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A45744 A treatise of moral and intellectual virtues wherein their nature is fully explained and their usefulness proved, as being the best rules of life ... : with a preface shewing the vanity and deceitfulness of vice / by John Hartcliffe ... Hartcliffe, John, 1651-1712. 1691 (1691) Wing H971; ESTC R475 208,685 468

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encourage us to the practice of it for we are prompted to it by a kind of natural Instinct we are led to the knowledge of it by Reason by the general vote of Mankind and by the most powerful and prevailing Passions of Human Nature Hope Fear and Shame And to take away all excuse of ignorance from us by an express Revelation from himself so that whenever we omit our Duty or do any thing contrary to it we offend against all these and incur the heavy sentence pronounced by our Saviour that Light is come into the World and men love darkness rather than Light for he that doth evil acts against the Convictions of his own Mind and the Light that shines in his own Soul Thirdly PIETY towards God Righteousness Justice and Charity towards Men are more pleasing to God and more valuable that if we should offer to him all the Beasts of the Forest or the Cattle upon a thousand Hills for to the strict observance of these Duties we are directed and obliged by our very Nature and the most Sacred Law which God hath written upon our Hearts and that we might have no pretence to take us off from them God hath freed us in the Gospel from those many Observances and burdensom Ceremonies wherewith the Religion of the Jews was incumbred that we might better mind Moral Duties and live in the practice of them Fourthly WE see in the last place what is the best way to appease the wrath of God and to reconcile our selves to him God seems oftentimes to have a Controversie with us as with his People of old and at such times we are apt to ask as they did wherewith shall we come before the Lord and bow our selves before the most high God! And we are apt to think as they did that the next way to please him is by external Worship and Devotion which may be good and necessary but these are not the things that God doth mainly require of us it is true Prayers hearing the Word of God and receiving the Sacraments are to be performed but these are but means to a further End and serve to engage us to the practice of the great and essential Duties of Christianity and to promote the Virtues of a good Life There doth appear in many Men a great deal of external Devotion but their Lives and Manners are generally very corrupt and the weighty things of the Law are neglected as Justice Righteousness and Mercy so that we may take up the complaint of the Royal Psalmist help Lord for the Righteous man ceaseth and the faithful fail and till we return to our antient Virtue and Integrity of Life we have reason to think and fear that God will continue to have a Controversie with us notwithstanding all our Zeal and Noise about his Religion which must prevail with us to do Justly to love Mercy and to walk humbly with our God otherwise it will seem to have less power and efficacy than Natural Agents have But if we are truly religious there is an imperceptible spring that guides all our Motions in the Path of Virtue for we cannot see at what passage the good Thought entred neither can we perceive how the good Spirit infuses a Pious desire Thus it is in Nature we see the Sun shine and can feel his warmth but we discern not how he enters into the Bowels of the Earth how his little Atoms steal into the secret Pores of Plants how he impregnates Nature with new Life nay we feel not how our own Spirits move how they start and flie as quick as we think from one end of our Nerves to the other so undiscernable and so puissant is the working of God's Grace in the change of our Minds into an heavenly Temper in imprinting upon our Souls the fair and lovely Notions of Goodness and Truth in laying in our Minds the Seeds of a blessed Immortality whereby the Soul will be gradually exalted to the utmost Perfection in all the Parts and Faculties thereof By Grace and Virtue the Mind is sitted for an everlasting State of Happiness that is the Understanding will be raised to the utmost Capacity and that Capacity completely filled the Will will be perfected with absolute and indefective Holiness with exact Conformity to the Will of God and perfect liberty from all servitude of Sin it shall be troubled with no doubtful choice but with its radical and fundamental Freedom shall fully imbrace the greatest good The Affections shall be all set right by an unalterable Regulation and in that regularity shall receive absolute satisfaction To this internal Perfection will be added a condition proportionably Happy consisting in an entire freedom from all Pain Misery Labour and Want an impossibility of sinning and offending God an Hereditary Possession of all good with an unspeakable complacency and joy slowing from it FINIS BOOKS Printed for and Sold by Charles Harper at the Flower-de-Luce over against S. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet DOctor Willis's Practise of Physick being the whole Works of that Renowned and Famous Physician Rendred into English Second Edit with Fourty Copper Plates Fol. The Historical and Miscellaneous Tracts of the Reverend and Learned Peter Heylyn D. D Now Collected into one Vol. And An Account of the Life of the Author never before Publieshd Fol. The Religion of Protestants a safe Way to Salvation with a Discourse of the Apostolcal Institution of Episcopacy By W. Chillingworth M. A. To which in this Edit is added shewing the Reason why he left Popery Fol. The History of Queen Elizabeth By W. Cawbden King at Arms. Fourth Edition Fol. The Second and Third Parts of the VVorks of Mr. Abraham Cowley The Second containing what was VVritten and Published by himself in his younger Years Now Reprinted together Sixth Edition The Third Part containing his Six Books of Plants never before Published in English viz. The First and Second of Herbs The Third and Fourth of Flowers The Fifth and Sixth of Trees Now made English by several Hands with necessary Tables to both Parts and divers Poems in Praise of the Author Fol. An Impartial Collection of the great Affairs of State from the beginning of the Scotch Rebellion in the year 1639 to the Murther of King Charles the First Fol. in 2 Vol. Dugdales Monasticon Anglicanum Fol. The History of the Life Reign and Death of Edward II. King of England and Lord of Ireland Fol. The Laws of Jamaica Fol. Dr. Willis's practical Part of Physick 80 Bishop Vshers Power of the Prince and the Obedience required of the Subject with a large Preface by Bishop Sanderson 80 Some Animadversions upon a Book Intituled The Theory of the Earth By Herbert Lord Bishop of Hereford 80 Law Books The Lord Cokes Reports in English Fol. Judg Crook's Reports in 3 Vol. the Third Edit with References to all the late Reports Fol. The Lord Coke's Commentary on Littleton Fol. His Commentary on Magna Charta Fol. His Pleas of the Crown of the Third Part of the Institutes Fol. His Jurisdiction of Courts or Fourth Part o● the Institutes His Eleven Reports in French Fol. Bulstrode's Reports with new References Fol. Leonard's Reports in Four Parts with new References I The Year-Books in 10. Vol. the last Edit with new No and Tables to them all Fol. The Reports of the Lord Keeper Littleton in the time of King Charles I. Fol. The Reports of the learned Judge Sir Henry Hobart the Fourth Edition corrected and amended Fol. Reports in the Court of King's Bench at Westminster from the 12th to the 30th Year of King Charles II. by Jos Keble of Grays-Inn Esq in 3. Vol. Fol. Kelway's Reports with new References to all the late Reports Fol. Reports of several especial Cases in the Court of Common Pleas by S. Carter of the Inner Temple Esq Fol. An Assistance to Justices of the Peace for the easier Performance of their Duty the First Part containing the particular Clauses of all such Statutes from Magna Charta untill the 1st of King James II. that do any ways concern a Justice of Peace in the other Part the whole Office of a Justice of Peace is methodically digested with the most approved Presidents under ptoper Heads to which is now added a Table for the ready finding out the Presidents never before Printed by Jos Keble of Grays-Inn Esq An exact Abridgement of the Records in the Tower of London being of great Use for all that are concerned in Parliamentary Affairs and Professors of the Laws of this Realm collected by Sir Robert Cotton Knight and Baronet Fol. An exact Abridgment of all the Statutes in form and use from the Beginning of Magna Charta begun by Edmond Wingate of Grays-Inn Esq and since continued und their proper Titles Alphabetically by J. Washington oft Middle Temple Esq to the Year 1689. In this Impressio● many Hundreds of false References are corrected with gre●● Exactness and Care
they converse as dangerous and unworthy Persons THE deficient Extreme of Prudence is called Simpleness or Folly which consists in such a vicious Habit as is contracted by the frequent neglect or refusal of the Advices of Prudence This is properly both a Sin and a Punishment Folly opposite to Prudence Having this peculiar brand of Infamy upon it beyond all other Vices that whereas some men have been so impudent as to take a pride in their dishonest Actions yet none have ever been so wretched as to boast of their Folly This being amongst all Men counted most reproachful and that which will render one most contemptible THIS is not the same with Natural Folly a principal defect of the Mind which may be called Stolidity or the Extremity of Dulness But the Folly we speak of doth rather come from the depravedness of the Will It proceeds from a depraved Will when it will not hearken to any thing delivered to it by right Reason and when men have once acquiesced in untrue Opinions false Judgments and have registred them as authentick Methods in their minds it is no less impossible to insinuate the Counsels of Prudence or to speak intelligibly to such Men than to write legibly upon a Paper already scribled over the immediate cause hereof is prejudice and of prejudice a false Opinion of our own knowledg When this hath a predominancy over the Understanding then we have no Passion but from it and we shall not be permitted to listen to