too little to Matter And here I durst advance a Maxim which will seem a very great Paradox Namely That altho' according to the confus'd Notion we have of these things Death be more capable of humbling us than Life yet according to the distinct Notion and in the reallity of the Thing it self Life is a more humbling and debasing Object than Death Death humbles the Grand Seignior the Prince the Monarch but Life humbles the Man which is more than all that Death snatches from us the props and supports of our Vanity but Life in the Debasement to which it pulls us down suspends in us most of the Sense of our true Grandeur Death brings the Body down into the Grave but Life as it were calls down our Soul from Heaven Death puts a Period to our secular Commerce with Men but Life suspends that natural Commerce we ought to have with God and which our Heart perceives to be the End for which it was made The Pursuivants of Death are Darkness Worms and Putrefaction whereof we are not sensible Life is totally made up of Weakness Baseness Infirmities Disgraces of which we are sensible Wherefore we are certainly prejudic'd and mistaken when we terrify our selves with the Ideas of Desertion Necessity Solitude Destruction which are not really included in the Image of Death but herein indeed we do not mistake when we dread the Judgment of God which accompanies Death for certainly this cannot but seem terrible to a Conscience that feels it self laden with the Weight of a multitude of Sins and pray where is there a Man that finds not himself in this Condition if he reflect but never so little upon his past Life This Moment truly is dreadful upon which we conceive all Eternity to depend but 't is certain that even in this the Heart of Man suggests to it self many Cheats and Illusions It fancies the Moment of Death to be the Price of Eternal Life And considers not that 't is not this Instant but its whole Life which God requires that this moment hath nothing more pleasing to God than any other and that its whole Importance consists simply in this That it is the concluding Moment of Life And Lastly That 't is not this Moment that contracts and covenants with the Divine Justice but all the Time we past in our Impenitence The Sentiments therefore of our Immortality our Perfections and our End will harmonize and agree together admirably well and with the other Sentiments and Inclinations of Nature and the Principles of Religion which God has given us for our Consolation against all the seeming Frightfulness and Horrour of this King of Terrors CHAP. VIII Where we continue to shew what Effect the Sentiment of our Immortality can work upon our Heart CErtainly the Idea of our Immortality can never be too present to our Mind for our Comfort and Consolation amidst this eternal Circle of those sad and dismal Objects which compass us about and those publick and private Calamities which the Severity of God has vary'd so many ways to give Occasion to the sweet Variety of His Deliverances and Consolations After all what signifies it that we are infirm and mortal in our Bodies This State cannot last long Why should we embarass and perplex our selves with Cares and Sollicitude for the short Futurity of this transient Life Have we not another Futurity in View which very well deserves the principal Care and Occupation of our Heart and Mind What need we value the Menaces and Threats of the World What can it do to us It may indeed crush our Body into Atomes but cannot destroy us What if the Frame of the World perish Nature decline and shake the Elements corrupt and decay what if our Body be converted into Dust Worms or Vapour what if it descend again into the Womb of its Mother Earth or be dispers'd into the fluid Air the Ruines of the World will not crush and destroy our Soul nor dissolve that Divine Principle which is in its own Nature uncapable of a Dissolution We think the Body which cloaths us is Our-self This is a mistake this Clay is not Our-self nor ever will be God indeed will re-establish and raise it in Honour to serve for a Tabernacle of that Spirit which was its original Guest and Inhabitant but this Union will not be with the same Submission and Dependance The Soul will not then follow the Condition of the Body but the Body will be adjusted as far as is possible to the State and Nature of the Soul and as the Soul was once debased even to the mean Condition of the Body so as to fly God and bend its Inclinations to Earthly Things the Body will now be desirous to elevate it self to the State of the Soul so as to decline and quit all Earthly Cares and to betake it self to a joyful Celebration of the Glory of God in the Heavenly Choir Certainly 't is not to be wonder'd That the Gospel administers more Comfort to us I will not say than Humane Wisdom has ever done but yet much more than the Law as Divine as it was This is because it clearly reveals to us Life and Immortality which are the only Objects that are capable of satisfying such a Mind and Heart as ours and so have Divine Relations to our Nature But as this Objâ—ct affords us all imaginable Comfort under the sense of so many Miseries that continually surround us so it yields us whatsoever may elevate and truly raise us The Sentiment of our Immortality joyn'd with the Consideration of that Glory and Happiness which Religion promises elevates us more than the World more than the so much boasted Wisdom of Philosophers and even more than all those Vertues which have fallen within the Verge of Humane Knowledge Here we discover the Grandeur of the Passions the Grandeur of the Mind to whose Empire they are Subject and the Grandeur of Vertue which regulates the Mind I say we do in this View discover the Grandeur of the Passions and no Man need be offended at this Expression For tho' the Passions be in some sense great Infirmities yet may they truly be said to be ingrafted upon the natural Dignity and Excellency of Man Hatred Fury Anger which are such criminal Passions and by which we equally contradict the Rules both of Humanity and Christianity proceed if you observe from an Opinion of our proper Excellency ill-directed and accompanied with the Illusions of Self-love which makes us conceive an Excellency in our selves exclusively to those that have offended us as if our Enemies were not Men as well as we That this Sense of our natural Excellency is in all Men appears from hence That even those Persons who are least of all esteem'd in the Minds of Others do notwithstanding this esteem and value themselves and so receive a kind of Domestick Consolation at their publick Infamy and Disgrace from their own Conceit We don't here pretend to justify all
at once but Self-love is mistaken for we are so far from losing all our five Senses that 't is certain we do not really lose one of them we don't become uncapable of Seeing Hearing and Speaking 'T is not the Nature of Things but the free Institution of God that hath affix'd these Perceptions of our Soul to the Organs of our Body to which they had naturally no more Relation than to the Matter which is hidden in the Center of the Earth howsoever Men may be prejudic'd in this Matter Would we say such a Man has lost his Sight the natural Disposition of whose Faculties God should have so chang'd as to have order'd that his Eyes should have no more Priviledge than the rest and that all the parts of his Body should be capable of Seeing This is the Idea of a Man that loses one way of perceiving and sees this infinite Abyss of Sensibility which is naturally in him adequately fill'd These Losses which prejudic'd Nature imagines it is at by Death become so much the more sensible as they are unavoidable and impos'd by a fatal Necessity which cannot be resisted Men have always look'd upon â—his Necessity as a dreadful Misery the irâ—egular Inclination they have to love forbidâ—en Things with so much the greater arâ—our which caused One to say Define vitiae â—rritare vetando augments and encreases â—heir Love of Life by the Impossibility they â—nd themselves under of extending its Liâ—â—its and makes 'em look upon Death with â—o much the more horour as they are uncaâ—able of avoiding it But had the Wisdom â—f God impos'd upon Men the necessity of â—iving as it has the necessity of Dying we â—ay be almost assur'd that in time they would â—e as much afflicted and troubled at the â—houghts of their Immortality as now they â—re at those of their Mortality Now the neâ—essity of Dying makes them attend more to â—â—e Pleasures than the Crosses of Life but â—â—en the necessity of Living would cause â—â—em to apply more regard and attention to â—â—e Evils than to the Agreements and Pleaâ—â—res of Life Our Soul assuredly owes a great part of its Repugnancy and Unwillingness to leave the Body to Custome and Prejudices to see this we need only reflect upon our past Life remark and muster up together all its Pleasures and seriously ask our selves whether all that countervails our past Grief and Trouble On one side what if it pleas'd the Author of Nature to endow a Soul which is form'd to animate a Body with a most distinct Knowledge of the Dignity and Perfections of its Nature the Grandeur of its End and the Nobility