the Bearer and Breeder up of Human Society and all States and Politick Constitutions are maintain'd and preserv'd by virtue of her Influence None but Tyrants and Monsters are jealous of or have a dislike to it not but that even They adore this Virtue in their Hearts and have a secret Esteem for it but because they themselves cannot come within the Verge and Benefit of it therefore they bid it open Defiance Love is powerful enough of it self to keep the World in order without the Addition of any other Helps And were it suffer'd to have free Course and operate every where with its utmost Vigour the necessity of all Laws would be quite superseded For Laws were only a Resuge taken in to help at a dead List and as the best Remedy that cou'd then be found to supply the Defect and Decays of Love and the very End and Aim of these is to bring Men by Authority and Compulsion to do That almost whether they will or no which they ought to have done freely and out of Inclination upon a Principle of Kindness But still Laws fall far short of This in Point of Efficacy and Extent For These can only take cognizance of Overt-Acts and pretend not to restrain or make Provision against any other Whereas Love goes to the Bottom regulates the Heart as well as the Tongue and the Hands purifies the Will and directs its Operations thus sweetning the very Spring whence all our Actions flow Upon this Account Aristotle seems to have said That Wise and Good Lawgivers have a greater regard to Love than to Justice And because in this wretched Degeneracy of Mankind both the One and the Other of these are but too often slighted and defeated therefore a Third Remedy hath been thought of but That still less effectual in its Operations and less valuable in it self than either of the Former which is Force of Arms than which nothing can be more directly contrary to that first Principle of Love And thus you have a short Scheme laid before you of Politick Institutions and Government and by what Steps they grew or rather indeed fell and sunk down into that Condition we now see them in But still the first and single Principle of Amity is worth All incomparably above all the rest as indeed it usually happens in other Cases that the Second and Subsidiary Remedies never come up to the First and Principal for These are the Effects of Choice and taken for their own Sakes but Those the last Shifts of necessitated Men who in their Extremity lay hold on any thing that comes next and must be content to take what they can get There is it must be confest Distinguish'd as to Caulis great Ambiguity in this Term of Love and many Distinctions have accordingly been made which were but needful to give Us a true Idea of the Variety of Passions proceeding from it The Ancients were wont to divide it into Four sorts Natural Social Hospitable and Venereal But this Division so far as I can apprehend does not do the Business and therefore we will try another Method and distinguish it these Three following ways First with regard to the Causes that create it and They are Four Nature Virtue Profit and Pleasure and these sometimes advance all together in a Body sometimes Two or Three of them and very often One of them appears single But of all these Virtue is the noblest Cause and the most powerful for This is pure and refin'd and hath it's Residence in the Heart the Seat of Love it self Nature runs in the Blood Profit lies in the Purse and Pleasure is consin'd to some particular Part and works but upon the Senses of the Body except at a distance and by Reflection only Accordingly Virtue is more free and open and pure and firm in its Affection for all the other Causes when destitute of this are sordid and mean fickle and of short Continuance He that loves upon the Account of Virtue can never be weary because there are always fresh Charms to attract and entertain him and if such a Friendship happen to break off he hath no reason to complain because the Breach could not have been if all that was worth his Love had not fail'd He that Loves for Profit if a Breach happen there is full of immoderate Complaints but exposed to very just Reproach for having spared no Pains and yet gaining nothing by all his Trouble He that Loves for Pleasure when the Satisfaction ceases the Passion ceases too and he takes leave of the Object without murmuring or complaint The Second Distinction relates to the Parties concern'd in this Affection The Persons and of These there are Three sorts remarkable One proceeds in a direct Line between Superioural as between Parents and Children Uncles and Nephews or Legal and Political as between a Prince and his Subjects a Lord and his Vassals a Master and his Servants a Turor and his Pupil a Prelate or Preacher or Magistrate and the People under his Care Now if one would speak properly and go to the Nicety of the thing This is not true Love by reason of the Distance and great Disparity between the Circumstances of the Parties which hinders that Easiness and Privacy that Familiarity and entire Communication which is the Principal Fruit and Consequence of Love as also upon the Account of that Obligation there â—es upon them which leaves such Persons very little at their own Disposal in this Matter and so takes off from that Freedom supposed in this Virtue making the Affection rather an Effect of Duty and Necessity than of Choice And in consideration of This it is that we call it by other Names more suitable to those Engagements Thus Inferiours we say owe Honour and Respect and Obedience to those above them and Superiours owe Care and Protection and Vigilance and kind Condescension to those beneath them The Second sort of Love with regard to the Parties proceeds in a Collateral Line and This is between such as are either almost or altogether Equals This again is Twofold either Natural or Voluntary The Natural first as between Brothers Sisters Cousins and the like which is more properly call'd Love than the Former because there is less Disparity in their Condition and so more room for Familiarity and free Converse But then here is an Obligation from Nature too and that such a one as loosens or slackens that Knot in one respect which it ties and binds us by in another For many Quarrels and Misunderstandings commonly arise between these Relations upon the Account of Portion Inheritance and that variety of Business and Interests wherein they are mutually concern'd Besides that very frequently there wants that Similitude and exact Agreement of Humours and Inclinations which is the very Life and Essence of true and entire Affection I must confess he is an ill Man or a Fool but he is my Brother or my Relation are Complaints exceeding common
Frost and Snow made only this Answer That other People cou'd bear their Faces naked and he was Face all over History tells us of several very great Persons who went constantly bare-headed as Masinissa and Caesar and Hannibal and Severas And some Nations there are who being accusiom'd to no Defence for their Bodies at other times never trouble themselves for any when they go into the Wars but engage in the hottest Action whole Armies of naked Men together Plato thinks it adviseable for the Health never to cover either the Head or the Feet at all Varro pretends that when Men were commanded to stand bare in the Temple of the Gods and in the Presence of the Magistrates it was not only the Respectfulness of the Ceremony but the Wholsomness of it that the Law had regard to since Men by this means harden'd their Bodies against the Injuries of Wind and Weather and strengthen'd themselves while they paid a due Reverence to their Superiours In a Word abstracting from what Revelation hath taught us and looking at Nature only I shou'd make no doubt but the Contrivances of Hutts and Houses and other Shelters against the Violence of the Seasons and the Assaults of Men was a much more ancient Institution than that of Cloathing and there seems to have been more of Nature and universal Practice in it for we see that Beasts and Birds do the same thing The Care and Provision of Victuals was unquestionably of far greater Antiquity than either of the former for this seems to have been one of the first Impulses and Dictates of Nature the Necessities and Appetites whereof return so thick upon us that it is not easie to suppose Man cou'd subsist at all without this Care Book III. In the Vertue of Temperance But of these Matters we shall have other Opportunities to treat more fully when we come to give Rules for the Use and Regulation both of Food and Raiment hereafter CHAP. VII Concerning the Soul in general WE are now entring upon a Subject of all others the most difficult and nice One which has been treated of and particularly canvassed by the greatest Philosophers and most penetrating Wits of all Ages and Countries Aegyptian Greek Arabian and Latin Authors but yet so that their Opinions have been infinitely various according to the several Nations from whence they sprung the Religions they embrac'd the Professions in which they had been educated and the Reasons that offer'd themselves to their Thoughts So that how far soever each Man might satisfie his own Mind yet they have never been able to come to any general good Agreement or certain Determination in the Matter Now the main Points in Controversie upon this occasion are those Ten that follow What may be the Definition of the Soul What its real Essence and Nature Its Faculties and Actions Whether there be One or More Souls in a Man Whence its Original What the Time and Manner of its entring the Body the Manner of its Residence the Seat where it dwels the Sufficiency to exercise the several Functions belonging to it and lastly Its End or Separation from the Body First of all It is exceeding hard to give an accurate Definition of the Soul It s Definâ—tion or be able to say exactly What it is And this in truth is the Case of all Forms in general and we cannot well conceive how it shou'd be otherwise with Things which are Relative and have no proper and independent Subsistence of their own but are only Parts of some Whole Hence without question it hath come to pass that the Definitions of it put abroad have been so many and at the same time so infinitely various too that not any one of them hath been receiv'd without Clashing or Contradiction Aristotle hath rejected no less than Twelve among the Philosophers who had written before him and yet he hath found but little better success with That of his own which he labour'd but in vain to establish in the room of them Nothing can indeed be more easie and obvious than to determine what the Soul is not We dare be confident that it is not Fire Air nor Water nor a Mixture and due Temperament of the Four Elements together the Qualities or the Humours nicely adjusted For This is a thing in