receives it Where the absolute Propriety or Dominion of it is to be plac'd And to what End it was bestow'd Man consists of a Rational Soul and Body united together naturally Humane Life is the Result of this Vnion There was a Time when neither Soul nor Body had any Being therefore the Soul cou'd not be the Cause of it self much less cou'd the Body be so But the Being of each and the Union of both and the Continuation of the same Union must be owing to that All-wise All-mighty Vniversal Cause which is called God This I suppose will easily be granted and if so it will lead us to the fixing the true Propriety or Dominion over Humane Life the absolute and lawful Power to dispose of it All absolute Propriety is either Original or Derivative each of which is twofold of Men or of Things In the present Argument the Life of a Man is the Man and not a Thing he that destroys the Life of a Man destroys a Man and he that destroys a Man destroys the Life of a Man However one of these may be of use to illustrate the other and if we know by what means Original Propriety of Things is acquired we may the more easily discover whether Man has any Original Propriety of his Life or no. Original Propriety of Things comes by taking possession of that which belongs to no body or which has been forsaken by those to whom it did belong or else by making or producing something out of that which is no Bodies which last seems to give the best Title of Propriety as being not only the possessing but the giving a kind of new Being to the Thing Now I. Man cannot have the Original Propriety of himself by any of these ways because he could not make himself nor can he be ever so derelinquished or forsaken by the great Cause of his Being as to remain independent and absolute but while he is he must belong to the same Cause thro' which he at first was besides he cou'd not take possession of himself before he was nor cou'd he be at the same time both the Person taking possession and the Person possessed If Man then has not the Original Propriety of himself no other Creature can pretend to it and therefore it remains only that it should be in God And in Him indeed it is in the strictest manner not by producing him out of that which was no Bodies but by making him out of that which he created out of nothing and by being independent Himself and not only causing but sustaining and comprehending all Things II. As to any derivative Propriety or Dominion which Man may be suppos'd to have of his Life if we consider such Propriety as absolute and independent which it must be if it gives him a Right to dispose of his Life as he pleases he can have no such Propriety neither because this is contradictory both to the Nature of God and Man 1. This cannot be derived from any but God but God cannot divest himself of such absolute Dominion or Propriety because this wou'd make Man from the time in which God shou'd do this so independent that God would have no further Right over his Life and therefore cou'd not in any Case threaten him with Death nor command him any Duty under the Penaity of any Punishment In a word this wou'd hinder God from being Omniporent for he cannot be so who has not a Power over all whether Persons or Things 2. Altho' we shou'd suppose
own Reason in what appears to him Good or Evil in embracing the first and avoiding the latter though he may be mistaken follows his own Nature Accordingly if he cannot obtain that in which he places his Happiness and his Life becomes miserable upon this Account he follows Nature who lays it down To this it may be reply'd That to sollow ones own Nature cannot be any Exemption from what was said before nor is the Account which has been given there too general for as to what relates to the End of Life the following of Reason by Virtue this belongs equally to humane Nature in General forasmuch as all Men are Rational Either then by this is meant the same with the following of humane Nature which is the Rule by which all Mankind is to Act or else we must suppose that there is a particular Rule or Law given to every individual Person different from the rest of the same Species which he alone is bound to follow But this would be more unreasonable than if we should say That every Subject of the Emperour of China was not bound by the General Laws of that Country but that he had a particular private Law by which he was bound to Act and that too often in direct opposition to the other 2. By following ones own Nature perhaps was meant the same with Zeno's Maxim * Or that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diog. Laer p. 185 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which I think may be rendred the living Conformably or Consistently i.e. the being the same in Opinion Humour Manners the having ones Life all of a Piece whatsoever comes to pass which they also call'd †Ciâ—…ero de Offic. lib. 1. Decorum As if a Man were of an easie and obliging Temper that he should be the same in Adversity as well as Prosperity Sickness and Health to the meanest poorest Man as to the greatest Potentate If of a grave austere Way which was that which they chose he should carry that on through the worst Events and nothing be able to alter him the maintaining either of these or any other particular Character may be call'd the following of ones own Nature but though Men may choose different ways of Behaviour according to their Fancy or Constitution yet this must still be grounded upon the former Universal Maxim the living according to Nature as Humane and Reasonable otherwise the Character whatever it was wou'd be vicious and then 't wou'd be so much the worse to maintain it and equally absurd whether a Man was always Affably or Surlily the same if always in the wrong so that this regards only the outside the Dress of Virtue the particular Fashion which she is to appear in Let Men be sure of her first by following Nature as Humane in general and then they may give her what appearance they please by following their own Nature This will be further explain'd in the Answer to the next part of the Objection abovemention'd * See more to this purpose Chap. 11â—… 3. By following ones own Nature some will have meant the following a particular Opinion or Humour the indulging that particular Appetite or Passion which by Education Example or Constitution has got the ascendant which brings me to the remaining part of the Objection To follow Nature is to seek to be Happy Happiness consists in obtaining that which seems Good to me and avoiding that which seems Evil I and no other must be the Judge of this wherefore if Life becomes an Evil and Death a Good to me by the want of any thing in which I place my Happiness or by the suffering any thing in which I place my Misery I do but follow Nature in killing my self and the Law of Self-preservation is not transgress'd by my doing so but ceases naturally This was propos'd to be Answer'd by shewing these two things 1. In what Happiness or Misery Good or Evil as to Humane Life did really consist 2. The unreasonableness of every Man 's being left to himself to follow what seems Good or Evil to him and to dispose of Life accordingly As to the first Happiness truly consâ—…s in the observing the End of Life which has been so often mention'd As this is * See Chap. 2. p. 17. done more or less Men are proportionably Happy as 't is omitted proportionably Miserable But in the common acceptation of the Word Happiness signifies the enjoyment of a Man's desires whatever they are and for any one to say that he cannot be happy without such or such a thing which is not in his Power and that the Good or Evil of his whole Life depends upon it signifies nothing but the vehemence of that Man's desires not that there is any real Happiness in obtaining it or Misery in sailing of it it proving most commonly quite contrary that the more a Man enjoys what he vehemently desires the more miserable he is afterwards and then †Ridiculum est ad mortem cuâ—…re tadio vitae cum â—…nere vitae â—…t â—…lum ciâ—… ad morâ—… effeceris Sen. â—…pilt 24. forsooth Life seems an Evil to him and amidst the Discontent and Vexation which comes upon him at the sense of his Folly and the just reproof of his Reason He tells you very Philosophically that he does but follow Nature in delivering himself from what is Evil When he has been acting against Nature against good Sense for that is humane Nature all the while and when he has done so instead of recovering the way which he has lost and beginning truly to follow Nature he deserts it wholly and irrecoverably and offers the greatest and most positive Violence to it by Self-murther But the Mistakes concerning Happiness or Misery are grounded upon the Mistakes concerning Good and Evil and therefore 't will be necessary to take a short view of them As Humane Life consists of two parts the Soul and Body so what is good must be consider'd in a twofold manner as it relates to the Soul or to the Body 1. As it relates to the Soul the Regulating and Improving of the Mind which we suppose to be the End of humane Life This is usually called Moral Good and the contrary Moral Evil. Or else 2dly As it relates to the Body the Health or the Preservation of it for which End the several ways of Perception commonly call'd Senses were ordain'd by which notice is given to Reason what is most proper to maintain this Union and preserve Life or what is most likely to destroy it this is commonly call'd Sensitive Good and the contrary Sensitive Evil. To bring this to the Matter in hand supposing that Good True or Seeming were a proper Rule and End of humane Actions There are but two sorts of Good as has been shown Moral or Sensitive but through which of these is it that Self-murther can appear Lawful If Moral Good tends not only to the improvement of the Mind but also to the prolonging of
