have their name for the diversion they give us from tiresome objects to those that are Pleasant and agreeable Which sufficiently shows how difficult a matter it is to overcome the hard-ships of our Condition by any force of Mind but that a man may turn them away from him by dexterity and address In effect chuse the firmest Soul upon Earth can she digest without regret the knowledge of what we are and of what we shall one day be As for my part I believe it is almost impossible but tho' by a long habitude and solid reasoning we may arrive to such a pass as to look indifferently upon all troublesome objects whatever yet they will at least give us an austere humour far from any Sentiments of Pleasure nay from the very Idea of joy 'T is the distinguishing Character of God alone that he can view himself and there find perfect Felicity and Repose We can scarce cast our Eyes upon our selves but we there discover a thousand defects which obliges us to seek elsewhere that which is wanting in us Glory Reputation and Fortune are a mighty relief against the rigours of Nature and the miseries of Life Thus we had Wisdom given us for no other end but only to regulate these Goods and to direct our conduct but let our stock be never so great we shall find it stands us in small stead when we are alarm'd with the pains and approaches of Death I know there are several persons who prepare themselves against it by solid judicious reflections and by designs well concerted But it generally so happens that the extremity of pain dashes all these fine resolutions to pieces that a Feavour throws them into a delirium or that by doing every thing out of Season they are strangely fond of Life when they ought to take up a Resolution of quitting it These empty Pretenders so vain and high Flying That Preach up a Constancy without Relenting Resemble the Fop who as he lay dying Begg'd his Maker to give him three Years to Repent in All the circumstances of Death regard only those that remain behind The Weakness the Resolution the Tears the Indifference all is equal at the last moment and 't is very ridiculous to imagine that this ought to be considered as a great matter by those who are going to be nothing themselves There is nothing that can effectually conquer the horrour of this dissolution but a firm perswasion of another Life we must put on a Spirit of confidence and place our selves in such a scituation as to hope every thing and fear nothing In truth 't is impossible not to make some reflections upon a thing so Natural nay a man must be guilty of a strange effeminacy not to dare to think of it We may say the same thing of sadness and indeed of all sorts of grief 't is a Chimera for Man to wish to disengage himself absolutely from them I may add they are sometimes lawful and I think they may be reasonably used on certain occasions An indifference is perfectly scandalous in some sort of Misfortunes A tenderness is justly paid to the Calamities of a faithful Friend but then we are to observe that as greif ought to be rare so it ought to be soon laid aside After having observed the greatest part of People that hunt after their pleasures I have found four sorts of them and I am apt to perswade my self that I know all their Sentiments exactly They are the sensual the hasty or Choleric the voluptuous and the delicate The sensual apply themselves more grosly to that which is most Natural and like other Animals follow their own simple Appetites That which touches the Voluptuous makes an impression upon the Senses which reaches as far as the Soul I don't mean that intelligent Soul from whence proceeds the light of Reason but a Soul more mixt and interessed in the Body which the passions cause to languish and which may be tickled with all manner of Pleasures The Choleric have a more lively Sense and a more violent Soul sensible of impressions and full of Heat in all their Movements The Mind has a greater share in the taste of the Delicates than in that of others To these do we owe our inventions and refinements in Luxury without them Gallantry had been unknown Musick harsh and rude and our Eating mean and ill ordered To these are we indebted for the eruditus luxus of Petronius and all the exquisite discoveries the politeness of our Age has made But it must be confest that if these Persons are ingenious in preparing Pleasures for other Men they are fruitful in disgusts for themselves and having too great an Idea of the perfection of things are over difficult to be pleased I have made some observations too upon the objects that please us and methinks I have remark'd very particular differences in them There are a slight sort of impressions that if you 'l pardon the expression only glance upon the Soul and employ it for the time upon agreable things where it is fixed with complacency without the least invention of care to disturb it This we call agreeableness and it is conformable enough to the humour of the most Virtuous Persons who mingle this sort