of its Extraction and on the other it were inform'd distinctly of all the Infirmities of all the base and painful Dependances which it goes to espouse by espousing this Body pray would not the very first Moment of its Life certainly seem the beginning of Death So for this reason 't was necessary that the confus'd Sensations of Nature which alligate and fasten us to Life should precede the distinct Ideas which are proper enough in themselves to free and loosen us from it and that the former should be naturally of greater Force and Activity than the latter For tho' God would not have us be excessively fond of Life yet the Author of Nature was oblig'd to interess and engage us in the Preservation of Corporeal Nature without which there would be no Society Death has two very different and also very opposite Aspects as we consider it with reference to the Soul For Life and Death may both be said to make the Debasement and Glory of Man Life makes the Glory of the Body and the Debasement of the Soul 't is by Life that the Body is extended to the just and natural Proportion of its Parts Life gives it Health Strength Agility Beauty and makes in a word all its Perfections But Life causes the Debasement of our Soul it confines it to such Objects as are no ways related to its natural Excellency it makes this Mind buisy it self in trivial Affairs and place its whole Concern in the management of a Family a Field a Vineyard and the most abject and sordid necessities of the Body as if this immortal Mind was made for no higher and nobler Imployment but to prolong for some Moments the Duration of this frail Machine to which it is united If Life makes the Glory of the Body and the Debasement of the Soul Death may be said to make the Glory of the Soul and the Debasement of the Body The Body falls but the Soul rises up and soars as it were to its native Heaven The Body consumes and in process of time relapses into Dust but the Mind extends and enlarges it self like a Divine Sphere which becomes greater and greater proportionably to the nearness of its Approach to God The Body is depriv'd of its former Motion the Soul acquires such Knowledge as it had not before The Body mingles it self with the Earth the Soul is re-united to God The Debasement which ensues upon Death lights upon an insensible lump of Matter A Carcass gnaw'd by devouring Worms endures no Pain it smells not those noisom Odours it exhales is not terrify'd with the surrounding Darkness nor is out of Conceit with it self even when 't is nothing else but an horrid Miscellany of Blood and Dirt of Bones and Putrefaction 'T is an Illusion and Cheat of prejudic'd Nature that makes us affix our proper Ideas and Perceptions to such Objects as do only occasion them Matter when depriv'd of Life and Sense is plac'd in its natural State this is no Imbasement or Degradation to it all the seeming Dishonour and Turpitude is meerly in our Fancy But the case is not the same in respect of that Imbasement and Degradation to which Life exposes us This is not the natural State of such a Soul as ours and doubtless the Author of Nature had never abandon'd it to such a Condition but upon the account of Sin Man indeed would have liv'd but his Life would have been more Noble and Excellent 'T is a great mistake to pretend that Man's Death commences the Punishment of his Corruption Life has already punish'd criminal Man by those sad Dependances which alligate and confine the Thoughts Cares Desires and Affections of so great and noble a Soul to the support and preservation of this sordid Mass of Clay which we term our Body Yet such is the Imbecillity and Weakness of Man that he would needs fancy himself Debased where really he is not and is not willing to perceive himself Debas'd where really he is so An imaginary Debasement frightens and terrifies him and yet he cannot see a proper and real Debasement But what if the Body be truly Degraded so the Gain of the Soul does infinitely preponderate the Losses of the Body Are we so weak as to think that our Happinessness is so confin'd and fix'd to certain Affairs Possessions Offices Housholds and a
certain Circle of Persons with whom we have Society as that we cannot be Happy without all these things We have almost the very same Notions of Death as Children have when they fancy they shall be weary with abiding in the Grave and not dare to be alone in the Abyss of surrounding Darkness We terrify our selves with our own Phantomes and Chimaera's we make such a Confusion of our proper Perceptions with the Grave which is their Object that we are ready to imagine and resent that Horrour in the Sepulchre which is meerly a Creature of our own Fancy and exists no where else but in our own Soul We should not fear this pretended Solitude and apparent Privation which attend Death if substituting the distinct Ideas of Reason instead of the confused Perceptions of Nature we would consider that by Death we are not depriv'd either of the Subject or the Cause of those Delights which this World may have afforded us For the Subject is our Soul which still remains and the Cause is GOD who is immortal and immutable The reason why we regret and bemoan the loss of the Sky Earth Elements Society is because we invest these Things with those agreeable Sensations which they occasion'd not considering that we carry away with us the Colours Cloth Paint and Pencil which are necessary for drawing this admirable Picture and that if God fail us not we can nevâ—r want any thing Nor ought the Idea of Destruction which is included in Death to trouble us any more than this Idea of Solitude which we have been speaking of 'T is true Death seems to destroy Man several ways In his account it destroys the World it being certain that the Sun Moon Stars Air Earth Sea although they be not absolutely Annihilated in themselves may yet be said to be annihilated in respect of him seeing that he cannot enjoy any longer Use of them Man is not annihilated in himself but in the Nature which he admires and which perishes as to him in the Society he has been us'd to and which ceases to be any longer in his Account in his Body the Instrument of his Pleasures which perishes and moulders away in the Dust of the Grave Let us see whether there be any thing Real in either of these Three kinds of Destruction First then external Things cannot be said to be annihilated both in themselves and in respect of thei Use for how do we know but the same Institution in kind may still remain and be in Force tho' the manner of it cease Indeed there is no great likelyhood of our having such kind of Sensations after Death as we had during our Life for 't is no longer necessary that these Sensations should be proportion'd to the Condition and Preservation of a Body which in respect of us ceases to subsist The design which the Author of Nature hath had of engaging us in the Preservation of this Body by the Pleasure which the Aliments excite in us being accomplish'd and come to its intended Period we easily conceive that there being no longer Pleasure to be excited in us by Aliments Tasting has no place after Death and is not a proper Faculty for the Enjoyment of the other World unless God affix it to other Objects for different Ends. But methinks Hearing and Seeing being not only design'd for the Preservation of the Body but also for the Search and Pursuit of all that may nourish the Admiration and Gratitude we bear to the Creatour we have no reason to believe that these Sensations are terminated by Death Indeed I own we shall not see by the Motion of the Optick Nerve but yet we may be said to see for all that For pray what has the shaking of the Optick Nerve common with the Perception of Light These things have no natural Relation to each other and if we see Light and visible Things by the occasion of the Optick Nerve mov'd after a certain manner nothing hinders but we may have the same Sensations by the occasion of the Aethereal Matter which us'd to agitate the Optick Nerve which may be said proportionably of Hearing But suppose we should not have these very Sensations what does that signify since we shall certainly have Others and those of a more noble and elevated Kind For as by losing the Body we shall not be depriv'd of any thing but what confin'd and degraded us we ought not to fear that our Soul will lose any thing of the Purity and Excellency of its Operations by disentangling it self from the Embraces of Matter 'T is neither our Duty nor Interest to meddle and spend our Conjectures about those things which God thought fit to conceal from our Knowledge but I believe 't would not be a piece of too great Boldness and Presumption to conjecture That as the Imbasement and Vileness of Man during this Life consists in having his Reason subjected to Sense so the Glory that will follow Death consists in a perfect submission of Sense to the Empire of Reason Indeed at present as the Soul is descended from Heaven to inhabit a Tabernacle of Clay it buisies not it self in enlarging its Views or extending its Lights but on the contrary 't is employ'd in â—â—cking and confining 'em that it may not diâ—dain to use them in preserving the Body But then as the Soul