this rich Furniture All the Walls here are hung with Liberty Do you see that Iron Chest There 's Liberty in the bottom of it Do you remember such a Diamond or such a Locket In how small a compass does great Liberty lie Tou toyl Day and Night to satisfie your Creditors You must be a Slave to the Ingratitude of such a false Friend or the Extortion of this and that Vsurer when Providence has plac'd Liberty so very near you that no more is requir'd but to stretch out your Hand to accept of it I do not doubt but this would seem very strange to any honest Man and yet where things are equally unsawful the Case is the same Humane Life is God's own Propriety 't is entrusted to Man only for a certain End and therefore he has no more Liberty to destroy it than to break any Trust or commit any Act of Injustice whatsoever and Nature's having put it into our Power to go out of Life when and how we please is no more an Argument that we may lawfully do so than her putting it into our Power to Steal Ravish or Murther any one else There must certainly then be some great Mistakes in this matter and therefore in order to discover them and shew how inconsistent Self-murther is with true Liberty if rightly understood Let us suppose this Pretence to be drawn up in this or the like manner Liberty is one of the most Glorious Attributes of God Man is said to be like God in respect of this Particularly and therefore nothing ought to be more dear to him than his Liberty If this be so then when this Liberty is lost by any great Calamity it must be extreme Cowardice or extreme Dulness to drag about a Decrepit Body or an Afflicted Mind and to chuse to continue poorly under this Slavery when God and Nature still leave him so much Liberty as to set his Soul Free whenever he pleases Observe The Word Liberty here is a very doubtful Term having several Significations the using of which promiscuously occasions great Obscurity and Confusion which are the chief Advantages of this Pretence Sometimes it signifies that Liberty which Man has over his own Actions by the freedom of his Will Sometimes it signifies the Liberty of the Body as well as the Mind and these two as likewise the Slavery which regards each of these are often us'd the one for the other Sometimes again Liberty signifies some Authority or Power which Man is suppos'd to have to destroy himself in some particular Circumstances though he be ty'd up in all others Lastly it signifies that Ease or Freedom from any Trouble Grief or Pain which the Soul is suppos'd to be let out into by Self-murther according to which several Significations I will consider 1. That Liberty which is deriv'd from God to Man in what Respects Man is like God in the freedom of his Will and as to the Power which he has over his own Actions and show that Self-murther is not warranted by such Liberty 2. I will shew the difference between the Liberty and Slavery of the Soul and Body and inquire whether any Evil which oppresses the Body can be destructive to the Liberty of the Soul 3. That no Man upon the Account of any Calamity particularly upon Account of any extreme Sickness or Pain has any Liberty or Authority to destroy himself 4. That by so doing the Soul instead of enjoying any Liberty wou'd fall into a State of utmost Slavery I. As to the Liberty which is deriv'd from God to Man 'T was said that this is one of the most Glorious Attributes of God and that in this Respect it is that Man is particularly like him God is absolutely Free for he is Infinite Infinity must be perfect Liberty because nothing can be more Free than that which has no Bounds And yet the Liberty of infinite Power is always attended with infinite Wisdom and infinite Goodness without these Almighty Liberty wou'd be only Dreadful but these make it the Ground of our Trust and Confidence and render it Adorable wherefore if we consider God not only in his Essenoe but also in his Works since every Work of his must be to some excellent End or other the means he huses to Act by must also be most Excellent and that particular kind of Method if I may so speak which he observes for the bringing what he intends to pass must be a kind of Rule or Law to him He cannot do otherwise than he does because what he does is the Effect of infinite Wisdom measur'd by the rectitude of his own Perfection and therefore always best Yet this sets no Bounds to his Liberty because it is impossible that he shou'd ever will to do otherwise than only just as he does and he who always does whatever he wills must remain always Free But Man's Liberty is very different as he is a finite Creature it can be perfect only according to its measure and that measure must be proportionable to his particular Nature Now the Nature of Man consists of a Rational Soul and Body his Liberty therefore must be twofold that which regards the Soul or that which regards the Body As to the first which is our present Subject this must be according to the chief Faculties of the Soul Knowledge and Will Man's Will is free it has the full Power or Liberty to Act without any Necessity or Compulsion but since this Will can act only according to what Man knows it being impossible that any one should will any thing whereof he has no Knowledge the extent of humane Liberty must be proportionable to humane Knowledge Again the Objects of humane Knowledge as it concerns Mans Actions are moral Good or Evil and the Freedom of Man's Will lies in choosing the one and refusing the other Now â—…ince humane Knowledge is not only of small Extent but liable to Errour and to mistake Good and Evil since also there are several Passions and Appetites which are apt to further this mistaking God has sixt such Principles in Man as represent the Method of his own Acting and are self evident whereâ—…ore Man's likeness unto God does not consist in the boundleâ—…s Liberty of his Will but in his Wills being conformable to the Will of God and then is his Will chiefly so when it concurrs with those first Principles or Laws of Nature above-mentioned That is follows readily his Reason by Virtue Yet still this is no lessening or restraining of Man's Natural Liberty Infinite Liberty observes some measures for the attaining the Ends of Infinite Wisdom the measures which are here given to Man to walk by are the same with those they â—…re the Marks and Bounds of what is fit and just they represent the Method of God's own Acting as I said before and good Method always promotes the End it is concern'd about it is the nearest and the plainest way to it and therefore wou'd be the choice of
she will assist you to bear Pain is always most acute when new the Powers of Sensation are blunted by degrees by their Objects pressing too violently upon them and continual labour under Pain will harden the sense of Feeling and deaden Perception No one can know his strength unless he will try it the force of deliberate and well weighted Resolution is incredible and has supported the Weak and the Guilty in the most dreadful Torments Shall Women be able to suffer so much in Child-birth Could the Spartan Boys bear whipping to Death before their Altars without a Groan Nay have the greatest Villains mock'd their Executioners Could such a Wretch as Ravillac or he that shot one of the Princes of Orange smile amidst all the Artisices of Torture and shall not Innocence and Virtue be able to support a good Man under the ordinary calamities incident to humane Nature If submission to Providence Perseverance in Duty Constancy and Patience are Virtues when are these to be practised unless in extremities But it may be said the Disease is incurable the Pain is without intermission and therefore what good can a Man do by suffering on but only expose humane Nature and render it Contemptible not at all but rather quite Contrary who can pronounce a Disease like to last incurable and how oft have the best Physicians been deceived in this matter And as to intermission suppose there should be none where the Pain is intermitting Constancy and Patience must be intermitting too and return only by fits as the Distemper does but when the Pain is continual Virtue is continual also and yet not in danger of being long upon Duty because extreme continual Pain will quickly dissolve Nature and discharge the Soul and this Consideration might be sufficient to support a Man under such Circumstances without Diogenes's Dagger to give him Liberty For if the Soul be imprison'd and enslaved when in a tortur'd or diseased Body then let it look upon every Pain as a step towards its Freedom as the bursting of some Chain or the falling off of some Fetter and as every Limb grows weaker and every Sense decays let it collect its sorces cheerfully and rejoice at these happy beginnings of Laâ—…ful and Eternal Liberty And as to 〈◊〉 this is not worth Consideration in comparison of ones Duty yet a good Man need not fear it He will rather do credit to humane Nature than expose it by his 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Seneca says he will not leave his Body but when it begins to assect his Mind and then he well jump out of it 