of Pleasure with their most serious Occupations I have observed another which the Ancients called Mollities a soft voluptuous impression that flatters and tickles the Senses and diffuses it self deliciously all over the Soul From hence arises a certain Laziness that insensibly robs the Mind of its vivacity and vigour insomuch that being once Charm'd with it 't is a difficult matter to shake off so sweet a Lethargy Offensive disagreeable Subjects are felt after a manner quite opposite to this They do violence to the Senses the Soul is wounded by them and this proceeds so far as to give a disturbance and inquietude to the Mind But the highest degree of merit in Objects is that which is touching which penetrates even to the bottom of the Heart which raises the finest Images in our Minds and moves us after the most tender manner imaginable It is hard to speak of it well and there is no expression but comes infinitely short of what those persons enjoy that are affected by it These transports and deliquiums proceed from the want of proportion between the Objects and the Soul that receives the impression of them Whether it is because not being able to contain our selves we are as it were carried out of our selves by a sort of ravishment or that overwhelmed with excess of pleasure we faint away under the weight of it I should never have done if I were minded to pursue all the differences that are to be found in so copious a Subject The best way is to chuse what we find most conformable to our taste to our Inclination or to our Genius Let gay Persons search after diversion and joy let the indifferent content themselves with what is agreeable let the Delicate
Example of all those who Mourn to prove that privation is but an occasion of Grief I can use for my own justification the example of all those who are Comforted Is it not true that those who are comforted are in a state of Privation as well as those who are Afflicted 'T is therefore probable that Privation is not precisely a cause of pain and that we must admit some other which suffers degrees and variations I am of opinion Madam it would not be improper here to discover to you this Cause and to let you see why it doth not act upon some particular minds Why it acts upon others Why it ceases or continues to act and in a word why it acts with more or less Violence But as this Discussion would engage me in too large a Field so it would put you to the expence of too intense an Application which perhaps in your present condition you are not capable of making I would treat you as a Lady of Resolution and Learning and also as a languishing or a curious Person I am for leaving to your She-Friends the care of sweetning your Affliction by their Tears and for reserving to my self the employment of engaging it with my Reasons But as I pretend to consine my self to useful things I will apply my self only to what may be proper for your cure To which end Madam you need only make a short Reflection upon the Causes of Grief You know that all Grief immediately proceeds from Separation and that there are two kinds of Separation For one relates to things continued and t'other to things united But you are perhaps still to be informed that the Separation of continued things occasions the pain of the Body and that the Separation of things united causes the pain in the Mind In the mean time 't is of no great importance to dwell longer upon this cause by reason it is not possible to hinder Separation from producing Pain and that it is even impossible to hinder Separations We must ascend somewhat higher and in that imitate the Conduct of the Physitians who seldom have any regard to the nearest Cause but always apply themselves to that which is remote because 't is that which seeds the Distemper and is the cause of ill Humours and 't is chiefly against this that their Remedies exert their Vertue The remote cause of the pain in the Mind is Opinion But what is this Opinion Some say that it is an undertermined Iudgment As for my self I take it to be the evil Choice of our Iudgment At least I don't apprehend how indetermination agrees with what one ordinarily calls Opinion There is nothing less indeterminate than that For does it not principally proceed from the force of Opinion that we expose our selves to Dangers to Vexations and to Death it self Wou'd we incur so many Hazards for real Benefits What likelihood then is there that Opinion would engage us so far if it was nothing but an undetermined Iudgment I have here great Discoveries to make to you did I rather propose to my self to satisfy your Mind than to calm your Heart I would then endeavour to shew you after what manner Opinion is formed and how it moves the Mind and the Body But when you have well considered that Opinion is the remote cause of Grief you will have almost all the Knowledg which is necessary for your Cure Pleasure and Pain are the Sentiments which our Soul has of what is agreeable or offensive to us But because nothing