to the study thereof it hath given us Opportunity of great Improvement by reducing it to a more distinct and easy method than formerly and we find that the Disciples of the great Plato and of Xenophon also have left behind them curious and excellent Monuments nor have those who succeeded them as Aristotle and the Stoicks come short of handling it more methodically and at large THE First BOOK CONCERNING HAPPINESS CHAP. I. What Happiness is THo' Felicity or Happiness be properly the enjoyment of the Sovereign or Chief Good and therefore the most blessed Estate that can be desired yet because this Estate of Enjoyment comprehends this Sovereign Good it is for that Reason called by this Name It is also termed the Chief or the Ultimate Happiness the End of all Ends or The End for its Excellency because all other things are desired and sought after for it's sake And lastly that it is desired alone for it's own sake To this purpose Aristotle tells us That amongst the things that are desirable there must be something at last which is most desirable that so we might avoid an Infinity But here we may make two considerable Remarks The First is That we don't concern our selves here with that Happiness mentioned by the Sacred Pen-Men when they tell us how happy that Man is who being assisted with the Divine Influences betakes himself entirely to the Service of God and being filled with Faith and Hope and inflamed with Charity spends his Life in Peace and Tranquility Nor shall we Treat of that which may be called Natural Happiness because it may be obtained by the strength of Nature being such as the ancient Philosophers did not doubt but to enjoy here on Earth The Second is That by this Natural Felicity that we here Treat of is not to be understood such a state of Life as we can't imagin a better a more pleasant and more desirable in the which we cannot apprehend any evil nor think of any good thing which we shall not possess nor of any thing that we have a desire to do but we shall be able to accomplish it and that it shall remain fix'd and unchangeable But we understand such a certain state of Life in which we may be as happy as is possible in which there are abundance of good things and very few of any sort of evil and in which consequently we may lead as easie quiet and undisturbed a Life as the Condition of the Country the Society we Converse with the Constitution of our Bodies the manner of our Life our Age and other Circumstances will permit For to propose to our selves more than this or to affect during the Course of our Natural Life the highest Felicity is not to acknowledge but rather forget our selves to be Men that is to say weak and feeble Animals who by the Laws of Nature are subject to an infinite number of Mischiefs and Evils And in this sense it is that we usually say a Wise Man tho' tormented with exquisite Pains may nevertheless be happy not in a perfect and compleat sense but he may attain to that degree that we call Human Happiness which the Wise Man always enjoys in that measure that the Circumstances will permit because he don't increase his Misery either by Impatience or Despair but rather abates it by his Constancy And by this means he is happier or to speak more properly he is less miserable than if he suffered himself to be dejected as others in like Cases who bear not their Misfortunes with the same patience and constancy of Mind and who besides are not supplied with the same Encouragements from Wisdom as he hath such I mean as an innocent Life and a good Conscience void of offence which always afford great quiet and satisfaction to the Mind Wherefore 't is improper to use this kind of Expression That it is the same thing for a Wise Man to be burning in Phalaris 's Bull as to be solacing himself upon a Bed of Roses for it is of such things as Fire and Torments that he desires to be exempt and wishes much rather that they were not or that he might not suffer by them but when they come upon him he considers them as unavoidable Evils and suffers them with Courage so that he may say Vror sed invictus I burn it is true and suffer and sometimes I sigh and weep but for all this I am not vanquish'd nor overcome nor do I suffer my self to be transported with Despair which would render my Condition much more miserable Several Opinions concerning the efficient Cause of Happiness AT our first entring upon this Discourse we may observe that the efficient Causes of Happiness being nothing else but the Goods of the Soul of the Body or of Fortune some of the Philosophers have highly extolled the first some the second and others have included them all Those who chiefly recommend the Riches of the Mind as Anaxagoras propose for the obtaining of Happiness A Contemplative Life together with such a kind of Freedom which proceeds from profound Knowledge Possidonius requires Contemplation with a Dominion over the irrational part of Man Herillus generally and simply Learning or Knowledge Apollodorus and Lycus generally the Pleasures of the Mind Leucinus the Pleasures that proceed from honest things The Stoicks Zenon Cleanthes Aristus and the rest require Vertue Therefore these last proceeded so far as to say That if a Man possess'd Vertue it matter'd not whether he were sick or well All the rest by common Consent maintain'd that to live happily was nothing else but to live a Vertuous Life or as they express it according to Nature As for those who prefer the Riches and advantages of the Body and who