will take its flight from these lower Regions to its Heavenly Station where it will have no longer need to care for the Support and Preservation of the Body but its whole Business will be to glorify God 't will no longer bestir it self to limit and confine but to purify and enlarge its Knowledge in order to render it more worthy of God about whom it will be conversant The second Destruction we apprehend in Death is no less Imaginary for tho' we see the Links which ty'd us to Society dissolve and break yet we ought not for all that to think we shall be exempted from all manner of Friendly Obligations The Society of Spirits does very well countervail the Society of Bodies whatever weak and prejudic'd Nature may think of it And when we shall put off these Eyes and Ears which are design'd for our Commerce and Conversation with Men we solace our selves with this Lenitive That we shall undoubtedly acquire other ways of Sensation and Knowledge by vertue of another Institution proportion'd to our future Condition Lastly I grant that One who still lives in this World and is depriv'd of the Members of his Body is to be pitty'd But when a Man is transported into another World sees another Oeconomy of Objects what should he do with these Senses which have indeed some Relation to this present World but not to his glorify'd State The Mischief arises from hence That in the ordinary Idea we have of our selves we attribute too much to the Body and too little to the Soul whereas following the distinct Ideas of Things we cannot ascribe too much to a Spirit nor
of Extravagance to say that this Intellect hath for its Principle a natural Motion that it is nothing but a meer Congeries of Atomes which agitated after a certain manner obtain a new Situation Does any Man clearly conceive that an Atom without going beyond the Confines of the Body runs thro' the Earth and Heavens in a moment that it goes every where without being moved in a more noble and wonderful manner than if it were mov'd Can one Portion of Matter have the Knowledge of others and afterward know it self Act upon it self reflect not only upon it self but also upon its manner of Acting upon the Manner of this Manner and upon the Reflection which it makes upon this manner in Infinitum Can a parcel of Atomes included in I know not what little Pipe judge of the Model of the Universe the Design of the World and understand the Wisdom of the Creatour Is it a property of this Thinking Motion not only to put these Atomes into Motion but also to represent that of the Celestial Bodies which are only in the order of possible Things Have these Atoms whose jumbling and clashing is a Thought this admirable Faculty of being able as often as they meet and justle to hit only the general Degree of Being or Substance without hitting the Individual in this Motion which Thought we term Precision Did we ever hear of a Motion properly so call'd without a proper Translation of one Body from another like Thought which goes from the Time past which is no more to the future which is not yet come and from that Nothing which preceded our Being to that Annihilation which terminates the Hopes of the Incredulous The Mind of Man is not only above the Condition of Matter but which is Admirable it hath a kind of Infinity in its Actions for it flies from Object to Object and multiplies them in Infinitum 'T is never wearied with Knowing and altho' its Perfections be really limited since it does not know all Things yet certainly its Excellency is in some Sense unlimited since it can know all Things successively As the Mind of Man is never wearied with Knowing so his Heart is never wearied with Desiring and such as is our Abyss of Knowledge such is the Abyss of our Desire This Ambitious Prince whose Heart was greater than the Universe of which he was Master had not in the Bottom more vast and elevated Inclinations than are hidden in the secret Dispositions of every One of us and the Heart of an Heroe is not different from any other Man's He that dwells in a Cottage wants nothing but Prosperity and great Occasions to inspire him with Wishes for new Worlds to Conquer When a Man is opprest with Poverty a Supply of Things necessary is the utmost Term of his Wishes After he has possession of those Things which Nature requires he demands Things necessary to State and Quality when he has arrived to that Pitch of Grandeur he has obtain'd all that his Heart seems capable of Desiring Yet still against the Dictates of Reason he forms new Desires Behold the Masters of the World who after having been at a Height of Greatness above other Men wish for the Condition of Beasts this they cannot but desire tho' they are never like to obtain it Such is the Excellency of Man that it shews it self even in his most shameful Irregularities For I do not imagine that this insatiable Desire of our Heart does originally spring from our Corruption Men are to be blamed for applying themselves with too great Earnestness to the Research of Worldly Goods but they have good Reason for not placing their Contentment in finite Enjoyments who are designed for the Possession of the Supream Good It must needs fall out thus For we see that in Nature every Thing is satisfy'd with those Goods that are proper to its species The Fish are contented with the Water they swim in Birds are satisfy'd with flying in the Air the Beasts of the Field obtain the End of their Desire when they have met with such Grass as serves for their Nourishment whence then does it come to pass that Man has so little satisfaction in Temporal Advantages if these be all that fall to to his share Shall we believe that the Wisdom of the Creatour is inconsistent with it self precisely in this Has it not had a competent Knowledge either of the Nature of Worldly Goods as uncapable of yielding us Satisfaction or of the Nature of our Heart as uncapable of being satisfy'd with ' em Or rather does it not proceed from this that having known the Goods of the World our Heart and the natural Disproportion between them both GOD has fram'd things after this manner because he reserv'd our Soul to himself that he might fill it satisfy it and answer by his Excellency and infinite Beatitude the infinite succession of our Thoughts and Desires Or if you will the infinite Enquiries of a Mind which searches for the Knowledge of all Things because 't is design'd for the Knowledge of GOD and the infinite Desire of an Heart which is not satisfy'd with the Possession of any particular Good because it is design'd for the Possession of the supream Good which includes all the others The Nature Perfections and End of Man do make up what we call his Natural Dignity but all this depends upon the Eternity of his Duration We should reap but little Profit from being Spiritual in our Essence did not this Idea include that of Immortality But 't would be extravagant to imagine that because whatsoever is dissolv'd perishes therefore what is uncapable of Dissolution doth perish also What do I say Extention is not lost tho' it acquire other manners of Being and the Body of Man after Death doth not cease to be a Body by being turn'd into Ashes Flesh Clay Worms Vapour or Dust Death in its proper Noâ—ion is a Destruction of the Organs or â— Dissolution If therefore it does not anniâ—ilate the Body whose parts it separates one â—rom another how shall it annihilate this Mind this Intelligence which is neiâ—her Extension nor Motion nor Union of â—arts and evidently bears no relation or â—imilitude to any of those things that are â—usceptible of Dissolution The Perfections of Man do also depend â—pon his Immortality In vain should we â—nd a kind of Infinity in the Sensations of â—he Soul diversify'd in Infinitum according â—o the Diversity of outward Things which â—ccasion them in our Imagination capable â—f assembling innumerable Images for giving â—s a representation of Objects in our Mind â—hich is never wearied with Knowing and â—n our Heart whose Desires are boundless â—f being made only for Time and to endure â—ut for the space of some Years we could â—ave but a limited Number of Sensations â—ould exercise our Imagination but during a â—ery short time could have but a succession â—f Thoughts proportion'd to the brevity of â—ur Life and at last possess but a