perpetual Flux and Uncertainty the Animal subsists and lives without it And besides This is manifestly an Accident whereas the Soul is a Substance To this we may add that Minerals and several inanimate Creatures have a Temperament of the Four Elements and prime Tactile Qualities and still continue Inanimate notwithstanding Nor can the Soul be the Blood for several Instances may be given of Animated and Living Creatures without any Blood at all belonging to them and several Creatures die without losing one Drop of Blood Nor is it the Principle and First Cause of Motion in us for several Inanimate things impart Motion So does the Loadstone to the Iron the Amber to the Straw Medicines and Drugs and Roots of Trees when dry'd and cut to pieces draw and create very strong Motions Nor is it the Act Life Energy or Perfection for Aristotle's Term Eutclechia hath been interpreted in all these dissering Senses For all this cannot be the very Essence of the Soul it self but only the Operation and Effect of it as Living Seeing and Understanding are plain and proper Actions of the Soul Besides admitting this Notion it wou'd follow from thence that the Soul were not a Substance but an Accident only that it could not possibly subsist without that Body whose Act and Perfection it is any more than the Roof of a House can subsist as such without the Building which it covers and is supported by or a Relative without its Correlate In a word When we express our selves after this manner we only declare what the Soul does and what it is with respect to something else but we pronounce nothing of its proper and abstracted Nature or what it is in it self Now though things are thus far clear and easie yet when we go farther the Case alters extremely A Man may say indeed that the Soul is an Essential Life-giving Form which distributes this Gift as the Receiver is capable of it To the Plant it imparts Vegetation to the Brute Sense which includes and contains Vegetation under it and to Man Intellectual Life in which both the former are imply'd as the Greater Numbers comprehend the Less and as in Figures a Pentagone includes a Quadrangle and That again a Triangle I rather choose to term this the Intellectual Life than the Rational which is compriz'd and understood by it as the Less is within the Greater and that particularly in deference to those many renown'd Philosophers who have allow'd Reason in some Sense and some Degree even to the Brutes but not Any of them have ever gone so high as to attribute the Intelligent Faculty to Them and therefore I take Intellectual Life to be a
are still but more enraging as Seneca observes In such Cases * Pertinaciores nos facit iniquitas irae quasi argumentum sit justè irascendi graviter irasci the Unreasonableness of our Passion makes us so much more obstinate and unpersuadable as if the being very Angry and Implacable were the best Argument that the Ground of our Anger is Just The Example of Piso upon this Occasion is well worth our Observation and the Story is generally known He who was in other Respects Eminent for Virtue and Goodness yet once in Heat of Passion pat Three Persons to Death Unjustly and strain'd the Law to bring them in Guilty only because there had been one proved not Guilty whom he by a former Sentence had adjudged Guilty Anger is likewise exasperated by Silence and Coldness because such Indisserence speaks Scorn and Neglect and when Men see their Resentments make no Impression they look upon themselves to be slighted and affronted This is very usual with Women who oftentimes put themselves into a Passion purely for the Sake of putting other People into one too And when they see that a Man does not condescend to be Angry and refuse to heap on more Fewel they take all imaginable Pains to cherish and blow up their own Fire and grow perfectly Outragious So Wild and Savage a Beast is Anger so Fierce and Intractable that neither Vindications nor Submissions neither Excusing nor Acknowledging neither Speaking nor holding one's Peace can do any Goood upon it No soul Means can tame no fair ones win it over or make it Gentle The Injustice of this Passion is farther Evident in that it always takes upon it self to be both Party and Judge in the same Cause in that it expects all manner of People that hear or know any thing of the Matter should take its Part and justify its Proceedings and takes it mortally Ill nay flies in the very Faces of all that either stand Neuter or in any Degree seem to think it in the Wrong II. A Second Effect of this Passion is Headiness and Obstinacy Rashness and Inconsideration It drives us forward and thrusts us down Head-long into unspeakable Mischiefs and very often draws upon our own Heads the very Calamities we are endeavouring to avoid by being Angry the very same Sufferings or many times worse than those which We in the bitterness of our Malice and Revenge are so eager to inflict upon others and thas while it punishes an Enemy it tortures and execates it self This Passion is no ill Resemblance of Great Rains which crush indeed and batter what ever they fall upon but in the same Fall break themselves to Pieces Anger is so eagerly bent upon the Hurt and Destruction of others that it sights out of all Guard and takes no manner of Care to avoid or ward off its own Death It draws us in and hampers us in a Thousand Inconveniences puts us upon speaking and doing many things that are Base and Unworthy such as by no means become us and what we cannot but be at least we ought to be most heartily Ashamed of To be short it transports Men to those Excesses of Extravagance and Rage that they know not what they do ensnares them in the most Injurious the most Scandalous Actions hurries them into Mischief incapable of any Reparation Murders and Bloodshed Treachery and Villany Poisonings and secret Assassinations Things that leave long and lasting Remorse behind and such as they cannot but have very afflicting Remembrance of ever after Alexander the Great was a remarkable Instance of this Kind and â—ythageras used to say that where Anger ended there Repentance always began This Passion is never to be convinced of Folly it is Big and always well Satisfied with its own Discretion and Justice flatters and pleases it self with a Notion that the Man does well and wisely to be Angry clears it self from all manner of Blame and lays the whole Fault upon some ill or indiscreet Thing done that gave the Provocation But supposing another guilty of Injustice it will not therefore follow that my Anger is guilty of none Suppose I receive Injury from another Hand will my paying back the same or a greater Wrong take off what I suffer Will it make me any real Amends or bring any true Profit to me that another Suffers as well as I The Truth is Anger hath too much of Obstinacy and Hair-brain'd Giddiness ever to do any Good It pretends to cure one Evil with another and when we turn over an Offence to be corrected by this Passion it is no better than setting Vice to chastise and punish it self Reason which ought always to bear the Sword and exercise the Supreme Authority in our Breasts does not desire any such Hot-Headed Officers to Execute her Commands as do things upon their own Head without waiting for Orders Reason like Nature works easily and gradually is sedate and slow and whatever is Violent is equally Foreign and contrary to both But you will say What must Virtue then be so Tame and soft as to see the Insolencies of Vice Triumphant without any Degree of Indignation and Concern Must she be so bound up as not to take the Liberty of being Angry nor dare to make any Opposition against unreasonable and wicked Men To this I answer Virtue hath its Freedoms but they are such as are Just it takes it desires none that are unsit or unbecoming It hath Courage too but this Courage must not be employed against it self Nor must another Man 's Ill be converted to its Prejudice and Disturbance A wise Man is as much obliged to bear the Vices of Naughty People without Passion as he is to see their Prosperity without Envy The Indiscretion of rash and heady Men must be endured with the same Patience and Pity that a Good Physician exercises toward his Patients when they are under the Ravings of a Fever There is not any one Instance of Wisdom more Commendable in it self nor more useful to the General Good of the World than that of being able to bear with the Follies and Extravagances of other People For if we do not so the Consequence will be that we shall fall into the same Extravagances and by not supporting Their Follies we make them our Own What hath been spoken here at large of Anger in particular is in great Measure Applicable to the Passions that follow such as Hatred and Envy and Revenge for these are the same in Substance and at the Bottom They are Anger too but they are somewhat otherwise modified appearing in different Forms and cloath'd with different Circumstances Proper Advice and Remedies against this Pastion will be treated of Book III. Chap. 31. CHAP. XXVI Hatred HAtred is a very odd Passion It gives us a great deal of unaccountable Vexation contrary to all the Reason in the World And yet What is there more Torturing and Insupportable than this Resentment By It we put our selves perfectly under the