chiefly aim at sensual Pleasures they were for that Reason Named the Voluptuous Voluptuarii Philosophi of whom we shall have occasion to discourse hereafter when we shall compare them with Epicurus At present we shall only take notice that they have had Aristippus for their Leader and with him the Cyrenaicks of whom we shall make mention afterwards and that the Annicerians who proceed from the Cyrenaicks aimed at no certain end of Life but at the Pleasure of every particular Action of what kind or Nature soever Lastly amongst such as prefer the Goods of Fortune they are generally the vulgar sort of People who look with a greedy desire some upon Riches some upon Honours some upon other things But amongst the Philosophers none are mention'd but such as joyn to these outward Advantages the perfections also both of the Mind and Body for this hath given occasion to the Poets to make these excellent representations of Happiness which they have borrowed from several Opinions of the Philosophers such as this which requires that good Fortune might accompany Vertue Virtus colenda Sors petenda a Diis bona Haec quippe duo cui suppetunt is vivere Et vir beatus bonus simul potest Another desires
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
respect of it self always exalted and content If so you may then say that you are arrived to the most accomplish'd pitch of Happiness that Men are capable of But if you are still in pursuit of all sorts of Pleasures and seek them every where know that in such a case you want as much Wisdom as content You desire to attain this Chief Happiness but you are deceived if you expect to procure it by the means of Riches if you seek Delight amongst Honours 't is to seek it amongst Cares and Troubles That which you fancy will give you Pleasure is the Origin and Cause of a thousand Torments Pleasure and Content are the Universal desire of all Men but they generally are ignorant of the Methods how to obtain such Content as may be fix'd and permanent Some seek it in Feastings and Luxury others in Riches and Great Offices and Dominion others in the Favors and Smiles of their Dalilah's others in a vain ostentation of their Learning and Parts which oftentimes stand the Soul in little stead Their short-liv'd and deceitful Pastimes delude them such as Ebriety which for the seeming Pleasure of an hour causeth many Months of real Sorrow and Trouble Or the Applauses and Acclamations of the People which we have already purchased by much unquietness and which will not fail to draw upon us as much more Remember therefore that a Wise-Man ought to procure to himself such a satisfaction of Mind as is always firm constant and equal His Soul ought to be like that part of the World above the Moon where a continual Serenity reigns You have reason therefore to endeavour to be Wise seeing the Wise-Man is always full of Content This satisfaction proceeds from his own Conscience and from his knowledge of being a vertuous Man It is impossible to enjoy this quiet unless we be Just Magnanimous and Temperate But what will you say Don't Fools and Wicked Men rejoyce No more than Lyons when they have found a Prey When such have spent the Night in Debauchery when they have gorged themselves with Wine and consumed their strength in the Converse of Women and that their Stomachs can no longer contain the quantity of Meats they have devoured they may then well cry out What miserable Wretches are we We now plainly perceive that this Night hath been spent in vain and deceitful Pleasures Námque ut supremam falsa inter gaudia noctem Egerimus nosti The Joys and Pleasures of the Gods and of those that imitate 'em are never interrupted and never have an end Their satisfaction would fail if it came from without That which Fortune never gave it can never take from us That the Pains and Pleasures of the Mind are greater than those of the Body THE last difference that Laertius puts between Epicurus and Aristippus is that as Aristippus esteems the Pains of the Body greater and more troublesom than those of the Mind he supposes likewise the Pleasures of the Body much greater and more considerable than those of the Mind whereas Epicurus is of a contrary Opinion In the Body saith he we can feel only things present but the Mind can be sensible of things past and to come 'T is manifest that a great degree of Pleasure or an extream Affliction of the Mind contributes more to an happy or to an unhappy Life than much Pleasure or much Pain of the Body If the painful Diseases of the Body imbitter the sweetness of our Lives those of the Mind ought to render it much more unhappy Now the Principal Distempers of the Mind are the greedy extravagant Desires of Riches of Glory of Dominion of Sordid and Unlawful Pleasures Moreover the Disturbances Gripings and Sorrows that overwhelm the Mind those anxious Cares that consume it c. This seems to be what Ovid thought when he upbraids us because we can readily undergo the scorching heat of the Fire the sharpnesess of Iron and the trouble of Thirst to free our selves from some Distempers of the Body but to heal the Mind which is of a far greater value we scruple to suffer any thing Vt Corpus redimas ferrum patieris ignes Arida nec sitiens ora lavabis aqua Vt valeas Animo quicquam tolerare negabis At pretium pars haec Corpore majus habet And I suppose Horace had the same Fancy in the forementioned Passage Nam cur Quae feriant oculos festinas demere si quid Est animum differs curandi tempus in