innocent nay if we will extend Principles to their just Consequence as commendable and worthy of Praise as the Industrious and Temperate the Meek and Gentle the Just and Charitable for this must inevitably follow if neither Men's Vertues nor Vices be in any degree to be ascribed to themselves wretched and desperate is that shift that equals the just and unjust the industrious and the sluggard the great Mind that stands upright under and outbraves Misfortune and the degenerous one which effeminately shrinks and breaks under it wretched the Shift that equals the Tyrant and most gracious Prince the loyallest Subject and the Traitor the faithful Friend and the perfidious Flatterer and all this we must be driven to or else as we cannot deny that some are Happier than others so we must not deny that the Happiness of the one or Misery of the other is owing in some measure at least to their Vertues and Vices and these to themselves And if this be true 't is evident we may be Happy if we will and thô we may not equal the most Happy for I will not exclude Temper Education Fortune from all share in Men's Misery or Happiness yet since every degree of Happiness is truly valuable let us with all our might endeavour to be as Happy as we can Horat. Nec quia desperes invicti membri Glyconis Nodosa Corpus noli prohibere Chyragra Est quiddam prodire tenus The mighty Glyco's strength you can't attain Don't therefore scorn to free your Limbs from Pain Of Knotty Gout Ease thô not Strength to gain Is no small Happiness But to pursue our proof 2. Because there is Good and Evil in the World It is a great absurdity to confound or equal Vertue and Vice but 't is not the greatest they commit who deny the possibility of attaining Happiness for he that banishes Happiness out of the World do's at the same time banish Good and Evil out of it too for Good being nothing else but the subserviency of some things to our true Interest and Pleasure and Evil the tendency of others to our trouble and injury it must needs follow if there be Good and Evil in the World that he who has a greater share of Good than Evil is a Happy man and he that denieth Good and Evil may with as plausible a Confidence deny all Humane Passions and assert that there is neither Love nor Hatred neither Joy nor Grief nor Hope nor Fear nor Pity nor Envy for Good or Evil are the Objects or Causes of all these I may then I think take it for granted that no man will take the Confidence to say that there is no such thing as Good or Evil in the World and consequently all men must be oblig'd to acknowledge such a state as Happiness in the World too unless they will affirm one of these three things either First That Evil grows up every where in thick Crops Good thin scatter'd and rarely to be found epecially grown up to its maturity That consequently there are none whose share of Evil doth not infinitely outweigh that of Good Or Secondly That Evil hath so much of Venom and Malignity in it that a little Evil contributes more to our Misery than a great Deal of Good can to our Happiness so ripe and full grown is Evil so lank under-grown and every way imperfect is Good in this World Or Thirdly That we our selves can contribute nothing to that Good or Evil which is our Portion 't is the Product not of Reason or Industry but of Time and Chance or of some other Principle which is not in our Power All these deserve to be weigh'd not only because the Examination of 'em will tend to chear and encourage the Minds of Men and to render the great Creator and Governour of the World more dear and venerable to us but also because it will be of some use and service to the whole Inquiry First 1. Evils not more than Goods in the World Therefore let us examine what Truth there is in that fancy which supposes the weight and number of Evils in the World infinitely to exceed that of Good things I know there are a sort of sour and murmuring of proud and ambitious Wretches who deal with their God as with their Prince or Patrons and estimate Favours and Benefits not according to their Merit but Expectation greedy and haughty Expectation which even Prodigal Bounty cannot satisfie 't is the strange temper of some men that they wither and grow lean with Discontent and Envy even whil'st their studied Meals distract the wanton Appetite and their very Attendance are sleek and full and fat with the Remains of their Feasts and the meanest of their Relations thrive into Pride and Insolence by the mere sprinklings of their Plenty I know 't is Natural to some to Blaspheme God and the King to quarrel with and reproach Providence and the Government while loaded with good things they stretch themselves on Silken Couches under Roofs of Cedar or loll at Ease in their gilt Coaches and yet at the same time the honest Countrey-man who with Security thô much Drudgery Ploughs and Sows and Reaps a few Acres Eats his plain Meals with Cheerfulness Sleeps without Disturbance Blesses God and magnifies the