can this shorten the long state of Death For tho' thy Life shall numerous Ages fill The State of Death shall be Eternal still And he that dies to day shall be no more As long as those who perish'd long before If Nature saith he again should in anger speak to us in this manner What Cause hast thou O Mortal to Weep and to Complain of Death If thy former Life hath been easie and pleasant and if thou hast known how to make use of the good things and delights that I have afforded thee why dost thou not as a Guest depart when thou art full and satisfied with Life and why dost thou not accept fond Creature of the agreeable Repose that is offered thee But if otherwise thy Life hath been to thee a burthen and if thou hast suffered my Bounties to perish why desirst thou more to mispend them after the same manner for I can give thee no new thing And if thou shouldst live thousands of years thou wilt but still see the same things repeated over again If Nature should speak to us in this Language should we not have reason to approve of this Discourse and own that it hath cause to Reproach us in this manner Fond Mortal what 's the matter thou dost sigh Why all these Tears because thou once must die And once submit to strong Necessity For if the Race thou hast already run Was pleasant if with joy thou saws't the Sun If all thy Pleasures did not pass thy Mind As thro' a Sieve but left some Sweets behind Why dost thou not then like a thankful Guest Rise cheerfully from Life's abundant Feast And with a quiet Mind go take thy Rest But if all those Delights are lost and gone Spent idly all and Life a burthen grown Then why fond Mortal dost thou ask for more Why still desire t' increase thy wretched store And wish for what must wast like those before Not rather free thy self from Pains and Fear And end thy Life and necessary care My Pleasures always in a Circle run The same returning with the yearly Sun And thus tho' thou dost still enjoy thy Prime And tho' thy Limbs feel not the rage of Time Yet I can find no new no fresh Delight The same dull Joys must vex thy Appetite Altho' thou coud'st prolong thy wretched Breath For numerous Years much more if free from Death At least we must acknowledge that a Wise Man who hath lived long enough to consider the World ought of his own accord to submit himself to the Course of Nature when he perceives that his time is come and cannot but suppose that his Race is Run and that the Circle that he hath finish'd is compleat and if this Circle is not to be compared to Eternity it is however with the continuance of the World As to what relates to the whole Prospect of Nature he hath often beheld the Heavens the Earth and other things included in the World He hath often seen the rising and the setting of the Coelestial Bodies He hath taken notice of several Eclipses and many other Phaenomenas or unusual Appearances in the Skye the constant succession of the Seasons and in a word many particular Generations many Corruptions and Transmutations And as to those things which relate to Mankind he hath seen or at least hath heard and understood from History the Transactions that have happen'd from the beginning of Peace and of War of Faith kept and violated of a Polite Life and of a rude and barbarous Behaviour of Laws Establish'd and Abolish'd of Kingdoms and Commonwealths in their first Birth and Declension and generally all other things that he hath any knowledge of or which have been told him and with which he is in any wise acquainted as if he had been present when they first happen'd So that he ought to consider that all the time that is gone before him relates to him as if his Life were begun with the things themselves And because we must judge of the future by the time past he ought also to think that all the subsequent time relates to him in the same manner and that there shall be nothing hereafter but what hath been already that there is nothing but the Circumstances of things that alter and that all things in general steer the same common Course and make the like appearances so that Holy Writ hath reason to say The thing that hath been it is that which shall be and that which is done is that which shall be done again and there is no new thing under the Sun Is there any thing whereof it may be said see this is new From whence we may conclude that a Wise Man ought not to fancy his Life short for by casting his eye upon the time past and foreseeing the time to come he may extend it to as great a length as the duration of the Universe Moreover tho' Epicurus had cause to say That it is ridiculous to assert that there is no evil in Death when it is present and yet to dread it and be troubled when it must come as if there were any reason to be disturbed for that which is absent which when present never gives us the least sorrow Nevertheless because other Considerations represent Death dreadful as the Evils and Pains that Usher it and those that we think will be its necessary Attendants Seneca therefore makes it his business to recommend divers Considerations wherein he shews that tho' Death in it self is no Evil yet it appears so much in that Notion that it ought not to be lookt upon as an indifferent thing for as he expresseth himself Death is not indifferent in the same manner as it is indifferent whether the Hairs of my head be of one length or not for Death is to be reckon'd amongst those things which tho' they be no real Evils yet they appear to be so for we love our selves and naturally desire to subsist and preserve our selves and we have an innate aversion from a dissolution because it seems to deprive us of many advantages and draws us away from that plenty of Enjoyments unto which we are accustomed There is yet one thing more which causeth us to dread Death We know the things present but we are altogether Strangers to those unto which we are a going and therefore we fear that which is unknown Besides we have a natural dread of Darkness into which we imagin that Death is leading us So that tho' Death is indifferent yet it is not of the number of those things that are easily to be despised we ought to inure and harden our Minds by a long accustomed Habit to enable us the more willingly to undergo and encounter with the dismal approaches of Death The Third Particular relates to the abominable Opinion of the Stoicks who were perswaded that in some Cases Men had the liberty to kill themselves for thus you see Seneca represents them arguing It is certainly a great