never yet saw in the World A Man valiant by Reason and stout without external Cultivation and Discipline His Fortitude will not owe its Force to Stupidity which hinders him from reflecting on what he does nor to Example which obliges him to follow in Danger the Steps of other Men nor to Worldly Concerns which bid him not flinch and give Ground where Honour calls nor lastly to an heap of Considerations wheh may serve as a Veil to hinder him from seeing the impendent Danger The immortal Man exposes himself to Death because he very well knows that he cannot Dye The World cannot produce One Heroeâ— since all its brave Men are either fearful of Death or owe their Intrepidness to their own Infirmity Thinking to be Valiant they cease to be Men and going to look Death in the Face they lose the Sight of themselves but the immortal Man exposes himself because he understands and knows himself Tho' we cannot find a true Heroe in the World yet we cannot but love those who appear to be such Heroism in that Man's Principles who includes all his Hopes in the World is a meer Extravagance yet we cannot choose but admire those Persons who bear this Character This undoubtedly proceeds from a Sense of our Grandeur and Dignity which teaches us confusedly and without the admission of Reason to these Mysteries of the Heart that Man is above all We are inwardly pleas'd and delighted to see a Fellow quarrelling with Fate and Fortune we love to see him rais'd above Dangers by his Valour and above all Applause by his Modesty we would have nothing shake his Stoutness and Courage and tho' we cannot bear that his Pride should despise us yet we love he should despise all the Injuries of the Elements the Persecution of Men and shew himself greater than all those Things which seem'd capable of pulling down his Crest Constancy suits not with a perishing Man but agrees with I know not what confus'd Sense of our Grandeur which finds nothing too Great for its vast Capacity Hence undoubtedly sprung that Idea of a Wise Man which the Stoicks vainly endeavour'd to answer For truly their Paradoxes in the Principles of One who believes not an Eternity are highly Extravagant yet however Extravagant they may be they excite a kind of Admiration in our Heart which we use not to have at Things purely impossible We should laugh at that Man's Folly who should fancy he had Wings to fly with and indeed the Notion of a Sage who pretends he is rais'd above all adverse Events and yet casts not his Eye beyond the Limits of Mortality is no less unreasonable and senseless yet we find in this Sentiment something not altogether displeasing which our Soul insensibly admires This undoubtedly proceeds purely from this Cause That these Paradoxes agree and suit with a confus'd Sense of our natural Dignity which forsakes us not tho' it be usually unknown This Sense is disguis'd and hidden in the midst of the apparent Infirmities and Baseness of our Nature as Diamonds are in the Entrails of the Earth mingled with Dirt or Dross and as these must be purify'd and cleansed to give 'em their native Lustre and Brightness and to know their Value or Worth so is it necessary to purify this Sense of our natural Excellency by the Ideas of Religion that we may see its Beauty and Perfection The Christian mantains these Paradoxes and fills the prodigious Vacuity of these Maximes All of 'em become reasonable upon the Principle of Immortality provided they be rightly understood If they tell us the Wise Man is without Passion we shall find that this Character suits with the Immortal Man provided that by Passion you mean the Alteration which usually attends the Passions as these Philosophers seem to have done For how can a Man that is made for Eternity if he act conformably to the exact and true Knowledge he ought to have of himself be very much embarass'd and perplex'd with Cares and Passions which wholly relate to Time Plac'd as it were upon a lofty Mountain he hears with a serene and undisturb'd Mind the Wind blow the Thunder roar and the Lightning Clouds burst under his Feet If few Men enjoy this Tranquillity and Regard with a generous Indifferency the Goods and Evils of this Life 't is because they are too ignorant of their immortal Condition whereof even Nature gives 'em an obscure Glimpse and a confus'd Information Or because they can't keep up in that lofty Situation to which Religion advanc'd ' em All this shews that there is no compleat Wise Man yet this does not hinder us from concluding that 't is the Character of a Wise Man to live without Alteration that we find this Character more or less perfect according as a Man remembers what himself is If the Wise Man ought to be sufficient to himself may we not very well apply this Idea to the Immortal Man who cannot percieve his true Condition of coming from and returning to God without being assur'd That Worldly Objects which hinder him from knowing his true Original and End are far from satisfying his Wants For this Maxim must not be understood in a Sense exclusive of God without whom we are Nothing at all But in a Sense exclusive of the World without which 't is true we both are and are Happy I confess that he who has fix'd all his Desires upon Earthly Objects can't live without Company and Conversation without that he is plung'd in the Ideas of the Misery and Vanity of all temporal Things He cannot Live unless he be diverted from the Thoughts of Death he cannot Dye unless he see those Persons who still buisy him with the Thoughts of Life His Prosperity and Fortune become insupportable unless those Persons have a share with him who divert his Mind hinder it from thinking of the fatal Necessity that 's impos'd upon him of seeing it speedily come to a Period A weak and silly Creature that stumbles into a Precipice and to retard its Fall for a Moment lays hold of any thing it can catch by but he 's surpriz'd with falling down maugre these vain Supports into the inevitable Abyss which he sees before him The Immortal Man has no need of making these Disguisements in order to obtain Consolation and Comfort and keep the Possession of himself He affixes even to Death an Idea of Glory and Excellency which makes him look upon all that with Anger and Vexation which diverts his Thoughts from this Object He 's never better pleas'd than when he considers the glorious Condition of his Soul The Farrago of temporal Goods seems to him like an Heap of Dust thrown into his Eyes to hinder him from the Enjoyment of his own Perfections whatsoever diverts and pleases the Heart and Mind of other Men is a Burthen to him because it keeps him from meditating and thinking of his real Happiness This Paradox therefore is not at all Extravagant in the Mind
consider'd the first of our Faculties and seen that the original Source of our Corruption is not in the Mind we must in the next place consider the Heart which is the Soul as it loves or the Seat of the Affections CHAP. V. Where we continue to search for the Sources of our Corruption by considering the Motions and Inclinations of the Heart AS there are first Principles or Notions in our Mind which are of an infallible Truth and Certainty and the Foundation of natural Light which is so far from deceiving that it puts us in a Way to return from our Errours so in our Heart there are certain primary and radical Affections which are necessarily Lawful Sentiments without which the Nature of Man cannot subsist and which are not only exempt from all Corruption in themselves but also serve when rightly directed to reclaim us from our Vices Such is the natural Love of Esteem and of Our-selves the Care of our Preservation the Desire of Happiness These Passions are good in themselves â—eeing they naturally relate to the Good of Man There are Two sorts of 'em the One are term'd by the School-men Prosequutivae because they incline us to Good the Other Adversativae because they remove and avert us from Evil. But yet as they tend to our Advantage by the Design and Intention of Nature thro' an Effect of our Corruption they are perverted to be instruments of our Damage and Prejudice which happens when false Goods excite in our Heart reall Affections When we are but coldly bent towards that which deserves the whole Application and Study of our Souls and on the contrary we desire with all the Ardour imaginable such Goods as deserve but a moderate and indifferent Affection For then we reverse the Order of Nature change the End into the Means and the Means into the End are rash and precipitate in our Actions err in our Conduct and a meer shadow of Good makes us lose the original Source of it and running after Appearances we miss the Truth Hence proceed all our Vices and Disorders in enquiring after which we must spend some time since 't is they that make the Corruption of the Heart Now as we search for the Source of our Irregularities we must not insist upon any particular One unless it has an Influence upon all the others 'T is evident that the Root of our Natural Evil consists not in a peculiar Disposition of the Temperament seeing that those who are of quite contrary Temperaments are corrupted for all that Nor is Interest the Principle of our Evil since that has commonly something in it incompatible with Pride neither is Pride seeing that is in some sort repugnant to Interest Yet 't is certain that there is something wherein the Vices are opposite and something wherein they agree They are in some respect opposite seeing that one serves as a kind of Remedy for the other and they agree in some respect since the Soul after it has fall'n into one has a further Inclination after another which seem'd of a quite contrary Nature This Truth will appear more plainly if we as it were Anatomize and Dissect the Heart by entering upon the Consideration of all its particular Passions Robbery springs from Injustice Injustice from Interest Interest from an Excess of Self-love Obstinacy is nothing but a strict Adherence which Self-love make us have to our own Fancies and Opinions Pride is a meer Drunkenness and Intoxication of Self-love which represents us to our own Imagination