can feel if it doth not touch nor be felt if it is not touched it follows of necessity that what produces pleasure and pain must touch the Soul it is certain then that all sensible Beings necessarily touch it But all Beings are not necessarily sensible There are none but those which are delightful or prejudicial to us in themselves that are so and these are the Goods or Evils of Nature The rest which are called indifferent are not so but when they lose their indifference and they never lose it but when Opinion fastens to them the Idea of Good or Evil and then they become the Goods or Evils of Opinion But the Idea of Good or Evil is no sooner fix'd to an Object but the Soul unites it self with it or separates from it This Vnion is made by a kind of touch which gives pleasure to the Soul and this Separation is made by a motion which gives pain to it and which cannot be better expressed than by the word Divulsion which Physick has appropriated to its own use You see then Madam that the separation of the Soul from its Objects is the immediate Cause of Pain and that Opinion must be the remote Cause of it since it is the cause of this separation This Principle being once established it is easie to explain all the degrees and differences of Pain by the greater or lesser violence which the Soul endures in disengaging it self from those objects to which it was fastened But we must pass to a more useful consideration and observe after what manner Opinion acts against us that we may know how to act against Opinion I find then that Opinion cheats us three ways Sometimes it gives us an Idea of Good and Evil altogether false oftentimes it gives us one that is false in part and almost always misapplies their real Idea to objects It gives us an Idea of good and evil altogether false when it makes them pass with us for what they are not It gives us an Idea partly false when it makes us conceive them to be less or greater than they really are It misapplies their real Idea to Objects either when it applies it to an object from which it disagrees or to an object with which it agrees less than with another or to an object with which it agrees no more than all other objects of the like nature Thus although Existence and Nothing Life and Death are neither Goods not Evils yet Opinion has made them pass for the greatest Goods and the greatest Evils in the World Notwithstanding Health is the most valuable Gift of Nature yet the Covetous prefer the Gifts of Fortune to it and fear less to become indisposed than to become poor After that Opinion has given us these Ideas either absolutely false or false in part or misapplied as to the Objects it wholly puts the Soul upon possessing the Good or avoiding the Evil which it presents to it It prepossesses it so much that it hinders it from disposing it self to the contemplation and enjoyment of other Goods and leaves it no leisure to beware of other Evils and to avoid them Insomuch that it seems the Soul knows but one Single Good and one single Evil or at least but one great Good and one great Evil. This state of prepossession is a kind of divorce that the Soul makes from all other Goods in order to unite it self more strictly to the Good it espouses This Good which
presently they will not be so Your Grief appears somewhat long The Earth which covers the Ashes of your Friend is almost stiff Think upon recalling your firmness Reason and Decency do now oppose your Grief Your Friend opposes it himself and if you make use of his Precepts hereafter you shall be only free to extol his Merit to consider his Relations to cherish his Friends and to respect his Memory CHAP. I. Of the True and False Beauty of Ingenious Writings By Mr. SAVAGE IF the Idea which all Men have naturally of the True Beauty of Works of the Mind were not effac'd by the great Number of false Iudgments there would not be so mâ—ny various Opinions about their Merit For this Idea would be a certain Rule which every one would be obliged to follow unless one would expose himself to the Universal Censure of Readers who would easily discover when they were out of the way I will not here take notice of the Causes that have created in the greatest part of our Writers the common custom of giving so many wrongful Opinions Some of them are general which have so extinguisht the light of the Soul upon all objects which are not exposed to our Senses that there are Infinite Errors in all Sciences and even reach to the distinguishing of Good and Evil. There are some other particular Causes which are apt tohinder of themselves the knowing the true or false Beauty of the Works of the Mind when Reason would be otherwise Just Exact and Clear That which is must common is Precipitation For every one flatters himself that he is capable to judge either through Pride not to be thought Ignorant or through Affection and Hate according as one is engaged in any Party or through Imitation neither judging for or against but only as one has heard the World