be seeming Goodness in the other Accordingly he that Robs Ravishes Murthers may plead that he did so only because it seem'd good to him and that in so doing he did but follow Nature but if this be to follow Nature if the ground of General Natural Law is nothing but the appetition of Good True or Seeming then how absurd are all Humane Laws and how unnatural are all Courts of Justice In a Word to give a Man up to act by seeming Good and seeming Evil is to let him loose to his own Will and Pleasure to grant him Wildness instead of Liberty and to make Life depend upon this is to tell him he may destroy himself whenever he thinks fitting CHAP. VIII Examination of such Objections as are brought to invalidate what was said above concerning Man's being a Member of Civil Society and the unlawfulness of Self-murther in this regard also Application of what has been said to the Coroners Inquest in this Case HItherto I have endeavour'd to Answer those Objections which might seem to oppose what I had said to prove Self-murther Vnlawful as Man was consider'd in the State of Nature I come now to examine some others which are brought against what has been said to confirm the same as he is a Member of Civil Society First I must say something to that which was * Chap. 5. p. 44. above mention'd as an Instance of deserting ones self Lawfully †Biath p. 46. Self-preservation doth not so rigorously and urgently and illimitedly bind but that by the Law of Nature it self things may yea must neglect themselves for others of which the Pelican is an Instance Another Instance he gives of Bees too from whence he infers ‖ p. 47. That as this natural Instinct in Beasts so rectisied Reason belonging only to us instructs us often to prefer publick and necessary Persons by exposing our selves to inevitable Destruction * p. 128. We may Lawfully dispossess our selves of that without which we can have no hopes to sustain our Lives as in a Shipwreck a private Man may give his Plank to a Magistrate and the Examples of Codrus Curtius and the Decij and the Approbation of the greatest and the wisest Nations in the Honours which they paid to their Memory are usually brought in upon this occasiou this is to prove that the Law of Self-preservation may be dispenc'd withal in regard of serving the Publick and therefore that it may be so as reasonably in any Man 's private Concern even to the degree of Killing himself Or thus there is no difference as to Self-preservation between a Man's Killing himself upon account of the Publick or his own account now he that dispossesses himself upon the publick Account to save a publick Person Of that without which he can have no hopes of saving his own Life Kills himself To this may be Answer'd 1. That the use of Instinct in Beasts is to Preserve them It was given them to this End alone instead of Reason therefore it is a Contradiction to affirm that any Beast Bird or Insect destroys it self by Instinct and the Instances here brought to prove this are Fabulous 2. That the more Reason is rectify'd in Man the more he will understand to what End he receiv'd Life and how little Authority he has to dispose of it and therefore the more carefully will he obey the Law of Self-preservation and this particularly upon the Consideration of what he owes the Publick 3. That the Law of Self-preservation may not be wilfully broken even upon the Account of the Publick No Man has naturally any Authority to destroy himself for his Country designedly and pâ—…ively but to hazard his Life only As to the Instances of Codrus Curtius and the Decij what they did was grounded upon a Religious or Superstitious Perswasion which they obey'd as Supernatural and therefore cannot be us'd to prove what is Naturally Lawful The Instance of giving a Magiftrate a Plank in a Shipwreck implies only great hazard of Life not positive Destruction of it because there is a possibility of escaping left and because the intention is not to die to abandon all care of ones self but to take care of another first To make this more plain I will show 1. What Authority the Publick Power where-ever 't is plac'd has to require any Person to hazard his Life and what Warrant that Person has to hazard it accordingly 2. The difference between extreme Hazard and Self-murther 1. What Authority c. In this Consideration I shall have no regard to any one particular State but only enquire into the End of Government or Civil Society in General and this with all Submission imaginable The end of Civil Government is I suppose the promoting the same things for many Men together upon which their true Happiness depended as consider'd singly in the State of Nature this is usually call'd the Publick Good that is each Man 's Private Good as he is Man consider'd collectively and with regard to the General Welfare Private Good being twofold as hath been shown Moral and Sensitive the object of humane Laws must be twofold also Virtue and Propriety and the promoting and securing these in Peace from all Enemies either from without or within any Political Body seems to be the true natural end of Civil Society Now as there is Publick Good to be secur'd so in order to this there must be Publick Power over every particular Subject lodg'd in one or more Persons according as the Form of the Government is and lest this Power should be either Dangerous or to no Purpose there must be also Publick Judgment the Result of the Debates of Wise and Upright Men to limit it and direct it Furthermore whereas every particular State must be consider'd as one Political Person in which respect the being of any State is to be look'd upon as the Publick Life and the Well-being of the same State the Publick Health So it must be supposed that the Publick Power must be such as is proper and requisite to defend these and consequently that it must extend to Particular Life whenever the Publick Life is any ways in danger Now this may be endanger'd two ways either 1st By Enemies within the State Corrupt and Vicious Men who obstruct and break the Laws and insect others in which Case the Publick Power extends to the actual Destruction of such particular Mens Lives as being necessary for the Preservation of all the rest Or 2dly It may be endanger'd from outward Enemies other Governments that would Enslave or Destroy it In which Case the Publick Power extends to the obliging such as it thinks fitting to hazard their Lives when 't is necessary for the Publick Preservation To hazard I say not positively destroy themselves as when a blow is made at a Man's Head he may lift up his Arm to defend it venture the breaking of it not positively break it which he has no right to do