greater and perfecter than really we are Revenge is but a desire to defend our selves against those that hate us or to reap a kind of Self-satisfaction by punishing those who have offended us In a word Take a through Survey and Consideration of all the Vices and Passions of Man and you 'll find they terminate in Self-love 'T is this that gives 'em Birth forasmuch as all the Motives of Vice have this Foundation That we seek for every thing which flatters and relates to this Me which is the first Object of our Knowledge and Affections Upon this depends either their Life or Death for when two Passions violently Combat Fear for instance and Revenge the Soul retires into its own Tent and makes use of no other Counsel but that of Self-love to know which side it ought to take and according as Self-love judges or not judges Revenge to be necessary it pronounces in Favour either of Resentment or Moderation So that as Self-love first produc'd these two Passions so likewise it foments and causes the One to live and continue to the Prejudice of the Other Now what else can we say of that Passion to which all our irregular Inclinations tend in which all the Vices terminate by whose means they both Live and Die which stops and suspends their Career but that this general Disorder is undoubtedly the original Fountain of all the others and what we call'd the primitive Root of our Evil and Corruption And which may serve to confirm us in this Opinion at the same time we perceive all the Vices flattering and caressing Self-love we find all the Vertues unanimously opposing it Humility debases and pulls it down Temperance mortifies it Liberality as it were robs it Moderation discontents it Fortitude exposes it Magnanimity Piety and Zeal sacrifice it And indeed Self-love is so essential an Ingredient of the Definitions of the Vices and Vertues that without it we can't have a â—ight Conception either of the one or the other In general Vice is a Preference of One-self before other Men and Vertue seems to be a Preference of others before One-self I say it seems to be so Because in Effect 't is certain that Vertue is only a more noble and rational Mode of Loving One-self Now here there is a seeming Contradiction in our System For on One hand Self-love appears to be the Principle of our Irregularities and Disorders on the Other 't is certain that the Love of Our-selves is a Qualification for the Discharge of our Duties Corruption draws its whole Force from Self-love and GOD on the other side derives from it all the Motives He makes use of to incline us to the Study of our Sanctification For to what purpose would he have made Promises and Threatnings were it not with a Design to interest Self-love This Difficulty presently vanishes after we suppose the same thing touching Self-love which we have already said of the Affections of the Heart in general Namely That they have something of innocent and lawful which belongs to Nature and something of vicious and irregular which is attributed to their Corruption 'T is an Advantage of the French Tongue that it can distinguish betwixt L'amour propre and L'amour de nons mêmes the former signifies Self-love as 't is vicious and corrupted the latter denotes this Love as 't is lawful and natural Now our present Enquiry being after the Sources of Man's Corruption our Design here engages us
â—mpediment from Self-love as well as Admiration T will be to no purpose to make a wild and indefinite Answer that 't is the Corruption of our Heart which renders us uncapable of loving God purely for his own sake and his intrinsick Perfections whilst we suppose him not to love us This is to run into a Labyrinth of Generalities for avoiding the distinct Ideas of Things For our Corruption does not hinder the Admiration of our Soul it being certain that the Devils who far exceed us in Wickedness admire God tho' they are at the same time conscious of his being the Object of their Hatred and Aversion so neither can this Corruption hinder pure Friendship if that as well as Admiration derives its Birth from Known Perfection Nothing will better confirm this Truth than by seeing what 's the Use of Faith in Religion So long as Men live in a State of Ignorance which makes 'em imagine that God looks upon 'em with Indifferency and Disregard they in like manner seem to have but indifferent Sentiments of the Deity such were the Pagan Philosophers Whilst Men think they are the Object of God's Hatred they detest and abhor the Divinity The Romans who had already kindled the Fire of their Sacrifices to give Thanks to the Gods at the false Report of the Recovery of Germanicus run into their Temples with Fury and Rage when they hear the too true News of his Death they drag their Images in the Dirt throw 'em into Tiber and signalize their Grief by a Specimen of Impiety All Men seem to have the same inward Disposition which the Romans outwardly shew'd and the Violence which they â—s'd to the Images is an Expression of what Man would be willing to execute upon God when he thinks him his Antagonist and Enemy No sooner does the Gospel resound in the World for the Consolation of Men but as the Testimoines of the Divine Love to Mankind are every where manifested so likewise Men's ardent Love of God becomes universally Conspicuous Faith which assures us of this immense Charity of God is there look'd upon as the Key of our Heart and the first Degree of our Sanctification to this the Scripture attributes our Salvation When Faith has throughly perswaded us that we are the Objects of God's Love we are sufficiently dispos'd to affect and love Him But as our Affections essentially spring from Self-love our Hatred and Aversions proceed from the same Original We hate Men by Interest when they are our Competitors in the Pursuit of Temporal Goods We hate one that is Intemperate because he 'd rob us of our Pleasures we can't endure an Ambitious Man because he takes the upper-hand of us in Preferment and Honour nor can we love a Proud Man because 〈◊〉 contemns and tramples us under Feet nor a Miser because he hoards up the Riches that might possibly come to us nor an Unjust Man because he oppresses us We don't only hate those who actually prejudice and injure us but even those that have an Inclination to hurt us tho' they want fit Occasions or some Impediment hinder 'em from exerting their Malice Our Hatred reacheth as far as a Man's Power of doing us an Injury For which reason Power and Authority are many times the Incentives of Aversation and Ill-will and as there are few Persons in the World but meet with some who either actually do 'em a Mischief or would at least if it laid in their Power or were it for their Interest it must be own'd that secret Motives of Hatred do perpetually enter in our Heart and that nothing is more dangerous than the Temptations to which we are expos'd on this Account Indeed we are oftentimes Enemies to one another when we are ignorant of it We many times both love and hate the same Person because Self-love considers him under different Respects And it happens that we really hate those whom we think to be the Objects of our best Affection and sometimes those whom we have all the reason imaginable to love and esteem which appears from this That in all their Disgraces and Misfortunes there 's something that does not wholly displease us This unjust and unnatural Sentiment which the Vail of Pride hides from our Eyes proceeds from these two Principles Namely That we Our selves are not the Objects of this Disgrace which is a Reflection that Self-love instantly makes and that we see a Man degraded and pull'd down who in regard of his being a Man can't fail to rival us upon some Account or other a Sentiment which is chang'd into Compassion when either Death or some irrecoverable Adversity finally exempts him from the Number of those who pretend and aim at the Goods which are the Objects of our own Desire But Hatred is a turbulent Passion which puts the whole Body into a violent Commotion and all whose Effects are so sensible and obvious that 't is the most faithful Mirrour for discerning the Degree of Vehemence which attends all our other Affections If you would know how much you love Vain-Glâ—ry it may be your Heart gives you a false Intimation do but only consider the Violence of the Hatred which you conceive at One that has offended you in point of Honour this is the just Degree and Measure of it this Mirrour is your safest Guide for discovering and fathoming the Bottome of your Heart We hate by Interest Persons Things and Words If seeing an Abyss under our Feet we are put into Horrour and Consternation 't is the Image of our Destruction appearing before us that causes this trembling Motion and Reason is not so strong and prevalent as to correct and allay that Fear which a too lively Idea of our own Destruction exhibits to our Conceit Many People can't forbear swooning when they see the shedding of Man's Blood this proceeds not so much from a weakness of Temperament as an infirmity of the Heart Whatsoever represents to 'em the Ruines of Humane Nature threatens their Self-love and that which imbues the Fancy with Blood draws a livelâ— Picture of Death in the Soul and conducts it to that inward Recess by meer â—nt of Conceit where Reflection shuts the Doors against it CHAP. IX Where we consider the most general Inclinations of Self-love and in the first place the Desire of Happiness THe first Inclination of Self-love is a Desire to be Happy and I believe that in the Main these two Expressions do but signify the same Thing under different Ideas For what else is it to love One-self but to desire Happiness and to desire Happiness but to love One-self Truly he must be a very nice Subtiliser and Mincer of Things that can find any Difference As therefore the Desire of Happiness can't be too Great and it has always been reckon'd a Crime tâ— pursue a false and not ardently to affect a real Felicity it follows that we are not to be blam'd for loving our selves to Excess but for taking a wrong Method