talk or in fine through Caprice Chance Elevatition and Sallie of Humour as happens oftentimes to persons of Quality who pretend that their Rank gives 'em all the necessary illuminations to know the Price and worth of the Gifts of the Mind But whatever these Causes are General or Particular the variety of Opinions is too evident to doubt the certainty of this truth viz that we don't judge upon the same Idea or by the same Rule tho' it be not certain there is one 'T is to form it in the Mind that Rhetorick and Poetry and the Art of writing History has been employ'd But the more rules are invented the more they seem to be neglected And 't is a wonder that the most expert Masters of the World as Aristotle Cicero Horace Quintilian c. should have so few perfect Followers It seems then that we ought to forsake the way of Precepts and search elsewhere for sure and immutable Guides either to Write Well or to Iudge well of the Merit of Authors To give ones self a just and exact Idea I think it would be necessary chiefly to examine any Book with some other which has acquired an Universal Approbation Malherbe in the late Reign excelled in the beauty of his Odes and they have preserved to this day the same Charms to their Intelligent and Judicious Readers Wherefore when you read any Ode to the Glory of this King compare the Stile with that of Malherbe and according as you find 'em agree so you may venture to decide But then the Piece you compare it to must be of establish'd reputation and which you must be sure is like to continue such we have seen several Authors who have had very great Applause but it only continued for a very few years during which the buzzing of the Readers and the suffrage of their Friends gave 'em their short-liv'd worth There are but very few true Modells Voiture himself is none and much less Balzac The pretty Conceits of Voiture and the Flights of Balzac have both an Affectation which naturally displeases The one endeavours to be agreeable and make us laugh in whatever humour we are The other would be admir'd and esteem'd by the number of his Words and the excess of Amplifications The two Letters writ to Monsieur de Vivonne imitating both their manners of Writing are an excellent Satyr on their Stile and easily discover the ridiculousness of these two Authors who were not long since so famous It were easie to foretell that such will be the Fate of a certain Author who Composes his Works upon the Memoirs of the Streets and Female Fooleries who believes that all the beauty of a Book when the subject is the Life of a Saint consists in bringing in some new term or smart expression and is very well satisfied with himself when the Period which has neither depth nor solidity rowls agreeably to the Point But not to make any further offensive Predictions we know that Seneca writ no otherwise than scattering through all his Works Points Antithesis's and Paradoxes He surprized his Times with the Arrogance of his Decisions and there are some yet alive who hold him for a Model of Eloquence But they must write very ill that imitate him and they may be assur'd to tire those Readers that have any taste or relish 'T is not with these extraordinary flourishes that Nature explains her self Whatever requires a continual attention displeases because the greatest part of Men are not capable of it There is a force and weakness in all Writers whatever This Fantastical mixture makes us naturally conclude those Works to be disagreeable where we must have too intense a thought to conceive 'em or at least are so much below one that they deserve not the least regard Nevertheless there are but few good Writings where the Author excell'd so far as to stand for a Model We have Homer and Virgil for Heroick Poetry Horace is a perfect Original of Satyrs Epistles and Familiar Discourses I dont say the same thing of his Odes and I would explain my self farther if the excellency of some of 'em did not oblige me to a respectful silence of the rest If the Author of the long Comments upon him disapproves my Opinion I will add what may perhaps appease him That those of Anacreon are more lively more sweet more engaging and by consequence more perfect Let 's return to the Authors of our own Language Corneille and Racine are admirable in Tragedies nevertheless it were to be wisht that the cleanness of Expression in Corneille suited with the variety and abundant fertility of his Thoughts Few Authors can arrive to represent so many different Characters To invent so many Intrigues To make so many Persons Reason with so much connexion and solidity We assist at the very Action whilst he does but represent it and pass immediatly from the figure to the reality 'T is Augustus that we hear speak in Cinna 'T is the Cid that we see in his first work who Cause so much talk in the Court and the City and was as it were the signal of the course where
