Merit of him that dwells in it they open them insensibly to behold the beauty that courts and enchants them and join to the Person of the owner all the Gold and Marble with which the House is adorn'd But a Christian Philosopher beholds without being mov'd the Magnificence which astonishes and prostrates weak Imaginations and being persuaded that that which belongs to Man is not the Man himself and that greatness of Mind is not consistent with Injustice and abuse of Power he sees nothing more monstrous and deform'd than a low and despicable Soul dwelling in a proud and lofty Building and admir'd by all the World And whether he thinks himself oblig'd by his quality and the custom of the World to appear splendid and magnificent in the Eyes of other Men or looks upon those vain Ornaments wherewith the rich endeavour to hide their wretched Mortality he is still sensible of his own and others weakness he contracts and as it were annihilates himself within himself and measures great Men only by the merit which he finds in them III. But besides that there are very few of these Philosophers how much a Philosopher soever any Man is he is often surpriz'd unawares by the sensible impression and unexpected Motions of a rebellious Imagination and the vanity which fills Mankind doth so much favour the natural Judgments which are form'd in us without our consent touching human greatness that Men always have and ever will judge of the Esteem which they owe to other Men by the Train the Magnificence and the Splendour that environs them Now these Judgments which every one pronounces within himself in favour of Persons of Quality or such as have the appearance of Persons of Quality these Judgments I say which are pronounc'd more strongly and definitively by a submissive Air and a respectful Behaviour than by Words swell Men with Pride and beget in them an Opinion of their own greatness This is it which makes them despise Vertue and Reason in those that are below them and esteem without distinction every thing that is heightned and set off to advantage by the Quality of the Persons This is the Reason that a haughty Lord looks upon his Vassals as Creatures of a despicable Species and that Servants hearken to their Masters as to Vertue it self and Reason incarnate In short this is the Cause that Superiours do not pay to those that are under them the Duties which are owing to their Nature and Inferiours think it meritorious to act contrary to the divine Law in obedience to the Commands that are impos'd on them IV. Human Nature being alike in all Men and created for Reason it is Merit alone that should distinguish and Reason that should govern them But Sin having left Concupiscence in those that first committed it and in all their Posterity Men tho' all equal by nature do not now join in a Society of equality under one common Law to wit Reason Force the Law of Brutes that which gives the Lion the command over the Beasts hath gotten the sovereign sway among Men and the Ambition of some and the Necessity of others hath oblig'd all Nations as I may say to cast off God their natural and lawful King and the universal Reason their inviolable Law and to choose them visible Protectors who by Force may defend them against Force It is Sin then which hath introduc'd into the World the difference of Qualities or Conditions for Sin or Concupiscence being suppos'd these differences must necessarily follow Reason it self requires that it should be so because Force is the Law that must keep those in their Duty who have cast off their Obedience to Reason In fine God himself approves this difference of Conditions as is plain from the Scriptures V. But the necssity of the Remedies shews the greatness of the Distempers We need not seek after them when we have no occasion for them and the esteem and use that ought to be made of Force is grounded only on the miserable necessity to which we are reduc'd by our universal Contempt of Reason Therefore those that have Authority to command other Men and to decide their Differences ought not to value themselves and to be proud of this Right They should rather be afraid of profaning their Power by making it subservient to their Pleasures for nothing is more Sacred nothing more Divine The Almighty their natural and lawful Sovereign will deal with them as they who are but subordinate Powers have dealt with their Subjects They hold their places but during his Pleasure They should continually reflect on this God can pull them down if they do not endeavour to set up Reason and sooner or later Death that cruel Enemy of their Power Riches and Pleasures will make them like other Men. It will present them before the living Law which penetrates the Heart and lays open all the folds and recesses of it and they will find the Reward or Punishment of their good or bad Actions written in eternal and indelible Characters in the immutable and necessary Order Wisd 6.5 6 8. Horribly and Speedily saith the wise Man shall he come upon you for a sharp Judgment shall be to them that are in high places For Mercy will soon pardon the meanest but mighty Men shall be mightily tormented a sore trial shall come upon the mighty Superiours therefore should look upon themselves as Lieutenants as I may say and Vicegerents of Reason the primitive and indispensable Law and should employ their Authority only against such as refuse to obey that Law They should never make use of Force the Law of Brutes but against Brutes against those that know not Reason and these that will not submit to it and should hearken to their Inferiours favourable calmly and charitably For if they confound their own desires with the immutable Order and the secret inspirations of their Passions with the dictates of the inward Truth that Truth which they slight and disregard shall be the Law by which they shall be judg'd by which they shall certainly be condemn'd and by the Efficacy of which they shall be eternally tormented VI. Eccles 32.1 2. If thou be made the Master of a Feast says the Son of Sirach lift not thy self up but be among them as one of the rest take diligent care for them and so sit down And when thou hast done all thy office take thy place that thou mayst be merry with them A Family a Community a Society whose Head applies himself wholly to maintain the Peace and supply the Necessities of it is in a continual Feast The Superiour ought not to take his place of Honour till he hath perform'd his devoirs nor put himself at the head of others but only to protect and defend them to reconcile their differences and to rejoice them with his presence Superiours and especially Princes are call'd in Scripture and in ancient Authors Shepherds of the People and the Governour of a