Rash and Proud Man he chose rather to return to Carthage and prefer'd an apparent Danger tho' he thought it not to be so great because of the Carthaginian Prisoners in the hands of the Romans to an undoubted Infamy and to a Life which he saw was Languishing and very short because of the Poison which the Carthaginians had given him However when Regulus had done nothing at Rome but having return'd back to Carthage that he kept his Word doubtless he cannot be too much esteem'd and applauded But when he dissuaded the Senate from what he had promised to persuade them to How can that be judg'd as a commendable thing seeing it was a manifest Perjury If he had contented himself with the plain delivery of his Message without persuading or dissuading any thing his proceeding might then admit of some colourable Excuse But thus openly to violate the Sacred Laws of Oaths how can this be Palliated And when he did it in Secret for fear saith Appian lest the Ambassadors that came along with him might come to understand it that also increaseth the Suspicion and aggravates the Crime Pretend not the Welfare and Glory of his Country to excuse him Truly our Country is to be secured by good Advice by Strength and Courage but not by wicked Artifices and by perfidious Dealing And we ought not to approve our selves Citizens whereby to become good Men. You may perhaps alledge what we find in Euripides That he swore with the Tongue but not with the Heart Illum jurasse Lingua Mentem gessisse injuratam But this is only to seek a Cloak for Perjury for as Cicero saith 'T is not Perjury to Swear falsly but not to perform what the Oath signifies according to the common intention of the Words Truly if it were lawful without wounding the Conscience to mean one thing and speak another it were to permit Lying in reality and to deceive him who hears us speak and with whom we converse This would cause the Faith of every one to be suspected and consequently would introduce a great Confusion in the Transactions and Affairs of Mankind You may also say that this was lawful because the Carthaginians themselves had broke the Faith they had given him But if you be a Wicked Person I ought not therefore to be less Honest otherwise What difference would there be between you and me We ought to deal with perfidious Persons either with a great deal of Precaution or with open Force but it is not lawful upon any account whatever to violate our Faith It is an old Maxim That either we ought not to Promise at all or else to keep it But it seems the Carthaginians put him to grievous Tortures for no other end but because contrary to the Faith he had given them he had dissuaded the Romans from concluding a Peace and the Exchange of the Prisoners It is true as Tubero saith That the Noblest Prisoners were delivered into the hands of Regulus 's Children who put 'em to Death with the same Torments that Regulus suffered But pray consider whether Regulus had any reason to prefer the Destruction of those Prisoners to the Lives of five Hundred Roman Soldiers who had been taken with him and who for the sake of his Vertue cruelly perished in the same manner with him at Carthage But to return to our present purpose in relation to Happiness I would fain be resolved how the Happiness of Regulus was greater than that of Thorius when he was Tortured in the manner that the forementioned Tubero relates They kept him a long time says he in dismal dark Dungeons then they cut off his Eye-lids and when the Sun shone brightest they brought him forth and exposed him to the Sun-beams forcing him to hold his Eyes that way knowing it was not possible for him to shut them Cicero informs us that he was bound in an Engin and that after they had cut off his Eye-lids they destroyed him by Watching Seneca terms this Engin a Tub stuck through with Nails in which he was Inclosed Sylvius presents us with this Description With desp'rate Rows they arm'd the sloping Wood And tor'tring Nails at equal distance stood Thus robb'd of Sleep by never sleeping pain He grows his own Tormentor and in vain Attempts his Limbs by turning to relieve While only varied Wounds the varied Postures give But possibly you 'll say That Thorius embrac'd Pleasure in an Effminate manner whereas Regulus for the good of his Country prefer'd these Tortures and suffer'd them Courageously First Thorius was not so soft and Effeminate but that when the Well-fare of his Country required he did not decline the Wars but at last died fighting in defence of it as Cicero himself testifies And tho' it be a great support in the midst of our Sufferings to preserve our Conscience Pure and Unstained considering that we suffer in an honest Cause and for the Well-fare of many yet it don't thereby appear that we are therefore more Happy than we should be by living Vertuously Wronging no body but endeavouring to do all the good we can and every way discharging the Duty of a good Man and an honest Subject spending our lives in this manner in a great deal of Pleasure and little Pain In short suppose a Man of the greatest Resolution and Courage who would not upon a good account be daunted at the greatest Difficulties or Dangers I say if it were offered to such a one without any prejudice either to his Duty or Reputation to take his choice of the two kinds of Life mentioned by Torquatus Where is the Man I beseech you among all those that thus exclaim against Pleasure and extol Vertue and Sufferings that would give the preference to the latter and willingly embrace it But to confirm what hath been said before That Pain is the greatest Evil for that hath been as the Antecedent from whence we may conclude by the Rule of Contraries That Pleasure is the chief Good By the same Reason by which we have proved That Pleasure is the sovereign Good which Naturally we seek Primum familiare seu accommodatum And consequently the chief Good By the same Reason it hath been proved That Pain is the chief Evil which Naturally we avoid Primum alienum se incommodans And consequently the chief Evil. For Nature hath not only given to all Creatures a natural love for Pleasure but hath also fix'd in 'em a natural hatred of Pain Let us now take notice of two or three Particulars First By the word Pain we are not to understand only those that we call the Pains of the Body but also those which we term the Pains or Inquietudes of the Mind and which are far more anxious and insupportable than those of the Body as we have already said Secondly That as we have before observ'd Vertue and Goodness have something within them which naturally afford Pleasure and Delight so likewise we may now affirm that Vice or that which is
THREE DISCOURSES OF HAPPINESS VIRTUE AND LIBERTY Collected from the WORKS of the Learn'd GASSENDI By Monsieur Bernier Translated out of French LONDON Printed for Awnsham and John Churchil at the Black Swan in Pater-Noster-Row MDCXCIX THE PREFACE THE Epicurean Philosophers placing the Happiness of Man in the Satisfaction of the Mind and Health of the Body assure us that those two are no otherwise to be procured than by a constant Practice of Virtue And because they have had the hard Fate to be misrepresented by most of the other Sects as well Ancient as Modern and their Principles traduced as favouring the most brutal Sensuality the Learned Gassendi who had either examined their Doctrin with more Diligence or interpreted their Sentiments with more Candour and Justice thought he could not employ his Time better than to vindicate the Morals of Epicurus and his Followers from the Slanders of Mistake and Malice and to shew that their principal Design was to lead Men by smooth and easie Paths to a just sober wise and virtuous Behaviour as the only way to true Happiness This he proved at large and illustrated with the Sentiments of many great and excellent Men among the Greeks and Romans But because these Things were diffused through the voluminous Works of that Great Man Monsieur Bernier whose Name is a sufficient Commendation in the Common-wealth of Learning took the Pains to put them together and to form them into several intire Discourses which on account of their great importance to Mankind are here presented to the Publick OF Moral Philosophy IN GENERAL MAnkind having a natural Inclination to be happy the main bent and design of all his Actions and