goodness of his Prince The Contentment of the One is an evident proof of the Divine Bounty and Goodness whose Provision doth far exceed the Necessities of his Creatures The Discontent of th' other can be no disparagement to the Goodness of our Creator who has dealt extremely liberally with 'em thô they enjoy not what they possess we are not therefore to judge of the World by the Clamours and Invectives of such as are always mutinous and dissatisfy'd but by the suffrages of those humble modest and grateful Souls who know how to value the Favours of Heaven and themselves as they ought to do who do not marr and corrupt every Blessing by Peevishness or Envy or Pride or Wantonness but can weigh their Enjoyments their Hopes and their Merits in just and equal Ballances and discerning how much the one do's exceed the other chearfully adore and praise the World's Author and Governour If this Controversie were to be determin'd by such we should find these even under uneasie and Tyrannical Governments and in the more barren and niggardly Countries confuting this Objection by their Chearfulness and Contentment what would they have done if Providence had planted 'em there where a fertile Soil and thriving Trade had unladed the Wealth and Plenty of the World into their Arms and a mild and gentle Government had secur'd and guarded their Enjoyments But let us decide the Controversie not by Votes but Reasons let us consider the State and Nature of the World is there one in a Thousand who is left utterly unfurnish't of all means of wise and wholesome Instruction which is the Good of the Soul of Man or is there one in a Thousand maim'd and
study of Philosophy has never been utterly forsaken thô that of one age baffle and o'rethrow that of another and yet even this again stands rather upon the weakness and obscurity of the former than its own Strength or Evidence The Academics do not seem to have entertain'd so gross an absurdity as some have fancy'd when they taught that Wisdom consisted in the search of Truth even at the same time when they believ'd that it could not be fully found out for where Certainty cannot be had it is not unreasonable to follow the fairest probabilities And if this were rationally practised in any Study certainly much more in that of Happiness since the Necessity of this Study above any other doth more indispensibly oblige us to it for all Labour and Learning that promotes not the great End of Happiness is to no purpose since we are ne're the better for 't for to be the better and to be the happier for't is all one But there is no Reason why we should take up with these cold and lifeless Answers which will satisfie none but those who are extreamly well inclin'd we may now boldly say the Difficulties that former Ages met with are of no force now to deter us we can now free our selves from the distracting Terrours of an Invisible Power without banishing him out of that World which himself creatâ—d we can now prove a Judgment to come without the Assistance of Poetic Dreams and the Existence of Souls after Death without their Praeexistence before our Birth To be short we have now Revelation for our Rule and every good Man a Divine Spirit for his guide nay every man if he be sincere in such Enquiries as these If any of you lack Wisdom James 1. let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him So that now we may very rationally conclude that fatal Ignorance or fatal Errour in this Point must be imputed either to a lazy and sottish Contempt of that Knowledge we are most nearly concern'd in and the means conducing to it or to an obstinate Resistance of that Conviction which God endeavours to beget in us by his Word and his Spirit or at least to the want of that just Consideration we ought to allow to reveal'd Truths or of that Necessary preparation which fits us for Divine Assistance and enables us to understand the Divine Will and for this Reason the Dissentions and sharp Contentions of Christians ought to be no prejudice to the Authority or Perspicuity of Revelation or to the Assertion of the Spirit 's Conduct and Assistance for besides that Unity of Faith is an Unity of Fundamentals not of Fancies it must be confessed that our Sects and Divisions have their Rise and Propagation from these and such like Causes nothing being more common than that men's Tempers and Complexions and Educations and Interests and Passions shou'd give a Byass to their Judgments and a Tincture to their Tenets and Opinions it is easie to see that the Errors of some are the Dreams of a drouzy Carelessness of others the wandrings of a wanton Confidence of others the crooked windings of Designing Interest and so on for it may with much truth be affirm'd that all Erroneous Philosophy in matters Necessary and Fundamental is the Result of some unworthy Lust and Passion But all these Matters namely the use of Revelation and God's Spirit the Vanity of all Objections form'd against Religion from Dissentions