up with the frightful and melancholy Thoughts of our going to lose the Foundation of an infinite Joy the Latter would be supported by a Comfortable Hope which connecting together an Infinity of Ages would make up that Deigâ—ht in the Duration of these Goods which they wanted in Quality Nothing is finer in Speculation than this Description which a Latin Poet gives of Temporal Happiness Res non parta Labore sed relicta Non ingratus Ager Focus perennis Lis nunquam Toga rara Mens quieta Vires ingenuae salubre Corpus Prudens simplicitas pares Amici Conâ—ictus facilis sine Arte Mensa Nox non ebria sed soluta Curis Non tristis Thorus attamen pudicus Somnus qui faciat breves Vmbras Quod sis esse velis nihilque malis Summum nec metuas Diem nec optes Mart. L. 10. Epig. But tho' this Definition of Happiness appear so reasonable as it had been Dictated by the Oracle of Wisdom her self yet but an indifferent Knowledge of Man's Heart and his natural State would suffice to shew its Faultiness in many Respects In the first Place 't is made up of such Goods as for the most part are not in our Power Res non parta Labore sed relicta non ingratus Ager Focus perennis Lis nunquam â—ires ingenuae salubre Corpus somnus qui faciat breves Umbras For who can give himself an Estate and cause it to descend from Father to Son or render his Field fruitful or avoid Brangles with injurious Persons 'T is not in our Power to sleep securely to have a healthy and vigorous Temper of Body and yet Nature it self teaches us that Happiness is in some measure in our Power For why should it have engraven upon the Heart of Man a Desire to be Happy if he were uncapable of arriving to that End But Men mistake in this Point because they don't understand a double Language which Nature speaks to 'em in this respect For on one Hand by shewing 'em so many Goods which they naturally desire and which are not in their Power it plainly declares to 'em that Happiness is not in their own Breast and on the Other by inspiring into 'em so natural a Desire of Happiness as that they can never deface or put it off in what State soever they be it teaches 'em that they are notwithstanding capable of obtaining that End But to return to our Poet I add that this Description of Happiness is not made up of Goods sufficiently noble and excellent certainly 't is not much above the Condition of Beasts of which it may be truly said that their Goods come by Succession that their Riches are not got by Labour that the Earth is fruitful to 'em and that they fail not of Cloaths agreeable to their State made by the Hand of Nature that they want not Health Strength and Rest that their Simplicity is prudent and tho' they seem uncapable of Reflection yet we see 'em most Ingenious and Discreet in the Sphere of those Objects which their Interest obliges 'em to know namely for the Propagation of their Species and Self-preservation that their Life is pleasant and sedate that they live without Trouble and Disquietude that their Cups are not mingled with the Wormwood of Suspicions and Jealousies that they are not troubled with Law-suits and which is most of all considerable that they neither fear nor hope for Death So that Beasts come very near to the Enjoyment of that Happiness which is represented to us as the most perfect and compleat of all Strange What a Misery then is it that we are born capable of Reason that the Quality of Rational should bar us from pretending to that of Happy that the Degree of our Perfection should make the Degree of our Misery that Beasts should be happy for not being Men and Men should be miserable because they are not Beasts Certainly this can never be true Nature is too Wise in all other Things for being so imprudent in this Particular and unless Men are willing to degrade themselves and to disparage the Excellency of their Nature they must needs acknowledge a Soveraign Good which may be found and does not cheat our Desires but is not to be met with in the Objects of this Life which will always deceive our craving Appetite Moreover the finest Strokes in the Poets Description of Humane Felicity are contradictory For if a Man be so far Happy as to be satisfy'd with his Condition and not to desire a better how can he choose but fear Death which puts a fatal Period to this Beatitude And if what it Deprives us off be so trivial and inconsiderable as that we neither desire nor fear to Die how is it possible we should be contented with that Condition This Fellow spoke at random He thought there was nothing in these Verses Quod sis esse velis nihilque malis Summum nec metuas diem nec optes A Man content with his Condition and not fearful of Death is the Philosopher's Stone in Morality Besides these Ideas destroy one another they annihilate the Naâ—ure of Man who as we have seen before necessarily loves himself beyond all Limits His Love of Happiness stays not at a Mediocrity and consequently he cannot be satisfy'd but in the Possession of an Infinite Good He dreads Misery above all Things and for that Reason cannot but fear Death till he is assur'd of his Immortality Also this is one of the greatest Defects of that Happiness which Men search after or the Pleasure which they so ardently pursue that the Foundations of it are uncertain it depends upon a Thousand Causes which are not in your Power What Reliance can you have upon the Health of a Body which every thing threatens with Ruine and Destruction and what Tranquillity can you build upon this if you behold the Image of its Death in every outward Object in the Aliments that nourish you in the Air which you breath in the Contagion of a sick Person whom you visit in an Insect that stings it and in a multitude of other secret Causes which we can neither prevent nor avoid who 'll assure me of the Possession of my Riches who 'll secure me of the Preservation of those Friends whom I love and delight in who 'll protect me and mine from the Accidents that are so ordinarily incident to Society The Fourth Defect of this Humane Felicity is that 't is not only corruptible but also transient and fading 'T is of a much shorter Duration than the Term of our Life Sleep which locks up our Senses exhausts a good part of it nor does it last so long as this Moiety of Life which we pass in Reflection and Awake for we are not continually buisy'd with tasting Pleasure Nay it subsists not so long as the Presence of those Objects which first give it Birth it lasts but for the momentany Passage from Privation to Enjoyment We perceive some Delight indeed in the
Pursuit but this Joy expires with the Acquisition The greatest of temporal Goods after we have possess'd 'em but for two Days don't very much affect and please us This Happiness seems to consist in the Satisfaction of Desire which makes us not Happy either in Life or Death but only at the instant of Extinction or Annihilation The most excellent Wisdom of Nature thought fit to let us know that worldly Goods are not wholly to be neglected seeing it has affix'd Delight and Joy to the Acquisition of 'em But withal it would teach us that our Souls ought not to acquiesce in this Enjoyment since we no sooner commence the Perception of this Pleasure but it presently vanishes and cheats our Desire The Fifth Defect of Humane Felicity consists in this That our Happiness has always a mixture and allay of Misery Every Good brings some Evil at its Heels Impia suo Dulci melle venena latent Ovid. L. 7. Met. And I know not how it happens so consequent Calamities bear a proportion to precedent Blessings Vt rebus loetis par fit Mensura malorum Idem L. 1. Eleg. The last is that this Happiness does not fill the Capacity of our Soul nor answer the ardent Eagerness of the pursuit so that finding an extream Disproportion betwixt the Good we have obtain'd and the Ardour wherewith we pursu'd it we find our selves tantaliz'd and starv'd as it were in the midst of Plenty Tho' Self-love delights not in thinking of all those Things which may shew it the Vanity of its Applications yet certainly it has a Glimpse of all these Defects in the Happiness it reaches at 'T is conscious that sensual Pleasure is the Happiness rather of Brutes than of Men It owns that a solid and substantial Happiness must necessarily be durable It denies not that a certain Felicity is preferable to that whose Foundations are uncertain It perceives