immutable Order and the divine Law rather than refer themselves to the Counsels of Men who most commonly flatter them They should also consult the fundamental Laws of the State and consider them as the ordinary Rules of their Conduct So likewise the Bishops if they would not abuse their Authority are bound to observe the Laws of the Church which they have promis'd to keep at their Consecration XI But for Subjects I think it certain that they ought to obey blindly and without reserve when only their own interest is concern'd For provided their Obedience to one of the two Powers do not make them omit the payment of that which they owe to God or to the opposite Power without doubt they are bound to obey To censure the Actions of their Sovereign is to make themselves his Judges It is attributing to themselves a kind of independence to yield only to their own light It is a Contempt and a Rebellion against the higher Power to expect that he should give an account of his Actions to any one but God who hath ordain'd him But still this is when he commands nothing against God himself or against the Power which represents him For since the Obedience which we pay to our Prince is due to God alone and refer'd wholly to him it is clear that we may and ought to disobey him when he commands us that which God forbids either immediately by the divine and immutable Law or by the other Power which he hath ordain'd XII But when the eternal Law doth not answer our attention by its Evidence or when the written Laws are obscure and the two sovereign Powers give us contrary Commands there is a necessity that we should inform our selves of their natural Rights and draw from them such consequences as should govern our Actions We should have recourse to Persons of understanding and above all we should carefully examine the Circumstances and Consequences of the Command that is impos'd on us And when at length we find our selves bound by the Obedience which we owe to God to disobey either of the Powers which are his Representatives we should do it bravely and undauauntedly but yet with all the respect which is due to those that are in Authority For tho' we are not always bound to obey the Powers ordain'd by God which are no way Infallible yet we are scarce ever allow'd to cast of the Respect that belongs to them how much soever they abuse their Authority They do not lose their Dignity nor their Character by unjust Commands and therefore we must still honour God in their Person And they on their part should remember that they have a Master who will deal with them as they have treated their Subjects and that they as well as other Men ought to submit to the divine Law to which God himself if I may so say is subject And tho' they may be satisfied perhaps that they have a Right to force Obedience from their Subjects yet they should not be angry if in some difficult and intricate Cases they make a scruple of obeying them or do not readily perform their Commands For Men ought not to be forc'd to act against their Conscience They cannot all have the same sense of things when there are great difficulties to overcome before they can understand the Order of their Duties They should be govern'd by Reason and when they have not Light and Understanding enough to know it and do not otherwise neglect the Duties which they do know certainly they deserve compassion and indulgence XIII What I have said of the sovereign Powers belongs also to subordinate Powers We owe Obedience to a Magistrate a Governour or any one that executes the Orders of the Prince as well as to the Prince himself even as we owe to the Prince the Obedience which is due to God the Fountain of all Power We ought not indeed to pay them so profound a Respect nor so general and blind an Obedience as we do to the Sovereign even as we ought to obey the Sovereign in so universal a manner as we do the Law and the Power of God because they are not invested with the whole power of the Prince no more than the Prince is with the whole power and the Infallibility of God But we owe them an Obedience proportionable to their power and to the knowledge we have that they execute the Orders of their Master and ours If we are persuaded that they encroach upon us or require of us such Duties as the Prince doth not expect or approve of we may free our selves from their exactions by a dextrous management or by such ways as do not violate the Respect that is due to them in regard of the Person whom they represent We should inform our selves of the Prince's pleasure from the Prince himfelf and if we can have no access to him we should presume that he refers himself to his Ministers And then we should humbly and without murmuring sacrifice to God the Goods which belong to him and which he hath given us that we should offer them to him again and thereby merit the enjoyment of more solid possessions which no power shall be able to take away from us We should with a truly Christian bravery shew by a ready Obedience our Contempt of transitory Enjoyments and look upon the Cross of Christ not as the Instrument of our Punishment but as our triumphal Chariot which shall certainly carry us as it did our Forerunner and our Pattern to eternal Thrones where we shall Judge with him the great Ones of the Earth in the day when the Fire shall devour their Riches and make all their Grandeur to disappear CHAP. X. Of the Domestick Duties of Husband and Wife The Ground of these Duties Of the Duties of Parents toward their Children with relation to the Eternal and Civil Societies Of their instruction in the Sciencies and Morality Parents should give their Children a good example They should govern them by Reason They have no right to use them ill Children owe Obediene to their Parents in all Things I. THose that govern the State have not a continual relation to all the particular Members of which it is compos'd and there are a great many People who never in their life receive any Command from their Sovereign or his Ministers Therefore that which I have said in the last Chapter is not of so great and general use as the Explication of the mutual Duties of Husband and Wife Parents and Children Masters and Servants a Lord and his Tenants or those that are under his Jurisdiction and such Persons as daily converse together and have many different relations to one another We should inform our selves more particularly of these private and domestick Duties I shall therefore endeavour to fix the Grounds and Principles of them from which every one may easily deduce Consequences II. The nearest Union that can be betwixt any Persons is that of the Man and
