Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	cause_v	pain_n	part_n	1,815	5	4.8305	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59619	Miscellany essays upon philosophy, history, poetry, morality, humanity, gallantry &c. / by Monsieur de St. Evremont ; done into English by Mr. Brown.	Saint-Evremond, 1613-1703.; Brown, Thomas, 1663-1704.	1694 (1694)	Wing S306_VARIANT; ESTC R27567	181,183	477

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 m●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

freedom of a Soldier I commended very much the new Liberty which his last Profession had made him take and it seem'd to me that the commendation pleas'd him I had continu'd it longer but as Night began to approach we were oblig'd to separate the Father being as much contented with my proceeding as I was satisfied with the confidence he reposed in me Motives for a general Peace in the Year 1678. IF it be a difficult matter to discover the Origine of Winds and Subterranean Fires 't is no less very often to dive into the hidden Causes of the greatest part of our Wars sometimes Ambition and Avarice keep those designs long conceal'd that the least pretence discovers The Declarations of the pretended Cause for the most part are only calculated to amuse the People and oftentimes so dexterously that the true Reasons of State and Policy are covered with some appearance of Justice They never scruple to ruin the Foundation and violate the most Sacred Rights of Nature Don't let us look for any fresh Instances of this in the unhappy War which at present oppresses all Countries of Christendom let us conceive for the Princes who are the cause of it a Respect which perhaps Posterity will not subscribe to let us suppose that they do all out of a good meaning and that Justice is the rule of so many destructive Actions It seems at least that they have not forgot all impressions of Equity since they have agreed to chuse Mediators to decide their Differences and that those who are chiefly concerned seem willing to accept his Intervention whom the God of Peace hath made his Lieutenant upon Earth But as it may happen that these Princes are not all equally dispos'd to accept of a speedy Peace 't will be necessary to remember them that they are obliged to it by the Motives of Glory Interest and a good Conscience Glory is nothing else but an high Esteem which is acquired amongst Men and which passes down to Posterity We may say that there is nothing more glorious for a Prince than to make his People happy The glory of storming Towns and acquiring Victories is common even to Barbarians But to conquer one's self and renounce one's own Interest to give Repose and Peace to the World is the proper Character of an Hero The People of France will never cease to give a thousand Benedictions and a thousand Praises to the Memory of Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy his Hate and his Vengeance appeared just since he armed against the Murtherer of his Father Glory and the Reasons of State seemed to forbid him to think of a Peace since he might promise himself assured Conquests by the Union which he had made with a puissant Monarch Yet for all this out of a pious Consideration of the Publick Calamities he stifled his Resentments and by one so great a Mercy he rendred himself a thousand times more glorious than his Son who was so terrible and who fought so many Battels Many Conquerours have thought to gain immortal Glory by their Arms who in the next Age have been treated as Robbers and Pyrates War is never truly glorious but when it is founded upon Justice which also ceases when one may have a reasonable Satisfaction without it and when the Interest of the State demands a Peace It would be no difficult matter to prove that even those Princes who are at present most concern'd in this War will find their truest Interest in a Peace if they have any regard to that of their own Subjects which is the only true Interest of State Misery is general we are a alike ruin'd by Friends and Enemies To take any Place you must shed the Bloud as it were of all the People who being seduc'd to the last Extremities mourn secretly amidst the Songs of Triumph that are publickly commanded In effect they are so far from being the better for the Conquests of their Prince that they are more burthen'd with Taxes and Imposts than ever The Towns and conquer'd Provinces do not afford for the most part half the necessary Expence to fortifie and desend them They must pay Contributions to their Enemy furnish free Passage and Quarter to Souldiers who almost every-where live like Licencious Robbers The present posture of Affairs seems to give us some indications of the approach of the day of Judgment whose knowledge God hath reserved wholly to himself that it will be the last War of the World foretold us by the Scripture and which will for ever take away the Power from Princes and People of Insuring and Supporting each other Yet this is not all they must either receive Souldiers or pay Winter-Quarters which destroys all they saved from the Pillage of the Campaign perhaps they commit all these Excesses to teach the People not to fear Death in robbing them of all they have to keep them alive But it is to be feared that this Despair in the end may produce some ill effects that it may set the People upon looking for ease from their Burthens elsewhere or at least that in this Conjuncture when the Pope labours for a Peace they will second his good Intentions in spite of their Masters who would oppose them When the Popes heretofore made use of the Ecclesiastical Thunder for their temporal Interest the greatest part of the World never heeded it because their Power ought to be employed to edifie and not to destroy But if at this day the Holy Father would make use of the Church Censures against the most obstinate Opposers of Peace which is the Source of all Impieties 't is to be presumed that so holy an Action would draw down the Blessing of Heaven and procure the Applause of all Mankind It may be objected perhaps That the Interest of State and Prudence does make Princes defer Peace in order to weaken a growing Enemy whose Power unless prevented may occasion a common Disadvantage As for example the Allies seem to have some reason not to accord so soon with France hoping that time may give them some Advantages to reduce her to such a condition that she may not be in a capacity to hurt them But this reason alone is not sufficient to continue the War no more than it would be to begin it 't is from Divine Providence and not from Violence we must expect a Remedy against the fear of an uncertain Evil Whatever Interest we may have in a War and whatever Justice we have to take Arms We ought seriously to desire Peace out of a pure Principle of Conscience though we are employed in the justest War 'T is indeed the last Reason we have mentioned but it would be the the first and strongest were it not for the universal Depravity of the World Heretofore it was a Doubt whether Christians might make War but not to raise any difficulty upon the Argument it is certain they may not but upon those conditions which