cause of so many great Misfortunes which happen to Men. I confess 't is a good thing to search God in Spirit and Truth This first Essence this soveraign Intelligence deserves our most purifi'd Speculations But when we have a mind to disengage our Soul from all commerce with our Sense are we assur'd that an abstracted Knowledge is not lost in wandring Thoughts and does not create more Extravagancies than it discovers Truths Whence think you comes the Absurdity of so many Sects scatter'd through the World but from deep Meditations where the Mind as it were in a Dream meets with nothing but its own proper Fancies Forget Sir this melancholy Disgust you have to our Images Images stop in a manner this Spirit so difficult to be fixed Moreover there is nothingmore natural to Man than Imitation and of all Imitations there is nothing so lawful as that of a Picture which represents to us only what we ought to Worship The Idea of vertuous Persons creates in us a love of Vertue and produces a just desire to attain that Perfection which they have arrived to There are Emulations of Holiness as well as Jealousies of Glory and if the Picture of Alexander animated the Ambition of Caesar to a Conquest of the World the Image of our Saints may well excite in us the ardour of their Zeal and inspire us with that happy Violence which ravishes Heaven I allow you that the Old Testament did not permit us to form any thing that looked like the resemblance of God This God painted himself in the great Work of the Universe The Heavens the Sun the Stars the Elements were the Images of his Immensity and Power The wonderful Order of Nature exprest his Wisdom to us Our Reason which would know all finds in her self a kind of Idea of this Infinite Being and this was all that could be figur'd of a God who did no otherwise discover himself to Men but by his Works But it is not thus in the New Alliance Since that a God is become Man for our Salvation we may well make to our selves Images of him to stir us up to the knowledge of his Goodness and Love And in effect if those are condemn'd as Hereticks that deny'd his Humanity is not it a strange Absurdity to call us Idolaters for loving to see it represented You are commanded to think always of his Passion to meditate always upon his Sufferferings and it yet is made a crime in us to have Figures that should support the Remembrance of them They would have the Image of his Death always presented to our Souls but won't allow of any before our Eyes Your Aversion for the Ornaments of our Priests has no better Foundation Do not you know Sir that God took the pains himself to ordain even the Fringe of the Habit of the High Priest And do you find that our Pontifical Habits are very different from those under the Jewish Oeconomy You are not less forward to deny us our Musick than to condemn our Images You ought to have remembred Sir that David recommended nothing frequenter to the Israelites than to sing the Praises of the Lord with all sorts of Instruments The Musick of our Churches exalts the Soul purifies the Spirit inspires the Heart and rectifies or augments the Devotion When a Mistery or a Miracle is treated of you understand nothing but Sense and Reason In Natural things which lead to Purity Sense and Reason are your Enemies There you give all to Nature here to Grace there one can alledge nothing supernatural but you laugh at it Here one says nothing of Humane to you but you think it Prophane and Impious Contrarieties have lasted but too long Agree with us about the lawful establisht Customs and we will write with you against the Abuses that have been introduc'd As to the Doctrine of our Church touching the real Presence of the Body of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of our Altar you have no more reason to dispute it You say that it is difficult to agree with us about a Body without Figure and Extension But is it more easie for us to agree with you about your Spiritual eating it After this manner who eats really the Substance of this same Body The difficulty of comprehending the Mistery is it less great on your side And is not a Miracle as necessary to your Opinion as ours So that if in spite of all this the love of a Separation still possesses you and that you cannot disengage your self from the prejudice of your Sentiments do not complain of that which is taken from you as an Injustice but rather be thankful for that which you have left as a Grace Melancholly Muttering and Opposition will rather hurt than serve you Whereas a Conduct more respectful and an Interest more discreetly manag'd than violently maintain'd might hinder the design of your Ruine if it were thought on One of the chiefest points of Discretion and the oftenest recommended is to respect in all Countries the Religion of the Prince To condemn the Belief of the Soveraign is to condemn the Soveraign himself at the same time A Protestant who in his Discourse or Writings taxes the Catholick Religion of Idolatry accuses the King by a necessary Consequence to be an Idolater and makes an assault upon him in his own