doubtful and equivocal marks of an Esteem which cannot make a Man truly and substantially happy or contented but only when it is govern'd and supported by Reason which alone is the supreme Judge of Merit and alone able to give it an eternal reward III. Tho' Honour and Glory absolutely speaking be due only to God yet created Spirits may also challenge it in regard of the relation they bear to the divine Perfections and the resemblance they have of the Model by which they were form'd We have reason to believe that they do in some measure at least correspond with their original We are certain that the Image of the invisible God stamp'd on the very Foundation of their Being is indelible Therefore we may nay and ought as long as we live with them to give them marks of Esteem and respect and so much the more because we cannot acquit our selves of the obligation we are under to preserve Charity for them without the performance of these Duties IV. For since Men invincibly desire to be happy they cannot without an extraordinary degree of Vertue unite themselves with those that despise them because in consequence of the Laws ordain'd for the good of Society they feel an extreme Pain when they find themselves not well entertain'd in the Minds of others In Winter we get away from such places as are expos'd to Winds and Frost because in consequence of the Laws of the Union of the Soul and Body the Soul is unhappy in those places How is it possible when we are govern'd by our Passions and Pleasures to unite our selves to those whose Coldness chils and freezes us to those who sensibly afflict us by the incommodious and disagreeable place they give us in their Mind and Heart Therefore we must not think to maintain Charity amongst Men to bring them near and unite them to us and to be serviceable to them if we do not pay them such Duties as may persuade them that they shall live easily and contentedly with us V. Since it is not in our Power to infuse inward Grace into the Hearts of Men which alone can dispose them to sacrifice their present Happiness to the Love of Order we are many times oblig'd to make use of their Concupiscence or Self-love to moderate their Passions and favour the efficacy of the Grace of Christ For if in the Old Testament the Angels to preserve the Worship of the true God among the Jews govern'd them only by Motives of Self-love as not being themselves the dispensers of the true Goods nor of the Grace necessary to deserve them certainly we ought also to labour for the Conversion of Men by those natural means which the general Laws supply us with We must Plant and Water and expect from Heaven the increase and maturity We must endeavour to employ to a good purpose the universal Instrument of Iniquity the Concupiscence of Pride and Pleasure or rather Self-love the abundant source of all our Miseries The Grace of Christ coming to our assistance will change Men's Hearts and enable the Weak to go on in the ways of Righteousness which we shall have taught them by a prudent and charitable management of those things that are in our Power VI. It is certain then that tho' our Duties for the most part consist only in certain outward and sensible Marks by which we signify to other Men that they have such a place in our Mind and Heart as may content their Self-love yet we are oblig'd to perform them exactly not with a design to advance our own private Interest nor to fortify and keep up Concupiscence in others which we do in some measure please and gratify by these Duties but to destroy and sacrifice it by the assistance of the Grace of Christ VII Now tho' our equals do not sensibly represent the Power and Majesty of God to which the submission of the Mind is due yet we ought to treat them as our Superiors and to give them sensible Marks of our inward Respect upon this consideration that their Merit their Vertue and the invisible Relation which they have to God renders them worthy of these Duties or if they are not worthy of them that we cannot contribute to make them so if we do not first gain their Friendship and Affection VIII As for those that are below us we should not treat them as our Superiors tho' we may look upon them as such according to those general Words of S. Paul Let each esteem other better than themselves Phil. 2.3 But we should in many cases treat them as our Equals and Friends For the main end of our Duties is to preserve Charity among Men and to joyn our selves with them in an affectionate and durable Friendship that we may be useful to them and they to us For this end it is necessary that our Duties should be sincere or at least it should be probable that we give other Men the same place within us which we express by our outward Signs Thus a Superior may descend so far as to treat his Inferiors like equals and they will be pleas'd and satisfied with it for there is some likelyhood of Sincerity in this But if he stoops below them they will have reason to believe if they look upon him as a Man of Wit but not much Vertue that he mocks and abuses them They will be apt to imagine that this excessive Humility is only a Blind to cover some extraordinary design Or else they will despise him as a Man of a low and mean Soul in which it is no advancement to possess the highest Place They will look upon themselves to be without a Head and will live every one according to his own Fancy when he that should guide and govern them so imprudently debases himself For when the Head stoops too low the Members despise him and he cannot raise himself up again without angring and discontenting them But when he treats them only as his Equals they are sensible that they still have a Master and are not surpriz'd to see him resume the Command and Authority IX When our Equals out of a Principle of Vertue humble themselves below us and give us the precedence yet they do not fully acquit themselves of their Duties toward us unless they yield us the pre-eminence too and give us real or at least probable Testimonies of a particular Esteem and Affection For if we do not believe that their Humiliation is a mark of the esteem they have for us our Self-love cannot be satisfied with it Vertue may make a Man lower himself to one whom he despises Now it is more disagreable and displeasing to be obey'd by one that despises us than to be commanded by one that gives us real marks of his Esteem and Friendship It is Nature many times that gives us Masters We may obey without debasing without sacrificing and destroying our selves But we cannot naturally and without Vertue love Contempt This is a thing