Endeavours tend chiefly that way It is therefore an undeniable Truth that Happiness or a Life free from Pain and Misery are such things as influence and direct all our Actions and Purposes to the obtaining of them And tho' several Persons who neither want the Necessities nor Conveniences of Life possessing great Riches promoted to Dignites and Honours blessed with a beautiful and hopeful Off-spring in a word who want nothing that may seem requisite to compleat their present Happiness tho' I say we find many who have all these Advantages yet they lead an anxious and uneasy Life disquieted with Cares Troubles and perpetual Disturbances From whence the wiser sort of Mankind have concluded That the Source of this Evil proceeds from the Ignorance of the Cause wherein our true Happiness consists and of the last end which every one should propose to himself in all his Actions which being neglected we are led blind-fold by our Passions and forsake Honesty Vertue and good Manners without which it is impossible to live happily For this Reason they have therefore undertaken to instruct us wherein true Happiness consists and to propose such useful Precepts for the due regulation of our Passions whereby our Minds may be less liable to be disturb'd This Collection of Precepts Reflections and Reasonings they name The Art of Living or The Art of leading an happy Life And which they commonly call Moral Philosophy because it comprehends such Doctrins as relate to the Manners of Men that is to say the accustomed and habitual Actions of Life From hence we may understand That this part of Philosophy is not only speculative and rests in the bare Contemplation of its Object but proceeds to Action and that it is as we usually say active and practical for it directs and governs our Manners rendring them regular and agreeable with the Rules of Justice and Honesty So that in this respect it may be said to be The Science or if this Term be scrupled at we may call it The Art of doing well I only make this Supposition for let it be stiled Art or Science 't is a difference only in Name which depends upon the manner of understanding those two Words and therefore requires no further Scrutiny into the matter We will rather take notice that Democritus Epicurus and divers others of no small Eminency have had so high an esteem for Moral Philosophy that they have judged the Natural to be no further regarded than only as it was found useful in freeing us from certain Errors and Mistakes in our Understanding which might disturb the Repose and Tranquility of our Life and wherein it might be serviceable to Moral Philosophy or to the better obtaining of that Knowledge which teaches us to live happily and comfortably I shall not mention the Followers of Socrates Aristippius Anthistenes with the Cyrenaicks and Cynicks who altogether neglecting the Natural gave themselves entirely over to the study of Moral Philosophy considering with Socrates what might make for the Good or Ill of Families and what might contribute to the Grief and Disturbance of Man's Life Quid siet in domibus fortasse malumve bonumve We may also here observe That tho' Socrates is supposed to be the Inventer of Moral Philosophy this is only to be understood so far as he did cultivate and improve a new and considerable part not that he laid the first and Original Precepts of it for it is certain that before him Pythagoras had much improved this sort of Knowledge And 't is well known that he commonly asserted That the Discourser of a Philosopher that cures not the Mind of some Passion is vain and useless as the Physick that drives not away the Distemper from the Body is insignificant It is likewise very certain That the wise Men of Greece who lived a little before Pythagoras were named wise only because they addicted themselves to the Study of Moral Wisdom Therefore at this present time their famous Sentences that relate to Mens Manners are generally known all over the World We might add if we would make farther search into the Antiquity of the Heroes that we shall find Orpheus by this same Study of Moral Philosophy drawing the Men of his time off from their barbarous and savage way of Living which gave occasion of that Saying of him That he tamed the Tygers and the Lions as Horace describes Orpheus inspir'd by more than human Power Did not as Poets feign tame savage Beasts But Men as lawless and as wild as they And first disswaded them from Rage and Blood Thus when Amphion built the Theban Wall They feign'd the Stones obey'd his Magick Lute In a word it was Morality that first set a Mark of Distinction between publick and private Good setled our Rights and Authority and gave Laws and Rules for regulating Societies as the same Poet expresses When Man yet new No Rule but uncorrupted Reason knew And with a native bent did Good pursue Vnforc'd by Punishment unaw'd by Fear His Words were simple and his Soul sincere No suppliant Crowds before the Judge appear'd No Court erected yet no Cause was heard But all was safe for Conscience was their Guard However we must acknowledge our selves much indebted to Socrates as to Moral Philosophy since by his applying himself
in that Crown of Gold which the King had Dedicated to the Gods He thereupon as he was going out of the Bath transporred with Joy cried out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is nothing saith Cicero more Pleasant than the sweet repose of a Learned Old Age. We see Gallus your Father's Friend dying for Joy in the Speculation of the Stars and measuring the Heavens and the Earth How many times hath he Surpriz'd him from Morning until the Evening when he had undertaken to describe something of the Stars And how many a Night hath he found him in the Evening when he had begun from the Morning O what Pleasure did he take to foretell the Eclipses of the Sun and Moon For the other Liberal Arts it is known what Recreation the Knowledg of History and Antiquity the Beauty of Poetry and the Grace of Rhetorick give These Studies saith Cicero are delightful Employments for Youth are pleasing to Old Age are Ornaments in Prosperity and a grateful security in Adversity Haec studia Adolescentiam alunt Senectutem oblectant secundas res ornant adversis perfugium solatium praebent delectant domi non impudiunt foris pernoctant nobiscum peregrinantur rusticantur They afford Pleasure at Home they are not Troublesom to us Abroad they continue with us Sleeping they accompany us in our Travels they go along with us in the Fields How mean are the delights of Banquetting of Plays of Women when compared with these Pleasures Men freely spend whole days and nights in pursuit of Learning and think no pains too great to be bestowed in obtaining it so great and exquisit is the Pleasure thereof when acquired Omnia prepetiuntur ipsa cognitione scientia capti cum maximis curis laboribus compensant eam quam ex discendo capiunt voluptatem For the other part of Vertue which is commonly called Moral Vertue we shall be obliged hereafter to treat of it more at large where we shall speak of its four Kinds viz. Prudence Fortitude Temperance and Justice Only supposing at present that 't is an undoubted Truth That there is nothing more Pleasant than to lead a Life not liable to Reproach a Life that 's Innocent and void of Offence free from the Checks and Remorses of a guilty Conscience and so to govern all our Actions according to the Rules of