have practised There is a kind of deformity in Storms and Tempests and Winter comes in unpleasantly after the Warmth and Fruitfulness of the other Seasons yet these are as necessary to the World as they were to Purge the Air to destroy hurtful Weeds and Insects and to dispose the Earth to Answer the returning Spring Something of the same kind is full as necessary to humane Nature to set the Soul in Motion after the soultry Calms of Ease and Luxury * Antonin lib. 4. §. 1. ib. lib. 10. §. 29. A great Mind improves upon opposition it Sparkles and Rejoyces under those Calamities which wou'd oppress others and slames out to the World in brighter Glory Wherefore to suppose that such Events as we have been speaking of are Dispensations or Dismissions from Life is to â—…ay either that there are no such Virtues as Conâ—…ancy Patience and Fidelity and that â—…od dispenses with us as to the practising any such Duties at all or else that he does so when we have the greatest occasion for them when they are nearest to their highest Perfection and may be practis'd most Gloriously 5. But after all the very Being alive though under the worst Events that can possibly be imagin'd is a direct Contradiction to any such Call Summons or Dispensation as above-mention'd Because as our Lives were first from God †See Chap. the 1st pag. 6. so the continuation of them depends wholly upon him No Man cou'd preserve himself one Moment without the Concurrence of his Providence if he thought â—…itting to withdraw that Concurrence there wou'd need no other manifestation of his Will because Life wou'd cease immediately Wherefore while there is Life there is no room to suppose that God gives leave to any Man to kill himself because I say his Being at all is nothing but the Effect of Gods Will and therefore while he is 't is absurd to suppose that God Will 's that he should not be These Reasons I hope may be sufficient to show that no Man can have any assurance from any Natural Event that God does resign his Propriety of humane Life or Call or Summon any Man out of the World by Self-murther and the importance of the â—…ing in Question the impossibility of recovering the Mistake the great Injustice towards God and Man and the sad Consequences that may nay must follow ought to awaken Men upon this occasion while they have any Reason left and make 'em weigh every Motive exactly and impartially Especially since it may so justly be fear'd in these Cases that every Man 's Reigning Passion his Fear his Pride his Impatience c. may be his God and the rash impulses of these be taken for Divine Suggestions Calls or Dispensations as it has often happen'd even to such as have been great Men in the decay of their Strength and Reason * Diog. Laert. in Zen. Zeno the Father of the Stoicks living to a very great Age happen'd one day to stumble and hurt his Finger whereupon he cry'd out to this purpose I acknowledge your Summons O ye Gods and I obey and immediately went home and hang'd himself If those Events which Melanchoâ—…y Men take for God's Calls or Dispensations were examin'd they wou'd seldom be found to be more reasonable than this CHAP. VII Other Objections Answer'd by which they wou'd introduce another end of Humane Life as the measure of Self-preservation instead of that above mention'd and then supposing that this End does cease whenever a Man's Reason tells him that it does so wou'd from hence inferr that his Obligation to preserve Life does cease also FRom Exceptions Limitations and Dispensations of this Law they come at last to tell us directly that there are some Cases in which it wholly ceases and then a Man becomes Master and Disposer of himself * Biath p. 47. No Law is so Primary and Simple but that it fore-imagines a Reason upon which it was founded and scarce any Reason so constant but that Circumstances may alter it in which Case a private Man is Emperour of himself sui juris And he whose Conscience is well temper'd and dispassion'd assures him that the Reason of Self-Preservation ceases in him may also presume that the Law ceases too and may do that then which otherwise were against the Law Self-preservation which we confess to be the foundation of general natural Law is no other thing than a natural Affection and Appetition of Good whether true or seeming Now since this Law of Self-preservation is accomplish'd in attaining that which conduces to our Ends and is i. e. seems good to us If I propose to my self in this Self-homicide a greater Good though Imistake it I perceive not wherein I transgress the general Law of Nature which is an Affection of Good True or Seeming and if that which I affect by Death be truly a greater Good wherein is the other stricter Law of Nature which is rectified Reason violated I will first give a short Answer to every one of these Propositions in the terms here made of use and in the same order that they lie afterwards I will represent the strength of the Argument according to the best of my Judgment in other terms such as seem to me more clear and plain such as I have met withal in other Authors or Discourse and then endeavour no answer it more fully 1. The Reason upon which the Law of Self-preservation is founded * Chap 4. p. 30. has been shown to be twofold 1. The preserving of God's Propriety of every Man's Life and that 2. with regard to the End for which Life was given This Reason is so Constant that no Circumstances whatever unless a plain and undeniable Manifestation of God's Will can ever alter it 2. Conscience which is the last Judgment of upright Reason as it considers humane Actions in the State of Nature must be guided by what is allow'd to be the Law of Nature which Self-preservation is allow'd to be where there is no Law Reason may Act alone but where there is 't is bound to obey it and its doing so proves Conscience to be well temper'd and dispassion'd but it may justly be doubted whether 't is really so or no when it looks out for a Reason for the ceasing of a confest Law Moreover 't is impossible that an upright Conscience which acknowleges that the Reason of this Law is the preserving of God's Propriety of humane Life to the end above mention'd can ever assure any Man that such an end is really ceased as has been shown at large in the last Chapter Wherefore this Learned Gentleman being sensible of this Proposes another end of this Law such as is very convenient indeed for his purpose and may cease whenever any Man thinks sitting and this is Good True or Seeming 3. If Self-preservation be an Appetition of Good True or Seeming this must be at least of such a sort of good as is or seems proper
to preserve Life If we consider Self-preservation alone without the moral end of it this cannot be accomplish'd by attaining that which conduces to any other end or seems good to Man in any other respect than as it wou'd preserve Life Wherefore it is impossible for any honest Man of very ordinary Understanding to mistake to such a Degree as to look upon Self-murther as such a good because this implies a Contradiction and wou'd make that to be the end of a Law which is the utter destruction of it for this wou'd be to argue in this manner the Law of Self-preservation is accomplish'd in attaining that which seems good to us Self-homicide i. e. Self-destruction may seem good to me therefore the Law of Self-preservation may be accomplish'd by my Self destruction 4. These two Words End and Good are of too large and doubtful a Signification that which conduces to our ends and is good to us does not always accomplish the Law of Self-preservation that which conduces to the true end of Life the following of Reason by Virtue accomplishes indeed the Law of Self-preservation because it not only improves the Mind but prolongs Life and therefore is truly good to us But there are many other Ends of humane Actions as many as we have Passions and Appetites which become not only unworthy of our Reason but destructive of our Life as well by the manner of our pursuing 'em as the measure of our enjoying them and therefore what ever they seem whatever Shape or Beauty our Passions give them are so far from being Good that they are directly certainly Evil and being so can never accomplish the Law of Self-preservation These things will appear more clear if in the next place we suppose the Objection above mention'd to be made in these or the like Words To follow Nature has been allow'd to be the best rule of humane Actions by the wisest Men of all Sects 1. To follow Nature is to seek to be happy 2. My happiness consists in obtaining that which seems good to me and avoiding that seems evil 3. I and no other am to be the Judge in this Case therefore if Life by the want of any Good in which I place my Happiness becomes an Evil and Death