unite our selves to corporeal Objects and separate our selves from them without loving or fearing them But the surest way is to break off all Correspondence with them as far as is possible p. 99. CHAP. XII Of the Imagination This Term is obscure and confus'd What it is in general Several sorts of Imagination Its effects are dangerous Of that which the World calls Wit That quality is very opposite to the Grace of Christ It is fatal to those who possess it and to those who esteem and admire it in others tho' they have it not themselves p. 109. CHAP. XIII Of the Passions What they are Their dangerous effects We must moderate them The conclusion of the first Part. p. 119. THE CONTENTS OF THE SECOND PART Of Duties CHAP. I. GOod Men often do wicked Actions The Love of Order must be enlightned to make it regular Three Conditions requir'd to make an Action perfectly Vertuous We should study the Duties of Man in general and take some time every day to examine the Order and Circumstances of them in particular Page 1. CHAP. II. Our Duties toward God must be refer'd to his Attributes to his Power Wisdom and Love God alone is the true Cause of all Things The Duties we owe to Power which consist chiefly in clear Judgments and in Motions govern'd by those Judgments p. 4. CHAP. III. Of the Duties we owe to the Wisdom of God It is that alone which enlightens the Mind in consequence of certain natural Laws whose efficacy is determin'd by our Desires as occasional Causes The Judgments and Duties of the Mind in relation to the universal Reason p. 14. CHAP. IV. Of the Duties which we owe to the divine Love Our Will is nothing but a continual impression of the Love which God bears to himself the only true Good We cannot love Evil But we may take that for Evil which is neither Good nor Evil. So we cannot hate Good But the true Good is really the Evil of wicked Men or the true cause of their Misery That God may be Good in respect of us our Love must be like his or always subject to the divine Law Motions or Duties p. 21. CHAP. V. The three Divine Persons imprint each their proper Character on our Souls and our Duties give equal Honour to them all three Tho' our Duties consist only in inward Judgments and Motions yet we must shew them by outward Signs in regard of our Society with other Men. p. 30. CHAP. VI. Of the Duties of Society in general Two sorts of Society Every thing should be refer'd to the eternal Society Different kinds of Love and Honour The general heads of our Duties toward Men. They must be External and Relative The danger of paying inward Duties to Men. The Conversation of the World very dangerous p. 36. CHAP. VII The Duties of Esteem are due to all Mankind to the lowest of Men to the greatest Sinners to our Enemies and Persecutors To Merits as well as to Natures It is difficult to regulate exactly these Duties and those of Benevolence by reason of the difference of personal and relative Merits and their various Combinations A general Rule and the most certain one that can be given in this matter p. 42. CHAP. VIII Of the Duties of Benevolence and Respect We should procure all Men the true Goods and not relative Goods Who it is that fulfills the Duties of Benevolence The unreasonable Complaints of worldly Men. The Duties of Respect should be proportion'd to the greatness of participated Power p. 52. CHAP. IX Of the Duties due to Sovereigns Two Sovereign Powers The difference between them Their natural Rights Rights of Concession Of the Obedience of Subjects p. 61. CHAP. X. Of the Domestick Duties of Husband and Wife The Ground of these Duties Of the Duties of Parents toward their Children with relation to the Eternal and Civil Societies Of their instruction in the Sciencies and Morality Parents should give their Children a good Example They should govern them by Reason They have no right to use them ill Children owe Obedience to their Parents in all Things p. 69. CHAP. XI The original of the difference of Conditions Reason alone ought to govern but Force is now necessary The lawful use of Force is to make Men submit to Reason according to the Primitive Law The Rights of Superiours The Duties of Superiours and Inferiours p. 81. CHAP. XII Of our Duties toward our Equals We should give them the place they desire in our Mind and Heart We should express our inward Dispositions in favour of them by our outward Air and Behaviour and by real Services We should yield them the Superiority and Pre-eminence The hottest and most passionate Friendships are not the most solid and durable We should not make more intimate Friends than we can keep p. 90. CHAP. XIII A Continuatian of the same Subject If we would be belov'd we must make our selves amiable The Qualities which make a Man amiable Rules for Conversation Of different Airs Of Christian Friendships p. 100. CHAP. XIV Of the Duties which every Man owes to himself which consist in general in labouring for his own Perfection and Happiness p. 110. A TREATISE OF Morality PART I. CHAP. I. Vniversal Reason is the Wisdom of God himself All Men have some Communication with God True and False Just and Vnjust is the same in respect of all intelligent Beings and of God himself What Truth and Order is and what we must do to avoid Error and Sin God is essentially Just he loves the Creatures according as they are amiable or as they resemble him We must be Perfect to be Happy Vertue or the Perfection of Man consists in a Submission to the immutable Order and not in following the Order of Nature The Error of some of the Heathen Philosophers in this Matter grounded upon their Ignorance of the simplicity and immutability of the Divine Conduct I. THE Reason of Man is the Word See the first and second Christian Meditation or the Illustration on the Nature of Ideas Search after Truth Tom. 3. or the Wisdom of God himself for every Creature is a particular Being but the Reason of Man is Universal II. If my own particular Mind were my Reason and my Light my Mind would also be the Reason of all intelligent Beings for I am certain that my Reason enlightens all intelligent Beings No one can feel my Pain but my self but every one may see the Truth which I contemplate so that the Pain which I feel is a Modification of my own proper Substance but Truth is a Possession common to all Spiritual Beings III. Thus by the means of Reason I have or may have some Society with God and all other intelligent Beings because they all possess something in common with me to wit Reason IV. This Spiritual Society consists in a participation of the same intellectual Substance of the Word from which all Spiritual Beings may receive their Nourishment In