the Voice of the wise Man speak he never so wisely What Lightness of Mind is THERE is also a Lightness in some Men's minds that produceth Folly An Example whereof is in them who in the midst of a serious Discourse have their minds diverted to every little Jest or witty Observavation which maketh them depart so often from their Discourse that all they say looks like a Dream or some studied Nonsense Thus prejudice and Levity are the causes of most of those Follies mankind are guilty of either their minds are prepossessed and barr'd up against all sober and prudent Instructions or they are so aiery and inconstant that for want of Ballast they cannot fasten upon any steady Principles when this is the state of the mind all its Actions will be rash and irregular nothing will be done according to the Measures and Counsels of Prudence neither will it know how to make use of any occasions for the obtaining the great End of its Creation A present cure for these Evils is Prudence which is the Art of Business directing a Man in the practical Affairs of Life to what is fit and convenient according to the variety of Circumstances it consists in a solid Judgment to discern the Tempers and Interests of Men the state of Business the probabilities of Events and Consequences together with a presentness of mind to obviate sudden Accidents For without this exactness of Judgment to distinguish between things we shall not be able to tell in some cases what is Vice and what is Virtue where the former is like the latter as it is in the instances of Pride and greatness of Spirit Religion and Superstition Quickness and Rashness Chearfulness and Mirth So of Ambition and Sufficiency Government and Tyranny Liberty and Licentiousness Subjection and Servitude Covetousness and Frugality NOW the just limits and boundaries of these Things Prudence necessary to judg between the limits of some Virtues and Vices none but a wise and skilful Man can judg of who can discern one from the other notwithstanding their great resemblance and can give to every Cause its proper Actions and Effects It is therefore necessary for every one that desires to be a prudent Man to observe his own Actions and the original of them his Thoughts and Intentions with great care and circumspection else He shall never arrive in any tolerable manner to the knowledg of what He doth well or ill And lest all this diligence should be insufficient as the partiality to himself will certainly render it it is very requisite for him to betake himself often to wise and good Men who may with all freedom admonish him of his Failings and direct him to their proper Remedies For we must not think that we live one day without Faults or that those Faults are undiscovered And He is happy who hath a discreet Friend to observe his Conversation The use of a Friend and to tell him where its Errours are this is the Way to grow better and this is the most likely Way to perfect himself in Virtue and Prudence which prudence depends very much upon experience without which no Person of ever so great Capacity can ever arrive to be a Wise Man more than a Fruit to maturity without Time It is true all Mens Apprehensions are naturally alike what one sees Red another sees not Green and Aloes is not bitter to one and sweet to another And that one Man is more learned is not because he knows otherwise than another but it is because he knows more Consequences and more proportions by his greater Industry and Experience WHEN Experience hath made us prudent then there will be no inconveniences in Human Life but we shall be aware of so that nothing shall be able to disturb our Happiness when the Philosophy of Speculative Men would take us off from all Employments that we may live in ease and quiet This teaches us to manage publick Affairs and all manner of Negotiation without making the least breach of the peace in our minds when their Wisdom Prudence the best manager of our Conversation for fear of danger would have us never go to Sea our prudence would have us govern our selves wisely since we are embarked and steer our course in the best manner when one will not allow us to go to a Feast lest we should be surfeited either with the Food or the Wine the other shews us how we may be abstemious when we come to them WHEREFORE Prudence teaches us better Lessons for a life of Virtue than Philosophy can pretend to For she hath much Study but little Experience She can advise well but cannot act The advantage of Reading Men rather than Books whereas the Reading of men rather than Books enlarges our Souls for the Entertainment of the best and most useful Notions frees them from that narrowness of Spirit which scarce ever leaves the retired and solitary Student But if he will come abroad and walk with wise Men he shall be wise He shall understand the Customs and Humours of Men the Business and Duties of Life the Government and Events of Providence He must go out of the World if he would wholly avoid wicked Men but his prudence will be seen so in ordering his Conversation that he may not be polluted by their Company And one chief reason why in the Universities themselves men do not make so great a progress either in Piety or Learning as might be