were brought on or what Part they were to act * Quidam vivere incipiunt cum desinendum Quidam ante desiverunt quà m inciperent Inter caetera mala hoc quoque habet stultitia semper incipit vivere Some says the Philosopher begin to live when they should make an End others cease to live before ever they begun Among the many Mischiefs that Folly brings upon us This is not the least That it is always beginning to live We think of Business and intend to set about it but make no Progress at all nor bring any thing to perfection The World is a Theatre and our present Life in it the Beginning and the End of a Play Description of it our Birth draws the Curtain and our Death shuts it up again T is a Comedy of Errours a constant Succession of Accidents and Adventures a Contexture and Chain of several Miseries linked closely and interwoven within one another nothing but Evil on every side That which passes off and that which approaches and comes into its place and these drive out and push forward each other as the Waves of the Sea do in their Ebbings and Flowings Trouble and Disquiet are always at hand but for Happiness we are cheated with the empty Shadow of it Blindness and Insensibility take up the Beginning of our Lives Labour and Anxious Care the Middle Weakness and Pain the Latter End But Ignorance and Errour reach from the Beginning to the End These are inseparable and keep us Company quite through The Life of Man hath its Inconveniences and Miseries of several sorts Some of them are in Common extending to all Persons and all Times Others are Peculiar and Successive and distinguish'd by the different Parts and Age and particular Seasons and Accidents of Life As Childhood Youth Maturity Man's Estate and Old Age for Each of these hath its distinct Calamities some Embasements and Incumbrances which may be properly call'd its own When Youth and Old Age come to be weigh'd one against the other Youth and Age compar'd it hath been usual to give the Advantage to the Latter And most Authors speak of Age with Honour and Respect as having attain'd to greater degrees of Wisdom more maturity of Judgment more Moderation and Temper All which good Qualities are marvellously cry'd up with a Design to put Youth out of Countenance and to charge upon it the contrary Characters of Vice and Folly Licentiousness and Extravagance But with the leave of those who have thus decided the Controversie I must take Liberty to declare that this Verdict is in my Opinion very unjust For in good truth the Defects and the Vices of Age are More in Number Worse in Quality and less to be resisted or recover'd than those that are peculiar to Youth Years deform our Minds as much as our Bodies bring Wrinkles there as well as in our Faces and turn our Tempers sour and mouldy with long keeping The Soul keeps pace with the Body Both are spent and Both decay till at last we grow so weak so perfectly helpless as in respect of both to verifie that Proverb of Old Men being twice Children Age is a necessary but a strong Disease it loads us insensibly with grievous Imperfections and then contrives to cover the Shame of them with creditable Names What is in effect no other than Moroseness of Humour a peevish dislike of the present Enjoyments and Disability to do as the Man did heretofore passes for Wisdom and Gravity Experience and an Insight into the Vanity of the World But Wisdom is somewhat much more noble than all this comes to and far above making use of such mean Instruments There is a vast difference between growing older and growing wiser between forsaking all Vice and the changing one for another and as it often happens in this Case changing for the Worse Old Age condemns the Pleasures and Gayeties of Youth but how much of this must be allowed to it s not being now able to relish them any longer It is like Esop's Dog hates and despises what it cannot enjoy But This is not to disdain and give over Pleasure it is rather to be disdain'd and given over by it Pleasure is always Airy and Entertaining and these are Persons no longer for its Turn But why should they cast a Reflection upon That which is due to themselves Why shou'd Impotence corrupt their Judgment For this if impartially consulted would tell Young Men that there is Vice in their Pleasures and Old Men that there is Pleasure in Vice And if this were rightly understood and frankly confest Youth would be a great deal the better and Old Age not one whit the worse The Vices more peculiar to Youth are Rashness and Heat Forwardness and an unguarded Conversation Debauchery and all manner of Sensual Excess And these are in some Degree natural to that State the Effects of Warmth and Vigour and the Boylings of a Florid Blood All which as they need and ought to be corrected so they have something to say in their own Excuse But what Apology shall we make for the Ill Qualities that attend Old Age The lightest and least of which are vain Arrogance and Pride a troublesome and peremptory way of Conversing and an engrossing all the Talk to themselves froward and unsociable Humours Superstition and Whimsie Love of Riches when past the use of them sordid Avarice and Fear of Death which generally is not as some have favourably interpreted the Case the effect of a cold Blood and low Spirits and of Courage damp'd by these Natural Causes but it proceeds from long Custom and Acquaintance and a foolish Fondness for the World by which the Old Gentleman hath corrupted his Judgment and hath a greater Tenderness for it than young Men who enjoy more and know less of it Besides these there are Envy and Ill-Nature and Injustice but the most exquisite and ridiculous Folly of all is that Affectation of a severe and grave and wise Character and hoping to gain Respect and Deference by an Austere Look and Scornful Behaviour which indeed does but provoke Laughter and become it self a Jest while it pretends to extort Observance and Fear For the Young Fellows combine together against this formal Austerity which they see put on only for a Disguise and with a design to amuse and affright them into Reverence where real Merit which would engage it is wanting In short The Vices of Old Age are so numerous on the One Hand and the Infirmities of it on the Other and Both together conspire to render it so despicable that the best and most saving Game it can play is to secure Mens Affections and to win them by Methods of Kindness and Affability and Good-Nature For Churlishness and an Imperious Humour and whatever aims at Fear and Dominion are not by any means Weapons fit for These Persons to manage The Affecting so very much Awe does by no means become them and if the thing
Comparisons arising from hence CHAP. XLI Of the Differnce and Inequality of Men in general THere is not any One thing in all this lower World wherein so great Variety is observable as in Mankind not any general Head or Species of Beings whose Individuals differ in so many and so distant Particulars from one another If Pliny and Herodotus and Plutarch may be credited There are Men in some places whose Form and Figure bears but very little Resemblance to this of Ours and several Mongrels and Medleys between the Man and the Beast Some Countries are inhabited by Men without any Head whose Eyes and Mouth are placed in their Breasts some by Hermaphrodites some where they go upon all Four some where they have but One Eye and That in the middle of their Forehead and a Head shaped more like a Dog than such as we see Men usually have Some Places where the lower part is all Fish and they live in the Water where their Women bring Children at Five Years old and live no longer than Eight where their Skull and Forehead is so hard that no Iron can break or enter it but rebounds back again where they are transformed into Wolves and Sheep and Oxen and at last return to the Humane Form again where they have no Mouth and all the Nourishment they are sustained by is from the Smell of certain Scents And to go no farther This very last Age hath discovered and many now living have seen and felt Men that have no Beards at all that live without the use of Fire or Corn or Wine and Countries where what We abominate as the most odious Deformity is lookt upon and valu'd as the most exquisite Beauty as hath been hinted before As for the Diversity of Customs and Manners That will be the Business of another Head What hath been related here may possibly seem incredible but if it do our Point will be prov'd without it For go no farther than our own Knowledge and what infinite Disserences are there in Faces insomuch that Two are no where to be found exactly and in all Particulars alike 'T is true sometimes there happen Mistakes of one Person for another because of a very great Likeness between them but then These always happen when One of the Parties is not by For when we meet them Both together the Errour vanishes and we easily discern a Difference which serves for a sufficient Mark of Distinction to us tho' perhaps it is such a one as we cannot readily tell what to call it The Souls of Men are yet more various and full of distinguishing Characters than their Bodies For there is in this respect not only a greater Difference between Man and Man than any that can be discover'd between Beast and Beast But which is but a bad Business and not much for our Honour the distance is more between Some Men and Others than it seems to be between some Men and Beasts For one of the most excellent and apprehensive Animals seems to make much nearer approaches to the Understanding and Sagacity of Men of the lowest Form than Those Men to some of the most capable and accomplish'd Persons Now this mighty Difference between Men proceeds from inward and unseen Causes from the Mind which consists of such variety of Parts and it is brought about by such intricate Springs and Principles of Motion that the Contemplation of them would be infinite and the Degrees depending upon them without Number Now the Last part of our Undertaking for attaining to a right Knowledge of Man must consist of the Distinctions and Differences observable in Him And These are of several sorts according to the different Parts of which Humane Nature is compounded and the different Methods and Capacities in which Men may be consider'd and compar'd with one another At present we will instance in Five which seem to be the Principal and of so large Extent that all the rest may be reduc'd to them For generally speaking all that is in Man is either Body or Spirit Natural or Acquired Publick or Private Apparent or Secret and accordingly this Fifth and Last Consideration shall branch it self into Five Particulars which shall be so many Capital Distinctions between Man and Man The First of these is Natural Essential and Universal in which the whole Man both Body and Mind are concern'd The Second is principally Natural and Essential but in some measure Artificial and acquir'd too and this concerns the Strength and Capacity of the Mind The Third is Accidental and depends upon Men's Conditions and their Duties respectively the Ground of all which is taken from the Circumstance of Superiour or Inferiour The Fourth is likewise Accidental and relates to Men's particular Professions and different ways of Living The Fifth and Last considers them with regard to the Advantages and Disadvantages by which either Nature or Fortune hath distinguished them CHAP. XLII The First Difference whereby Men are distinguish'd which is Natural and Essential and derived from the several Climates of the World THE First most remarkable and universal Distinction between Some Men and Others is That which regards the whole Person the Mind and Body both and all the Parts whereof Man consists And This is deriv'd from the different Situation of Countries and Divisions of the World In proportion to which there necessarily follows a Difference in the Aspects and Influences of the Heavens the Distance of the Sun the Temperament of the Air and the Nature of the Soil And from hence Men receive different Complexions and Statures and Countenances nay different Manners and Dispositions and differnt Faculties of the Soul too * Plaga Coeli non solum ad robur Corporum sed animorum faeit Athenis tenue coelum ex quo etiam acutiores Attici crassum Thebis ideo pingues Thebani valentes The Climate does not only contribute very much to the Strength of the Body but also to the Vigour of the Mind At Athens the Air is thin and fine from whence the Athenians are generally sharp and of quick Parts At Thebes it is thick and foggy and this makes the Inhabitants and Natives of that Country stupid and dull gross and robust This Consideration mov'd Plato to thank God that he was a Native of Athens and not of Thebes †Tales sunt hominum mentes quali pater ipse Jupiter auctiferà lustravit lampade terras Prolifick Rays shed by the Partial Sun Are not confin'd to Seeds and Plants alone Souls too the differing Genial Influence know And relish of the Soil in which they grow As the Nature of the Fruits and of other Animals is very different according to the Regions where they spring and are bred so Men likewise owe their Temper to their Country and upon this account bring into the World with them Dispositions Greater or Less to War Courage Justice Temperance Docility Religion Chastity Wit Goodness Obedience Beauty Health and Strength Upon this account