〈◊〉 from a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…ouse this is a very low thought and would not be pardonable but that He make some amends for it in another place †De Consol. ad Helviam where he says that he who was great before he fell is not the less great for being fallen but is as far from Contempt as the Ruins of Temples are which the Religious adore as much as when they were standing Though Holy Temples yield to Time yet they cannot crush the God that was Worshipt in 'em by their fall no more can a decaying Body oppress an upright Mind And while the Mind is not oppress'd it cannot be contemptible There is a Beauty in Constancy and Fortitude which shines through all the Deformities of Death for at such times 't is not the Body but the Soul that is to be regarded and therefore what if the Body be pale weak and wasted away yet if the Mind continues the same unshaken and undaunted all the signs of outward Decay are but the marks of inward Virtue the Trophies of the Souls Strength and Victory and more proper to cause Admiration than Contempt Which of Scaevola's Arms would an Ancient Roman have reckon'd most comely that which was shrivel'd up lame and deformed with Scars or that which was whole and strong Sure brawny Limbs and a good Complexion are not Essential to Virtue Nay even the last Minutes of a great Man shall be beneficial the very sight of his Calamities shall be full of Instruction so that while he has Breath he shall never be past doing good All the excellent modern Buildings of Italy if I may use this allusion once more are owing to a few remains of the Ancient Roman Structures which notwithstanding the injuries of many Years and many devastations retain still some thing of their former Beauty and Magnisicence the same use might be made of the Decays of great Men in extreme Age or Pain or Sickness They are not indeed what they were but still they are more than others are what is left is regular and great and sufficient to form in us an Idea of what is lost and to teach us by the Rules of Proportion to improve our selves accordingly But a great and good Man's Example is as necessary in Death as Life we are to study as much how to Die as how to Live Where then can we receive so much Instruction for this purpose as in the Deaths of such Men and if so when can they be ever past doing good But I will not insist farther upon this Let the Stoics who are the great Defenders of Self-murther be Judges in this matter if we look into their Writings we shall find it inculcated continually the Pains of the Body can never have any influence upon the Liberty of the Mind That their wise Man is above the taking notice of any outward Evil that he is at perfect Ease in the midst of Tortures Nay they reckon it no less than a Crime to own the least sense of Pain and indeed grant more in that respect than we desire and yet after all make Pain by a strange Contradiction one of the chief Causes of Self-murther 〈◊〉 The next thing which I propos'd to speak to was Whether any Man upon account of extreme Aâ—…iction especially Pain or Sickness has Liberty or Authority to Destroy himself Not only the Stoics heretofore but some others since have been inclined to think that he has thus one tells us * Mont. lib. 2. chap. 3. God gives us leave enough to part with Life when he is pleased to reduce us to such a condition that to Live is far worse than to Die The Rule which is here given whereby we are to judge when we have this leave is when God is pleased to reduce us to such a Condition that to Live is far worse than to Die But this will be found very insussicient to this purpose if we examine the Particulars it supposes these two things 1. That there may be some Condition of Life far worse than Death 2. That 't is God that reduces the Sufferer to such a Condition As to the first before we can compare things rightly we must understand exactly the terms by which they are represented Life as Humane implies the union of the Soul and Body Death is the dissolution of that Union the condition of Life which is supposed here
but Man alone and since this dread may increase to a very great degree by the niceness of his Reflection and the tenderness of his Conscience there is no Creature that can possibly be so miserable as Man and if this is to no purpose then there is not a Beast an Insect that perishes but has greatly the advantage of this Reasoning Creature this Lord of the World as he has flatter'd himself to be for so many Ages Since then it is certain that Man has such Notions and that God who dispos'd the frame of his Nature in such a manner as to receive 'em early and retain 'em strongly is All-wise Good and Just It cannot be imagin'd that he did this in Vain or only to Disturb and Torment him for as it would not be agreeable to Infinite Wisdom to do any thing to no purpose so it would by no means consist with Insinite Goodness to fix such Principles in the Noblest of his Creatures as must serve to no other End but to make him more miserable than any of the rest These Reasons I hope may suffice to prove to any Unprejudic'd and Impartial Person who acknowledges that there is a God the Necessity and Certainty of a Future State of Reward and Punishment and that too according to Natural Principles As for those Objections that are usually made upon this Occasion That the distinction of Good and Evil depends only upon Humane Laws that the Hopes and Fears of Future Reward and Punishment are not Natural but the Inventions of Politicians to manage Mankind and support Government and that this is prov'd by those who having had the Sence and Courage to assert their Natural Liberty have never been troubled with any thing of this kind nothing can be more Unreasonable than this for first it is plain by the consent of Nations that the distinctions of Good and Evil which are generally the same are sounded in Nature that the force which they have upon Men's Minds is ancienter than Government it self as being from Right Reason which is co-eternal with God As Cicero tells us Nor says he * Nec si Regnante Lue. Tarquinio nulla erat Romae Scripta â—…ex de stupris idcirco non contra illam legem sempiterâ—…am Sext. Tarq. vim Lucretiae attulit Erat enim ratio profecta à 〈◊〉 Natura adrecte faciendum impellens à delicto avocans quâ—… non tum denique incipit lox esse cum scripta est sed tum cum orta est orta est autem simuâ—… cum montos divina Lib. 2. de Legibus if there had been no Written Law against Rapes in Tarquin's Reign would his Son Sextus when he forc'd Lucretia have sin'd the less against this Eternal Law because this was Reason it self rising from the very Nature of Things and prompting Us to Good and restraining Us from Evil accordingly which did not then first become Law when 't was written down but oblig'd from its beginning which was the same with that of the Divine Mind it self So that the Goodness of Humane Laws depends upon their being deriv'd from this Eternal Fountain they do not of themselves determine what is Good and Evil but only declare what was so before to save People the pains of disputing about their Duty and to promote it by the threats of immediate Punishment But of all Pretences that sure is the weakest which would insinuate that the Notions of Good and Evil and the Hopes and Fears which are the effects of them are owing only to the Craft of Politicians and are not Natural but meer Fiction For this very Objection which supposes 'em necessary for Government proves the contrary for if Civil Government is absolutely necessary for Man's Happiness if such Government cannot be preserv'd without such Notions then we must either say that Man was made so imperfect as not to be furnish'd with such Notions such Principles and Rules as are absolutely necessary for him that what was thus omitted by God was supply'd by the Cunning of Crafty Men or that God suffers his Creatures to be impos'd upon by their Brethren to be fill'd with vain Hopes and tormented with vain Fears and that too often to their present disadvantage Or else we must grant that these Notions which are necessary for the general good of Mankind and are also generally embrac'd by them must be Natural In a Word nothing sure can be more reasonable than this Man cannot be happy without Civil Society Civil Society cannot be supported without Man's Passions and Appetites are restrain'd these cannot be restrain'd without the Hopes and Fears of a Future State these Hopes and Fears are generally entertain'd by Man and do restrain him and therefore as they are Natural they must be True and there is a Future Sate accordingly Nor does it signify any thing in this case to boast of Wit and Courage Asserting of Natural Liberty and the being free'd by these means from these Notions What was the Opinion of the Greeks and Romans in this Case were not these People as Famous for their Wit as for their Arms and wou'd it not be as Ridiculous for any single Man to oppose his Sence as his Courage against them and how is Man's Natural Liberty endanger'd by these Notions when it depends upon the direction and assistance of such Principles as are founded on them as has been shewn in the first part of this Chapter Or supposing that some Gentlemen even that one in a hundred which I am sure is many more than I need grant had wholly extinguish'd any such Notions does it follow from hence that there is no such at all or are those few a better Argument of what is Natural to Man than so many Thousand of others What if there be some few that are Deaf or Blind or that have besotted themselves by their Vices shall we conclude from hence that Stupidity or Blindness are Natural and that Seeing and Apprehending are signs of Mens being out of order Though a Man should be free from all sense of Evil and fear of Future Punishment this would be no better Argument that such a Persons Soul was in its proper and natural State than the Bodies being free from all Pain would prove that it was in perfect Health Pain is the effect of some Violence offer'd to Nature in order to put it upon its Guard as the Soul has an outward sense of it by the Body that it may resist or avoid whatever is hurtful to that so it has an inward sense of it in an ill Conscience that it may avoid what may prove hurtful to it self also Now as it would be very strange for any one upon his loss of Feeling in any Part from a Gangrene or Dead Palsey to argue that 't was unnatural for any Man to have the sense of Feeling in that Part so is it no less strange for any one that has lost these Notions of Good and Evil Reward or Punishment in a