Dominions which the Emperours of Rome would never suffer I know well that I exhort you to no purpose in the humour you are at present A Sentiment as it were natural which is form'd in our first Impressions the inclination one has for ancient Customs the difficulty that one suffers to quit a Belief one has been born in to embrace another which one has always oppos'd a delicacy of Scruple a false opinion of Constancy are bonds which will not easily be broken But then at least leave to your Children the liberty of chusing that which your long Engagements will not suffer you to do You complain of the Edict that obliges them to choose a Religion at seven years old Now this is the greatest favour could have been done them by that they are restor'd to their Country which you robb'd them of It returns them into the Bosom of the Common-wealth whence you drag'd them It makes them capable of Honours and Dignities that you had excluded them from Do not envy them Sir those Advantages that you will not benefit by and keeping your Opinions and Misfortunes to your self remit the care of their Religion to Divine Providence which shews itself so visible in such a conduct Where is the Father who does not inspire the Zeal of his Party as well as his Religion into his Children And what does any one know what may happen from this Zeal whether it will proceed to Fury or Piety if it will produce Crimes or Vertues In this Uncertainty Sir remit all things to the disposition of a Law which has no other end then the Publick Good and the particular Interest of your
shines equally upon all Men could it ever give us its light by chance And that exquisite proportion that we may observe in it could it ever proceed but from an eternal Wisdom After these Meditations I consider'd the perpetual Disagreement of the Elements and I could never enough admire that Happy War which entertains the World with so many wonderful Motions But above all I made my Reason give place and my whole Soul bend to that Prodigy of the Flux and Reflux of the Sea The vast extent of Waters amaz'd me But when I came to consider that the most Threatning Billows broke against the smallest Rocks and that having no sooner met 'em but in despight of all their forwardness they were oblig'd to return with Violence into themselves 't was here that I cry'd out transported with Wonder and seiz'd with Astonishment The Sea eternally does roar It s angry Billows beat the passive shoar But Mounds of Sand their might restrain And force them to their watry Realms again Neptune with Indignation sees His Waves ingloriously retreat Then from the conquering Cliffs he flies And murmurs at his shame and sighs at his Defeat At last when I had sufficiently consider'd of these Objects I took great pleasure to descend into my self and there to observe the Structure of an Humane Body and to contemplate all the Springs that move this admirable Machine I reflected upon the disposition of so many differing parts and yet all necessary to the composition and conservation of our Bodies as Bones Nerves Muscles Blood and Spirits I consider'd the marvellous Oeconomy of all these parts and cry'd out with Admiration Poor Man who knowst not these things but by means of thy senses Nevertheless canst thou boast thy self Author of so excellent a Work Thou who understoodst it not till after 't was made And must all the parts be expos'd to thy Eyes to give thee the least Insight 'T is certain that the experience of many Ages has made thee comprehend the cause of thy Living Digestion Motion c. and yet in despight of thy most exact Observations thou dost not know it but after a very imperfect manner On the other side casting my Eyes on the rest of Creatures I examin'd with admiration the different Figures of Animals the Scales of Fish the Feathers of Birds the Furs of Beasts and all those Things which regarded without attention represent nothing distinctly to the mind but sensibly discovered to me the greatest Wonders in Nature For call that Destiny Nature Knowledge or Divinity which creates and governs all below yet is it not always a Soveraign Power Is it not always an Infinite Wisdom Then I remain'd confounded to think where I had been and I could never enough wonder at the malice of the wicked or the blindness of the unbelieving For a Man must altogether forget himself and lose the knowledge of all things before he loses that of his Creator On whatever part we cast our Eyes we presently perceive the Character of the Divinity and whoever studies Nature throughly shall find sensible Proofs of the Power on which it depends But we have some lazy would-be-wits now a-days always bent to the imitation of others who without ever examining themselves or considering of the matter espouse the Cause of Impiety only to be thought Partners with some famous Libertines There are also some men who by an extravagant reach of Soul will in nothing depend on their Maker imagining that the Obedience which they should pay to this Infinite