and more noble that Fire is more respectful than Putrefaction and Stench an Element which even Religion hath given some Countenance to by commanding the Remainders of the Paschal Lamb heretofore to be burnt But what can we do worse than to cast our Friends to rot in the ground and be eaten by Vermine and Insects an Indignity which to Me seems fit to be offered only to those Scandalous Wretches who dye by the Hands of Common Executioners but the Remains of Persons of Honour and Virtue in my poor Apprehension should be otherwise treated For of the five several ways by which dead Bodies are capable of being disposed of the committing them to the mercy of the four several Elements or suffering them to be devoured by Beasts that of Burning seems to me much the most eligible Once more I am well enough pleased to have the Wise Man of my forming look out of Countenance and take care to decline and conceal every thing that passes for Immodest in the Esteem of the World and must have a very ill Opinion of him should he do otherwise But then I desire he should be satisfied that this is due from him in regard to the Customs and common Sentiments of other people not to any shame in the Nature of the Things themselves For Nature that is the God of Nature never made any thing which was reproachful and these Ignominies are purely accidental the product of Sin which is the Greatest Enemy and Corrupter of Nature Even Religion it self which is much more Chaste and Reserv'd than Philosophy assures us that while Man continued in his Original Innocence and Perfection there was no such thing as Shame but That and Guilt entred the World at once I comply with the Mode of my own Countrey in point of Cloaths and Dress and so I would have gone Naked too if my Lot had cast me in a Countrey where it is usual to do so But to Me both these Fashions appear so inconvenient that were I left to my own Choice entirely I should do neither The manner of those Nations which use some One slight Garment plain and light without Constraint or Ceremony or Great Expence is much the best in my apprehension For the multitude of Cloaths and the different Sorts of them but especially the Vanity and abominable Extravagance the World is guilty of in them is a thousand times worse than going Naked These Instances I content my self with the mention of at present my Reader may multiply them to himself at pleasure upon Occasion of the infinite Variety of Laws and Customs and Modes and Matters of Fact and the as great Variety in Opinions too and contests in Matter of Right and what is fit to be done as well as what is actually done If any shall suppose me in the wrong as to the foregoing Instances or object against this Liberty in general as an Indulgence of dangerous Consequence That by this means mens minds will never settle but they will be eternally lost in a Wood and fill their heads with idle and phantastical Notions I answer as to the former part which relates more immediately to my self that it is very possible I may lye under a mistake in some or all of those Cases but then it argues great Confidence thus to charge any man with being in the wrong for such a one does in effect assume to himself the knowledge of Exact Truth and seems to say that He is Master of it though others be not Nor should I much be mortified though the Charge were true for the not hitting upon the Right is no certain Argument that a man judges amiss For This consists in not giving Arguments their due weight not confronting them fairly nor holding the Scales even not measuring by the Level and Standard of Universal Reason and Nature in her primitive Perfection Now a man may discharge the examining part very faithfully and diligently and yet he may not attain to the Truth notwithstanding But to deal plainly I give no Credit to any thing till it be proved to me If the Objector brings me stronger and more weighty Reasons against my Opinion than any I have to urge in defence of it I bid him heartily welcome and shall thank him for the opportunity which his Contradiction gives me to exercise this Judicial Authority with so much greater accuracy I only take up with my present Thoughts till better Information give me Cause to change them and therefore they are only upon good liking ready to be dismissed when more rational ones may succeed in their stead But as to the more general part of the Objection which regards the dangerous Consequences and pernicious Effects of such a Liberty besides what hath been urged already and will be more at large hereafter That the Rule by which our Judgments are to be directed is Nature and Universal Reason which so long as we keep close to we are secure from Error the Second Branch of this Judicious Liberty will provide us with Remedies against this supposed Mischief and That is what I shall now apply my self to treat of particularly and fully The Other branch then of this Absolute Liberty of Soul consists in a sort of Indifference and a Suspending one's Judgment and Final Resolution By This the Wise Man preserves his Temper his Affections are not engaged and so he can consider every thing without Heat or Passion He is not at all provoked by Opposition not staked down to any one Notion but keeps an Ear always open for the Contrary Party and is ready to receive either the Truth or that which seems to make a nearer Approach and carry greater Resemblance to it than the Ideas he hath entertain'd already When he seems most determined his secret Sense goes no farther than This is my present Opinion and I have reason to embrace it above any other but still he can hear it contradicted without any Disorder and satisfy himself to know all that can be said against it and if what is offered preponderates he makes no scruple to change his Mind and constantly even of That Opinion which stuck last by him he goes no farther in vindication than that possibly there may be some other better grounded but this is the Best that he hath met with Now this Suspension and Indifference I speak of is built upon several famous Maxims entertained and propagated by the Greatest Philosophers and likewise upon the Freedom they used in their Writings and Behaviour For this Quality must be confess'd to have been the concurrent Practice and avowed Principle of Wise Men in all Ages the Most and most conspicuous among them have made no scruple openly to confess their Ignorance and their Doubts saying That all Nature was full of Difficulties and Dilemma's That nothing was more certain than Uncertainty That there was scarce any thing so plain but an Ingenious Man might bring plausible and almost equal Arguments for Either side of the Question and
of great Dignity and Importance for Life much less suffer them to be hereditary and descend in the same Family nay it is dangerous indeed to continue These for any long Term of Years lest Men by this Means should strengthen their Party and at last become a Match for their Master And whoever shall consult Histories both Ancient and Modern and there examine the Causes of Powerful Factions and the most surprising and fatal Revolutions of States and Empires will find the greatest part of them owing to the Exorbitant Riches and Power of some over-grown Subject or the Influence and Interest of some old and important Officer So that Seneca had good Reason to say * Nil tam utile quam brevem potestatem esse quae magna sit Nothing is so convenient and advantageous to the State as the frequent Change of high Offices no Trust no Power which is Great ought to be continued long in the same Hand These are fair Against Tyranny and honest Means agreable to Justice becoming the Character of a Prince and fit for him to use for the acquiring and supporting himself bothin the Good Affections of the World and in a Venerable Authority with them Upon these Terms he may be loved and seared both and so it is necessary he should be For though a convenient Mixture of these Two be desirable and excellent yet either of them singly and destitute of the other is neither Reasonable in its self nor any Security to the Government Upon which Account it is that we detest and abhor a Tyrannical Authority a Fear absolutely repugnant to and destructive of Affection and Love such as reners the Person an Object of all Men's Hatred at the same time †Oderint dum metuant Let them hate me so they fear me is a brutish and savage Declaration no one that is really a Man would be content with Power and Greatness at that Rate and this Authority if it be sit to allow it so honourable a Name is such as Barbarous and Arbitrary and Wicked Men procure to themselves not by the Exercise but by the Abuse of their Power The Qualities and Character of a good Prince and a Tyrant have no manner of Resemblance to one another The Distance is so vast the Disparity so notorious that it is scarce possible for a Man not to distinguish between them In short they all turn at last upon these Two Points One is The observing the Laws of God and Nature with a Religious Strictness or the trampling both under Foot with the greatest Insolence and Contempt The other making the publick Good and true Interest of one's Subjects the End and Measure of all one's Actions or the making every Thing truckle to his own Will and by every Action and Design serving and aiming at nothing else but private Profit and Pleasure Now the Prince who will answer his Character and be what so glorious a Station requires must constantly remember that as it is the peculiar Happiness and Prerogative of Power to do whatever he hath a Mind to So it is also the true Prerogative of the Will and the most certain Mark of real Greatness to have a Mind to such things only as are Just and Lawful and becoming * Caesari cum omnia licent propter hoc minus licet Ut foelicitatis est posse quantum velis Sic magnitudinis velle