Honesty and Prudence as not to fail in any of the Duties of Life to wrong no Body to do good to every one as much as is possible Suppose I say such Maxims to be True which we shall have hereafter occasion to mention I shall here take notice of three things First That it is not without great Reason that we compare Vertue to a Plant whose Root is Bitter but the Fruit very Sweet and that Plato Xenophon and several others have highly commended those Verses of Hesiod that inform us That Vertue is not to be attain'd without Labour and Sweat and that the way that leads to it is truly Long and Difficult and of an uneasie access in the beginning but when e'er mounted to the top there is nothing Sweeter nor more Pleasant The Gods through Sweat and Pains to Vertue lead But long and arduous is the Path we tread Rugged and steep when first you venture on But at the top arriv'd with easy speed you run Unto which we ought to add that Sentence of Epicharmus That the Gods afford to us no good things but for our Labours and Pains Labore nobis cuncta Dii vendunt bona Which gives us to understand that we ought freely to endure the Labours that occur in the way to Vertue because they are attended with wonderful Pleasure and Satisfaction Nor is that Story without Ground Where Pleasure and Vertue are supposed to meet in a double Way and each of them to use the strongest Motives to encline Hercules to follow them in their different Paths for that confirms the truth of those Rules that are before alledged when we took notice That we ought to shun that Pleasure which is attended with a greater Mischief as we ought to embrace those Labours and Toils which will procure us greater Advantages and Delights I know very well how they have represented Hercules rejecting Pleasure that is to say an easie and Effeminate Life to pursue Vertue which is a Life full of Labour and Difficulty Nevertheless Maximus of Tyre saith very well That when he was under the greatest Labours he felt or had a prospect of wonderful Pleasures You see saith he in Hercules extraordinary Labours but you see not the incredible Pleasures that either attend or succeed them Whosoever takes away Pleasure from Vertue takes from it all Strength and Efficacy for were it not for Pleasure Men would never undertake any great Matter And he who out of Zeal for Vertue willingly undergoes any Trouble this is purely for the sake of some Pleasure he feels or expects For as in hoarding up of Treasure no Man will prefer a Pebble before a Ruby nor Brass before Gold unless he be utterly destitute of all Reason and Understanding So in respect of Labour and Trouble no Man labours meerly and purely for Labour's sake this would turn to a very sorry account but we willingly exchange the present Labours for Vertue that is in plain English as the Stoicks term it for Pleasure for who speaks of Vertue speaks of Delight and Vertue it self would be much neglected if at the same time it were not attended with Delight For my part I must declare that I run quite counter to the common Vogue for I look upon Pleasure to be the most Beautiful the most Desirable thing in the World and that which we ought the most strictly to pursue and for its sake it is I believe that Men so frequently expose themselves to all Hazards and Dangers and even encounter Death it self for tho' we are apt to give divers Names to the Cause that first moves us to undertake such great things as for Instance That which put Achilles upon dying voluntarily for Patrocles we call Friendship that which enclined Agamemnon to enter into and carry on a War with so much Care and Fatigue was the care of preserving his Kingdom that of Hector's so frequent Encamping and defeating his Enemies was the desire to preserve his Country All these several Terms are but other Names for Pleasure And as in the Distempers of the Body the Patient for want of Health not only freely submits himself to Hunger and Thirst but also willingly undergoes the most virulent Pains and Torments of Surgeons Instruments but if it were not for this hope he would never endure such Tortures So in the actions of Life there is a compensation for the Troubles that we undergo with Pleasure which you truly term Vertue and which I allow so to be But at the same time I demand Whether your Mind does embrace Vertue without any love for it And if you yield to this that you have such
which excites and animates them when they think that the Actions which they are going about shall procure Liberty to their Relations Friends or Country-men or perpetuate their Memory and make their Generations Famous in after Ages It is I say the thoughts of being rendered Famous to Posterity that thus Animates and Transports them This is to be understood of him who goes to a certain Death for when there remains any hopes of Escaping we need but see what Torquatus relates of one of his Predecessors It is true saith he that he wrested the Lance out of his Enemies hands but he endeavour'd as much as was able to secure himself from being Kill'd He run a great hazard but it was in the view of the whole Army What Advantage did he receive The Praises and Love of all the World which are very strong Supports to us to bear our Dangers without fear See likewise what Seneca saith Vpon the performance of any great and glorious Action there immediately arises an extraordinary Joy and Delight and tho' we reap no Advantage after Death yet the very thoughts of the Action that we are about to commit please us for when a generous Man represents to himself the reward of his Death namely the Liberty of his Country the deliverance of those for whom he sacrifices his Life he receives from thence a great deal of Pleasure and enjoys the recompence of the Hazard And he who feels that Joy which happens at the last moment of the Action runs on to Death without any Demur content and satisfied in the Goodness Piety and Holiness of the Action The same may be said of those severe Fathers who have punished with Death their own Children tho' they seem to deprive themselves of great Pleasures 'T is what Cicero continues to object to the same Torquatus who by giving a blow with his Ax to his Son prefer'd the Right of the Empire to that of Nature and Fatherly Affection for those who proceed to that Extremity understand the temper of their Children to be such that it is better for themselves and for their Children rather to Die than Live because they are likely to receive nothing from them but continual Sorrows and that their perpetual Shame would retort upon them Therefore when they consider that it is more grateful and desirable to them to prevent their future dissatisfaction and infamy by a present Grief and to expiate if I may so say that Disgrace that hath been committed by some Noble and illustrious Action rather than to sink themselves by a mean Baseness and a deceitful Weakness into an Abyss of Calamity This is the Pleasure which such relish who desire to free themselves from this Abyss Take notice also what the same Torquatus Answers He condemned his Son to Death but if it be without Cause I would not desire to be the Son of such an unnatural Father If he did it to secure and establish the Military Discipline to keep the Army within the bounds of their Duty by the fear of punishment during a moct dangerous War had an eye to the Preservation of his Country-men in whose Safety his own was included and comprehended