seems good to me I do but follow Nature in killing my self and the Law of Self-preservation is not transgressed but gives place or ceases naturally For the Answering of this Argument clearly I will make use of this Method 1. I will show what is meant by following Nature 2. In what Happiness or Misery Good or Evil as to humane Life do really consist 3. The unreasonableness of every particular Man's being left to himself to follow what seems Good or Evil to his private Judgment and to dispose of Life accordingly 1. What is meant by following Nature Though some Account of this Maxim has been * Chap. 2. already given yet being very much in request at present and the Mistakes concerning it the occasion of other Crimes as well as this of Self-murther it commonly happening that they who talk loudest of Nature and Reason understand 'em least or act against 'em most it is requisite to say something farther of it and if in so doing I should repeat any thing that I have said before let the Reader think either that I wou'd save him the trouble of turning back again or knew not how to express my self better The Word Nature is sometimes a very general Term and signifies that Order which the great Creator put the whole World to move in sometimes in a more limitted sence it signifies that Rule which he gave each Creature to follow for the fulfilling of that particular End for which it was made in proper Harmony and Consent with the Universe so that the Word Nature rises in its signification according to the several Degrees of the Creation and by following Nature must be meant the obeying it according to that particular Power which distinguishes one Creature from another This Beasts do by Sensation this Man shou'd do by Reason That great that God-like Faculty which is given us to discern Good and Evil and to regulate our Passions and Appetites by Virtue accordingly Wherefore for Man to follow Nature is the very same with the End of Life to which Self-preservation is subservient * See Chap. 2. p. 16. 17. as has been shown namely the following of Reason by Virtue They who indulge their Passions and Appetites who live only by Sensation do not follow Nature as Men but as Beasts nay 't is not near so well with ' em Sensation in Beasts preserves them they obey no Appetite to excess and therefore to term Intemperance Beastliness is no less than Detraction for 't is really Manliness humane Nature Corrupted where Reason enslav'd to Appetite is kept to the vile Drudgery of serching in more and more of its gross and earthly Object till Sensation it self sinks down gorg'd and suffocated under it Did we follow Nature as faithfully as Beasts do by observing that which is our chief Faculty we shou'd be happy and preserve our Being as carefully and successfully as they do theirs but instead of this we rashly destroy it or fondly overlay it And by the Intemperance of our choicest Enjoyments act as foolishly against Sensation as against Reason That the wisest Men of all Sects took thisto be the meaning of following Nature or living according to it will appear to any one that consults their Writings of Morality particularly the Stoicks Thus they tell us * Diog. Laer. l. 7. p. 185. That to live according to Nature is to live according to Man's particular Nature and the Nature of the Vniverse doing nothing which that Common Law which runs through the whole Creation Right Reason forbids Which Law is the same with Jove the disposer and manager of all things †Antonin lib. 7. Sect. 8. To follow Reason and to follow Nature is one and the same thing to a Rational Creature ‖ Diog. Laer. ib. To live according to Nature is to live according to Virtue for Nature leads us to this says Cleanthes This is confirm'd by that Excellent Writer Philo the Jew * Philo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This says he speaking of obeying God is that end of humane Actions the living according to Nature which is so much celebrated by the greatest Philosophers for this is done when the Mind entring the path of Virtue treads in the steps of Right Reason and follows God ever mindful of his Commands ever observing 'em all strictly both in Word and Deed. Yet perhaps it may be Objected That this account of following Nature is too general * Dr. Donne p. 45. 41. Epist. Sen. Lip man ad St. Phil. l. 2. D. 17. some things are natural to the Species and others to the particular Person and therefore when Cicero consulted the Oracle he had this Answer FOLLOW YOUR OWN NATURE He that follows his
own Reason in what appears to him Good or Evil in embracing the first and avoiding the latter though he may be mistaken follows his own Nature Accordingly if he cannot obtain that in which he places his Happiness and his Life becomes miserable upon this Account he follows Nature who lays it down To this it may be reply'd That to sollow ones own Nature cannot be any Exemption from what was said before nor is the Account which has been given there too general for as to what relates to the End of Life the following of Reason by Virtue this belongs equally to humane Nature in General forasmuch as all Men are Rational Either then by this is meant the same with the following of humane Nature which is the Rule by which all Mankind is to Act or else we must suppose that there is a particular Rule or Law given to every individual Person different from the rest of the same Species which he alone is bound to follow But this would be more unreasonable than if we should say That every Subject of the Emperour of China was not bound by the General Laws of that Country but that he had a particular private Law by which he was bound to Act and that too often in direct opposition to the other 2. By following ones own Nature perhaps was meant the same with Zeno's Maxim * Or that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diog. Laer p. 185 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which I think may be rendred the living Conformably or Consistently i.e. the being the same in Opinion Humour Manners the having ones Life all of a Piece whatsoever comes to pass which they also call'd †Ciâ—…ero de Offic. lib. 1. Decorum As if a Man were of an easie and obliging Temper that he should be the same in Adversity as well as Prosperity Sickness and Health to the meanest poorest Man as to the greatest Potentate If of a grave austere Way which was that which they chose he should carry that on through the worst Events and nothing be able to alter him the maintaining either of these or any other particular Character may be call'd the following of ones own Nature but though Men may choose different ways of Behaviour according to their Fancy or Constitution yet this must still be grounded upon the former Universal Maxim the living according to Nature as Humane and Reasonable otherwise the Character whatever it was wou'd be vicious and then 't wou'd be so much the worse to maintain it and equally absurd whether a Man was always Affably or Surlily the same if always in the wrong so that this regards only the outside the Dress of Virtue the particular Fashion which she is to appear in Let Men be sure of her first by following Nature as Humane in general and then they may give her what appearance they please by following their own Nature This will be further explain'd in the Answer to the next part of the Objection abovemention'd * See more to this purpose Chap. 11â—… 3. By following ones own Nature some will have meant the following a particular Opinion or Humour the indulging that particular Appetite or Passion which by Education Example or Constitution has got the ascendant which brings me to the remaining part of the Objection To follow Nature is to seek to be Happy