that in order to make a Man happy this transitory Pleasure which lasts no longer than the instant of Acquisition ought to be fix'd and stay'd in its Career It grants that true Felicity should be commensurate to the Appetite of our Soul Wherefore right Reason commands us to search for other Sources of Happiness But the present Delight which interests it and seduces the Understanding by tying it rather to the inquest of Pleasure than Truth takes it off from executing that Design it s own Illusions still serve it after the old Rate If they fail of Objects they take the Place of Qualities and set up themselves for Powers or Habits When Man can't obtain such a temporal Happiness as satisfies his Reason he makes his Reason knock under and condescend to satisfy his Pleasure The prejudic'd Mind gives an extravagant and undue Character to these false Goods and here 't is most of all admirable to see what a prodigious Ascendant the Heart has over the Mind For to disguise abstract and speculative Truths is no great Matter but to disguise sensible and experimental Truths is a Thing that gives us a special Evidence of the Force of our Corruption To see this we proceed in the next place by unfolding the most hidden Mysteries of Self-love CHAP. X. Where we consider the Cheats which Self-love puts upon it self to correct the Defects which it finds in the Happiness it aims at SElf-love perceiving that worldly Happiness is too gross and impure to satisfy our Mind and that indeed 't is not fit an Happiness enjoy'd by none but the Body should satisfy the Thirst of the Soul seeks how it may spiritualize and refine Corporeal Pleasures in order to cheat and impose upon us by making us think that they are equally satisfactory to the Soul and Body Hence Self-love has been pleas'd to tye unto this gross and carnal Felicity the Delicacy of Sentiments the esteem of the Mind and sometimes even the Duties of Religion by conceiving it as Spiritual Glorious and Sacred For as to the first of these who would not be amaz'd to see the prodigious number of Thoughts Opinions Fictions Writings Histories which sensual Pleasure has caus'd to be invented Muster up together all the Tracts that have ever been written about Morality which is the Science of Living well and compare 'em with those that have been made about the Pleasures of Intemperance and you 'll find a great Disproportion between their Number Considering these Actions in their natural Hue there appears in 'em a sordid Baseness which dis-heartens our Pride namely the vile and abject Conformity they have to other Animals Now what Course can be taken to elevate and render 'em worthy and becoming the Grandeur of Men Why the ready way is to spiritualize and refine 'em to present 'em for an Object of the Delicateness of the Mind make 'em a Subject of fine and delightful Sensations to make some sport of 'em to the Imagination and turn 'em agreeably to the Humour by the flourishes of Eloquence and Poetry And lastly to imploy all the Faculties and Lights of the Rational Principle to make the Delights of a Voluptuous Body go down glib and pleasantly into an haughty Soul I express my self according to the Vulgar Prejudice for truly speaking the Body has not in it self any Perception or Sensation Hence Self-love has also ty'd an Esteem and Respect to the most shameful Debasements of Humane Nature Pride and Pleasure are two Passions which tho' they spring from the same Original of Self-lovâ— yet for all that there is some Difference and Opposition betwixt ' em Pleasure humbles whereas Pride exalts us The former engraves us with the Image of Brutes the latter with the Picture of the Devil Also these two Passions have many a Combat and Duel in our Heart but the Heart can by no means approve of this Conflict being a Friend and Well-wisher to 'em both and all most equally sensible of the charms of Glory and Pleasure It must bestir its Stumps to make a Reconcilation and to bring this about it takes one of these Methods either it transports Pleasure if I may so speak to the Confines of Pride or Pride to the Region of Pleasure If it renounce sensual Pleasure 't will search for a greater in the acquest of Esteem and so Pleasure is wholly indemnify'd Or if we take a Resolution to satisfy its Thirst of sensual Pleasure 't will apply to it the Credit of Esteem and by this means Pride is solac'd at its loss Were there but one only Man of this Disposition of Mind he would not easily succeed in his Design but Men unhappily meeting together they understand one another and having the same Inclination they willingly agree to consecrate it This is a Ragoo to Pleasure which renders it much more exquisite than the Glory which Men's exorbitant Fancies have ty'd to it But 't is yet better season'd when we regard this Pleasure as an Ordinance of Religion A debauch'd Woman that would make People believe in the Heathen World that she had a
there 's also an Interest of Hatred which creates in us the like Disposition We look upon other Men as our Enemies because we regard 'em as Competitors in the pursuit of temporal Enjoyments You 'll always be pleas'd at seeing 'em Degraded whilst you think 'em in a Condition to rival you in any thing But no sooner does this Opposition cease but there 's also an End of that Pleasure you conceiv'd in their Debasement hence it happens that Slander has for its Object not the Dead but the Living After this 't is easy to judge that the Pleasure of Conversation is not so innocent as Men commonly fancy Indifferent things are tedious to us those which concern and nearly relate to us excite a Pleasure either of Pride Hatred Impiety Ambition or some other Passion no less Criminal As there is a Pleasure of Conversation there is also a Pleasure of Thoughts which proceeds from the same Source with the former It arises from this that our Heart being prepossess'd with certain Passions can't enjoy it self but when it thinks upon certain Objects and therefore suspends all our other Thoughts and Reflections Such is the Pleasure of a Lover who forgets every thing else to think of the Object of his Love he perceives a sort of Delight in his Amorous Contemplations which is destroy'd by Passion because the Pleasure of Thought yields to that of Sense Men commonly imagine that the usual Distractions and Wanderings of those that pray to God or exercise any other Duties of Religion are the least of Faults but if they enquire into the Cause of 'em they 'll change their Opinion For indeed these proceed meerly from the too great Pleasure which the Ideas of temporal Things excite in our Minds and that as I may so speak we desire to retain those worldly Objects by the Pleasure of Thinking which escape our reach thro' the Suspension of our sensual Delights We every where seek for Pleasure just as Bees for those Flowers which afford 'em Nourishment and as they many Times find what they search for in foul and moorish places so it frequently happens that we perceive a kind of Pleasure in Affairs Dangers Labours and sometimes even in Affliction if it be not very great There 's a Pleasure which might justly be term'd the Pleasure of Complaints and Tears We take delight in lamenting the Death of illustrious Persons the Glory of those who are bewail'd signalizing in some sort even those who bewaiâ—â— ' em We take a Pleasure to prolong and eternize our Sorrow We think to give a Specimen of the Constancy of our Soul by an inconsolable Affliction Lastly we are very glad to make an appearance of the Greatness of our Loss thinking to engage the Compassion of others to reflect upon our own Worth In the last place we perceive a sort of Pleasure even in Idleness which oftentimes causes us to renounce all the rest It proceeds from a certain Effeminacy and Softness which makes us hate even the least Pain and Incommodity For our whole Business being the search of Pleasure we accustom our selves to think love desire speak and act with Pleasure to seek for such Company as delights us and to avoid all manner of disagreeable Occupations Hence the least Inconveniency puts us in Despair it being contrary to this prevailing Habit and suspending the Perception of so many different Pleasures the Thoughts whereof are always present to our Mind Wherefore we must not think to find Stedfastness and Constancy in Voluptuous Souls Pride indeed may cause 'em to affect a sort of Hardiness to support Disgraces and Calamities but certainly they never put on a real Fortitude till they are freed from the charming Idea's of Pleasure Bodily Pleasure is more sensible than Spiritual yet this appears more Criminal than that For the Pleasure of Pride is Sacrilegious which appropriates to it self the Honour belonging to God the Pleasure of Hatred is Barbarous and Blood-thirsty which is delighted in nothing but Desolation and Tears and the Pleasure of Incredulity and Superstition is as we before shew'd full of Impiety and Wickedness which is nourished and upheld by any thing that seems to debaâ—e or annihilate the Deity This shews us in the first place that Pleasure is as universal as our Corruption it being certain that they who are abandon'd to one sort of Pleasure seldom fail to enslave themselves