quantum possis vel potius quantum debeas Caesar says Pliny hath less in his Power than Common Men upon this very account that every thing is in his Power For as it is a Happiness to be able to do what you please so it is true Greatness to will only such things as you can do or rather indeed to desire and will no more than you ought to do for in strict speaking a Man can do no more than lawfully hemay do The greatest Misfortune that any Prince is capable of is the being possessed with an Opinion that his Will is his Rule and that all that is possible is lawful for him As soon as ever he hath given way to this vile Imagination his whole Temper and Manners presently grow corrupt and from a good Man he is transformed into a wicked Wretch and a Monster Now this Opinion commonly insinuates it self by Sycophants and Parasites Flattery infuses and blows it up for Persons of that Dignity never want enough and too many to preach up to them the Greatness of their Power because this is a pleasing Doctrine and tickles the Ear but the Obligations of Duty carry a harsh and grating Sound and there are few but very few Servants so hardy in their Fidelity as to entertain their Master upon this necessary Subject But of all sorts of Flattery That is the most dangerous when a Man flatters Himself In other Cases a Man may stop his Ears against the treacherous Insinuation he may enjoyn Silence forbid all Discourse of that kind avoid the Presence and Company of the nauseous Wretches that use and hope to ingratiate themselves by it But when the Person who gives and he who receives the Flattery are one and the same What shall he do or whether shall he run from such destructive Conversation And therefore a Prince above all other People is highly concern'd to deal honestly by himself to decline and despise the fulsom and base Soothings of other People who hope to make their court this way and especially to be a severe Inquisitor and Judge of his own Actions and not to cajole himself into Ruine After all that hath been said and too much cannot be said against Tyranny and Arbitrary Administration it is necessary to add that sometimes such critical Junctures of Affairs will happen such Intricacies and Perplexities in Publick Business with regard to Time Person Places Occasions or some accidental Circumstances that a Prince will be driven to a necessity of doing some things which at first view may look like Tyranny As for instance When the Matter depending before him is the suppressing of another Tyranny the Licentiousness I mean of a head-strong hair-brain'd People whose ungovernable Fury is the most absolute most destructive Tyranny in the World Or when he is to break some close Cabal or powerful Faction of the Nobility and Persons of Wealth and Figure in their Country Or when the publick Treasures are reduced and wasted the King driven to extreme Wants and knows not where to furnish himself with needful Supplies and so is compelled for the Relief of the State in its present Exigency to raise Moneys irregularly and borrow from the Rich by such Loans as they are not perfectly contented with Of these Extremities and the Methods and Remedies proper for them I have spoken formerly and the only design of renewing the mention of them here is to persuade People to give the best and most favourable Interpretation to Cases of necessity and not immediately clamour against them and represent them in their worst and most
must concur The First That it be denounced and undertaken why a Person who hath the Power of making and proclaiming it which can only be the Sovereign himself or in Common-Wealths those who are invested with the Suprme Authority and whom the Law in that respect looks upon but as one single Person The Second is That the Cause upon which it is so denounc'd be just and such without all Dispute is the Case of a Defensive War the Light of Reason clearly and constantly pronounced in Favour of such a War in the Judgment of all the Wise and civiliz'd Part of Mankind and Necessity supply'd the Place of Argument and Thought and moved the Barbarous and Ignorant to agree in the Justification of it too Custom hath made this Opinion and Practice universal among Men and Nature her self hath infus'd this Principle into Brutes But then by Defensive I mean That which is truly and properly so when Life or Liberty one's Relations or one's Country are assaulted Nay not only so but a War is really defensive when begun in behalf of our Confederates and Allies or to chastise Breach of Faith and former Treatise or for the Protection and Redress of those that are oppressed Grievously and injuriously treated For it is the great Roman Orator's Judgment That * Qui non defendit nec obsistit si potest injuriae tam est in Vitio quam si Parentes aut Patriam aut Socios deserat Cic. Lib. I. de Offic. He who does not defend the Injured and as much as in him lies prevent and ward off the Wrong is as much in Blame as if he deserted Country or Kindred Parents or Friends So that Injury it self without the Addition of any other Motive is and ought to be esteem'd Engagement Sufficient for the employing our best Endeavours to right and assist the Persons labouring under it And accordingly we find St. Ambrose comprehending all these three Kinds of Defence under the Character of Justice †Fortitudo quae per bella tuetur à Barbaris Patriam vel defendit infirmos vel à latronibus Socios plena Justitiae est That Fortitude says he is highly Just and Commendable which by Force of Arms defends our Country from the Invisions of Enemies and Barbarians or protects the Weak and Suffering from those that are too mighty for them or saves our Friends and Allies from Plunder and Robbers Another ₠Nullum bellum à Civitate optimà suscipitur nisi aut pro Fide aut pro Salute Salust Author brings the Matter into a narrower Compass still and reduces it to these two Particulars of Faith and Safety No War says he is undertaken by a Righteous and Good Government except either Breach of Covenant or the Prospect of their own Danger provoke it Offensive War must likewise have Two Conditions to render it justifiable The One is that there be really some Offence given and Damage sustain'd upon which the Quarrel can fairly be grounded as in the Cases of Violence and Outrage and Usurpation The Second That Satisfaction and Restitution be first demanded in the usual Manner and Solemnities in which among the Romans a * Post Clarigatum Plin. Nat. Hist Lib. XXII Cap. 2. Herald was the proper Minister For Force is the last Remedy and ought never to be made use of till the rest have been tried to no Purpose And Justice cannot be duly sought this Way till it hath been sought in softer and more amicable Methods and deny'd If the Aggressor will hearken to calm Reason and submit to such Terms as are agreeable to it there ought to be an End of the Controversie but if he will be obstinate and refuse to do this then indeed War is Just and Allowable because it becomes necessary and the only possible Method left for redressing such Grievances and preserving our own Rights For †Justum Bellum quibus necessarum pia Arma quibus null◠nisi in armis relinquitur spes that is a just War which cannot be avoided and those are righteous Arms which are taken up by Men who have nothing less to trust to The Third necessary Qualification for making a War just is that it be undertaken for a good End and such is no other than the Peace and Security of a Nation †Sapientes pacis causà bellum gerunt laborem spe otii sustentant ut in pace sine injurià vivant Wise Men says my Author wage War for the sake of Peace and are centent to sustain great Labour and Pains for the Prospect of Ease and Leisure that so they may live quietly and secure themselves from Wrong After once the Justice of the Cause is taken care of then and not before Prudence it is seasonable to consider of the Prudence of the Undertaking And this Consideration consists in Mature Deliberation that a Prince may not run giddily on and engage in Attempts which have no probable Prospect of Success And therefore to prevent Heat and Rashness it will be very convenient that these following Particulars should be very seriously weighed First the Strength and Conveniences on both sides what the Aggressor and what his Enemy is capable of Secondly The Hazard and doubtful Chance of Wars the mighty and surprising Revolutions of Humane Affairs Particularly the unaccountable Events of Engagements and Stratagems which we see happen daily and wherein when the nicest Policy hath done its utmost Providence hath still the chief Hand and gives the finishing Stroke For it is obvious to every Man's Observation that what the World calls Fortune cannot pretend to so absolute a Dominion in any one Instance as in the Decisions of the Field And accordingly we often see that One Hour there turns the whole Face of Affairs and exalts or reduces a Prince to the very Reverse of what he was an Hour ago And therefore Livy hath observ'd very truly that ₠Simul parta ac sperata decora unius horae Fortuna evertere potest the Glories and Laurels which have been the Acquisition or the Expectation of a whole Life are all blasted and withered by the Fortune of a single Hour and he who thought himself sure of All and stood actually possest of a great deal the next Moment hath not so much as the Hope of any thing lest to sustain him The Third Consideration necessary upon this Occasion is That of the horrible Grievances and Hardships the Calamities and Miseries which War supposing the very best of the Event and sinal Determination does unavoidably draw both upon the Publick in general and private Persons in particular And these indeed when duly reflected upon are such that the very Thought alone is Dismal and full of Discouragement and Horror A Fourth Reslection will concern the Slanders and Calumnies the Reproaches and Curses which are sure to light upon the Authors and first Beginners of any War For the Misfortunes and Losses which cannot but happen will be