Happiness consists in obtaining that which seems Good to me and avoiding that which seems Evil I and no other must be the Judge of this wherefore if Life becomes an Evil and Death a Good to me by the want of any thing in which I place my Happiness or by the suffering any thing in which I place my Misery I do but follow Nature in killing my self and the Law of Self-preservation is not transgress'd by my doing so but ceases naturally This was propos'd to be Answer'd by shewing these two things 1. In what Happiness or Misery Good or Evil as to Humane Life did really consist 2. The unreasonableness of every Man 's being left to himself to follow what seems Good or Evil to him and to dispose of Life accordingly As to the first Happiness truly consâ—…s in the observing the End of Life which has been so often mention'd As this is * See Chap. 2. p. 17. done more or less Men are proportionably Happy as 't is omitted proportionably Miserable But in the common acceptation of the Word Happiness signifies the enjoyment of a Man's desires whatever they are and for any one to say that he cannot be happy without such or such a thing which is not in his Power and that the Good or Evil of his whole Life depends upon it signifies nothing but the vehemence of that Man's desires not that there is any real Happiness in obtaining it or Misery in sailing of it it proving most commonly quite contrary that the more a Man enjoys what he vehemently desires the more miserable he is afterwards and then †Ridiculum est ad mortem cuâ—…re tadio vitae cum â—…nere vitae â—…t â—…lum ciâ—… ad morâ—… effeceris Sen. â—…pilt 24. forsooth Life seems an Evil to him and amidst the Discontent and Vexation which comes upon him at the sense of his Folly and the just reproof of his Reason He tells you very Philosophically that he does but follow Nature in delivering himself from what is Evil When he has been acting against Nature against good Sense for that is humane Nature all the while and when he has done so instead of recovering the way which he has lost and beginning truly to follow Nature he deserts it wholly and irrecoverably and offers the greatest and most positive Violence to it by Self-murther But the Mistakes concerning Happiness or Misery are grounded upon the Mistakes concerning Good and Evil and therefore 't will be necessary to take a short view of them As Humane Life consists of two parts the Soul and Body so what is good must be consider'd in a twofold manner as it relates to the Soul or to the Body 1. As it relates to the Soul the Regulating and Improving of the Mind which we suppose to be the End of humane Life This is usually called Moral Good and the contrary Moral Evil. Or else 2dly As it relates to the Body the Health or the Preservation of it for which End the several ways of Perception commonly call'd Senses were ordain'd by which notice is given to Reason what is most proper to maintain this Union and preserve Life or what is most likely to destroy it this is commonly call'd Sensitive Good and the contrary Sensitive Evil. To bring this to the Matter in hand supposing that Good True or Seeming were a proper Rule and End of humane Actions There are but two sorts of Good as has been shown Moral or Sensitive but through which of these is it that Self-murther can appear Lawful If Moral Good tends not only to the improvement of the Mind but also to the prolonging of
the End of humane Life must be something which it is in every Man's Power to perform otherwise this wou'd detract both from the Goodness and Wisdom of God and therefore it cannot depend upon any thing without us as Wealth Honour or the Pleasures of Sensation or the obtaining whatever * See Chap. 7. seems good to any one or avoiding whatever seems evil to him for none of these things are at the absolute command or disposal of Man wherefore that which is the universal End of every Man's Life must be something which depends only upon every Man's self and which no Events or outward Circumstances can hinder him from observing if he will III. The End of Life must be answerable to that degree of Capacity which the Creature has in respect of other Creatures Life is common to Beasts as well as Man the End of their Being is to live because by the Faculties which they are endowed withal they are capable of no more than what is proper for the promoting of this but Man is capable of more because endowed with nobler Faculties and therefore must have a nobler End than they and consequently a greater degree of Happiness These things being granted the best way to discover the True End of Man's Life will be to consider Humane Nature attentively according to that Rank which it bears in Vniversal Nature To this purpose it may be of some Use to examine what may be the true meaning of that Maxim which was in so much Credit among the ancient Greeks and Romans viz. The following Nature The Word Nature is sometimes a very general Term and then signifies that Course which the great Creator did put the whole World to act in sometimes in a more limited sense it signifies that Rule which he gave to each Creature to act by for the fulfilling of that particular End for which it was made in proper Harmony and Consent with the Vniverse Thus not only Beasts but Plants even Stones and Minerals and every Element may be said to follow Nature Yet since there are different Faculties appropriated to each of these by which they excel each other accordingly and as Beasts excel Plants by Sensation so Man excels them by Reason The true sense of the following Nature and the true End of all created Beings is the working according to the utmost of their Capacities or according to that Superiour Faculty or Power wherewith they are endowed and by which they are distinguished from one another To bring this particularly to Man the utmost Capacity of Beasts depends upon the Faculties or Powers of Sensation The utmost Capacity of Man depends upon the Powers of a Rational Soul Now Beasts act by necessity they follow directly where-ever sense does lead but Man is a voluntary Agent able to discover of himself what is his Duty and to follow this of Choice not of Necessity Wherefore there must be two principal Fountains of Man's Actions namely Knowledge and Free-will Again we must distinguish concerning Knowledge for this is of various kinds according as its Objects are that which is concern'd in the present Question is the knowledge of those Rules and Laws by which our Actions ought to be guided the knowledge of our Duty as usually divided according to its three chief Objects God our Neighbour and our selves This Knowledge so much of Reason as this implies is easie to be attain'd unto by the meanest Capacities for tho' there are three Objects about which Humane Actions are chiefly concern'd yet this variety does not hinder the clearness of Man's Knowledge as to the Fundamentals of his Duty towards each particular Object For instance who can be ignorant Or who must not consent immediately That the Supreme Being to whom we owe Life and all Things ought to be honoured or that we ought to do by others as we wou'd be done by our selves or that we ought not to injure our Health or act against our Knowledge or do any thing to impair much less to destroy those Faculties by which we excel other Creatures These are Truths which are so plain and self-evident that the very mention of 'em is Demonstration and therefore no Man can plead Ignorance in this Case or that his own Reason tells him otherwise This then is the first Fountain of humane Actions knowledge of Duty And such Knowledge being to be attain'd unto by Reason alone and yet to be attain'd easily by every Man's Reason such Knowledge being the