them this miserable Life a Life which we ought not much to value but only as it is a Time which relates to Eternity and may deserve it by the Grace which Christ the High-Priest of the true Goods distributes to Men and thereby sollicits them to enter into a communion of the same happiness with him XVI As to the Duties of Respect or external and relative Submission they are due to Power and therefore we cannot proportion them according to the merits of Persons nor regulate them by our own Light with respect to the interests of our eternal Society in Christ We must follow the Customs and Laws of the State in which God hath plac'd us It is a Duty of Justice to pay Respect and Tribute to those to whom God hath given Authority over us It is all one whether they be good or bad nay whether they be Christians or not Whether they make a good or a bad use of our Contributions And the reason of this is because it is God whom we Honour in their Persons for all Honour is relative and must be ultimately refer'd to him alone who really possesses Power So that it is an injury and a wrong to our Prince to deny him the Respects which are due to him and it is a formal disobedience against the King of Kings to refuse to submit our selves and give sensible marks of our Submission to those whom he hath appointed his Lieutenants and Vicegerents upon Earth The primitive Christians paid to the Roman Emperors even those who cruelly persecuted Christ himself in his Members all the Respect Submission and relative Honor that was due to their participated Power Well knowing that Honour is properly due to God alone and must be refer'd solely to him 1 Tim. 1.17 according to S. Paul's Words Unto the King eternal immortal invisible the only wise God be Honour and Glory They knew that the Duties of Respect ought not to be proportion'd to the interest of the Church or rather that they ought to be refer'd thither because that is the great or indeed the only design of God but that this is never better done than when Christians pay those Duties with all possible exactness For indeed this is the right way to oblige sovereign Princes who are always jealous of their Glory and Authority to favour Christian Societies more than any other in their Dominions But I must discourse more at large of our Duties as they relate to the different kinds of Society which we form with other Men. CHAP. IX Of the Duties due to Sovereigns Two Sovereign Powers The difference between them Their natural Rights Rights of Concession Of the Obedience of Subjects I. ALL the Duties which we owe to participated Powers may be reduc'd to Two general Heads Duties of Respect and Duties of Odedience The Duties of Respect depend on the Laws and Customs observ'd in every State and consist in certain outward and sensible marks of the Submission which the Mind pays to God in the Person of it's Superiors Those Duties vary according to the different Circumstances of Times and Places Sometimes Subjects prostrate themselves before their Prince sometimes they put one Knee to the Ground or both At other times they only make a profound reverence and stand uncover'd and sometimes also they remain cover'd in his Presence without losing the Respect which is due to him These are arbitrary Ceremonies and are govern'd by Use and Custom II. But that which is essential to Morality is that the Soul it self should be touch'd with Respect in the Presence of the Prince who is the Image of the true Power and that in such a proportion as the Prince actually exercises the Authority he hath receiv'd or cloaths himself as I may say with the Power and Majesty of God For we owe more respect to the King when he is in the Seat of Justice than in a Thousand other Circumstances and to the Bishop in the actual administration of his Episcopal Functions than at any other time And indeed we are naturally enclin'd to measure the respect due to Grandeur and Power by the sensible operation they have on us Certainly when we are in the Presence of the Almighty our Mind ought to prostrate it self Now tho' we are always in the sight of God yet we come into his Presence in a more particular manner when we approach Superiour who is his Image Therefore it is not sufficient to put on an outward air of Respect and Veneration but the Mind must also humble it self and respect the Greatness and Power of God in the Majesty of the Prince III. There is no great difficulty in paying the Duties of Respect to the higher Powers nay the Brain is fram'd in such a manner that the Imagination willingly bows before the splendour that environs them wherefore I think it needless to say any more of these Duties But an exact Obedience to the commands of our Superiors is a continual Sacrifice much more difficult and burdensome than the Slaughter of Beasts and therefore Self-love is an irreconcileable Enemy to it There are few People that discharge this Duty like Christians or in expectation that he whom they Honour in the Person of the Prince should be their only Reward Every one in a manner dispenses with himself as much as he can from paying an Obedience that doth not suit with his own conveniences and some preposterously obey unjust Commands because they do not know the exact order and measure of their Duties For opposite Powers having each their separate Rights their different interests are many times so intermingled that it is very difficult to know which of them ought to be obey'd and in these cases every Man follows his own particular humour or advantage for want of certain Rules to govern his Actions by I shall therefore here lay down one or two Principles which may give us some Light toward the clearer discovery of these Duties IV. There are but two sovereign Powers in the World the Civil and the Ecclesiastical The Prince in monarchical States and the Bishop The Prince who is the Image of God Almighty and his Minister upon Earth and the Bishop who is the Image of Christ and his Vicar in the Church The Prince derives his Authority over other Men from God alone so doth the Bishop and neither of them ought to use it any otherwise than God doth himself with respect to the immutable Order the universal Reason the inviolable Law of all intelligent Beings even of God himself The Prince notwithstanding hath a more absolute Power than the Bishop He hath Authority to make Laws and is not subject to them himself he may act without controul and is not oblig'd to give an account of his Conduct to any Man for he seems to have more Relation to God as Power than as Reason to God cloth'd with Majesty and Glory than to God made Man and like us to Christ glorified than to Christ upon Earth and