according to Reason as to the Government of humane Actions which is the thing meant all along it must be Virtuous so perhaps the following of Virtue only might include the other too However since these two Expressions have been us'd and taken in different Senses heretofore and may still be liable to Exception since it is necessary to fix the End of Life which I shall have occasion to refer to so often in this Discourse in some particular Terms or other I thought it most convenient to make use of these and hope that the doing so will not be look'd upon as any Affectation This then is that which I take to be the great End of Humane Life which I shall * Chap. 7. further confirm when I come to consider the Objections which may be rais'd against it Wherefore to apply this to our present purpose from what has been said may be inferr'd 1. That since there is certainly some End or other for which Man has Life whether it be the same End or no which we have assign'd thus far we may be assur'd that Self-murther is unlawful upon this Account because by this Act Man positively renounces that End and destroys irrecoverably the means of obtaining it 2. If the true End of Humane Life is Man's working according to the utmost of those Faculties by which he excels other Creatures the following of Reason by Virtue then it is impossible that any one who does so any good Man shou'd ever be inclin'd to destroy his Life because the worse his Circumstances are the nobler Compass shall his Free-will have to follow its Reason by several Virtues and the more it does so the more it must be satisfied with it self and therefore cannot at the same time be inclin'd to destroy that very Satisfaction by Self-Murther From hence also some Inferences may be drawn for the confirming of what was said above concerning Man's having no absolute Propriety of his Life As 1. If there be a certain End of Humane Life then there must be also certain Rules or Laws which Man must be bound to observe in the pursuing of that End which Laws being founded in Nature and not depending upon Man's Choice or Consent oblige him whether he will or no. If there are such Laws as these some of which are above-mentioned which Man is thus indispensably oblig'd to observe while he has Reason left then he cannot have such an absolute Propriety of Life as to destroy it when he pleases 2. If there be such Laws as these all Laws suppose Reward and Punishment otherwise they wou'd be to no purpose Now when Man is in the State of Nature he cannot be made to suffer any Punishment for transgressing any Law of Nature he cannot be suppos'd to punish himself and no body else has any Right to punish him wherefore there must be another State wherein he must be liable to account for the use which he has made of Life and if so he cannot possibly have any absolute Propriety of that which he is not only accountable for every moment that he has it but also liable to Punishment for the misuse of it and much more for the destruction of it 3. Supposing that Man had a derivative Propriety of his Life from God yet if there be a certain End for which Life was bestowed that Propriety cannot be absolute because it must be conditional nor can it ever become absolute by the ceasing of the Condition because the Condition can never be perform'd so fully as to be cancell'd The Condition here is the same with the End of Life the following of Reason by Virtue There can be no Circumstances of Life where this is not absolutely necessary A Man can never have done being reasonable or virtuous never fulfil this End so far as to have liberty to destroy himself unless we will say that the more a Man has of Reason the greater Right he would have to renounce it and the better use that he can make of Life the more liberty he would have of not living at all I shall conclude what has been said concerning the Propriety which God has reserv'd to himself of Humane Life and the End for which Man has it from him with observing that both these have been acknowledg'd by the wisest Philosophers For Instance * In Phaed. Sect. 5. Plato makes Socrates to say That the Gods have a peculiar Care of us That Man is one of those Things of which they have reserv'd to themselves a particular Propriety From which he infers That as a Man wou'd be angry with his Slave if he shou'd kill himself without his leave and wou'd punish him if he cou'd for so doing so perhaps says he God wou'd deal with Man if he should kill himself unless he himself imposes a Necessity upon him as he does now upon me meaning as to his drinking the Poison after that he had been condemn'd to die * In Caton Maj. Pythagoras to shew the Unlawfulness of destroying God's Propriety and forsaking the End for which Life was given lays it down for one of his Rules That no Man ought to quit his Station without the express Command of his Superiour Officer that is of God as Cicero explains it And he also representing the Transport of young †Vid. Somnum Scipionis Scipio Aemilianus when he saw his Grandfather Africanus and his Father Paulus and other Roman Heroes appear to him in a Dream in a Place of Happiness and Glory and burnt with a youthful Ardour and Impatience to come to 'em He makes his Great Father reply to him It must not be so unless the God to whom belongs this vast and glorious Circumference that you behold unless that God sets you at liberty himself from that Body which he has confin'd you to there can be no Entrance hither wherefore my dear Publius you and all good Men must be contented to retain your minds within your Bodies nor remove out of humane Life without his Command who gave it you left you shou'd seem guilty of deserting the Post which God has assign'd to you as you are Men But follow Justice Scipio follow Piety as this your Grandfather and I did before you Such a Life as that is the direct way to Heaven says that great Man not the killing of ones self though even out of Impatience of arriving thither CHAP. III. Man Consider'd as a Member of Civil Society Self-Murther prov'd by several Argument's to be Destructive to Civil Society from which and what was said before concluded to be an Act of the greatest Injustice and therefore unlawful HItherto we have considered Man as Single and Independent from Humane Laws and show'd that as he is so Self-Murther is an Act of Injustice towards God by destroying that which is his alone and also both towards God and towards a Man 's own self by the positive and wilful refusal of performing that end for which he received Life and in
be no Injury committed unless against Propriety and therefore if the State has no Propriety of Man's Life it can be no Injury to it for a Man to destroy his Life This is not so 't is injurious to hinder or prevent the use of a thing as well as to destroy the Propriety of it The State has the use of each Man's Life The performing the End for which Life was given to every Man is of great advantage to the Publick and to hinder it of this Advantage or of this Use to deprive it of it for ever is an Injury to it Or else 2. It is suppos'd that the Publick has a Propriety of each Man's Life that in right of this it may give leave to any Person to kill himself and then the doing so cannot be injurious to it but this is also a mistake For the Publick has no Propriety of any particular Innocent Man's Life No Lawful Power over it unless it be to desend it Therefore for the Publick to give any Man licence to destroy himself wou'd be to usurp God's Power to grant more than it has it self †See more to this purpose Chap. 8. and also to contradict the very End for which it has any Power at all the great design of all Society namely the Security and Preservation of each particular Man's Life There is another Argument that I have 〈◊〉 seen to this purpose I 〈◊〉 that has Power over his own Liberty has Power over his own Life a Man has Power to sell himself for a Slave 1. There is a great difference between Liberty and Life therefore it does not sollow that is a Man has power over the one he has the same over the other Liberty is but a Condition of Life a very desirable one indeed yet not to be preferred before Life it self because the end for which Life is given may be pursued amidst the greatest â—…ry and no Liberty of the Body can be of equal value with the noble and unbounded Liberty of the Mind * Apud Balth. Gomes de potest in â—…ipsum lib. 1. cap. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 4. 2. No Man can part voluntarily with his Liberty unless for want of Sustenance in extreme Necessity that is in order to preserve Life and then this is rather a Duty than a Privilege he is bound to do so to preserve Life even at the Pain the Shame the Misery of Servitude And if so how can it be ever reasonably concluded that because a Man must part with his Liberty to preserve his Life therefore he has a right to throw that Life away Another Argument perhaps may be raised from the Celebrated Story of the two generous Friends Damon and Pythias to this purpose No Man can lawfully give the security of his own Life for another Mans appearance at a certain Day unless he has a full Propriety of his Life One of the two above-mentioned gave this Security for the other And this seems to have been approved of in Ancient times as the most Learned * De Jure B. P. l 2. c. 21. Sect. 11. Grotius observes but then 't is absolutely condemned afterwards by him For though this Security might have been accepted in a few Places yet it was not so long noâ—… is any where at this Day and for this Reason because it cou'd not be lawfully given nor reasonably taken when forfeited nor can any Rule of strictest Friendship require a Man in the State of Nature to die positively for his Friend This I mention the rather because it is one of the Reasons the †Vid. Diog. Lacrt. in Zenon Stoicks assign for the lawsulness of Self-murther Hazard his Life he may in some Cases for him as other things may be hazarded of which we have the use only but destroy it positively he cannot because he has no absolute Propriety of it Lastly 't is said * Montaigne lib. 2. chap. 3. As I do not offend the Laws provided against Thieves when I embezel my own Money and cut my own Purse nor that against Incendiaries if I burn my own Woods So am not I under the Lash of those made against Murtherers for having depriv'd my self of my own Life Not to insist that such Actions as these are Signs of Folly or Madness and therefore that such Persons Estates may be begg'd or that they ought to be with-held by force from doing thus No Man can possess his Life in such a fulness of Propriety as he may his Estate as has been shewn ‖ Chap. 1. above the absolute Propriety of Humane Life is in God and this Propriety is as much injur'd by a Man's destroying his own Life as another Persons Man as to his Life is only in the Nature of an Vsufructuary who has no lawful Power to impair the Estate he possesses much less to alienate or destroy it And this is one Reason why all Intemperance either of Passion or Appetite is Unlawful because this impairs the Faculties of the Mind or Body this is committing waste upon the Estate How much more then must it be unlawful to destroy it wholly and irrecoverably by Self-Murther I cannot call to mind any other Arguments which have been brought directly against God's having the Propriety or absolute Dominion of Humane Life 't is more usual to allow it to be so in a general way and then run to distinctions pretend that God himself doth dispence with this Right that he often dismisses People from their attendance upon Life and summons and calls 'em to him In which Cases say they Self-murther being not only permitted but requir'd must be lawful This the Stoicks signified by their * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Diog. in Laert. Zen. See Plotinus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arian in Epict saepiss reasonable Exit The Door being open and their encouraging People to walk out Kill themselves accordingly The same distinctions the Author of Biathanatos makes use of As to Dispensation that Learned Gentleman grounds it upon this †p. 48. that no Law can be squared for all Events Athing says he which universally consider'd may be in it self profitable or honest may by reason of some Event become dishonest or hurtful neither of which can falt within the reach or under the command of any Law in which Cases a Men may be the Bishop or Magistrate to himself without an express Dispensation from God * Biath p. 108. When I may justly part with Life it is by Summons from God and cannot then be imputed to any Corruption of my Will Velle non creditur qui obsequitur imperio yet I expect not a particular Inspiration or new Commission c. To †Jos. de bel Jud. Lib. 3. Josephus's Argument the same with Plato's ‖ Chap. 2. p. â—â— above mention'd That a Servant which runs from his Master though never so severe is punished by Law how much more if by Self-murther he runs away from so indulgent a
Life if nothing is Sensitive Good but that alone which is reported by the Senses to be proper to preserve Life then it must be absurd to destroy Life upon the pretence of either of these Goods and to do so must be Evil both as to Moral Evil and Sensitive also and therefore highly against Nature To this let me add that the only reason why any thing is naturally Evil to the Body is as it contributes to the separation of it from the Soul which is done positively and violently by Self-murther Nature is the Course the Order which God put the Creature to move in To break off that Course violently must certainly be against Nature and what is so cannot be Lawful But here again it may probably be Obâ—…ted That if the End of humane Life as â—…t has been assign'd by me is the following of 〈◊〉 by Virtueâ—… Whose Reason must this be Must not every Man be guided by his own Reason and consequently will not his Virtue consist in following that which seems Good to him and avoiding that which seems Evil to him This brings me to consider Lastly The unreasonableness of every Man 's being left to himself to follow that which seems Good or Evâ—…l to him and to dispose of Life accordingly There must be a certain End or Design for which Life was given as the Rule of humane Actions otherwise the World wou'd be in Confusion The several things which the wisest men of Old have offer'd as this End of Life I have endeavoured to comprehend under these Words THE FOLLOWING REASON BY VIRTVE I hope it will not be expected that I should weigh out how much Reason to a Scruple will serve to this purpose because all Men readily assent to such Principles as these as self-evident That no wrong or injury ought to be done that a Man has no right to destroy what is not his especially if it be allow'd him only for his Advantage and Improvement that whatever destroys humane Society is to be avoided that whatever contributes to the preserving and improving of the Faculties which are peculiar to Man above other Creatures ought to be embrac'd These Principles I suppose are plain to every Rational Creature and allow'd fit to be observ'd by the Virtues of Justice Temperance c. Or should any Man be suppos'd to be ignorant of any of them in Lapland or new Holland yet there is no danger of this in civiliz'd Countries especially this wherein we Live nor are they deny'd by such as are chiefly against us in this Argument but acknowledg'd and maintain'd by 'em and pointed out and required to be observ'd by humane Laws Wherefore if there can be no ignorance as to these Fundamental Principles and if there can be no want of Power to observe and practise 'em to what purpose is it to plead for particular Reason and for the privilege of Judging for ones self A Man cannot do so safely without some Rule and that Rule must be universal publick Reason and unless every private Man's Reason be squar'd accordingly it can never be right but if it be squar'd accordingly then it ought not to be contended for as private Reason As Man is oblig'd to follow that Nature which is common to him with the rest of Mankind so he is oblig'd to follow that Reason which is so too I mean as to the Fundamental Rules of humane Actions He may make use of his own Reason perhaps in finding out means to observe these Rules to observe them I say not to break them one of the chief of which is the preserving of Life As in all well formed Governments one Law extends to all for the common Good so is it in the Government of the World which is order'd by Infinite Wisdom And therefore 't wou'd be as absurd to plead for particular Reason as a privilege to act against natural Principles as it wou'd be to desire it as a privilege to act against just humane Laws Reason when loudly boasted and zealously contended for by particular Men against any Ancient and Establish'd Rule shou'd always be suspected It shows some uneasiness under that Rule which if enquir'd into and examin'd with the Person concern'd wou'd be found to be against some particular Interest or Inclination which had gotten the ascendant â—…ver him In these Cases when every Man talks of Reason he means his own his own sorry share and that too perhaps very much vitiated and corrupted thus you shall see reason of all Complections Melancholy Phlegmatick and Sanguine Reason for when this is once enslav'd by any Appetite or Passion it takes the Colour of it and then whatever is the object of each Man's Desires whatsoever is his particular method of compassing it or measure of enjoying it is call'd Reason Thus this Godlike faculty is made frequently the pretence of the greatest Absurdities in our Actions as well as Discourse and it may be observ'd that People always plead it most that most offend it pretending the most faithful Duty to this Sovereign Power and yet all the while impudently warring against it in its own