Majesty would take away the Freedom of their Opinions Not but that we see sometimes the best and most knowing men in the world fall under some sort of Incredulity or doubt But these do not give themselves the trouble to discover an Eternal Intelligence by the Order of the Vniverse Their Curiosity drives them to consider what is possible to be and after having stunn'd their Understanding with those Infinite Qualities which the Soul of Man cannot comprehend they oftentimes become incredulous because they cannot reconcile the Sentiments of their Conceptions to those of their Conscience Now as we ought to laugh at Sots and abhor the Wicked I think that we ought to have compassion for the last and to pity 'em only because they are miserable Some people are upon the rack to perswade themselves to believe that which they cannot comprehend Others attack Heaven it self through a fearful Malice and blaspheme a God whose Power they do not understand So as they are always in trouble and despair and after having been toss'd by the Fury of Impiety they find themselves torn by the Remorse of their own Conscience especially when the Light forsakes 'em and the Company which upholds 'em leaves 'em in the Desart of Solitude There is no passion so tormenting but they feel the sting on 't Fear Trouble Disquiet and Madness torture 'em by turns It were better for their Quiet if they never thought than to have but the least Commerce with their Conscience for nothing equals the Torments of the Wicked If some lewd Blasphemies he pours In endless pains he spends the Conscious Hours Hagg'd by the Ghastly Image of his sin No safe retreat without no peace within He flyes the Day he fears the Night He runs from Truth 's all searching light His Conscience too would leave behind But in himself both Iudge and Torturer does find The Unbelieving though they are not altogether so faulty are not less Miserable Tbey hunt after with difficulty a thing they never find and at every turn accufe Nature of being cruel only in regard of Man Thence proceeded the Complaints of that Great Man who envy'd the Advantage which Beasts enjoy'd of living in a commodious Ignorance of all things without disquieting themselves with a search after any Truth Thence also proceeds the discontent of those Men who cannot think without envying those of other Countries Nor see any Beast in the sweetness of his Repose without envying the Tranquility that Nature has bestow'd on him It is then certain That the Belief of a God makes the best foundation of all Pleasures and the Opinion we have of him never suffers a Man to be without satisfaction in his Prosperity and comfort in his Adversity A Mind well ordered does not only tast delights in the enjoyment of a Good it receives it also finds Dainties to thank its Benefactor for and every Reflection it makes upon 'em is a new Subject of satisfaction 'T is to God we must have recourse in Afflictions and there is no Anguish so great but it may be sweetned by a total resignation to His Providence Then let every one judge how much Religion imports us How much it advantages us to acknowledg God and to submit our selves to his will as well in consideration of our Duty as for the interest of our Repose CHAP. III. That we ought to restrain the Violence of our Appetites by considering the true Worth of those things we
the Groans of the People I cannot understand their Cries nor behold their Tears without feeling my self affected with a real Compassion I cannot be a spectator of the disorders of my Countrey nor consider the ambition of its Oppressors without conceiving an invincible aversion for them We likewise experience another sort of Vexation which invades us in the midst of Pleasure it self It is nothing else oftentimes but a disgust of abundance for our Soul having not strength enough to digest it suffers a mighty remission in the vigour of its faculties and yields at length to the violence of these excesses Now for this I find no better and indeed no other remedy than to moderate our Passions and to manage our Pleasures with a prudent and wise Oeconomy Thus Epicurus revived his Appetite by abstinence and avoided all excesses to shun the inconvenience of Debauchery and as the continual society even of the best Men becomes at length tiresom or insensible those persons that have a delicate apprehension of Pleasure will voluntarily remove themselves from one another to avoid the disquiet that threatens them and to have a better tast of the charms of Conversation by a new vigour which they bestow upon their Thoughts There remains nothing more for me to speak of but another sort of Vexation whose Cause I am not able to divine and as 't is extreamly difficult to know the real subject of it I find that it is hard to sweeten it or to withstand it It is a Secret Displeasure which hides it self in the bottom of the Soul and which we feel much better than we can discover 'T is that which goes to Bed with us which awakes and rises with