Of Self-Love BUt that which is generally spoken of Vertue may be also said of Piety towards God seeing that it is not likely that there can be any sincere Piety if God be not purely and intirely lov'd for himself or because he is infinitely Good or because he is infinitely Excellent So that he who loves and honours God hath no respect to himself neither doth he consider his own Profit or Pleasure For my part God forbid that I should undervalue the Piety of any Person As there are some who don 't only persuade that we ought to love God in this manner and consequently don't only suppose that this is possible but to give Authority to this Doctrin and prevent the Objection boast and believe they perform all this Truly I don't envy nor shall I contradict them but far from that I approve and applaud their Happiness and that special favour of Heaven granted to them for we must believe that it is a Gift of God and Supernatural that any Man can prevail upon himself to love and honour God in such a manner But we are treating here of Piety and generally of Vertue which is sutable to Nature according to which Man performs all that he doth with some respect to himself May not we therefore say that God hath in such a manner complied with the infirmity of our Nature That as there is scarce any Passage in Holy Writ that allows or expresseth their Doctrin there are a great many that approve of loving God greatly because he hath pardoned them their many Sins or because he hath granted them many Favours or of loving him for the hopes of the promises of Heaven and who perform divers offices of Charity suffer Persecution keep the Faith c. because of that Kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of the World because of the extraordinary Rewards that wait for them in Heaven because of the Crown of Righteousness which God hath promised to them that love him May we not I say be of this Opinion and conclude from these Passages That there is nothing to hinder us from having in view those everlasting Delights which such are to enjoy who have loved and honoured God I will not appeal to the Consciences of any Person nor do I ask what they would do if after God had been Honoured and Loved if he took no care of those who had loved and honoured him and if in such a case he neither granted them any Advantage nor gave them hopes of any to be expected to all Eternity I do not ask them I say What they would do Whether they would Love or Honour him less I only desire them to take in good part this Question Whether they don't Love and Honour him because it is very pleasant to Love and serve him in this manner And whether they believe it not consequently very Pleasant and very Grateful to be thus disposed towards God purely and absolutely for his sake and without any regard to our selves Seeing he tells us That his Yoak is easie whereby to encline us to love him with all our Heart with all our Soul with all our Understanding and all our Strength certainly he excludes not this Sweetness and Pleasure But let this be hinted by the by the better to strengthen and confirm the Reason by which we prove according to the Judgment of Epicurus That Pleasure is the chief Good or the last End being desired in such a manner for it self that all other things are desirable for its sake Let us now say something of that other Reason which is deriv'd from a Comparison between Pleasure and Pain which is its contrary Let us suppose saith Torquatus a Man enjoying many great and continued Pleasures both of Body and Mind without any interruption or disturbance by
and greatest Advantage that we can reap from it But we must not fancy that he who hath secretly broken the Laws unknown to Men may enjoy as much Peace and quiet of Mind as he who is truly Just For as I have already said tho' he hath acted in the dark yet he cannot be assured that the Fact shall always remain concealed Tho' Crimes may indeed be done secretly yet this is no Security neither doth it advantage a Man who commits a wicked Deed to conceal himself for tho' he has had the good fortune of keeping the Fact conceal'd hitherto yet he hath no Assurance that it shall always so continue Tho' a wicked Act may at present seem to be quite forgot and as it were buried out of sight yet it is uncertain whether it will remain so till death few Wickednesses are so secretly acted but they give some cause of Suspicion for tho' at first they are only privately whisper'd yet soon after they are publickly talk'd of and then Fame spreads them and then a Process is begun and the Sentence suddainly follows Nay many there have been who have discovered themselves either in a Dream or in a Frenzy or in Drink or by letting fall an unadvised Word by the by So that tho' a wicked Man deceives as we say both the Gods and Men yet he must always remain uneasie and in a fear that his Wickednesses will at one time or another be detected From hence it is that tho' Injustice of it self and in its own Nature be no Evil because what is Just here is reputed Vnjust elsewhere nevertheless 't is an Evil because of that Fear that it stirs up in us which causeth a wicked Man to be continually tormented with remorse of Conscience so that he is still suspicious of something and apprehensive that his Wickednesses will come to the Knowledge of those who are appointed to punish them Wherefore there is nothing more conducive to our Security and our living Happily than to live honestly and observe inviolably those Contracts which we have entred into for the Preservation of the publick Peace Therefore a just Man seems to stand in Opposition to an unjust for as the one is free from Troubles and Apprehensions of Evils so the other on the contrary is continually allarm'd by ' em What is it therefore that can be more convenient and profitable to us than Justice and more hurtful than Injustice Can constant Troubles and perplexing Fears be pleasant and diverting to any Man Since therefore that Justice is so great a Good and Injustice so great an Evil let us sincerely love and embrace the former and altogether abominate the latter And if by chance our Mind should happen to be sometimes in an even Balance and doubtful what to do let us have always before our Eyes and in our Thoughts the Example of some good Man whom we may propose to imitate as a Pattern and so live as if he were a constant Inspector of our Actions and Privy to our most intimate Designs This Advice will be of use to us not only to keep us from committing Injustice but also from doing any thing in secret inconsistent with honest Dealing This just Man that we plac'd before us will serve to keep us in some awe and make us more watchful over our Actions we shall continually have some regard to him and say to our selves I would not do so if he saw it and why should I dare to do so in his absence he would blame me for it as a wicked thing why should I not fly from Evil of my own accord Do then every thing as if some body still look'd upon you for if you have this Veneration for any Person else you will quickly have it for your self Cicero treats excellently upon this Subject If every one saith he for his own particular Advantage should be always ready and prepared to intrench upon his Neighbour's Right and strip him of his Goods we should quickly perceive the ruin of human Society which is so agreeable to Nature just as if each particular Member should fancy that