beget Pride For the Soul doth as it were enlarge and extend it self through the multitude of things with which the Head is fill'd And tho' the content of the Mind be then taken up as I may say with nothing but Emptiness or with things of little or no use as the position of Bodies the the series of Times the actions and opinions of Men yet it imagines it self to have as great an extent duration and reality as the objects of its Knowledge It stretches it self to all the parts of the World It goes back to past Ages and instead of considering the nature of its own Being what it is at present and what it shall be in eternity it forgets its self and its own Country and wanders in an imaginary World in Histories made up of Realities which are now no more and Chimera's which never were XIV Not that we should slight History for example and never study any but the solid Sciences such as of themselves make the Mind perfect and regulate the Heart But we should study them all in their proper order A Man may apply himself to History when he knows himself his Religion and his Duties when his Mind is form'd and he is thereby capable of distinguishing at least in some measure between the Truth of the History and the Imaginations of the Historian He may study Languages But it should be when he is Philosopher enough to know what a Language is When he throughly understands that of his own Country And when the desire of knowing the Thoughts of the Ancients begets in him a desire of knowing the Language For then he will learn more in one Year than he can in Ten without this desire He must be a Man a Christian an Englishman before he is a Grammarian a Poet an Historian or a Foreigner He should not study even the Mathematicks only to fill his Head with the properties of Lines but in order to procure to his Mind that strength extent and perfection of which it is capable In a word he should begin his studies with those Sciences that are most necessary or such as may most contribute to the perfection of his Mind and Heart He that only knows how to distinguish the Soul from the Body and doth not confound his Thoughts and Desires with the different motions of his Machine is more solidly learned and more capable of being so by the knowledge of this one real Science than he that understands the Histories Laws and Languages of all Nations but withal is so deeply Buried as I may say in the Ignorance of his own Being that he takes himself for the more subtil part of his Body and imagines that the immortality of the Soul is a Question not to be resolv'd XV. I am satisfied that I speak nothing but Paradoxes and that it would need a great many Words to persuade others to be of my Opinion But I would have them only open their Eyes Do we find that those who understand Virgil and Horace very well are wiser Men than those that understand S. Paul but indifferently It is experience that must convince such as will not consult Reason Now where is the experience which proves that the reading of Tully is more useful than that of the all-divine Words of the eternal Wisdom O say they we make Boys read Tully for the Latin But why do not they make them read the Gospel for Religion and Morality Poor Children they breed you up like Citizens of old Rome and you will get its Language and its Morals They ne-never think to make you reasonable Men true Christians and Inhabitants of the holy City You are mistaken say they we do think of it we do make it our business But I am sure it 's not the fashion to mind it throughly St. Augustin lamented this in vain Confess l. 1. and it is to no purpose that I trouble my self about it We shall still see young Lads when they come from School and ought to know something for none of them scarce mind any thing afterwards we shall still see them I say ignorant in the knowledge of Man of Religion and Morality For can they be said to know Man who cannot so much as distinguish the Soul from the Body Have they learnt the first elements of Religion and Morality who are not fully convinc'd of original Sin and the necessity of a Mediator They are well stockt with the precepts of Grammar They can say Lilly by Heart and repeat all the cramp Words in Faruaby and Butler This is sufficient They can declaim pro and con on any Subject A rare Qualification indeed to be able equally to maintain Truth and Falshood without knowing how to distinguish one from the other But what It is not reasonable that Boys should know more than their Fathers Nor is it fit that they should have more Learning than some of their Masters XVI But I leave it to Tutors and School-masters to examine the order of their Duties and to take care of the performance of them For I would not have Parents oblig'd to instruct their Children themselves because a great many are not capable of doing it or have other business which you shall never persuade them to be of less Importance than the education of their Children But then they should endeavour at least to choose a good Master Let them not imagine that a Young Man who only understands Greek and Latin and doth not know much less can govern himself is a fit Person to inform the Mind and regulate the Heart of a Child But when they have happily met with one that is let them not by their Example and Behaviour pull down that which a Tutor by his Pains and Diligence hath been building up Children by reason of their weakness and dependence are extremely affected with the Language of the Imagination and Senses with the outward Air and Behaviour especially of their Parents This is a natural Language which persuades insensibly it penetrates the Soul and in a delightful manner begets conviction and assurance in the Mind XVII If a Master teaches his Scholars to judge of things by Principles of Religion and Reason to silence their Senses Imagination and Passions to despise sensible Objects humane Greatness and transitory Pleasures an indiscreet Father shall talk of these false Goods before his Children with such an Air Voice and Gestures as are able to shake a setled Mind and move even those that are least prone to Imitation Perhaps he may speak to them of the true Goods But then his Discourse shall be so Cold and Faint that it shall only beget in them contempt and aversion But you shall hear him Twenty times a Day and that with concern bid them hold up their Head keep their Body steady and carry themselves handsomly He shall applaud and commend them for repeating a few passionate Lines with a Grace He shall sensibly discover his Joy by the Air of his Face if he finds