interpose nor take upon them what is due to their Birth and Condition for He who is embarqu'd in the same Design must not reprove his Companion in Wickedness So dreadful is the Confusion where even the * Obnoxiis Ducibus prohibere non ausis mdash mdash Metu ac necessitate huc illuc mutantur Commanders themselves are liable to the same Condemnation and every Thing and every Man driven to and fro by Fear and Necessity In a Word This is Misery in the very Abstract And the very Victory it self is full of Misery For supposing the best of the Matter that Success falls on the side of Right and Justice yet this renders the Conqueror insolent and furious transports him to Barbarity and Rage tho' otherwise of a Temper never so Human and Gentle so scandalous are the very Triumphs of a Civil War so apt to flesh even a good Man in Cruelty and Blood so certain to poyson nay to extinguish the Softnesses of Human Nature And if we could imagine the Commanders not to have lost all the Remains of it yet it will not be in their Power to restrain those under their Care from their execrable Villanies Now there are two Causes of Civil Wars which offer themselves to our Consideration The one is Secret and Mysterious such as we cannot see through nor come to any distinct Understanding of and consequently not in the power of Man to prevent or to cure A certain Fatality I mean the Will and Decree of Almighty God by which he sees fit to take Vengeance and inflict this heaviest of Punishments upon the Sins of a Nation or not only to chastise but utterly overturn and exterminate a disobedient and rebellious People * In se magna ruunt laetis hunc Numina rebus Crescendi posuere modum Lucan l. 1. Things to their Acme come in course of Fate grow less And States too big for Foes themselves oppress The Other is sufficiently visible to Wise Men as a sure Prognostick of Future Evils and such as if Men would give their Minds to it might easily be remedy'd especially if Those who sit at the Helm would shew themselves diligent and vigorous in the Application And this is a general Corruption and Loosness of Manners Remissness in Discipline and want of executing good and wholsome Laws for the containing all sorts of People in their respective Duties Hence the Vilest and Resuse of the People take Advantage and Men of desperate Fortunes who have no other Game to play hope to find their Account by putting all into Confusion For either they raise themselves upon other Men's Ruines and heal their own Extravagances by fishing in troubled Waters or at least they cover their own private in the Croud of publick Misfortunes For where a Man hath nothing left to lose it is some Mitigation to his Affliction that it is general and he does not fall alone So the wise Historian Observes * Miscere cuncta privata vulnera Reipublicae malis operire Nam ita se res habet ut publicâ ruinâ quisque malit quam suâ proteri idem passurus minus conspici That the Profuse and the Turbulent shelter themselves under a Common Calamity and there is a kind of Malicious Comfort in the Nature of most Men that makes them better contented to be crushed in the Common Ruine than to perish alone For though a Man 's own Sufferings be equal in either Case yet they are less taken notice of and cannot be distinguished when he suffers in a great deal of Company Now the Advice fit to be given in this Extremity is To make the quickest End that such a War is capable of and for this there can be but two Ways Treaty and Agreement or Victory The former is certainly the better even though attended with some Hardship and Inconvenience and short of those Advantagious Terms we desire For when once those tumultuous Proceedings are quieted Time will do the rest for us And a Man will do well sometimes to suffer himself to be imposed upon when he is so largely paid for his Loss As it was said of Antipater †Bellum sinire cupienti opus erat decipi That it was necessary to cheat him into a Peace to gratific his Inclination when he was eager to put an end to the War Victory is a very dangerous Conclusion though a Successful one For there is great reason to sear the abuse of it and that the gaining such an Advantage may inspire Inclinations to Tyranny and Oppression and put mighty opportunities into a Prince's Hands of ruling those he hath subdued Arbitrarily and by Force that so they may be effectually kept under ever after But to make sure Work it is necessary for a Prince to rid his Hands of the Principal Actors and Instigators of these Confusions and such as he perceives to be Turbulent and Bloody-minded Men without Regard to which Side they were of for such Dispositions are always unsafe to be trusted And This may be done conveniently enough under some fair Pretence of employing them in remoter Parts or sending them abroad into foreign Service or else by dividing them and breaking their Correspondence or keeping them in play against a Common Enemy and then for the Prevention of any Discontents for the Time to come to use the Common People well and grant them all reasonable Indulgence passing over what is already done by an Act of Oblivion and ministring no just Occasion of Jealousie but making his Government as easie as possible in the preservation of their Rights and Privileges for the future SECT XII Advice for Private Persons how they should behave themselves in any of the forementioned Divisions YOU have now taken a short View of the several sorts of Calamities and Confusions to which the State is Obnoxious and heard the Directions proper for each of them so far as the Prince himself is concerned it remains now in the last Place to consider what Deportment will be proper and prudent for Persons in a private Capacity when any of these Troubles and Difficulties shall happen Now this cannot be dispatched under any one general Topick because there are Two Scruples concerning it to be resolved The One whether it be lawful and sit for an honest and good Man to fall in and take the Part of some side or other in these Divisions or whether he should rather keep himself quiet and sit still The Other what sort of Behaviour is advisable in either Case that is whether he do or do not interess himself in the Quarrel As to the former of these Two Questions It is propounded for the Satisfaction of such as are Loose and at their own Disposal without any Engagements upon them which should determine them to either Party For if they are already under any Obligations This first Query does not in any Degree concern them They are got beyond it already and all the Doubts for Them
to entertain must receive Satisfaction from the Second Question I insert this Caution by the way because it frequently falls out that a Man is staked down as it were to one party almost whether he will or no. For though he may not make it any part of his Choice and Design nay though in his own Private Judgment he cannot but disapprove it yet in despight of Intention Inclination and Good Sense he may find himself involved and intangled by some Considerations so Powerful that he cannot with any Decency break through them And these being such Bands as Nature hath ty'd him up in or such as Counterbalance all Motives to the contrary will at least carry a sufficient Excuse for his doing as he does Now this first Question hath several Arguments pro and con and abundance of eminent Instances might be produced of Persons who have behaved themselves directly contrary to each other with regard to it So that differing Judgments and Authorities as well as different Reasons minister just ground of Scruple in the Case The Resolutions which seem to me most convenient to be come to according to the different Circumstances of the Persons concern'd in this Debate are such as follow On the one Hand Nothing seems more agreeable to the Character of a Wise and a Good Man than to have nothing at all to do with the Follies and Factions of the World and therefore such a one cannot do better than to stand by and let them try it out by themselves Especially too if we consider what Account hath already been given of these Divisions how irregular and unlawful they are in their own Nature and first Causes what Wickedness Barbarity and Injustice of all sorts they engage Men in That these are inseparable Attendants of such practices and it is not possible to have any hand in them and continue Innocent I say If all these Considerations be fairly laid together it scarce looks any longer like a Matter of free Choice what a Man may or may not do but seems rather a Point of Duty than of bare Allowance and Permission absolutely to decline any Concern in them And accordingly it appears that several excellent Persons have had so great an abhorrence of these Things and such a Sense of the Personal Obligations they violate that no Considerations could prevail with them to come in particularly Asinius Pollio who the Historian tells us Velleius lib. 3. excused himself for these very Reasons to Agustus when he entreated his Company and Assistance in the Expedition against Mark Anthony But then on the other Hand What shall we say to those Reasons which enforce our Obligation to take part with good Men to protect and strengthen such as much as in us lies and to defend Equity and Right against all that oppose and encroach upon it The Great Solon was so strongly possess'd in Favour of these Engagements that he is for inflicting very severe Punishments upon Them that affect Ease and Obscurity and refuse to appear and act openly in such Exigencies of State And that rigid Professor of Virtue Cato govern'd himself by this Rule for he did not only declare and come into One Party in the Civil Wars of Rome but took a Command among the Malâ— contents under Pompey Now if we would know what Measures are fit to be taken where Judgments are so divided and Reasons probable and plausible enough for each to alledge in his own Justification my poor Opinion is This For Persons of Eminence and Character in the World such as are in publick Trust or great Reputation or extraordinary Abilities and are known to be leading and significant Men in the State These I conceive not only may fall into that Side which they in their Conscience think the best but so far as I am able to discern they are bound to do it For he is a very ill Pilot that steers the Ship in calm and favourable Weather and runs away from the Helm when it grows Foul and Stormy What shall become of the Vessel if the best Hands let her drive when there is the greatest Need of Working her and keeping her tight These Gentlemen ought in Extremities especially to stand in the Gap and act like Men of Honour the Care of the Government is upon them and its Safety or Ruine lyes at the Door But then for Persons in a private Capacity such as make none at all or but very inconsiderable Figure in the Government These are more at their own Liberty For as their Condition supposes all the Assistance they can contribute to be of no mighty consequence so the with-holding that Assistance can do no great Damage And therefore they may be allowed to retire into some Place of Security and seek their own Ease and Quiet at a Distance from the Noise and Clutter of the contending Parties But then both these kind of Men those that do and those that do not declare lie under an Obligation to demean themselves in such manner as I am going to prescribe In the mean while I add thus much only upon the present Subject concerning those who are disposed to come in and act That in the choosing what Party they should side with sometimes the Case is so plain that it is almost impossible they can be mistaken For where the Injustice of the Cause and other Disadvantages are so evident that they look one full in the Face and forbid him no Man of common Sense will go in thither But it often happens that there are Reasons on both Sides Each pretends Right and Justice and each hath Advantages to invite us and then the Difficulty of coming to a Resolution is very great because a Man must not only weigh the Arguments on both Sides and settle the Point of Right and Wrong first but he hath several other Considerations to attend to such as may and ought to carry some Weight with them though they have not immediately respect to the Justice of the Cause And now it may be Seasonable to proceed to the other Part of this Advice which relates to the Behaviour of the Persons under these several Capacities To all which I might satisfie my self with prescribing in one Word Moderation and Temper that they would particularly take Atticus for their Pattern whose Name hath been so much celebrated for his Prudence and Modesty in the midst of that boisterous Age in which he lived One who was always believed in his Judgment to favour the right Side and respected by all good Men for doing so but yet one who behaved himself so Prudently and Inoffensively that he never involved himself in the Common Confusions nor drew down the Displeasure of ill Men or any Inconvenience from that Party who were sensible enough he did not approve their Proceedings But to be a little more particular and first for Them who openly declare themselves It is certain that These ought by no Means to be violent or betray indecent Heats and