by attracting the Blood and Spirits from its Member it would be the better able to support it self but hereby we should find our selves much disappointed for certainly this would at length much weaken and decay the whole Body And thus all Societies and Communities of Men must needs be destroyed if every one the better to support his own Interest should violently take from and strip his Neighbour of what is his Indeed this may be said to be lawful and no ways to infringe the Bonds of Society viz. to be more careful and industrious in acquiring the things necessary and useful for the conveniency of Life but to use Fraud or Violence to dispossess another and endeavour to enrich our selves by our Neighbours miseries is more contrary to the Laws of Nature even than Death it self than Poverty than Pain than all the most dreadful things that may befal us There is nothing truly useful but what is Just and Honest and nothing Just and Honest but what is truly useful these are reciprocal and whosoever endeavours to separate 'em offers at the most pernicious thing that can befal human Life for from thence spring Murders false Witnesses Thieveries and innumerable other Mischiefs They judge of the usefulness of things by a wrong Medium and tho' they escape the Penalties of the Laws which they break yet they escape not the Disgrace and Infamy which to a generous Mind is far more grievous and intolerable They consider not that of all other worldly Goods the most important and considerable is the Reputation of an honest of a just and of a good Man and that there is no Profit or Advantage that can recompence this loss The Life of an unjust Man is full of Troubles Jealousies and Fears Gripings of Conscience and Anxiety of Mind and what Good what Profit can there be in such a Way that if he were depriv'd of it he would be honoured and respected by all the World 'T is therefore impossible that true and real Profit should be separated from Justice and that it should accompany or be joined to Injustice Now as Justice and Injustice are contrary the first being free from Trouble the other always encompass'd with it what greater Advantage can an honest and good Man desire to attain to than that which Justice affords him And what greater Mischiefs can a wicked Man dread than that which Injustice is attended with For what Profit or Satisfaction is to be had from Cares Fears and perpetual Inquietudes Whether we may wrong any Man without doing him an injury AS 't is one thing to do an unjust Act another to do an injury seeing that a Man may do an unjust Act and not believe it or perhaps fancying it to be Just So it is most certain that we can do no injury but when we have a design to do it and so he who doth it
same Thing may be said of him who from the beginning makes no resistance to a light Passion but suffers it to gather Strength so that it prevails more violently And generally so it is of those who suffer things to come to an Habit which at the beginning they might easily have overcome but afterwards 't is beyond their Power to resist ' em 'T is in this Case saith Aristotle as with him who casts a Stone which he cannot recall nor cause to come back but 't was in his Power not to cast it or as with him who living like a Glutton becomes unavoidably sick yet 't was in his Power also to have lived more abstemiously Again a Man who is hurried and transported by his Passions may also say Video meliora proboque because 't is then likewise in his Power to mind the Evils or to consider seriously what and how great Mischiefs will attend which if he did he would not be guilty of 'em I say that it is in his Power for it often happens that when he is just going to commit an Evil and there comes a Person of Wisdom or Note or one of Authority in whose Power it is to revenge and punish this evil Action upon this he presently forbears nay there are some who stop in the midst of their Passion and have so much Power over themselves as not to suffer themselves to be over-come Besides the use of the Laws of Precepts and Exhortations are not in vain We may take heed and if the Mind be attentive it may over-come the appearances of Things and proceed in such a manner that they will appear really such as they ought to appear Truly every time that we may say Video meliora proboque 't is manifest that the Action is not done without Deliberation and that consequently 't is in our Power for we cannot say so when 't is done rashly and unadvisedly as when at the first moving of Anger we are carried away with Revenge from whence proceeds the ordinary Excuse That the first Motions are not in our Power And we cannot say as the Hegesiacks in Laertius That Sins ought to be pardoned because no Man sins but he is forced thereunto by some Passion which disturbs his Mind Neque enim quemquam volentem sed pertubatione aliqua coactum peccare For at least it is certain that till we give an occasion of the Disturbance there is no constraint nor force Nevertheless because there are certain natural Disturbances and certain Desires which proceed from our selves and arise against our Wills Aristotle holds that they are so much the more pardonable because they are commonly incident to all Men And to shew that there are some Passions that are born in us and that we derive from our Ancestors he cites the Example of him that excused himself for beating his Father For my Father saith he beat his before me and his Father beat his and here is my Son will beat me when he comes to be of Age. He alledgeth again the Example of him who being drag'd by his Son commanded him when he was come to the Door to drag him no farther because said he I never drag'd my Father beyond this place But here I find my self obliged to take notice that whatsoever hath been hitherto said concerning the great Inclination of the Will to follow the direction of the Understanding ought to be understood with some Caution and Circumscriptions For tho' it be certain that we never desire what is unknown ignoti nulla cupido and so the Will never acts until the Understanding inclines it before-hand and as we commonly say holds a Torch before it to enlighten it And tho' it is also no less certain that the Will is so depending upon the Understanding in following it that of two unequal Advantages proposed it usually takes the most beneficial yet nevertheless when 't is just ready to act it may notwithstanding this direction and without the intervention of any other leave that which is more and embrace or follow that which is less profitable It seems also that the Will does sometimes exercise this Power for if we will consult our selves we shall find it true that there are some Moments wherein we mind and take notice of the goodness and excellency of Virtue that we discover it plainly and agree that it is to be preferred before the Pleasures and Delights that Vice can afford us So that if we did really drive at our own Interest we should decline Vice and embrace Virtue Do we not experience I say that sometimes notwithstanding we have these Notions and Considerations yet still we cling to Vice and forsake Virtue forego the greater and make choice of the less good In a word we see what is better but take up with what is worse as Medea saith Video meliora proboque deteriora sequor Now this being so it seems we should give more scope to the Power of the Will and that we ought not to suppose it so bound