Perfection of that noble Faculty I desire leave to distinguish it in the following Discourse when I mention the End of Life by the Word REASON But yet the easiness of this Knowledge wou'd signifie nothing unto Man unless the Will did put it in Execution It must be readily applied and reduc'd to Action or else our Duty wou'd remain unperform'd Thus 't is not sufficient for a Man to know that God must be honour'd that his Neighbour is to be us'd as himself or that he ought to do himself no Injury unless this were put in practice by his being pious just patient temperate c. Wherefore the Compliance of the Will with that which it knows to be its Duty is the chief thing to be taken care of The Vices of Men come not so much from want of Knowledge or Reason in this Case as from want of such Compliance And the true Notion of a weak Man is not so much from his being ignorant of his Duty as from his not doing what he knows to be so On the other side that which makes a good Man is not greatness of Knowledge but the bending of his Will vigorously in all Circumstances whatsoever to the doing what he knows is his Duty And therefore the doing so is that which has obtain'd the venerable Name of VIRTVE for VIRTUE is the force and vigour of the FreeWill through which the Soul complies chearfully and gladly with what it knows to be Duty Which force or vigour takes different Names according to its different Objects above-mentioned and is call'd Piety Justice Beneficence Constancy Temperance c. If this is allow'd it will not be difficult to show wherein Man's true Happiness consists for this is the natural result of what has been said 't is that Rest or Ease which the Soul enjoys after it has mov'd regularly and vigorously in the doing of its Duty 'T is the sweet Fruition which it is blest withal upon the just sense of the proper Vse of its Free Will and its having faithfully discharged the End for which it was made which it being impossible to do otherwise than by Reasons showing what is Duty and Free Will 's obeying accordingly I conclude that the true End or Design of humane Life is THE FOLLOWING OF REASON BY VIRTUE I will not contend but that the following of Reason mâ—…ght possibly signifie as much as the following of Reason by Virtue because the Word Following seems to imply an Act of Free-will and if this be
Master as God He replies * p. 110. That the Servant runs not from his Master but to him in this case and at his Call obeys his Voice Again †p. 112. This is not to usurp upon God's Authority or to deal with anothers Servant if I become his Servant his Delegate and his Commissioner in doing this when he can be no other way so much glorified ‖ p. 149. If they say God concurs to no Evil We say nothing is so evil but that it becomes good if God command it and that this viz. Self-murther is not so naturally evil that it requires a special Commission from God but as it becomes good if he commands it so it becomes indifferent if he remove the Reasons with which the Precept against it is Conditioned There is one Passage in Cicero to the same purpose †Liber 1. Tuscul. Quaest. Cato went out of Life as one that was glad of the opportunity for the God who rules within us forbids our departure hence without his Command but when that God himself gives just Cause as he did to Socrates Cato and many others A wise Man will certainly be glad to depart out of this State of Darkness into that of Light Not that he may break Prison for that the Laws forbid but walk out of it being called and dismiss'd by God as by some lawful Magistrate The summ of all which is to this purpose 1. That though it be true that God has the Absolute Propriety of Humane Life in which Regard indeed Man cannot lawfully destroy it Yet if God dispences with this Right of Propriety and calls or summons him out of Life he may depart lawfully viz. by Self-Murther 2. That there is no need of Particular Commission or Extraordinary Manifestation of God's Will to this purpose but only of his removing those Reasons upon which the Obligation of preseving Life was founded This is that which the Stoicks scatter up and down their Writings to reconcile this Act with Submission to Providence which they diligently maintain and which is Collected and Improv'd by our Author in the several Places above mentioned Before I Answer this particularly I desire the Reader wou'd take Notice 1. That whatever is said in any of these Places concerning the removing the Reasons or the ceasing of that End for which Life was given shall be debated more particularly in the next Chapter and but just touched upon here as not being wholly to be avoided 2. As to what is insinuated here concerning God's Glory though this does not fall under the present Argument yet that this is always best promoted by observing of his Laws that there can be no Case imagined nor is there any pretended but only glanc'd at by this Author artificially in general terms Wherein a Man can be irresistably forc'd to forsake his Reason and his Virtue and so detract from God's Glory Or where in it will not be more for his Glory to suffer Death from others than from himself But of this more perhaps hereafter This being premised I shall in Answer to what is said above shew these three things I. That according to the Account which this Learned Gentleman gives of Dispensation and according to the Nature of the Law of Self-preservation there can be no need at any time of such Dispensation for this Law II. That in a Case of this Nature wherein Propriety of the greatest Importance is concern'd Where an Error can never be recover'd and where it is confessed that there is a Law to secure it no Dispensation can be sufficient but what comes from the Proprietor the Law-giver himself and which must evidently and undeniably appear that it did so by some plain and positive Manifestation of his Will III. That no such natural Manifestation of God's Will is or can be assign'd whereby Man may be fully assured that he is dismissed call'd or summon'd by God from Life As to the first it is observable that Self-preservation is allowed to be Law of Nature And yet affirmed that it may be despensed withal upon this account †That a thing which is universally Profitable or Honest may by reason of some particular Event become Dishonest or Hurtful and when it does so the Reason or End which is the Soul and Form of the Law ceases This can never have place in any Law of Nature particularly Self-preservation grounded upon God's Propriety and the End of Humane Life already mention'd because as there can be no time wherein it can be dishonest or hurtful if we mean morally so to avoid doing wrong to God to the Publick and to our selves so there can be no time wherein it can be destructive or hurtful in the sence asoresaid to follow Reason by Virtue there can be no Event I say wherein it will not be a Man's Duty and wherein it will not be in his Power to act thus and therefore it can never be necessary that this Law should be dispensed withal Besides the Word Law is too general as us'd here the Law which we are speaking of is Law of Nature and confest to be so there may be Dispensations from Obedience to Humane Laws which are limitted to particular Actions and which through the weakness of Humane Prudence cannot be fitted exactly to all Events but then 't is observable that all such Dispensations are supplemental rather than destructive to that Law concern'd tending more effectually to the same end which that Law did assisting and promoting it in a better manner which end is always the Preservation of Mankind of each particular Person as far as is consistent with the whole and not the Destruction of any one If it be said That the very End