in them any qualification which the World esteems and only make a Jest and a Diversion of their greatest and most material Imperfections such as discover to those that are skill'd in the knowledge of Man an abominable pravity and corruption And if a Tutor tho' never so good a Christian and a sensible Man should go about to extinguish their Pride and Self-love the Approbation of a peremptory Father or a fond Mother shall beget in them such a hatred and contempt of him as shall make him incapable of ever doing them any good * The greatest Reverence and Respect should be shew'd to Children Maxima debetur puero reâ—erentia saith a judicious Author Example and outward Behaviour irresistibly persuade young People when they suit with the corruption of their Nature And he that without saying a Word doth Evil in their Sight with an Air of Pleasure and Satisfaction speaks to them more strongly and forceably than he that discourses to them coldly of Vertue and exhorts them to follow it This is a matter that deserves the greatest consideration with respect to the instruction and education of Youth XVIII There are some Fathers who always use their Children Arbitrarily and Tyrannically They never do them Justice They are severe to them without cause and instead of enlightning them by Reason and making them submit to it they fancy that the Will of a Father is the inviolable Law of a Child But when the Father is Dead what then will be the Law of the Son Without doubt his own Will For he hath never been told that there is an eternal Law the immutable Order He hath not been accustom'd to obey it Nay he will not stay till his Father be Dead or grown Old and unable to keep him in Slavery any longer before he prescribes a Law to himself He will naturally find it in his Pleasures For this unjust and brutish Law is better perhaps than the will of an unreasonable Father I am sure it is more agreable and easy A young Man will quickly be satisfied of this when once he hath tasted the sweetness of it And then whether the Father be dead or alive the Son will easily find means to obey this Law and yield to its Enchantments He will look upon his Father as an Enemy and a Tyrant if he hath yet Strength and Vigour enough left to interrupt him in his Pleasures and disturb him in his Debauches and Being persuaded by the example and conduct of his Father that every thing ought to obey his own Will and Pleasure he will employ all his Power and all those Persons over whom he hath any Authority in gratifying his desires For he will find himself actually happy in giving himself up to his Pleasures and will not have Education and Experience enough to apprehend the fatal Consequences of them Children therefore should be govern'd by Reason as far as they are capable of it They have â—ll the same Inclinations with grown Men tho' the Objects of their desires are different and they will never be solidly Vertuous if they are not accustom'd to obey a Law which shall never perish if their Mind which was form'd after the universal Reason be not form'd anew after the same Reason made sensible by Faith XIX A Father must not imagine that his quality of Father gives him an absolute and independent Sovereignty over his Son He is a Father only by the Efficacy of the Power of God and therefore he ought not to command his Son but according to the Law of God He is a Father in consequence of a bruâ—ish Action in which he knows not what he doth for it is only Experience which teaches him that in gratifying his Passion he also preserves his Species What Right can he have over the Mind and Heart of another Man from an Action like that of Brutes an Action which he ought to blush at and which I am asham'd to mention A Mother carries her Burden with a great deal of Trouble and Hardship and brings it into the World with extreme Pains But she doth not give it Shape and Growth much less doth she give a Being to the Soul which animates her Child Therefore she hath no Right to command him but in Subordination to the universal Reason because she had no power to conceive him but by the Efficacy of the divine Power XX. Nevertheless a Son should stand in fear of his Parents when they are angry with him for God who gives and preserves his Being God who can throw him headlong into Hell God who hath all manner of Authority over him commands him by his Law to obey them and by that command gives them a Right to command him But Parents should not make use of this Right against the Will of him from whom they receive it They should not assume it to themselves as a Reward of a sinful or at least an indecent and beastly Action They should employ it in promoting the great Design of God the eternal Temple the end and master-piece of all his Works in labouring not for Time but for Eternity and preserving in the Members of Christ the Spirit of Holiness which they receiv'd at their Baptism And Children on their part should pay Obedience to their Parents as to God himself whose Person they represent They should shew a Respect in their presence as in the presence of the Almighty They should endeavour all they can to please them and further their designs as far as Order permits Perhaps they shall not live ever the longer upon Earth for this was the Reward of the Jews but they shall live eternally happy in Heaven with the well-beloved Son of God who was obedient to his Father unto death even the shameful and cruel death of the Cross CHAP. XI The original of the difference of Conditions Reason alone ought to govern but Force is now necessary The lawful use of Force is to make Men submit to Reason according to the Primitive Law The Rights of Superiours The Duties of Superiours and Inferiours I. IT is certain that the difference of Conditions amongst Men is a necessary consequence of original Sin and that many times their Nobility Riches and Grandeur are deriv'd from the Injustice and Ambition of their Ancestors But the iniquity of their Forefathers being buried in Oblivion and the lustre which their Riches and Honours have left in their Families still remaining we are dazled with the splendour of their Quality which appears bright and shining to our Senses and strikes our Imagination but we never think of the Injustice which perhaps is the original of that splendour because it is not visible and apparent II. The generality of Men who judge of things by the impression which they make on their Senses look upon those that go attended with a magnificent Train as something more than Men and instead of shutting their Eyes in sight of a stately Palace that they may make a sound judgment of the personal