and such as Mankind are fain to take refuge in upon several other occasions as well as this For if we observe the thing nicely it will appear that many Cures are wrought both upon our Bodies and Minds this way Thus when we are assaulted by Temptations Divines advise that we would not trust our selves alone but flee into Company Thus when there is any strong Defluxion of Humours upon the Vitals which cannot be carried clear off Physicians divert the Morbifick Matter and throw it into some of those parts where the Lance or the Searing-Iron may be able to deal with it Thus Men that travel over dangerous and frightful Precipices shut their Eyes close or look another way Thus the Men of Courage in Fight do not reflect upon their Danger or think they are grappling with Death but find themselves transported and busied with the Heat of Action And of the many renowned Heroes who have suffered calmly and patiently nay even of those who have died by their own choice or their own hands which some Greeks and Romans heretofore were vain enough to do meerly for the Honour and Reputation of despising it and others have been so brave and constant to undergo in the confidence and assured hope of a better Life as the Christian Martyrs the Scholars of Hegesias and others after the reading of Plato's Antiochus or for the getting quit of the Miseries of the present Life or whatever other Motives they had still this was but a Stratagem of Diversion for these Motives took their thoughts off from the main point in Difficulty For that which they aspired after or that which they fled from made the more vigorous impression and either quite swallowed up or mightily asswaged the Terrour of what they were about to suffer But few or none of these had that firmness of Soul to consider the Calamities themselves to converse with and come close up to them to see them in their frightfullest forms and yet not start at them This was a glory reserved for Socrates and Flavins condemned by Nero to die by the hand of Niger and some very few besides We may therefore content our selves very well with diverting our Minds by some other Considerations when any cross Accidents or other external Calamities assault us The common People seem to be sensible of some more than ordinary Efficacy in this Prescription when upon all Melancholy occasions they advise their Friends not to think of that which gives them the Disorder And those who undertake to advise or comfort Persons in Affliction will do well to consider what Counsel they are capable of following to infuse some other thoughts into them by gentle and insensible degrees so loosening and undermining the Object of their trouble and trying to plant another in its room For this taking the ground of their Melancholy from under them before they are well aware of it will prove a more real Consolation in the first and furious Paroxysms especially than the most Philosophical or which is yet better the most Christian Harangue in the World For though every Man may know and urge pathetically enough such Arguments as Reason tells us it is fit Melancholy Persons should submit to yet these may all be lost if the Application be out of time And therefore it is very necessary that Men should proceed with Judgment and Tenderness that they should observe both in what manner the Passions are to be treated and when they are fit to be treated with when they will bear coming up to the point and when they must be pacified by some powerful Diversion CHAP. XXX Remedies against Compassion MY Reader may possibly be startled at this Title suspecting that it favours too much of Inhumanity but to abate his Surprise I must remind him that there are two sorts of Pity The one firm and brave virtuous and commendable such as we are told Almighty God and the blessed Spirits partake of and this consists in applying our inclination and actual Endeavours to relieve the Afflicted yet so as not to take the Affliction upon our selves nor do any thing in diminution of the justice of the Cause or the dignity of our Character The other is a womanish and senseless Pity full of Tenderness and Concern which proceeds from weakness and effeminacy of Soul concerning which I have spoken sufficiently heretofore Book I. Chap. 32. in that part which described the several Passions Now for the conquering and composing this second sort Wisdom directs us to succour the Afflicted and to ease his Burden but not to put under our own Shoulder so far as to bear the Load with him In this Sense it is that God is said to be Pitiful and his Bowels and Yearnings must not be interpreted of the same uneasinesses we feel upon these occasions but of the same readiness to do good and to extend his help which we find in our selves upon feeling those uneasinesses As the Physician does all he can for his Patient and the Counsellor for his Client but then it ends in diligence and industry and making the most of their Case but never goes so far as laying their miscarriage to heart The Wise Man is desirous to asswage the Pain but not content to smart with it nor to darken and disorder his Mind with the Vapours of that Melancholy which he labours to quiet and compose God Commands us to have a regard to the Poor and to qualifie their Afflictions as well as we can to plead their Cause for them and to defend their Right but yet at the same time he charges us to watch over our Passions and take care that we be not balanced even by good Nature and Pity it self against Equity and Justice and the Results of true Reason CHAP. XXXI Remedies against Anger THese Remedies are many and various such as the Mind ought to lay in and be strongly armed and guarded with long before Like People that expect a Siege for it will be too late to begin to fortifie when the Enemy hath opened his Trenches and plays his Batteries upon us They may be reduced to three Heads The first are such as secure all the Passes and cut off the approaches and first beginnings of this Passion For it is infinitely easier to repel and guard the Avenues against it than either to subdue and bring it to Rule or to beat it out again when once it hath got within us We shall do well therefore to consult our safety betimes by delivering our selves from all those causes and occasions of Anger which were heretofore observed and explained when we were describing the nature and rise of this Passion Such in particular as these that follow 1. Weakness of Judgment 2. Indulgence and Effeminacy a Sickness of the Soul which must be cured by hardening it against any Accident which can possibly happen 3. Niceness and humoursome Fancies fondness for little Trifles which must be corrected by bringing our Appetites to plain and easie
Places and Persons And each of these is of so considerable Importance that the Change of one single Circumstance even such as may seem least and of no account produces a very great Alteration and sets quite another Face upon the whole Matter This Difficulty is likewise greater and more evident upon account of the Office in which this Virtue is employ'd which consists in mustering together Contraries and then tempering them in just proportions with one another so as to qualifie the whole at last in the best manner the Case will admit Another part of this Office is Distinguishing aright between things that are like and making a wise Choice by discerning Real from Seeming Good and preferring a Greater to a Less of the same Kind Now all these things are puzzling and full of Confusion for Contrariety and Resemblance both agree in this that either of them is a great Impediment and creates Doubt and Irresolution And as the Executive Part of Prudence is exceeding difficult Obscure so the Discerning part is subject to great Obscurity by reason the first Causes and Springs of Things from whence they arise and by which they are moved and carryâ—d on are secret and unknown and like the Seeds and Roots of Plants lie deep in the Ground and far out of sight so deep that Human Nature cannot dive to the bottom of them and some of them so mysterious too that it is as criminal to enquire into them as it is impossible to satisfie our selves by such Enquiry * Occultat corum semina Deus plerunque benerum malorumque causa sub diversa specielatent Providence hath thought fit to conceal the Seeds of these things and it often happens that the Causes of Good and Bad Effects lie hid and disguise themselves under very different Appearances And besides all this there is that strange Turn of Chance that unaccountable Fatality call it what you please that Supreme Secret Unknown Power which always maintains its Authority and gives the finishing stroke in despight of all the properest Methods and wisest Precautions we can use From hence it comes to pass that the best-laid Designs and most regular Proceedings are very frequently most unfortunate in the Event The very same Course taken by One Man succeeds according to his heart's Desire and with Another crosses all his Expectations and yet the Case to all Human appearance is the same in both and no reason can be given for such contrary Issues Nay the same Man found those very Methods successful yesterday which when he tries again to day baffle all his Designs and