Name Hence it is that seeming Good and seeming Evil are made to be the Rule of humane Actions and the following of them the End of humane Life the measure of its being Good or Evil and Preserv'd or Destroy'd accordingly Whereas to act according to seeming Good or seeming Evil can never be allow'd but in the case of sudden or extream Necessity or Panic Fear when the Soul has not the Power or Leasure to bring its Actions or Resolutions to the Rule of right Reason or to examine what is really Good or really Evil and then we ought to observe that this is allow'd but upon one Account neither and that is the preserving of Life and therefore is a very strange Argument for the Destroying of it But after all that can be said seeming Good and seeming Evil are sloating and uncertain things and therefore can never be the Rule or End of Living because as they can be no certain measure themselves so they must destroy it as to all other things for to suppose this is not only to let a Man loose to any Object that he pleases but also to hinder his obtaining of any one while a new seeming Good may be starting continually and so a warm Head shall be sure never to want Game And Life thus employ'd wou'd be given to a very extraordinary End indeed especially if we consider that the Event of this must prove not only fatal to a Man's self but may do so by degrees to all that are near him nay must do so to all Mankind For if seeming Good is sufficient to justifie our Actions what Crime can ever be justly laid to any Man's charge As there is no Errour that pleases under the notion of Falshood so there is no Wickedness that prevails upon the Mind as it appears Evil but as there is seeming Truth in the one so there must
But the Doctrine both of Plato and Aristotle lost ground immediately after their Decease they who succeeded Plato in the Academy besides their want of his great Abilities his Elevation Sagacity and Politeness came short of him in his Virtues being guilty of Covetousness and great Enormities Aristotle who died about Twenty four Years after him enjoyn'd his Friend Theophrastus to conceal his Books which was done carefully for many Years during which time his Followers in the Lycaeum taught only by Tradition which made his Opinions liable to be Adulterated and such as were Genuine to lose very much of their Spirit and Vigour While the Academy and Lycaeum were under these disadvantages two very great Genius's appear'd much about the same time Epicurus and Zeno the first was for advancing a new Principle of Morality and indeed a very strange one as commonly understood which was Pleasure And conformably to this he new dress'd up the Systeme of Democritus and us'd the Gods worse by his manner of owning them than Anaxagorus had done by discarding them entirely In all Ages the Natural Systeme has been fitted to the Moral one and where-ever you sind Libertinism encourag'd under the popular pretence of asserting the right of humane Reason there you will meet with a world ready made to the purpose and God and Providence excluded for fear of being injurious to the Liberty and Property of humane Nature But Zeno took a very different way he had heard Crates many Years yet cou'd not allow of the Brutality and Immodesty of the Cynics and therefore went over to Xenocrates and Polemon the Successors of Plato these he sollowed very much in his Principles but still retain'd the severity of the others in his Manners From Plato he taught the being of one God Supream over many others and that the World was Govern'd and Mankind particularly by his Providence And though he and his Followers mention Fate frequently yet this signifies generally only that Series of second Câ—â—â—ses that Method which is observ'd by God in the Administration of that Providence He taught further that the first Principle in humane Nature was the preserving of ones self that Nature recommended us to our selves in the strictest manner as Cicero makes Cato speak at large that the End of humane Life and the measure of all our Actions was the following of Nature This Maxime was common to all the Platonists But Zeno resolving to set up a new Sect though without any Reason as Cicero proves excellently †Lib. 4. de finibus though he durst not reject this Principle which was so readily embrac'd by every body yet he endeavour'd to give it a new turn to weaken and obscure it by many Niceties and Distinctions and so make way for several of his Principles especially that of Self-murther which were otherwise too plainly inconsistent with it And here I intended once to give a particular Account of this matter but it growing unavoidably longer than I expected and full of their Contradictory Subtleties and Absurd Distinctions and having already stated ‖ Cap. 2. 7. sup the true meaning of this Principle I think it may suffice to direct such as are curious to Cicero's 3d and 4th Books de Finibus and to Plutarch's Discourses against the Stoics Having resolv'd then I say to retain this Principle and yet in spite of it adhere to that of Self-murther also They assign'd in the next place five just Causes as they call'd 'em for putting it in * See Diog. Laâ—…tins it Ciceron pro Muraena it li. 3. 4. de 〈◊〉 Execution 1. For ones Country 2. ones Friend 3. great Pain 4. loss of Senses or Limbs 5. incurable Diseases some add extreme Poverty or Disgrace These are some of the Chief things which they call'd Indifferent neither Good nor Bad in themselves and therefore below the concern of their Wise Man and yet they made these the chief measures of the Reasenableness of Self-murther Furthermore they taught that their Wise Man i. e. any one that followed their Principles strictly * See Diog. Laâ—…tius it Ciceron pro Muraena it li. 3. 4. de 〈◊〉 cou'd not possibly be deceiv'd in his Opinion therefore never ought to repent or change his Mind that all Mankind except themselves were Madmen and Fools and equally so insomuch that there wou'd not have been the least difference between Socrates and Anytus had they liv'd after Zeno and neither of them beeâ—… Stoics but as for themselves they were all Kings Wise Men Rich Beautiful above the World and equal to the Gods To fortifie themselves in this strange Vanity they taught further that a wise Man ought always to observe the same Method keep the same Manners Looks and Appearance that all Faults were equal that all Passions were alike blameable therefore that a Stoic ought neither to ask Pardon nor grant Forgiveness And that their Manners might be answerable to their Opinions they added that a wise Man ought to be austere that Truth was the more wholesome though less pleasing for its roughness This Zeno retain'd from his first Masters the Cynics and encourag'd in opposition to Epicurus and withal to prevail upon the People by the old yet still successful Cheat of Plain-dealing as if it were necessary for Sincerity to be Savage and a Philosopher must unavoidably forgoe his Humanity in order to be Virtuous nay as if Virtue to recommend her self to the World wou'd chuse rather to appear in a Brutal than a 〈◊〉 form This sullen contracting of themselves stissen'd 'em by degrees into Stubbornness instead of Constancy and whilst by the vain Rants in which they celebrated their own Merits and madly mixt the God with the Beast whilst their Pride I say made 'em undertake and prosess what they cou'd not compass and maintain as soon as they met with any great Calamity they forgot all their sine Harangues of Patience Honour Courage turn'd short and fell upon themselves in a Rage and seem to have reserv'd this Principle of Self-murther as a back Door to use their own Metaphor by which they poorly stole away when they coulâ—…d not carry on the Cheat any longer Thus we see the Rise of this Sect Compounded of the Principles of the Platonists and the Manners of the Cinics and how contrary Self-murther is to their Doctrines of Providence Self-preservation things indisserent and pretended Apathy and nothing but the 〈◊〉 of their Pride and Stubbornness As to its prevailing among the Romans this was much about the time above-mention'd when that Famous Republick arrive'd to the highest pitch of its Glory though not of its Powerer Zeno flourish'd about the 129th Olympiad the beginning of which was about the 489th Year from the Building of the City the first of his Followers that I meet withal of any esteem among the Romans was Panaetius who was the Master of Scipio Aemilianus the Younger Africanus about Fourscore Years after Zeno. To know the means by which