of Life which I have assign'd is inconsistent often with this Law of Self-preservation and destructive of God's Propriety it frequently happening that Men endanger their Lives nay certainly incur Death the more strictly and faithfully that they follow Reason by Virtue and therefore that there must be some sort of Dispensation as to the observing of this End 1. To this I Answer There is no neceâ—…ty of this That which I suppose to be the end of Humane Life is so excellently fuâ—…ed to the Nature of Man that it not only promotes his happiness his well-being but certainly contributes to the prolong atâ—…on of his Being at the same time the following of Reason by Virtue including the regulating of Mens Passions and Appetites making 'em Temperate and Peaceful Just and Bâ—…cent c. All which if Duly observed by any number of Men wou'd certainly prolong Life as well as Happiness Wherefore if Life becomes in danger upon this Account and good Men suffer Death for the sake of their Virtue this is accidental not through any natural defect in that end of Life or because it contradicts Self-preservation and is destructive to God's right over it but through the fault of unreasonable Men who will not act by the same Rule but make
the indulging of their Appetites and Passions to be the only end of their Lives and therefore have no sense of Justice or Goodness towards others 2. When Men suffer Death upon the account of Virtue this does not prove any Dispensation needful as to Self-preservation as though they brought their own Deaths upon themselves they wou'd live if they might be permitted but they wou'd not forfeit their Reason and their Virtue to preserve Life because these were the things for whose sake alone Life was bestow'd and the observing of which is the most proper way which God design'd by Nature to preserve Life by and if it is not preserv'd accordingly 't is through the Crimes of such as invade it not any of their own But supposing that a Dispensation might be reasonable in some particular Case yet II. When Propriety of the greatest Importance is concern'd where the Law that secures it is confess'd and acknowledg'd where a mistake may be easily committed and yet can never be recover'd no Dispensation can be sufficient but such as comes from the Proprietor the Law-giver himself and which evidently appears by some plain and positive Manifestation of his Will to do so Propriety is of so nice and tender a Nature that when it is to be made over all the care imaginable is us'd that the doing so may appear plainly and undeniably to be Voluntary therefore not only several outward Actions but also several Witnesses of those Actions are requir'd upon such Occasions Now if this be so where things of very little Importance are concern'd how much more reasonable must this Caution be where God himself is the Proprietor so good so gracious so just so powerful a Being and where Humane Life is the thing in Question in which so many Persons may be concerâ—…d and which may be of such unspeakable value to him that has it if the end of it were faithfully observ'd for what can make Man more Happy or more Glorious What can exalt him higher above the rest of the Creation or nearer to the Divine Nature than the continual discovery of Eternal Truth and the regulating of his Passions and Desires accordingly than the improving of others by Example and Information and being the Help and Pleasure of a great part of Mankind Life is the opportunity of being all this shall that then be rashly thrown away by Self-murther Especially since Mistakes in other matters may be recover'd again at least some amends be made for them but here the Errour is Irrecoverable the Offender is incapable of making any Satisfaction Wherefore who that considers this can suppose that 't is sufficient for any Man to * Biath p. 4â—… Ib. p. 112. think that he may despence with himself or to fansie that God has constituted him his Officer or Commissioner How does this appear Produce the Warrant prove the Commission by undeniable Authority and then but not otherwise then let it be obey'd Nor is it sufficient to say in this Case That although it shou'd be an Error to kill ones self upon such an Opinion yet this is such an Errour as may proceed from 〈◊〉 good Conscience because where the Pâ—… priety is doubtful and yet the thing iâ—… Question actually alienated it can be no good Plea to say that this was done with Integrity No Mistake can be excusable where there is no Authority to venture and yet in this Case the Propriety is not doubtful but acknowledg'd to be Gods and in the Act of Self-Murther the same Propriety is not only alienated but destroy'd and therefore therâ—… can be no just Plea for the Lawfulness of so doing but the plain and express Manifestation of God's Will and this can be had no other way than by evident Revelation because no Warrant but such as is above Nature can be sussicient to despence with Law of Nature If it be said that Natural Fâ—…vents are the Manifestations of God's Will that when such Events as loss of Liberty or Senses Incurable Pain Poverty or Disgrace come upon a Man any * So the Stoicks taught always Diog. Lacrt. ut Sup. p. 195. Lips Manuduct ad Stoic Phil. lib. 3. Diâ—…ert 22 â—…3 Olympiodor one of these is a sussicient proof that God dismisses calls or summons that Man from Lise This brings me to the next thing I proposed to shew III. That no Natural Event is such a Manifestation of God's Will whereby any Man can be assur'd that he is called dismissed or summon'd from Life or that God has chosen him himself for his Commissioner or Officer to destroy it There is no Event indeed but is a Manifestation of God's Will The worst Events are so as much as the best but to what end are they so that we should bear them with Patience and Humility is not be avoided by lawful means not that we should decline them refuse 'em or run away from them by any means though never so unlawful And since the Manifestation of God's Will against a known Law of Nature must be clear and distinct as has been shown how can it be demonstrated to be so from any of the Events above mention'd the great difficulty or rather the impossibility of this will appear if we consider the following Reasons 1. That many Thousand Persons have suffer'd under the same Events and withal to such a degree as to be very willing very desirous to die and yet som of these have ever thought and none of them have been ever fully satisfy'd that these were any signs os God's dismissing summoning or calling them from Life How then can any one particular Person be assured that they are so to him Or why should he suppose that he alone can discern farther into the Will of God against a Confest and Establish'd Law by any occasional and natural Event than so many Persons many of which may be reasonably allow'd to be greater and wiser than himself cou'd do by the very same Especially since 2. These very Events upon which he grounds his Authority have been frequently chang'd in a short time and such as are directly contrary as sound Health great Riches and Honour been long enioyed by the same Persons all which had been lost if they should have thought siting to have Murthered themselves 3. That which is naturally unlawful or evil in it self as Self-murther is in regard of God's Propriety c. can never be supposed to become Lawful upon the account of any Event whatsoever that is Natural Now all Pain Poverty c. has its natural Causes and consequently cannot be a sufficient Dispensation to destroy Life 4. Furthermore as to the end of Humane Lise no such Events as we have been speaking of can be look'd upon as Dispensations from the pursuing of this end because this is naturally farther'd by these very Events and the greatest Calamities have been the occasion of waking Reason and making the Soul exert it self in several Virtues which otherwise it could not