form'd anew Christ crucified is our holy Sacrifice and the perfect Model of the Sacrifice which we must offer up of our Self-love to the Love of Order but being rais'd from the dead consummated in God and made an High-Priest after the eternal Order of which Melchisedech was the Figure he is the inexhaustible source of those Celestial influences which alone can teach us how to Sacrifice as he did our corrupt Nature and thereby to merit a divine Being a glorious and incorruptible Transformation to be perfectly reunited to our Original and to live wholly on the intellectual Substance of Reason by divine Chatity in perpetual Peace and in an everlasting Society XI If we are true Christians here on Earth we shall be faithful Friends and we shall find faithful Friends no where but amongst those that have solid Piety For there can be no true and constant Friendship but in the immutability of Reason and we cannot in our present condition constantly follow Reason but by the strength which Reason incarnate gives us We cannot sacrifice our own interests to the Laws of Friendship but by a Charity unknown to Nature and which derives its original and efficacy from the true Tabernacle where Christ exercises the Office of High-Priest Your worldly and licentious Friend hath been always faithful to you It may be so For he always found his advantage in it or hopes one time or other to repay his Self-love But would he serve you do you think to his own prejudice or without the hope of a return when even the Righteous themselves are most commonly excited to serve God or other Men only by the hope of a reward which is so much the more grateful to their enlightned Self-love as it infinitely exceeds the greatness of their Services XII There are really no such things as disinterested Friends They alone may be reckon'd as such who do not expect their reward from us They alone can truly be our Friends who desire nothing in this tottering and unstable World They alone are our good Friends our sincere faithful and serviceable Friends who do us Service because Reason and Charity command them to do it and expect from God alone those good Things which are capable of contenting their Self-love the only enlightned generous and lawful Self-love Let us therefore make choice of such Friends and for those Friendships which we have already contracted let us endeavour to fix and settle them on the immutability of Reason and to purify them by the Sanctity of Religion Let us make our selves amiable only to make the Law of God belov'd and let us look upon the Salvation of our Brethren as the reward of the Services we do them This reward will soon be follow'd by another And the Glory which we shall receive for having wrought under Christ in the finishing of his Building shall endure for ever The Society of the World should tend only to establish an eternal Society in Christ We should converse with Men only that we may labour for their Sanctification and they for ours Certainly God hath sent us into the World with no other design Happy then infinitely more happy than we can imagine shall we be if by engaging in this just Design of our common Master we make our selves worthy through Christ our forerunner to enter into his rest and to enjoy his Glory and Pleasure to all Eternity CHAP. XIV Of the Duties which every Man owes to himself which consist in general in labouring for his own Perfection and Happiness I. THE Duties which we owe to our selves as well as those which we owe to our Neighbour may be reduc'd to this general Head of labouring for our Happiness and Perfection Our Perfection which consists chiefly in a perfect conformity of our Will with the immutable Order And our Happiness which consists wholly in the enjoyment of Pleasure I mean solid and substantial Pleasure capable of contenting a spiritual Substance made for the possession of the supreme Good II. The perfection of the Mind consists chiefly in the conformity of the Will to Order For he that loves Order above all things hath Vertue He that obeys Order in all things fulfils his Duty And he that sacrifices his present Pleasure to Order that suffers Pain and despises himself out of respect to the divine Law merits a solid Happiness the genuine and suitable Reward of a tried and approv'd Vertue That almighty and all righteous Law shall judge his Cause and shall reward him to all Eternity III. To seek after Happiness is not Vertue but Necessity For Vertue is free and voluntary but the desire of Happiness is not in our own Choice Self-love properly speaking is not a quality which may be encreas'd or diminish'd We cannot cease to Love our selves tho' we may cease to Love ourselves amiss We cannot stop the motion of Self-love but we may regulate it according to the divine Law We may by the motion of Self-love enlightned supported by Faith and Hope and govern'd by Charity we may I say sacrifice present to future Pleasure and make our selves Miserable for a time to escape the eternal Vengeance of the righteous Judge For Grace doth not destroy Nature The motion which God continually imprints on us toward Good in general never stops The Wicked and the Righteous equally desire to be happy They equally tend toward the source of their Felicity Only the Righteous doth not suffer himself to be deceiv'd and corrupted by pleasing appearances The foretast of the true Goods supports him in his course But the Sinner being blinded by his Passions forgets God his Rewards and Punishments and employs all the motion which God gives him for the true Good in the pursuit of Fantoms and Illusions IV. Self-love therefore or the desire of being happy is neither Vertue nor Vice But it is the natural motive to Vertue and in wicked Men becomes the motive to Vice God alone is our end He alone is our Good Reason alone is our Law And Self-love or the invincible desire of being happy is the motive which should make us love God unite our selves to him and submit to his Law For we are not our own Good nor our own Law God alone possesses Power therefore he alone is to be lov'd and fear'd We invincibly desire to be happy Therefore we should inviolably obey his Law For we cannot imprint this too deeply on our Minds that the Almighty is also Just that every Disobedience shall be punish'd and every act of Obedience rewarded In the present state of things wickedness and disorder is attended with Happiness The exercise of Vertue is hard and painful And it is necessary it should be so to try our Faith and to give us means of acquiring true and genuine Merit But it must not nor cannot continue so always If the Soul be not immortal if the Face of things shall not one Day be chang'd then there is no God For an unjust God is a mere Chimera