wrong How could his Death ever have been so much Applauded if not Reasonable and Lawful The true Causes of this great Applause were 1. That he was a Man really of the greatest Probity Honour Integrity Courage the truest Lover of his Country that can be found in any History that the Faults of his Life were fewer and the Excellencies brighter than any other Example can afford 2. That upon this Account the Character of the other Cato which was very great sunk into his and in after Ages what was said of the Former was attributed to the Latter 3. That as to his Death there are some Actions which become Famous not for their being Reasonable but for their happening at a particular time Cato kill'd himself just upon the alteration of the Roman Government He dy'd with the Roman Liberty most certainly whether he dy'd for it or no and the more that Liberty was miss'd the more was his Death Applauded the two great Revolutions of the Roman State the Birth and Death of that Glorious Republick was attended by the Self-murther of two most Virtuous Persons which being Celebrated with so many Encomiums has deceiv'd many People but the Virtues of their Lives conceal'd the Errours of their Deaths and the Publick being so far concern'd in them ran away with their Applause which Posterity has receiv'd from Age to Age without much Examination From what has been said I hope it doth appear that as no Example of Self-murther ought to sway with us either upon account of the Romans Practice or the Doctrine of the Stoics so this of Cato in particular ought not to be of any Authority in this Case CHAP. XII Concerning Courage what the Nature Proper Object and Vse of it is The mistakes concerning it and the occasions of them That Self-murther is not the natural Effect of true Courage OTher Pretences there are for Self-murther which are grounded upon mistaken Notions of Courage Honour and Liberty the first of which is Courage In so Warlike an Age and Nation as this is it might perhaps be taken amiss for any one to enquire what Courage is But that they who abound most in any thing that is commendable always bear the Examination of it best Here we meet with our Author again who is more Lofty than usual upon this Occasion * Donne pag. 〈◊〉 When I frame to my self says he a Martyrology of all which have perished by their own means for Religion Country Fame Love Ease Fear Shame I blush to see how â—…aked of Followers all Virtues are in respect of this Fortilude c. The 〈◊〉 as he calls it follows consisting chiefly of Thieves Minions Gladiators As to the Causes of this Fortitude which he mentions here to omit at present what relates to Religion what concerns dying for ones Country has †Chap. 8. been spoken to at large the Motive of Fame shall be consider'd in the next Chapter as also that of Shame But how the killing of ones self upon the account of Ease Love nay Fear too shou'd be Instances of Fortitude is very strange By Fortitude here I suppose meant the same with what is call'd Courage This being generally look'd upon as a great Virtue and Self-murther believ'd to be an Effect of it It will be necessary to make a particular enquiry into it not only for the clearing of this Mistake but several others rising from the same Root 1. Let us see what is the Nature Object and use of Courage particularly as Rational and Humane 2. What the Mistakes are concerning it and what are probably the Causes of them And this being done I shall shew 3. That Self-murther is not the Effect of true Courage 1. As to the Nature of it Courage is only the Effect of an active and vigorous heat in the Heart as its Name imports in many Modern Languages which Heat sends forth many brisk and lively Spirits which diffuse themselves through the whole Body and prompt it to Action so that this is Common to other Creatures as well as Man and therefore not any Virtue naturally the Virtue of it depends upon the goodness of the Object and proper use of it 2. As to the Object All Objects work upon Creatures which have Life either under the Notion of Good or under the Notion of Evil as to things indifferent our Passions are not concerned about them As to what is or seems Good if this is easie to be obtain'd the very Appearance of it is sufficient to make the Soul reach after it without any occasion for Courage and if we cou'd imagine a Man to be wholly at ease to abound in all things he can wish for and to be secure in the enjoyment of them such a one wou'd have no need of Courage and therefore it wou'd languish and die away by Degrees But on the other side if any thing presents it self as an obstacle in the way to that which we take to be Good or if any thing which we take to be Evil threatens us with danger then the Soul looks out and views the Enemy and according as it finds its strength prepares to attack or resist it from whence it appears that the proper Object of Courage is Evil. Thus a Modern Author * Hobb's Leviath p. 1. chap 6. Fear is the Opinion of hurt from the Object Courage is the hope of avoiding that Hurt by Resistance Or as another †De la Chamb. Char. des paâ—sions vol. 2. cap. â— Courage is a Power of the Soul which employs the Forces of the Mind to overcome Evils or to put a stop to ' em From whence we also come to a knowledge of 3. The proper use of Courage namely to Attack or Resist what is Evil. What has been said hiâ—…herto may belong to Beasts as well as Man the proper use of Courage as belonging to Man consists in the promoting that End for which he receiv'd Life the use of Courage in Beasts is to preserve Life but since Liâ—e was given Man to a more excellent End as has been shewn whatever Springs there are in Humane Nature of which Courage is one of the Chief must be suppos'd to be intended as subservient to this End and therefore the Justness and Regularity of their Motion must be measur'd by it accordingly First then humane Courage ought to be inform'd truly concerning its Object to have a right and certain knowledge of its being Evil which Reason will quickly discover Secondly it ought to Attack or Resist that Evil in such 〈◊〉 manner limited and directed by such Virtues as may hinder it from interfering with any part of our Duty towards God our Neighbour or our selves This makes Courage to be founded upon Justice and directed by it otherwise it wou'd be Evil it self It has been said already that Courage is twofold either such as Attacks or such as Resists Evil. Let us bring both of them to these Rules 1. As to that part of Courage which
consists in Attacking Evil the measure of this is that the Evil be real which we attack that it be attack'd with * Ea animi elâ—…tio quae in periculis cernitur si Justitia vacaâ—… in vitio est Itaque probe dehnitur à Stoicis Fortitudo Virtus propugnâ—…ms pro aquitate Cicero de 〈◊〉 lib. 1. Justice from whence it follows that a Man's Courage ought not to be the Instrument of his Ambition his Covetousness Anger or Revenge for these will make him not only fancy Evil where there is none but attack it in such a manner as is most unjust In this regard Beasts use their Courage better than Men they always do it in defence of Life to supply their Hunger or to escape Death when threaten'd some other way But Man employs it against Man when Life is far from being in danger only to usurp over him and therefore this kind of Courage is rarely employed by good Men unless upon extreme Necessity and yet even where such Necessity requires it it must be always closely attended by Justice and Goodness without which it would be nothing but injurious Insolence Yet commonly speaking there is seldom any thing in the World less regarded than Justice by those who value themselves most upon this kind of Courage pushing Courage as some call it and what is most strange although the World sutâ—…ers so much by it there is nothing that it is more apt to admire Hence it is that Impudence and Cruelty Noise and Madness want of Sence as much as Virtue Oaths Violence Rashness Revenge Injuring Man and Blaspheming God is so often counted Courage These Mistakes begin early they are some of the first Effects of the Baseness and Degenerateness of humane Nature Men either out of Cowardize Worship what they fear or else Admire it because they find the same Principles in themselves by which it usually Acts as Pride Ambition Covetousness Revenge and would be glad to have it as an Instrument to compass such Ends as these aim at This ill grounded Admiration is nourish'd afterwards by the Honour and Titles which are given to this successful Injustice as such an one the Conquerour or the Great and by some Characters in Heroic Poetry But Conquerour is generally a Fatal Title the Badge of Absolute Slavery and is generally selt more by the Heroes own Country than those which he adds to it And what should be meant by such an one the Great The great Promoter of Arts and Sciences the great Encourager of Virtue No the great Invader and Destroyer of Mankind Or what are many of the Heroes of Poetry if stript of the Ornaments of Numbers Wit and Eloquence and consider'd in themselves Besides how oft is the Poet misunderstood and thought to Paint a Demi-God when he intended perhaps a Centaur Thus Alexander himself seems to have been misled when coming to Achilles's Tomb * Cicero pro Archia Poeta he is said to have cry'd out O happy Youth who hadst such a Poet as Homer to Record thy Deeds This false Admiration betrayed him into one of the worst Actions of his Life the dragging the †Quint. Curtius lib. 4. Gallant Batis Governour of Gaza round that Town as the other had done Hector only for having defended it Faithfully and Honourably Homer indeed was an Admirable Poet he always drew to the Life whatever the Original was he represents Thersites Naturally so does he Achilles too but this was the worse for him for Achilles was nothing but an insolent Bravo Lustful Passionate Inexorable Barbarous Homer's design in that Poem was to shew the ill Consequences of Dissention among Generals of several Governments in the same intreâ—…t A lasting Lesson for Greece which was divided into several little States Not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a Pattern to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Insolence broke that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was the Death of so many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Indeed few Heroes would 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to