Life if nothing is Sensitive Good but that alone which is reported by the Senses to be proper to preserve Life then it must be absurd to destroy Life upon the pretence of either of these Goods and to do so must be Evil both as to Moral Evil and Sensitive also and therefore highly against Nature To this let me add that the only reason why any thing is naturally Evil to the Body is as it contributes to the separation of it from the Soul which is done positively and violently by Self-murther Nature is the Course the Order which God put the Creature to move in To break off that Course violently must certainly be against Nature and what is so cannot be Lawful But here again it may probably be Obâ—…ted That if the End of humane Life as â—…t has been assign'd by me is the following of 〈◊〉 by Virtueâ—… Whose Reason must this be Must not every Man be guided by his own Reason and consequently will not his Virtue consist in following that which seems Good to him and avoiding that which seems Evil to him This brings me to consider Lastly The unreasonableness of every Man 's being left to himself to follow that which seems Good or Evâ—…l to him and to dispose of Life accordingly There must be a certain End or Design for which Life was given as the Rule of humane Actions otherwise the World wou'd be in Confusion The several things which the wisest men of Old have offer'd as this End of Life I have endeavoured to comprehend under these Words THE FOLLOWING REASON BY VIRTVE I hope it will not be expected that I should weigh out how much Reason to a Scruple will serve to this purpose because all Men readily assent to such Principles as these as self-evident That no wrong or injury ought to be done that a Man has no right to destroy what is not his especially if it be allow'd him only for his Advantage and Improvement that whatever destroys humane Society is to be avoided that whatever contributes to the preserving and improving of the Faculties which are peculiar to Man above other Creatures ought to be embrac'd These Principles I suppose are plain to every Rational Creature and allow'd fit to be observ'd by the Virtues of Justice Temperance c. Or should any Man be suppos'd to be ignorant of any of them in Lapland or new Holland yet there is no danger of this in civiliz'd Countries especially this wherein we Live nor are they deny'd by such as are chiefly against us in this Argument but acknowledg'd and maintain'd by 'em and pointed out and required to be observ'd by humane Laws Wherefore if there can be no ignorance as to these Fundamental Principles and if there can be no want of Power to observe and practise 'em to what purpose is it to plead for particular Reason and for the privilege of Judging for ones self A Man cannot do so safely without some Rule and that Rule must be universal publick Reason and unless every private Man's Reason be squar'd accordingly it can never be right but if it be squar'd accordingly then it ought not to be contended for as private Reason As Man is oblig'd to follow that Nature which is common to him with the rest of Mankind so he is oblig'd to follow that Reason which is so too I mean as to the Fundamental Rules of humane Actions He may make use of his own Reason perhaps in finding out means to observe these Rules to observe them I say not to break them one of the chief of which is the preserving of Life As in all well formed Governments one Law extends to all for the common Good so is it in the Government of the World which is order'd by Infinite Wisdom And therefore 't wou'd be as absurd to plead for particular Reason as a privilege to act against natural Principles as it wou'd be to desire it as a privilege to act against just humane Laws Reason when loudly boasted and zealously contended for by particular Men against any Ancient and Establish'd Rule shou'd always be suspected It shows some uneasiness under that Rule which if enquir'd into and examin'd with the Person concern'd wou'd be found to be against some particular Interest or Inclination which had gotten the ascendant â—…ver him In these Cases when every Man talks of Reason he means his own his own sorry share and that too perhaps very much vitiated and corrupted thus you shall see reason of all Complections Melancholy Phlegmatick and Sanguine Reason for when this is once enslav'd by any Appetite or Passion it takes the Colour of it and then whatever is the object of each Man's Desires whatsoever is his particular method of compassing it or measure of enjoying it is call'd Reason Thus this Godlike faculty is made frequently the pretence of the greatest Absurdities in our Actions as well as Discourse and it may be observ'd that People always plead it most that most offend it pretending the most faithful Duty to this Sovereign Power and yet all the while impudently warring against it in its own Name Hence it is that seeming Good and seeming Evil are made to be the Rule of humane Actions and the following of them the End of humane Life the measure of its being Good or Evil and Preserv'd or Destroy'd accordingly Whereas to act according to seeming Good or seeming Evil can never be allow'd but in the case of sudden or extream Necessity or Panic Fear when the Soul has not the Power or Leasure to bring its Actions or Resolutions to the Rule of right Reason or to examine what is really Good or really Evil and then we ought to observe that this is allow'd but upon one Account neither and that is the preserving of Life and therefore is a very strange Argument for the Destroying of it But after all that can be said seeming Good and seeming Evil are sloating and uncertain things and therefore can never be the Rule or End of Living because as they can be no certain measure themselves so they must destroy it as to all other things for to suppose this is not only to let a Man loose to any Object that he pleases but also to hinder his obtaining of any one while a new seeming Good may be starting continually and so a warm Head shall be sure never to want Game And Life thus employ'd wou'd be given to a very extraordinary End indeed especially if we consider that the Event of this must prove not only fatal to a Man's self but may do so by degrees to all that are near him nay must do so to all Mankind For if seeming Good is sufficient to justifie our Actions what Crime can ever be justly laid to any Man's charge As there is no Errour that pleases under the notion of Falshood so there is no Wickedness that prevails upon the Mind as it appears Evil but as there is seeming Truth in the one so there must