Dependencies and he who was a Winner but just now plays the same Game over twice and the second time loses all This Lottery of Fortune gave just occasion for that received Rule That no Man's Counsel or Capacity can be rightly measured by his Success And He was certainly in the right who told some of his Friends that stood amazed at his ill Fortune when they observed a more than common Wisdom in all his Discourse and Behaviour Look you Gentlemen this does not mortifie me at all I am Master of my Methods and capable of judging what is proper and convenient but Events are what no Man alive can govern or insure to himself This is Fortune's doing which seems to take a kind of envious Joy in defeating our subtlest Projects and diverts her self with our Disappointments She in an instant blasts our Hopes and overturns the most regular Schemes which have cost the Study and Care of many Years to draw and design and when all the matter is duly consider'd and resolv'd when we have advanced so far that nothing remains but the last Act when all is brought to Bear as we call it she nails up all our Cannon and puts a full stop to all the Execution we intended And in truth This is the only way Fortune takes to make her self great and maintain her Credit in the World thus she exerts her Power over the Affairs of Humane Life or to speak more truly and in language more besitting the mouth of Christians 'T is Thus that Providence takes down our Pride and mortifies our Presumption Fools cannot be made Wise by Chance and of a sudden but then to check the Vanity of those who have the advantage in Parts They are frequently successful even to a degree that may provoke the Envy of Virtue and Wisdom it self Accordingly we may often observe that Persons of very indifferent Capacities and small Attainments have been able to accomplish vast Undertakings both publick and private while others of more Masterly Judgments have been defeated in matters of less difficulty From all which Reflections my Reader plainly perceives that Prudence is a boundless and a bottomless Sea never to be limited by positive Preceps or reduced to certain and standing Rules because the Subject it is concerned with is fickle and inconstant like the Sea too and all our Measures must be changed all are liable to be broke as oft as the Winds change One cross Blast blows us back again or dashes us to pieces upon the Rocks and neither the best Vessel nor the best Pilot can be proof against this Stress of Weather All then that Prudence can engage for is to be circumspect and consider every Circumstance in the several lights it is capable of but still the most discerning Man is in the Clouds The greatest Judgment and Application finds all its Endeavours frivolous and vain and that when he thought he saw all things clearly he was all the while groping and blundering in the dark And yet notwithstanding we cannot arrive to a commanding and infallible Certainty Necessary this Virtue must be acknowledged of exceeding great weight and absolute Necessity For thus much is her just due that what is possible to be effected must be compass'd by her assistance that though she cannot do All she can do a great deal and that however Men are not constantly successful with her yet without her all their Attempts are frivolous and perfectly insignificant Not only Riches but Power and Opportunities and Strength for Action are impotent and vain if destitute of Wisdom to use them * Vis consilì expers mole ruit suâ c. Hor. Lib. 3. Od. 4. Rash Force by its own weight must fall But prudent Strength will still prevail For such the Gods assist and bless †Mens una sapiens plurium vincit manus One good Head is better than a great many Hands â‚ Multa quae naturâ impedita sunt consilio expediuntur Liv. Many things that Nature hath made intricate and difficult are made easie and very feasible by good Consideration and Advice Nor does what I urged in the former Paragraph at all invalidate the Truth of these Observations because though Prudence be not the never-failing Cause yet it is the usual Cause of Success God does not always prosper Mens wisest Projects To convince us that the World is
not govern'd without him But he for the most part prospers fit and proper means to encourage our Industry and as a proof that the World is governed regularly by him Now That which principally requires Our Prudence is that we have to do with Men and the corrupt Disposition of the Persons we deal with their perverse unmanageable Temper makes Address necessary in all our Transactions For of all Creatures in the Universe there is not any so hard to be subdued and brought to compliance as Mankind * Impatiēns aequi nedum servitutis Senec. de Clement They who cannot bear so much as Equity and Neighbours fare must needs be much less contented with Subjection and Slavery And thefore nothing less than great Art and Industry is sufficient to reduce and keep them in order For though we are always disposed to mutiny against them that are in any respect our Superiors and to fall soul upon People of all Conditions yet we never do it with so much Zeal and such eager Malice as when we make Head against those who pretend to Authority and Dominion over us Now Prudence is the knack of managing Mankind and keeping this Factious Principle under a slack and gentle Rein by which the Skilful Rider keeps this Skittish Horse in the Road and Ring of Obedience Now although Nature have implanted this as well as other Virtues in us and more or less in proportion to every Man's Capacity and Parts and though it be from those Original Seeds that Prudence takes its beginning yet is this more acquired more learned and improved more the Effect of Study and Application of Thought than any other Virtue whatsoever And this Acquisition is in some measure the Fruit of wise Precepts and good Advice which we commonly call the Theory or Speculative Part of Prudence but the best and Principal Instrument and Help toward it is Experience though this require much more Time and Pains which is term'd therefore the Practical Part. And This again is of Two sorts The One truly and properly so because it is Personal learnt by what happens to or is done by our own selves arising from Observations of our own making and to This in strict speaking the Name of Experience is appropriated The Other is not our own but the result of other Peoples Judgment or Practice and such is History which informs us by Hearsay and Reading Now our own Proper Experience is much the firmer more assur'd and what may with better reason be depended upon for Vse as Pliny says is the best Master the Author and Teacher of all Arts and Sciences the perfectest though the most tedious and expensive way of Learning * Seris venit Usus ab Annis it is the result of many Years and Gray Hairs exceeding hard to be mastered very laborious and very rare The Knowledge of History as it is less satisfactory and assured so is it likewise more easie more frequently to be met with more obvious and in common to all sorts of People A Man indeed is more resolute and confident when he learns Wisdom at his own Cost but it is much easier and cheaper to grow wise at the Expence of other People And from these Two Experience properly so call'd and Historical Prudence is deriv'd according to that common Saying †Usus me genuit peperit Memoria Seu memoriae anima vita Historia Experience is my Father and Memory my Mother or rather History which is the Life and Soul of Memory Now Prudence may and in order to the giving us a clear Notion of the thing 't is necessary it should be distinguished in several Respects both with regard to the Persons concern'd in the use of it and the Affairs about which it is employed As to the Persons we are to observe That there is first That which we may call private Prudence and that is either solitary and individual wherein a Mans single Person only is concern'd this is something so low and narrow that it scarce deserves the noble Title of Prudence or else it is Social and Domestick confin'd to some small Company and lesser Societies and then there is Secondly Publick Prudence which is commonly known by the Name of Policy This is the more Sublime more Excellent and Useful and more difficult to be attained and to This it is that all those lofty Characters and large Commendations in the beginning of this Chapter do of right belong which is again subdivided according to the different Subjects and Occasions that call for it into Civil and Military Prudence With regard to the Affairs it is conversant about These are of two kinds Some Ordinary and Easie Others Difficult and Uncommon There are also several Contingencies by the interposition of which some new difficulties spring up which were not in the nature of the things and consequently doubts and perplexities not foreseen at the first setting out and accordingly that Prudence whose business it is to manage all these may be termed either Ordinary when it proceeds in the plain easie way and governs its self by known Rules established Laws and Customs in common Use or else Extraordinary when it is obliged to go out of the beaten Road and have recourse to difficult Stratagems and unusual Methods There is still one Distinction more behind which extends both to the Persons and to the Affairs or as the Schools speak the Subject and the Object of this Prudence But it is such a one as regards not so much the several Kinds as the different Degrees of this Virtue I mean that Prudence which is truly and properly a Man 's Own and gives him the Denomination of Wife when one acts upon his own Judgment and trades with his own Stock the Other a Borrowed and Precarious Prudence when we follow the Advice of others And thus it is that all Philosophers agree in allowing two sorts of Wise Men. The First and Highest rank are those who walk by their own Light that penetrate and see through all Difficulties and always contrive Remedies and Expedients by the force of their own Judgment and happy Forecast But where shall we find these Able Men They are certainly Prodigies in Nature The Other of Inferior Condition are such as understand how to judge and take and make the best advantage of good Counsel when it is given them Now all Persons whatsoever that make any manner of pretence to Wisdom must be included in this Division for They who neither know how to give good Advice nor how to take it when others give it are by no means fit to come under this Character but the contrary of Stupidity and Folly The General Rules which concern Prudence at large in it's most comprehensive Signification as it relates to Persons and Affairs of all Sorts and Qualities have been already handled and some short account given of them in the Book that went before And those you remember were Eight First The true understanding of