up or enslaved to the directions of the Understanding but that it may forsake them and that if we will save our Liberty without suffering any scruple to remain we ought not to make it so much to consist in the indifferency of the Understanding that limits the Will as in the indifferency of the Will that limits it self So that when all things needful to act are supposed it may either act or not act follow what is good or not follow it embrace that which appears more or less advantageous So that 't is not with the Will as with a Balance or Beam which is forced to lean on that side where there is the greatest weight but like a Balance that determines and inclines it self by its own Strength sometimes on that side where there is the least weight where there is the least reason and least appearance of advantage Let no Man object that a lesser advantage in comparison of a greater is reputed an Evil and as the Will cannot incline to Evil as Evil it cannot by consequence incline to a less advantage For we may absolutely deny that a less advantage is an Evil in comparison of greater for let it be never so little 't is always an advantage Besides we may answer and say That when the Will leaving a greater Good inclines to a less it inclines not to Evil as Evil because it looks not upon it as Evil but truly as Good tho' by chance it may be found to be a less Good certainly if when two advantages are proposed to the Will it hath Power to refuse 'em both it will doubtless have the same Power to take th' one or th' other and consequently to chuse the less However it is certain that tho' we should appeal to the Judgment of Plato and Aristotle which is what our Author seems to have the greatest esteem for so that we should make Liberty to consist in the first place and originally in the indifferency of the
Understanding yet I say it is certain that in this Supposition we may still save our Liberty in that when we are ready to act and prepared 't is always in our Power to stop and desist from acting and to consider seriously of things so that if we distinguish the real advantages from those that are counterfeit we should cause the false Reasonings in the Understanding to be rectified and by that means cause this Propensity that is in the Will to be inlightned and so consequently not to seek after an apparent good instead of what is real Vice instead of Virtue CHAP. II. Of Fortune and Destiny THO' according to the Opinion of Cicero Folly Mistake Error Blindness and Ignorance of Things seem to have introduced and brought in fashion the Names of Nature and Fortune and that therefore Fortune cannot be without Ignorance Nevertheless 't is not generally agreed upon that this is only a foolish vain and imaginary Name seeing there are many that hold that 't is not only a Cause but a Divine Cause which occasioned these Verses of Juvenal Fortune was never Worship'd by the Wise But set aloft by Fools usurp'd the Skies That it is not really so Plutarch according to Plato holds That it is a Cause by accident which unexpectedly follows things acted according to Counsel And agreeable with this is Aristotle's Opinion That it is a Cause by accident in things done for a certain End and that this Cause is uncertain and changable For this example is alledged as a common Instance he who digging in the Ground with an intent to Plant a Tree found a Treasure which he never thought of now the Discovery of the Treasure is an Effect by accident that is to say that it happen'd beyond the Expectation and Intention of him that acted So that he who digged being the cause of the Pit made in the Earth is also the cause by accident of the Discovery of the Treasure 'T is in this manner that the Notion of Fortune is commonly explained Nevertheless it may seem by this Name that something else I know not what is understood and that they call not proprerly Fortune either him who digs or his action Therefore often we call a casual thing by the name of Fortune or that which happens unexpectedly And it seems by this Name of Fortune we are to understand The concurrence of several Causes that happen without any mutual dependence or advice so that from them proceeds an event or an effect called Casual which all the Causes or some of them or at least he to whom it happens had never in his Mind and Intention So as by the casual Discovery of the Treasure 't is not only requisite that some should dig in the Earth but that some other body should first hide the Mony 'T is manifest that Fortune or the cause of the Discovery is the concurrence of the hiding of the Mony and of the diging in the Earth in that place I say without any mutual dependence or advice and beyond or besides the Intention of all or some of the Causes Because tho' one or many of the Causes may have designed it and intended it 't is no less Fortune in respect of that Cause that never was thought upon As if one hides a Treasure with a design that he whom he foresees will dig in the Earth should find it In this Case the Event is not truly Casual in regard of him who hid the Treasure but it will be nevertheless in regard of him who was ignorant that any thing had been there concealed Thus that which happened at the opening of the Sepulcher of Nitocris was not absolutely a Hazard or Casual in respect to Nitocris for he imagined that some King would come to open it being induced by this Inscription If any of the Kings of Babylon that shall come after me be in want of Mony let him open this Sepulcher and let him take as much as he please but let him not open it unless he hath need for in such a Case it will avail him nothing But the Event was a Hazard or Casual in relation to Darius because instead of Mony he found this written within If thou wert not unsatiable of Mony thou would'st not have opened the Sepulchers of the Dead We must nevertheless acknowledge that we call that properly Fortune that of all the Causes which concur together not one of them foresees what will happen from thence An eminent Example of this is instanced in delaying the death of Socrates after Sentence had been pronounced For the cause of this delay hapned thus The day before the Sentence was given it hapned according to the yearly Custom a Ship was Crowned in order to be sent to Delos and in the mean while till its return it was not lawful to execute any Person But here neither the Priest in Crowning of the Ship nor the Judge in Pronouncing the Sentence ever thought by this accident to delay the death of Socrates Now 't is not without cause that Epicurus persuades us so much that we should not acknowledge Fortune as a Goddess for the weakness of Men is such that they don't only admire that which they understand not but they fancy it also as some divine Thing and above Nature So that when they had perceived that sometimes Fortune was favourable and sometimes adverse and contrary they adored it under several Shapes and erected Temples to it under these several Titles Fortunae Bonae Malae Blandae Averruncae Calvae Equestri c. This hath given occasion to the Complaints of Pliny That all over the World and at all times Men address themselves to Fortune so that she alone is called upon she alone accused and condemned she alone is praised and blamed that she alone is worshiped with Scoffs Many fancy her uncertain unconstant blind favouring those who deserve it not c. From hence is that common Expression The May-game or Sport of Fortune And this hath caused the life of Man to be likened to playing at Dice or Cards which is equally hazardous to the Gamester whether he understand the Game or not 'T is true that as the Play and the Life of Man are managed by Industry a skilful Gamester and a a wise Man commonly succeed best but this happens not always for often the ignorant Gamester is more fortunate than the skilful and the weak Man more successful than the wise and very frequently Fortune hath as much or more a hand in things than Wisdom This caused Plutarch to say That Fortune and Wisdom tho' very much differing often bring forth very unlike Effects And as there are but few Men who make Profession of Wisdom that know well how to manage and govern the Proceedings of Fortune Theophrastus hath been so bold as to say That 't is Fortune and not Wisdom that governs our Life Vitam regit Fortuna non Sapienta And Lucretius speaking according to the Vulgar saith That Fortune often