us which attends us at our Repasts which follows us in our Walks which we carry along with us as well in a Crowd as in Retirement and which doth not forsake those whom it has once seized till it has exhausted all its power upon them I have had a wearisome experience of this Malady and have often felt the whole bitterness of it I have gone with it to the Play-house and have come out with the same I have carried it into the best Conversations without any relief I have during its excesses used the most agreeable Diversions but was insensible to them all the while and in the midst of the publick Ioy have been constrained to shew my ill humour and to appear disgusted 〈◊〉 the sweetest contentments of Life and at last have found no other Remedy to Charm it but the pleasure of good Eating and good Drinking Good Cheer with our Friends is the Soveraign Remedy against this sort of Vexation for besides that Conversation which then becomes more free and pleasant insensibly sweetens it 't is certain that Wine revives the forces of Nature and gives our Soul vigour sufficient to exclude all sorts of Melancholly I know some morose unsociable Persons will at least in outward shew and appearance declare a great aversion for this Remedy whose Delights notwithstanding they do not contemn But let us banish all grimaces here I am little disturbed at their mistaken severities since the most rigid Philosopher of the World has prescribed us this very Remedy since the severest of our Illustrious Men have submitted if I may so express my self their most austere Virtues to the charms of this agreeable pleasure and since the best sort of Persons disown not the Use of it but are only content to condemn the Excess CHAP. VI. Of PLEASVRES By Mr. MANNING of the Inner-Temple The same Hand with the former AFter having discoursed of our Disgusts and the means of qualifying the bitterness of them it is not improper to entertain our selves about the Pleasures of Life Although to speak the Truth extrinsic things contribute much to our Pleasures and 't is not enough to have Senses unless we have Objects to content them yet the multitude of them being almost infinite as in effect we find it seems that our happiness depends in some measure upon ourselves and that our greatest diversions are unpleasant to us if our Senses are not in a disposition to receive them As for my self I am of opinion that we should never debar our minds of those innocent pleasures which occurr but live free from all those disquietudes that a consideration of what is past uses to infuse as from the disturbance we conceive for what 's to come The present time only is ours and if we were wise we should manage every moment as it were the last but nothing is more ordinary than the evil use we make of that time which Nature has allowed us There are few Men but would live long enough if they knew how to live well but it happens for the most part that when we are a dying we complain of not having lived as yet If we are destined to a long Life we disturb it by the fear of not arriving to it and when we are come to our limitation we have nothing else left us but the concern of having manag'd it very ill This Pleasure which now presents it self is perhaps the last I shall be sensible of an infinite number of pains may overwhelm me a moment after Who then shall hinder me from enjoying my self innocently whilst I may Must the difference of places or the inequality of Objects keep me always in disorder when I have power to live contented in all parts of the Earth I grant that indeed certain Persons are dearer to us and more agreeable than others that as there are different Subjects to divert us so there are delights more and less affecting But for the sake of a pleasure which I earnestly hoped am I to despise all others That Life which slides away in the Countrey is no less mine than that I pass at Paris The days wherein I am wholly buried in Grief will be reckoned to me as well as my most joyful Festivals and will contribute as much as they to make up the number which must confine my years Why then should the charms of my Repose be troubled here by the remembrance of those Pleasures I should have tasted or by the imagination of those which I pretend to enjoy 'T is an imprudence to be desirous thus to return to those places we had forsaken and to endeavour to be present in those where we cannot be so soon If the Pleasures we find in the Countrey are different from those of the Court let us endeavour to adapt our minds to them For who can hinder us from exalting and humbling our selves in this manner We have here neither Musick-meetings nor Balls nor Play-house but then we have no disgraces no servitude to fear or undergo Conversation is not so agreeable here Admit it is not a Man may have Commerce with himself and with Persons that however are not troublesome Cato entertain'd himself with Children after he had applied himself all the day to the Service of the Commonwealth and our best Wits