annum Truly as the Soul is infinitely more Noble than the Body and according to the Opinion of Aristotle it alone makes up almost the entire Man it must therefore necessarily be much more susceptible as well of the impressions of Good of Pleasure and Delight as of Evil Trouble and Disquietness Besides the Diseases of the Mind are so much the more dangerous than the Diseases of the Body because these have signs to make us understand them but the other are often concealed from us for our Reason that ought to ponder them is disturb'd and cannot make a right estimation Therefore such as are Sick in Body seek a Remedy from Physick but such as are Distemper'd in Mind from Philosophy yet will not obey its Directions Again amongst the Diseases of the Body those are the greatest and the most dangerous of all which cast us into a slumber and are not felt by the Patient as a Lethargy the Falling-Sickness and that burning Fever which causeth a Dilirium Now there is scarce any Distemper of the Mind but ought to be reckon'd of as dangerous a Consequence and the rather because they are not known to be what they are and oftimes are covered over with a fair shew and pretence of contrary Vertues for Example Fury and Wrath are stiled Courage Fear and Cowardise usurp the name of Prudence In short Discontent which is a grief of the Mind and a Distemper which generally causeth the other Diseases to be more unpleasant sad and troublesom affects nothing more than to seem to be taken and caused not without great Provocation and just Resentments Neither are we to pretend with Aristippus That Criminals are commonly punished with Pains and bodily Torments as being more severe and uneasy to be undergone For as the Legislator or the Judge hath not the same power over the Mind as over the Body so it is as true that he cannot appoint that the Offender should be tortured in his Mind but in his Body that so a visible Punishment might be inflicted upon the Offender whereby the People might be kept in stricter awe from Offending But it follows not from thence that there is no greater pain than that or that the pain of the Mind may not be a more grievous Torment Besides when a Man is really under the actual sufferings of the Body or when he supposes that he shall shortly be so he fancies in his Mind that he shall be tied to the Rack or perhaps that his Head shall be
is that we must observe in the second place that there are as it were two general Bulwarks against these sorts of external Evils The first is a good Conscience for as Crantor saith 'T is a great support under Afflictions to be free from Guilt The second is to fore-see and to lay before our Eyes the Mischiefs and Evils that may happen for he who fore-sees the blow and is prepared to receive it is not so easily beaten down as when he is struck unprovided when he is armed with Resolution and Courage as with a kind of Breast-plate he is not so soon wounded as when he is naked and unguarded Therefore a wise Man never trusts so much to his good Fortune but he thinks also upon his Evil for Fortune hath nothing fix'd neither is there any thing certain or of a long continuance in human Affairs He always represents before his Eyes some Examples of the Vicissitudes of good and evil Things and knows that there is no Mischief that happens to any Body but that the same may befal him Therefore he don't wait till the time of War then to furnish himself with Arms to support it nor till a Storm happens then to prepare to resist it If a wise Man begets a Son saith Cicero he knows that he hath begotten a Mortal and brings him up in that Persuasion If he sends him to Troy to defend Greece he knows that he don't send him to a Feast but to a dangerous War This Consideration saith he and this Meditation upon the Evils to come before they happen qualifies and allays the Mischiefs that befal afterwards So that I think Theseus cannot be too much commended for saying in Euripides I thought before upon the Calamities to come upon Death Banishment c. that I might be the better enabled to encounter with adverse Fortune 'T is an undoubted Truth that the Evils that are not fore-seen are much more grievous and that the Fore-sight and Preparation of the Mind hath a great Efficacy to lessen the Pain Let Mankind set always before his Eyes the Casualties of the World for this excellent and divine Wisdom consists in having a long while perfectly known and considered human Affairs and meditated upon them not wondering at any thing that happens nor believe before a thing happens that such a thing cannot come to pass He afterwards commends the Advice of Terence That a Man in Prosperity should think with himself how he should be able to endure Adversity Dangers Losses and Banishment the Miscarriages of a Son the Death of a Wife the Sickness of a Daughter that all these things are common that they may happen so that nothing new ought to surprise us and whatever good befalls us beyond our Expectation it should be look'd upon as so much Profit and pure Gain It was this kind of Meditation and Fore-sight that caused that Constancy of Mind in Socrates appearing always with a serene and pleasant Countenance truly how could his Looks be otherwise seeing his Soul was never moved nor disturbed Agrippinus proceeded yet farther for he was wont to make a Panegyrick of all the Evils that befell him of Diseases when they seis'd upon him of Infamy when Men slander'd him of Banishment when he was driven away And when at a