it is that the end of our Life depends upon the first Moment Let us therefore moderate our Desires according to the Rule that Nature hath prescribed and if the Destinies to speak according to the ancient Poets cannot be prevail'd upon so that against our Wills we are hurried away let us at least alleviate our Trouble by suffering our selves to be carried off willingly The best and only Remedy to pass our Life free and void of Trouble is to suit our selves to our Nature to desire nothing but what it requires and to esteem the last Moment of our Life as a free Gift of Providence and to dispose and prepare our selves in such a manner that when Death approaches we may say I have lived and I have finished the Race that Nature hath appointed me Vixi quem dederas cursum Natura peregi She calls away but I come of mine own accord Nature requires of me what I am intrusted with I yield it willingly I am commanded to die I expire without Regret We might also very well make use of the Advice of Lucretius and speak thus to our selves The greatest and most mighty Monarchs of the World are dead and Scipio that Thunderbolt of War and Terror of Carthage hath left his Bones in the Earth like as the vilest Slave Anchises the most Religious of all men and Homer the Prince of the Poets are dead and shall we murmur to die But more to comfort thee Consider Ancus perish'd long ago Ancus a better Man by much than thou Consider mighty Kings in pamper'd State Fall and ingloriously submit to Fate Scipio that Scourge of Carthage now the Grave Keeps Prisoner like the meanest common Slave Nay the great Wits and Poets too that give Eternity to others cease to live Homer their Prince the Darling of the Nine What Troy would at a second fall repine To be thus sung is nothing now but Fame A lasting far diffus'd but empty Name Let us say moreover Gassendus himself is dead and that great Man hath finished his Course like other Mortals he who in profound Learning and Wisdom excell'd the rest of Mankind and who rising like a Sun darkned the Light of all the Stars Nay Great Gassendi's Race of Life is run That Man of Wit who other Men out-shone As far as meaner Stars the mid-day Sun And can'st not thou O Wretch resolve to die Then how dar'st thou repine to die and grieve Thou meaner Soul thou dead ev'n whilst alive That sleep'st and dream'st the most of Life away Thy Night is full as rational as thy Day Still vext with Cares who never understood The Principles of ill nor use of good Nor whence thy Cares proceed but reel'st about In vain unsettled Thoughts condemn'd to doubt Thou whose Life is as half dead thou who spendest above half thy time in Sleep who snorest as I may say waking and feedest upon Fancies and who livest in the midst of Fears and continual Troubles It is what our famous Malherbe had in his Thoughts when he bewails the unhappy Fate of great Men who are subject to the same Laws of Death as the meanest Beggars Yet these are turn'd to Dust and Fate Rules with such Arbitrary Sway So binds its Laws on every State That all their Equal's Doom Obey With none e'er yet Impartial Destiny Of all it's num'rous Subjects wou'd dispense Hear this ye Vulgar Souls and hence Vnrepining Learn to Die But here some will object we shall be depriv'd of all the Blessings of Life as Lucretius Elegantly Expresses it Lib. 3. Ay but he now is snatcht from all his Joys No more shall his Chast Wife and Pratling Boys Run to their Dad with eager hast and strive Which shall have the first Kiss as when alive Ay but he now no more from Wars shall come Bring Peace and Safety to his Friends at home Wretched O Wretched Man one Fatal Day Has snatch'd the vast Delights of Life away It is true that this is commonly objected but they seldom Consider that this supposed Unhappy Man shall then have no desire at all for such things and that when he shall be really Dead he shall not see any like himself standing near his Tomb beating the Breast and languishing with Grief as the same Author Describes Thus they bewail but go no further on And add that his Desires and Wants are gone But the fond Fool n'er thinks that when kind Death Shall close his Eyes in Night and stop his Breath Then nothing of this thinking thing remains To mourn his Fate and feel sharp Grief and Pains May not we likewise thus Argue as Plutarch Observes and which often occurs in our Thoughts If our Life which we esteem very long when it extends to an Hundred Years were naturally but of one Days continuance as some Animals mention'd by Aristotle in the Kingdom of Pontus are And if like them in the Morning we were in our Youth at Noon in our Strength and full Growth and at Night in our Old Age It is certain in this Case we should be as well pleas'd to live one Day till Night as we are now to live an hundred years And on the contrary if our Life did now extend to a thousand years as did that of our first Fathers in that Case it would grieve us as much to Die at the end of six hundred years as to depart now at the expiration of threescore It is the same in respect of those who first came into the World if they had continued till this present time it would trouble them as much to Die now as it does us These Considerations therefore ought to teach us that our Life of what sort soever is to be computed not by its length but by the good Qualifications and Pleasures that attend it In the same manner saith Seneca As the Perfection of a Circle ought to be computed not by the Greatness but by the exact Roundness of the Figure O Vain and Indiscreet Diligence saith Pliny Men compute the number of their Days where they should only seek their true Worth Heu vana imprudens diligentia numerus dierum Computatur ubi quaeritur pondus We don't Consider that as the Mass of this Earth and all the World beside and a thousand other such Worlds if you please are but as a Point if compared with the vast extended space of the Heavens Thus the longest Life of Man were it as long as that of the Hamadryades or a thousand thousand times more is but a Moment if compared with Eternity This Life saith Seneca is but a Point How can we extend this Point In hoc punctum conjectus es Quod ut extendas quousque extendes Know saith Lucretius That by the prolonging of our Days we diminish nothing from the time and long continuance of Death and that he who dies to day shall not be dead a less time than he who died a thousand years ago What tho' a thousand years prolong thy breath How