their Poets or Historians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 did 'em Justice These are the 〈◊〉 of the Mistakes concerning this sort 〈◊〉 Courage which imposes upon Mankind first by its Noise and Splendor and afterwards often enslaves them I have been the more particular in this matter because this lawless Arrogance which is often sowr'd into a surly Brutishness after it has been long Injurious to Man and Insolent to God when any thing happens cross to it and it is Check'd or Controul'd by Providence is very apt to fly out into Rage and Indignation and because it cannot reach that falls upon it self and so becomes one of the most common Causes of Self-murther which ignorant People take to be an Effect of Courage accordingly 2. The other part of Courage consists in the resistance of Evil. And is that firmness and constancy of Mind whereby it supports it self undauntedly under all Calamities this is the more noble sort of Courage because a Man cannot be unjust here towards his Neighbour or towards his God for this consists in the bearing of all Events with Patience whether they be Poverty Pain Loss of Senses Friends or Children Disgrace c. Some one of which at least befal most Men sometime or other and therefore every one ought to be provided with this kind of Courage whatever he is with the other because there are much fewer Evils that require being resisted by Violence than by Patience This then is that Fortithan which the Soul should have always ready to retire unto when it is surprized by sudden Evils and then it is then chiefly that it has the most glorious opportunity of discovering it self for what nobler Idea can we form of humane Nature than to consider it beset by several Evils at once attack'd in its Body Reputation and Estate and yet undaunted And though left singly and alone Arming it self with Resolution Patience and Constancy whatever has been said of the Vulcanian Arms of Old such as these are Impenetrable indeed because well wrought and tempered by deliberate Reason by God himself and bestowed by him upon the greatest and the best Men only But alas though this part of Courage is so necessary to Mankind yet it is least regarded because 't is against the wild Appetites and Passions which are indulg'd by the other it has no Noise Pomp and Ostentation which glitter splendidly upon Corrupted Fancies but is Calm Easie Regular and Modest as all the Steps of Virtue when guided by right Reason are If this is a right Account of Courage then 3. Self-murther cannot be any Genuine or Natural Effect of it in which of these Senses soever we take it for 1. That which makes the difference between Brutal and Humane Courage is Reason and Justice now Self-murther has been shown at large to be highly against these to be an Act of the greatest Injustice and therefore in this Regard cannot be the Effect of Courage as Humane and Rational nor can it be the Effect of Brutal Courage properly so call'd because there is no Beast
to that in particular 1. Since God himself who is absolutely free chooses to act always according to some Method which is a Rule to Himself the same with right and eternal Reason and yet His Liberty is not prejudic'd by acting so then although Man is oblig'd to act by some Rules Laws or Principles yet since they issue out from the same Fountain of Eternal Reason this is not any Prejudice to his Natural Liberty 2. Since it has been prov'd that these are some of those Rules viz. That the end for which a Creature is made or has Life given him ought to be observ'd that Gods Propriety ought not to be desiroy'd that whatever may prove destructive to Civil Society ought to be avoided And since the killing of ones self has been prov'd to be a direct breach of every one of these Rules then it follows that Mans Natural of Liberty can be no just 〈◊〉 for Self-murther The same Argument will serve also against all unwarrantable hazarding of Life and running into great and unnecessary dangers especially by Duelling Likewise against all Vices of Excess and Intemperance which concerning a Man's own Person only seem to be within the bounds of his Natural Liberty II. In the next place I am to shew the difference between the Liberty and Slavery of the Mind and Body and whether any Evil that oppresses the Body can be destructive to the Liberty of the Soul As Man consists of a Soul and Body his Liberty must be consider'd in Relation to both Man's Liberty as to his Soul or Mind consists in the free use of its Faculties Vnderstanding and Will in such a manner as was just now shewn his Slavery as to his Mind consists in the losing the free use of these and in their subjection to Irregular Passions and Appetriâ—…es Man's Liberty as to his Body consists in the free use of its Powers as to Motion and Sensation and his Slavery as to this in the Abridgment of this Motion or in its being at anothers disposal In the decay of Sensation or in its becoming greivous to him in Pain and Torture * Vid. Somnium Scipionis Now if we consider the Dignity of Humane Nature Man's Liberty must depend upon the Mind chiesly for when all is done the Mind is the Man Mens cujusque is est quisque the Body is but of very small Consideration in comparison of the other the Body may be enslaved without a Man 's own sault it being liable to outward force as well as inward decays of Nature but still the Mind may continue free This cannot be enslav'd but by a Man 's own fault and when it is so its Liberty may be recover'd again if the Person pleases and therefore there can be no occasion of Self-murther upon this Account Plotinus †Apud Macâ—…obium lib. 1. cap. 13. gives admirable directious in this case He tells us that therâ—… are two kinds of Death a Philosophical and a Natural one that the first was in our Power but not the latter that if Men would be free from any Evils of Life they may be so by dying Philosophically and this says he is the only voluntary Death that is commendable that which we bring our selves to by Reason not by Poison by Prudaence not by any Weapon As to that part of the Question Whether any Evil that oppresses the Body may be destructive to the Liberty of the Mind This has been in part answer'd The Liberty of the Mind consists in the use of Reason some Evils of the Body as extreme Pain and Sickness may destroy the use of Reason and cause Madness and then the Liberty of the Mind is destroy'd indeed But while Reason remains Liberty must remain also the Mind cannot be enslav'd though beset by various Evils till it basely surrenders up to 'em no more than a City is enslav'd when 't is only beseig'd and defends it self valiantly nay not so much since the Avenues of Reason in those who are adult especially cannot be shut up but on the contrary the greater the Evils are which beset the Body the more may the Mind enlarge its Liberty by the practising of several Virtues which it would not have had the opportunity of exercising otherwise All Virtues are the different ways of the Souls exerting its Power according to the Dictates of right Reason Wherefore if the Evils of the Body give it greater opportunities to exert this Power and require withal that it should be exerted with greater strength and vigour then these Evils will be so far from abridging its Liberty that they will rather enlarge it For the more Virtues is has to practice the more different ways must it have to move in the wider must its range and compass be and consequently the greater its Liberty And as to the Case of extreme Pain in particular which is so commonly pleaded upon this occasion The Liberty of the Body indeed may be lost it may be confin'd 〈◊〉 and tortur'd by Tyrants or Discases but unless this should cause Madness it would not destroy the Liberty of the Mind It must be confess'd the Union of the Body and Mind is very close and all Perception ends in the Soul and therefore the Pains of the Body may be very grievous to it but though very grievous yet rarely to such a degree as to prove destructive to its Reason Extreme Pain is the truest test of a great and upright Mind but although it may force a Man to Lament it need not to Rebel it may affect him with Sorrow but not cast him down into Despair and where Reason struggles faithfully to retain its Power Courage Honour Justice Constancy and great Examples will be called in to help to resist what is sensitive Evil rather than a good Man should fall into what is morally so rather than he should be guilty of an unjust Action to fly from Pain when this is only Coâ—…ardise and Weakness though colour'd over with the Plausible name of Liberty When Pain is encreas'd to such a degree as to destroy Reason the dispute is at an end but let Men have a care lest they should fancy or grant themselves to be Mad only through Impatience and indulg'd Passions and then afterwards make use of their Reason to contrive their Self-destruction If you cry out as 't is usual that the Pain is too great to be endur'd that you cannot possibly bear so much torture What do you mean by this that it will kill you or that you have not strength and patience to undergo it If it will kill you what need of Self-murther the more violent the Pain is the more short will it be and if a Tyrant inslicts it how much better is it as Good Darius said * Forsitan mireris quod vitam non siniam Alicno scelere quam meo mori malo Q. Curtius lib. 5. cap. 12. To die by anothers Wickedness than by your own If you mean the latter trust Nature