certain time he was going to sit at Table a Message was brought him from Nero to command him immediately to be gone and to depart he answered nothing else but Well we shall then dine at the Town of Aricia Ariciae ergo prandebimus How we ought to support external and publick Evils AS Evils are usually distinguished into publick such as is War Tyranny the Ruin of our Country Plague Famine and such like and into private as Banishment Imprisonment Slavery Ignominy c. It is not needful to speak much of the publick Evils because they don't really concern us so much as they are Publick but as they are Private and come home to us in Particulars 'T is true when Publick Calamities involve a great many Persons this must needs create much Noise and they are reckoned so much the more unsufferable because our common Mother namely our Country is wrong'd and injur'd but if we take more particular notice we may perceive that the Evil concerns every one no otherwise than it strikes at them in particular And to demonstrate that this is no Paradox That the Evil that is common to many on whom we have Compassion is not more uneasie to be born it would be sufficient to instance in that which is in the Mouth of every one and what our Experience sufficiently verifies That it is the comfort of the afflicted to have Fellow-Sufferers But we need take notice but of one thing and consider that when a Neighbour's House is on Fire none but the Neighbours run to extinguish it those who live in the same City at a distance are not at all concered at it for tho' they be all Fellow-Citizens yet the Calamity don't touch them so much as it doth the others So if the War be begun in Persia or if the Plague be hot in India and makes there a great destruction that don't concern us tho' they be Fellow-Citizens of the same World because the Evil is too far off to injure us And tho' it may infect the Borders of our Kingdom either it moves us not or if it doth 't is by accident in that it reaches as far as us and makes us sensible of the Evil. But that I may not stop here If it happens that we are involved in any common Calamity there are two things chiefly to be weighed First That such is the Condition and natural Course of things which we cannot hinder That 't is the Sovereign Lord of the World who hath appointed such Alterations and Changes and he being most Wise his Designs tho' unknown to Men may be and are most excellent That it belongs not to us to quarrel at or alter that Order that he has establish'd but that we ought willingly to yield and follow the Paths that his Providence hath prescribed to us And that seeing 't is not in our power to change Destinies or rather the Decrees of the Divine Providence it would better become us to mitigate the Harshness and Trouble by our own free Consent than to increase the Mischief by fruitless Opposition That Common-wealths have their natural Revolutions and that it is needful that sometimes they should be govern'd by Princes and become Monarchies sometimes by the People and devolve into Democracies and sometimes by the Chieftains and principal Men and be changed into Aristocracies This Cicero tells us which he had taken out of Plato unto which he adds this excellent Passage which shews the Nobility of his Mind and the extraordinary Greatness and Resolution of his Soul when he describes the lamentable State of the Common-wealth I have not hid my self I have not cowardly forsaken neither have I extraordinarily afflicted my self I have not behaved
need of any other Ground but to hinder them from doing Evil or from Transgressing But those who had not so much Ingenuity as to take notice of the importance hereof desisted from Murdering one another meerly out of the fear and apprehension of the grievous Punishments to be inflicted on Offenders which we see still at present to be our Case Between whom Right and Justice takes place AS after all that hath been said it may be questioned among whom Right and the violation of Right and consequently Justice and Injustice which are Opposites take place This in my Judgment is to be understood by comparing Men with other Animals Therefore as there is no kind of Right and Injury of Just or Unjust between the rest of Animals because it was not possible to make any agreement between them that they should do no Mischief to one another So there ought not to be between the Nations which could not or would not make any such Compact to do no wrong one to another For Just or Right the observance whereof is named Justice is only in a mutual Society therefore Justice is the Tie of that Society so that every one of its Members might live in Security and free from the apprehensions of Dangers and Disturbances that a continual fear of being Assaulted or recieving damage may raise in us So that all Animals whether Men or others who cannot or will not enter into a Society and consequently be concerned in such Agreements are deprived of this advantage and have not among themselves any obligation of Right and Justice to make them live in Security So that there remains to them no other means of Security than to prevent one another and to treat them so hardly that they may not have Power to do them any Mischief For this Cause as among those Animals that have agreed upon nothing among themselves if it happens that one injures another one may say that he who does the Evil to the other is Mischievous or hurts the other who is injured but not that it is unjust in this respect or