about it the Difficulties the Heathens were to encounter in their Enquiries after Happiness c. shall be more fully treated of in their proper places Thus I think I have sufficiently evinc'd the Importance and Necessity of an Enquiry after Happiness since 't is impossible to steer the Course of Life aright without a clear Knowledge of that which ought to be the End the Centre of all our Desires and Endeavours that is Happiness without this 't is not only impossible to be happy but what ought seriously to be weighed impossible not to be miserable nor let us ever so far disparage and undervalue Humane Nature or dishonour the Author of it as ever once to fancy that Happiness is too great for us or we too little for it or that God should disallow as a Sacrilegious Ambition the most rational attempts of a rational Creature I mean those of becoming Happy since we seek no other Happiness than what the Make and Frame of Nature and consequently the God of Nature appâ—ars plainly to capacitate us for and design us to the greatness of which nothing can so well express as the Transports and Raptures of Happy Men. But let us not think this Happiness so easie a purchase that it will run into the lap of the sluggish Body or prostitute it self to the Embraces of senseless bruitish Lusts No no nothing but Industrious Reason pure and vigorous Philosophy can e're attain it The Sluggard or the Wanton the Fool and Vain may have some Fits of Ease and Mirth only the Rational only the Philosopher can possess true and lasting Happiness Nor let the endless Quarrels the numerous Contentions of vain and proud Pretenders discourage us from following the Conduct of Reason and Revelation these are the Contentions of Lust not Philosophy Truth and Happiness as some have lately fancy'd of Love inhabit a Palace into which none can enter but humble sincere and constant Lovers CHAP. II. Of the Possibility of attaining Happiness Obj. Few or none ever actually Happy Answer'd § Religion denies not the Possibility of present Happiness The Doctrine of the Cross no Obstruction to this life's Happiness Mortification recommended by the Light of Nature as subservient to our present Happiness The Happiness of this life granted Imperfect § The Possibility c. prov'd because some are Happier than others because there is Good and Evil in the World Evils not more than Goods in the World The Efficacy of Evil not greater than that of Good Man's Good or Evil depends upon himself § Objections answer'd God not delighted in Humane Misery Fortune cannot prevent our Happiness Every Man Architect of his own Fortune Fortune not Necessary to Happiness The Objection from Fate answer'd Several Notions of Fate No insuperable Necessity in Humane Affairs or Actions at least no Fate over-ruling the Mind of Man No Incapacity of Happiness from Nature Against Moral Incapacity Against penal Incapacity Instances of Men actually Happy in this Life The Position of the Possibility of Happiness consonant to the Sense of Mankind The Conclusion IT is apparent from the former Chapter that the pursuit and search after Happiness is a Rational Undertaking an Imployment becoming the Nature and State of Man there remains only one Objection which if true were sufficient to discourage the Endeavours and chill the heat of the most Vertuous and Resolv'd Ambition Which is this 'T is true Obj. Few or none ever actually Happy in this life Happiness may be
which a Good God design'd to bring him through Vertue to Glory and then at last a guilty Conscience a distracted Mind and a most melancholy miserable Death is the Consequence and End of all This is the Progress which our Voluntary Sin and Folly makes we cannot think that a Good God can direct or Necessitate us to these Courses they are as repugnant to his Laws as to our own Interest and the same time we forfeit our Happiness we disappoint his Love and Goodness all the Ways and Methods of God are Kind and Gracious and Wise and Rational inanimate Bodies do not desert those Offices he has prescrib'd 'em Animals move regularly by those Instincts he has implanted in them and so both the one and the other do necessarily serve those Excellent Ends for which they were Created But Man having no Necessity but Liberty wove into the Constitution of his Nature and having no Compulsory but only directing Law prescrib'd him has perverted his own ways abus'd his Liberty and made that his Ruine which 〈◊〉 well-us'd had enhanc'd his Merit and Reward This is the Account which the Scripture gives us of Man's Misery it imputes it wholly to himself and represents his Obstinacy as ungrateful and displeasing to God as 't is fatal to himself Hos 13. Ezek. 38. O Israel thou hast destroy'd thy self As I live I delight not bâ— the Death of a Sinner turn ye into ye Math. 23. why will ye die O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee how often would I have gather'd thy Children together even as a Heâ— gathers her Chickens under her wings and ye would not Nor is this account of things which the Scripture gives â—s any other than that which was generally embrac'd by the Heathens this being not the sense of any particular prepossessions or private Opinions instill'd by Custom or Education but of natural Reason and fairly and easily deduc'd from those Notions of Divine Goodness which were universally entertain'd by all judicious and understanding Heathens and how scandalous a thing were it if that Comfortable and Heavenly Truth which the Darkness and Idolatry of the Superstitious could not extinguish in the Pagan World should be rejected or suppress'd by Christians Jamblichus de Vitâ Pythag. l. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is Not the Will of the Gods Idem l. 2. but the Luxury and Riot of Men is the Cause of those Evils which infest the Body c. Hence that Charitable piece of Heathen Devotion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O Father Jove from numerous Evils free Mankind or shew 'em their Ruin's not from thee A Gracious and Benign Deity But from themselves I will here add a Testimony of Apuleius as containing the Sense of the Platonic Philosophy in this Point of God's Government of Mankind Apul. de Dogmate Platonis Omnia quae naturaliter propterea rectè feruntur Providentiae Custodiâ gubernantur nec ullius mali Causa Deo poterit ascribi All the Motions of Providence are wise and regular nor must any Evil be ascrib'd to God as its Cause But this is not all we gain from the Assurance of God's Infinite Goodness that we have no Reason to apprehend any harm or mischief from him that he cannot be the Author of our Misery But we may confidently perswade our selves on the other side Secondly That he is most ready and willing to further and assist us in all our Endeavours after Happiness And now methinks I am so far from questioning the possibility of attaining Happiness that I begin already to feel and enjoy it I see the Day breaking in upon me from above how can he choose but be Happy who is the Love the Care of God! I may walk like Peter on the Waves and bid defiance to the Storms I know I shall never sink whil'st that God upholds me who calls me this way to him I can now easily believe that my temper may be transform'd my Corruptions may be put off and I be made partaker of a Divine Nature since the Spirit of God will dwell with me the Light of God will always shine upon me and the Power of God will always succour and aid me can I imagine as much as any Colour or Pretext why I should not now be able to attain to an Excellent state of Vertue or why this Vertue should not be able to Vanquish all those Difficulties that oppose my Happiness since I am assur'd that God will not refuse me his Spirit if I ask it and that his Grace will be sufficient for me You see of what vast Importance this Truth is that God will be always ready to assist every man in his Endeavours after Happiness and therefore thô it stand here as a Necessary and undeniable Conclusion from the foregoing Discourse thô the Perfection of the Divine Nature do amount to a little less than a Demonstration of it for * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Max. Tyrius Disser 22. Beneficence to his Creatures is as necessarily included in the Notion of Perfection as Perfection is in the Notion of a God yet as well for my own Pleasure as that interest which is nearly concern'd in this Truth I will dwell a little longer on the Confirmation and Illustration of it There are three Eminent Acts of Divine Assistance The First is such a Direction of the Events of Secular Affairs that they may tend to our Good The Second is his Assistance of us in the Attainment of Vertue And the Third is his recruiting us by fresh supplies of Strength in all our hazardous Conflicts and Extraordinary Trials Now thô I could not give an account of the manner how God performs this kind Work of his Providence yet ought not that to disswade me from the belief of it because we know that our Comprehension ought not to be the Standard of Divine Perfections nor the narrow bounds of our Imagination be the utmost extent of the Almighty's Power However 't is not difficult so to explain this Assistance of God in such sort as may free it from the least suspicion of Implying a Contradiction For First as to his Direction and Conduct of Temporal Events how easie will it be for us to Conceive this possible to God if we consider First That God can form what Impressions he pleases in the Minds of Men and inspire 'em with what Affections he shall think most serviceable to his Designs for there is not the least pretext or colour to imagine that the Soul is any more exempt from the Soveraignty of God than the Body or that God cannot do that which the Great or the Cunning or the Eloquent nay the Popular and Ambitious do seldom fail to do raise what Passions he pleases in the Mind of Man Or if we consider Secondly That the Power and Efficacy of Nature is wholly in his