to another It signifies but little for Instance to make great Scruples about the Use of sensual Pleasures when we are given up to that of the Mind which is far more criminal and dangerous Secondly we may reasonably conclude that 't is impossible to cure One-self of this Vice by Motives purely Temporal For when you allege to a Voluptuous Man the Considerations of Honour and Decorum of his Interest and Establishment in the World you may perhaps so far work upon him as to oblige him to prefer the Pleasures of Pride and Ambition before sensual Pleasure but this will but transport him from one Vice to another If you 'd find such Motives as are capable of withdrawing him from all kinds of Pleasure you must put the case to him of forsaking all worldly Delights if need be and to this End set him upon making this Reflection That himself shall last to Eternity and those Pleasures but for a Moment Indeed upon the Principles of a mortal and perishing Man the Cause of Pleasure seems just and reasonable for 't is natural to One that is not to be very long in a Condition of enjoying the sweetness of Pleasure to seek and pursue it so long as he has an Opportunity This Piece of Morality is prettily express'd by Horace Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam Were all Man's Hopes and Pretensions confin'd to the short Duration of this Life there would be Truth and Reason in these Maxims But being destin'd to live after Death the Light of Nature teaches us that he ought in like manner to aspire at those eternal Delights whereof Religion so happily informs him To this I add that the Immortal Man or as I have already describ'd him he who believes he is Eternal and acts according to this Principle easily renounces the Allurements of Pleasure thro' his desire of an endless and unlimited Happiness 'T is impossible he should become a slave to sensual Delight which he knows the Author of Nature imploy'd purely as a Motive to engage us in the Preservation or Propagation of the Body He 's as far from placing his Supream Felicity in the Pleasure of being applauded and extoll'd by a Society of Mortals as any Man in his right Senses would be from placing his Glory in the Praise and Commendation of one that 's to see him but for a Moment He is not affected with the Pleasure of Revenge he 'll hardly look upon those Persons as Enemies who do him but a temporal Prejudice He patiently supports the short Dâ—pendances of this Life and
which is not so easily seduc'd Wherefore because the Author of Nature was so pleas'd that other Men's Reason should be in some sort our Law and Judge as to moral Honesty and the Decorums of reasonable Nature Upon this very account he form'd us with a natural Desire of raising an Esteem of our selves in the Minds of others a Desire which assuredly precedes the Reflections of our Mind For tho' the Utility Pleasure and Desire of finding Confirmations of the Opinion we have of our selves c. may be capable of satisfying the Love of Esteem yet we have shewn that they are not the Cause of it And here we might distinguish Three Worlds which the Wisdom of the Creatour has founded upon Three natural Inclinations The Animal the Rational and the Religious World The first is a Society of Persons united by Sense the second of Persons united by Esteem the third of Persons united by natural Religion The first has for its Principle the Love of Pleasure the second the Love of Esteem the third Conscience All these three Principles are Natural and the Grounds of 'em is not elsewhere to be search'd for than in the Wisdom of the Creatour The first of these Worlds relates to the second the second to the third and the third to the last Wherefore these things are thus subordinated to each other Esteem regulates the Love of Pleasure and Religion ought to regulate the Love of Esteem and this Subordination is no less natural than these Inclinations The Love of Pleasure may truly be attributed to Nature But the Irregularities of Voluptuousness are to be reckon'd to another Account The Love of Esteem may be said to be Natural but yet we are not to suppose that the Extravagancies and Enormities of Pride arise from the Womb of Nature To this we may ascribe the Fear of God and the Love of Vertue But we ought not to give it an Appennage of all those Superstitions which Men have been pleas'd to ingraft upon the Principles of Nature and consequently 't is necessary that the Love of Pleasure of Esteem and Conscience should have their natural Law Rules and Limits But 't will not be amiss to insist upon the Love of Esteem CHAP. XV. Where we examine all those Irregularities which are the Ingredients of Pride IT seems that hitherto we have not had a very perfect Knowledge of Pride and doubtless the reason was because we have not throughly distinguish'd its several Parts nor with sufficient Attention examin'd all its Characters Pride in general may be reduc'd to Five principal Branches Namely to the Love of Esteem to Presumption Vanity Ambition and Haughtiness For tho' Men are wont to confound these Terms and use 'em indifferently to signify the same Thing 't is certain that these Expressions have somewhat different Significations The Love of Esteem is Natural and Lawful in it self as we before observ'd but 't is Vicious and Disorderly when it rises to Excess This is the most general Irregularity of Pride for when our Desire of Esteem is excessive 't is natural to romage in our selves for some estimable Qualities and finding we have none our Imagination presents us with some in Complaisance to the Inclinations of the Heart from whence arises Presumption Moreover this immoderate Love of Esteem makes us value our selves upon any Endowment whether good or bad and for want of real Sources of Glory to aim at an Esteem upon the account of those things which are in no wise Estimable unless in our own Fancy this is properly our Vanity For this Expression originally signifies the Emptiness of those Objects wherein we erroneously seek for Esteem and which are naughty Sources of Vain-glory. From this excessive Love of Esteem arises the Desire we have to raise our selves above other Men having a Perswasion that we can't attract a publick Esteem and Consideration whilst we are confounded with the Vulgar Rabble and this produces Ambition Lastly The Desire we have to make a great Show by distinguishing our selves from the common Rank makes us despise other Men seeking all possible means to degrade and pull 'em down that we may stand upon their Heads All the Irregularities of Pride being reduc'd to the excessive Love of Esteem as their first and original Principle we can't use too much Diligence in considering this latter The two general Faults of this Inclination are Excess and Irregularity the First consists in this That we love Esteem too much the Second That we love false Esteem as well as true In order to understand what is the Excess of thâ— Love of Esteem we must consider the Design of God in placing this Inclination in our Heart He gave it to us for the Preservation of the Body the Good of Society and the Exercise of Vertue I say for the Preservation of the Body seeing that the Love of Esteem defends us from those Extravagances of corporeal Pleasure which would presently tend to our Destruction and Death For who doubts that the Desire of raising an Esteem of our selves is a powerful Motive to stave us off from that excess of Debauchery and Sensuality to which we are drag'd by the Love of Pleasure and which is of so fatal Consequence even to our Body He plac'd in us this Inclination for the Good of Sciety for 't is this Desire to obtain an Esteem in the World that renders us Affable and Complaisant Obliging and Civil that makes us love Decency and Sweetness of Conversation And yet all this while who does not know that the finest Arts the most lofty Sciences the wisest Governments the most just Establishments in general most that is Admirable in reasonable Society proceeds from this natural Desire of Glory Let us not fancy that our own Corruption and Concupiscence brought this excellent Benefit to Mankind doubtless the wise Instructions of the Author of Nature had the chiefest Hand in this Matter Lastly 't is certain that the Design of God was to steer and incline us to honest and laudable Actions by giving us for the Judge of our Conduct not only our own Reason which is oftentimes brib'd by the Enticements of Pleasure but also the Reason of other Men who are not so partial in our Favour as we our selves Indeed God may be consider'd either as the Author of Society or Religion As the Author of Society he thought fit Men should enter into mutual Commerce during some Time and with this Intent he endow'd 'em with such Inclinations as were necessary to the Good and Preservation of Society Among these are to be reckon'd the Love of Pleasure and the Desire of Esteem This latter is the Spring of Humane Vertues which ought not to be so much cry'd down as usually they are for if they are not inservient to eternal Salvation yet are they design'd for the Good of temporal Society they proceed from the Intention of the Author of Nature they are a part of his Model and Platform Love of Esteem being