that it does wrong because there is no manner of Right no Agreement no Law precedent to restrain 'em from doing Mischief so among Men who have made no Compact nor are not enter'd into any Society if any treats another rudely or barbarously one may say that he doth him Damage or doth him Mischief but not that he is unjust to him or that he wrongs or injures him because there is no Law to bind him to do no Mischief to such an one But between Men and other Animals can there be any Justice None at all 'T is true That if Men could with other Animals as with Men make Agreements and Contracts not to kill one another we could then between them and us demand Justice for that would tend to a mutual Security but because it cannot be that Animals that are without Reason should be obliged or tied to us by any common Laws therefore we cannot take any more security from the other Animals than from the inanimate Creatures So that to secure our selves there remains for us no other means than to make use of that Power that we have either to kill them or to force them to obey us You may perhaps here by the by ask why we kill those Creatures also which we have no reason to fear I confess we may do this sometimes through Intemperance and Cruelty as by Inhumanity and Barbarity we often abuse such sometimes who are out of our Society and of whom 't is not possible that we should apprehend any danger of Evil. But 't is one thing to offend against Temperance or any of its Species viz. such as Sobriety Gentleness or Humanity and a natural Goodness and another to offend against Justice which supposeth Agreements and Laws Besides of all Animals which are not injurious to humane Race there is no kind but may be so if we suffer 'em to increase and multiply beyond measure As to what at present concerns the pretended savage Life of the first Men 't is not Epicurus who was the first Broacher of this Fancy for the most ancient Poets make mention of it and say That it was Orpheus that sacred Interpreter of the Gods and Amphion the Founder of the City of Thebes who by their sage and eloquent Discourses withdrew those Men from their unsettled and wandring way of Living changing their cruel and barbarous Customs and Manners 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 dissuaded them from Rage and Blood Thus when Amphion Built the Theban Wall They feign'd the Stones obey'd his Magick Lute Cicero himself as if having almost forgotten that he had so highly exalted the dignity of the human Nature declaring it to be altogether Celestial and Divine yet acknowledges That there was a time when Men were wandring like Vagabonds about the Fields in some manner resembling the Brutes That neither Reason Religion Piety nor Humanity were then known among them That they were Strangers to Wedlock and a lawful Issue That they neither used natural nor civil Right That they were in a gross Ignorance and that their unbridled Lust put 'em upon exerting the Powers and Abilities of their Bodies to satiate it self every one possessing more or less according as he was able to take away and keep from another But says he afterward some Men were found to be of a better Temper and more Judgment and Reason than the rest who reflecting on this miserable way of Living and withal considering the tractableness of Mankind were resolved to represent to their Companions how advantageous it would be to joyn together in Societies And by this means by degrees they reclaimed them from their first barbarous manner of Living and reduc'd them to a civil Behaviour who inventing both divine and humane Rights gathered Men into Companies erected Towns and Cities made Laws and afterwards constituted Kings and Governours to check the Insolent and to protect the Feeble and Week against the Stronger Others are of Opinion that the first Age began with the famous Golden Age which was so happy that Men were not then bound up by any Laws nor frighted with the fear of Punishment but lived together innocently having regard to Piety Justice and Equity 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 Seneca renders it thus according to Posidonius They were not yet Corrupted nor Debauched in their Principles but followed the dictates of Nature which directed and awed them from doing ill In the Choice of their Governour they neither respected his Strength nor outward appearance but his
natural Law or according to Nature not only because there is nothing more Natural or more according to Nature than Society and Society being not able to subsist without this Precept it ought also to be esteemed Natural But also because God seems to have imprinted it in the Hearts of all Men and that this Law contains in such a full manner all the other Laws of Society that no Man can invade the Right of another but he must violate this Law Therefore this Law alone ought to be look'd upon as the Rule of all our Actions that concern our Neighbour And truly as every one desires that his Right may be Religiously preserved to him so that no Man may attempt upon it he need but think the same thing of others and to put himself in their Place and Condition to understand what he ought or what he ought not to do Therefore as there is nothing nearer at Hand and more ready nor more infallible than our own Conscience every one may consult himself and he alone may be his own proper and true Casuist So that he who seeks for others seems not so much disposed to be willing to do to another what he would not have done to himself as to not dare to do it if he hath not some Body upon whom he may cast the Blame And upon this Point Cicero treats very well in his Offices That those who prohibit any thing to be done whereof there is a Question whether it be Just or Unjust cannot prescribe any Rule nor Precept more useful and reasonable because Equity here appears and is plainly discoverable and that our doubting is a sign that we think or design to do Evil. Bene praecipiunt qui vetant quidquam agere quod dubites aequum sit an iniquum aequitas enim lucet ipsa per se dubitatio autem cogitationem significat injuriae Upon this Subject I remember what Monsieur de la Moignon first President of the Parliament of Paris a wise and learned Judge said to us one Day as we were walking in his shady Retirement in the Wood de Baville That that Maxim of Cicero if it were duly practis'd among Men would be of a wonderful use and that for what concerns those who have such sort of doubts and trouble themselves to seek for Casuists to support them he had read an excellent Saying in a Spanish Author That such Persons seek to pick a Quarrel or to play the Cheat with the Law of God Quieren pley tear contra la lay de Dios. Let us observe more-over that the Holy Scriptures have said very well That the Law was not made for the Just because he who is truly Just observes it not out of fear of the Punishments that the Law threatens but out of a love for Justice it self and out of a respect for it so that if there were no Law nor Magistrates he would notwithstanding still live in Obedience to Law and Justice Therefore that excellent Expression of Menander is thought praise-worthy If you be Just your Manners will be to you instead of Laws And the Answer of Aristotle is remarkable when he was questioned what Profit he had found and received from the study of Philosophy To do said he of my own accord and without constraint what others do for fear of the Laws This obliged Horace to say That we ought not to do any thing for fear of Punishment Nihil esse faciendum formidine poenae From whence we may remark that Corrections and Punishments are not only ordained for the Wicked and Criminals that they may perish and be extinct but that by their Destruction they may also terrify and restrain others as Seneca observes and according to Lactantius who brings in Plato saying That a wise and prudent Man punishes not because 't is a Crime for he cannot make that which is already done to be undone but that others may not commit the same Crimes But let us hearken to Epicurus discoursing of the great Advantages that there are in observing Justice That there is great Reason to live up to Justice JVstice having been established by a common Agreement every one ought to think that he is born and admitted into the Society whereof he is a Member upon this Condition either express or understood That he shall do wrong to no Man nor no Man to him and thus we must either keep to this Agreement or depart out of the Society seeing that he is suffered there but upon the same Condition that he was admitted From whence it follows that as naturally he don't desire to be evilly dealt withal he ought not to deal ill with others nor do to others what he would not that others should do to him This being granted we may say that the Laws have been established in favour and for the sake of wise Men not to hinder them from committing Injustice but to prevent others from doing them wrong for of their own accord they are so inclined that if there were no Laws they would injure no body for they have limited their Desires and confined them to the necessities of Nature to supply which there is no need of doing Injustice for there is no Pleasure Nature allows of which will cause us to wrong any body for those exorbitances and irregular Desires which proceed from our vain and unruly Passions and Lusts are the only Causes of Mischief The Truth is the Products of the Earth such as Corn Fruits Water c. are to be obtain'd without any great difficulty and the enjoyment of these as often as Hunger and Thirst excite us afford us no small Pleasure and Satisfaction without being hereby tempted to Riot and Excess or to commit Robberies or other enormous Crimes upon our Neighbours which Men are more apt to become liable to and guilty of when they indulge their extravagant Lusts in living splendidly and sumptuously and by unjustly heaping up of Riches to maintain such their Extravagances Nor shall I here stand to take notice of Particulars such who are not satisfied with decent Habits with one Habitation nor one Wife and so of the like who passing the Bounds that Nature hath appointed are daily hurried away by their Passions and endless Desires beyond all Limits Moreover as the wise Man acts all things for himself and for his own Good and Satisfaction there is nothing that will contribute more to this purpose than in carefully observing the Rules of Justice for when he renders unto every one what belongs to him and that he does wrong to no Man he preserves and supports as much as in him lies the Society in which his own Safety is involved he provokes no body to do him Injury neither doth he fear the Penalties and Punishments which the Publick Laws threaten So that his Conscience being free from Guilt he is at quiet and ease within himself without any private Checks or Gripes which is one main design of Justice to procure and the most excellent
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