and necessary it may be suppos'd sufficiently to warrant any Man's Obedience when the Publick Judgment declares that it is so But the chief Question is from whence this Power is deriv'd to the Publick by whom it was granted Some suppose it to be granted by Man himself upon a kind of compact for Protection but though Proâ—…tion may be one great End of this Power yet it is generally agreed that this Power cannot be conserr'd on the Publick by every particular Man because God alone has the absolute Propriety of humane Life Man has no such Power himself and what he has not he cannot make over to another Mr. Hobbs will have it to come from Man but then to decline this Objection and secure his darling Principle of Self-preservation he says This is not done by Man's transferâ—…ing any right of his own but by laying down the right which he has to hurt others His own Words are these * â—…viathan part 2. chap. 28. page 162. The Subjects did not give their Sovereign that Right but only in laying down theirs strengthned him to use his own as he should think fit for the Preservation of them all so that it was not given but left to him If I take this right this is a very odd distinction for if a Man has any right to hurt others for his own Preservation then as he is bound to Preserve himself so he is bound to retain that Right and yet if he lays it down he parts with it as much as if he actually gave it away He told us just before * Ib. p. 161. That in the making of a Common-wealth every Man gives away the Right of defending another but not of defending himself In several Places †Leviath part 1. chap. 14. he repeats and inculcates this that no Man can ever part with the right of defending himself no not after Lawful Tryal and Condemnation If this be so How can he lay down the right which he has to hurt others since by so doing he must be left in a great measure defenceless and liable by his own Consent not only to be hurt but to be actually destroy'd as in all Capital Punishments Wherefore not withstanding Men chuse to struggle thus rather than have any thing to do with God while they frame their Political Systems Yet it seems plain that such a Power as we are speaking of can be deriv'd from no other but God who alone having the absolute Propriety of all humane Life can alone have the right to give some Men Power over the Lives of others and who having fram'd Man in such a manner that Civil Society is necessary for his Security and Improvement and yet such Society not to be preserv'd without such a Power must upon these Considerations and also as he is a wife and just Being and as he who wills the End must will the Means necessary to that End must I say be supposed to grant to the Magistrate such a Power a Power to hazard Life himself and to oblige others to do so in defence of the Publick From what has been said may appear that the Power or Authority which any Government has to require Men to hazard their Lives for the Publick Good is derived from God himself that the time and manner of doing this depends upon the Publick Judgment and that Man is thus warranted for hazarding his Life accordingly To return then to the Instance above-mention'd of a Man's giving a Magistrate his Plank in a Shipwreck If a Man may hazard his Life for the Publick Good then if there be some particular Person in whom the Publick Power and Publick Judgment is lodg'd from whom all the Springs of Action derive their Motion who is in effect the Life the Soul of the whole Body and in whom the Liberty and Property as we love to speak of many Millions centers and may be lost and among the rest his Life also who shall be concern'd for this Publick Persons safety then we may conclude that any Man may hazard his Life even to the utmost danger to preserve such a Person yet in these Cases we are to remember Life is only hazarded not abandon'd much less positively destroy'd and that for such extreme hazard Men may justly suppose that they have Authority from God himself as they are Members of any Civil Government And though the danger be great yet 't is very seldom that Men fall into certain Death upon these Accounts as might be shown easily But suppose it should be so yet in this Case an honest good Man does not mind any thing but to do his Duty to pursue faithfully the End for which Life was given and if Life should be lost in this pursuit this is not his desire nor his fault 't was not his aim to die but to do as he ought nay gladly wou'd he have lived had Life been consistent with his Virtue but when this came in Question both Death and Life became indifferent and though he Chooses neither he accepts reaâ—…y of either as they offer themselves in his way to his Duty This I find confirm'd by the School-men in a harder Case than any above-mention'd Suppose a powerful Tyrant shou'd bring the last City of any State to the greatest Extremity by all the sad Consequences of a long and prosperous Siege as loss and wearineâ—…s of Men Famine Contention Corruption and no hopes of Succour shou'd be left suppose that after this he shou'd refuse all Articles of Submission and shou'd threaten Destruction by Fire and Sword unless they deliver'd upto him some one particular innocent Person This City say they * 〈◊〉 de Valenâ—… Tom. 3. Disput. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 8. Punct 〈◊〉 may not â—…ly deliver him up though they know him to be Innocent but that very Person may deliver up himself and yet without being guilty of destroying himself because as abovesaid his chiâ—… end is the doing so much Good not the Dying his particular intention his design that he had in view continually was to save his Country and this being the only means which was left he resolves to incur the greatest danger to 〈◊〉 purpose and yet in all this is positive only as to the doing of his Duty and far from being positive as to the destroying of his Life To compleat this Argument let us now see 2. How great the difference is between this and Self-murther and consequently how unreasonably the one is made a plea for the other He that hazards Life for the Publick does this in obedience to the Laws both of God and Man he that destroys his own Life does this in disobedience to the Laws of both the first by observing the true End of Life does what God and Nature primarily design'd as most proper to preserve Life and if he loses it 'tis by the violence of others the latter neglecting the true End of Life destroys it wilfully by the most positive act of injustice to God his
it came to prevail it will be necessary to consider the Particular Genius of the Roman Nation After the Expelling of their Kings the Publick Good seems to have been the Vniversal End of all their Actions This they pursu'd with a noble Emulation and with an egual contempt of Danger and Self-Interest to this it was that they sacrifiâ—…d not only their Ease their Wealth but even their * 〈◊〉 pater nova bellâ—… moveâ—…tes Ad paenam 〈◊〉 pro libertate vocabit Vincet amor Patriae c. Virgil says of Brutus Aeâ—… 6. so 〈◊〉 Ib. Children sometimes †Salut Bell 〈◊〉 Justice and Goodness prevail'd among them not more through Law than Nature whatever Quarrels and Debates they had Were with their Enemies they contended with one another about Virtue only Magnisicent in their Publick Devotiâ—… Frugal at Home Faithful in their Friendships All which was strengthen'd and consirm'd by their great and general regard to Religion which continu'd till they sell into Avarice Luxury Bribery and till the base Senate it self became saleable 〈◊〉 worth the while says that excellent â—…istorian when one has consider'd the Houses and Villa's built now a days like Ciâ—…ies to visit the Temples of the Gods which were rais'd by our Ancestors the most Religious of Mankind but they adorn'd the Altars with their Piety and their Houses with the Glory of their Actions nor ever took away any thing from those they Conquer'd unless the Power of doing Wrong But now Oppression c. ‖ Salut 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Indeed no People in the World was ever so inclin'd to be Religious all Publick Basiness the meeting of their Assemblies the choice of their Magistrates the engaging with their Enemies depended upon Religious Observations which how â—…reasonable foâ—…ver 〈◊〉 themselves were diligently consulted and faithfully obey'd Their Generals their Magâ—…trates the greatest 〈◊〉 they eveâ—… had in Peace or War had as much regard to these excepting one or two 〈◊〉 as the common People And here I cannot but observe by the way what awkard Imitators of the Romans some People are who study that Common-Wealth only in its decay embrace the Vices and Opinions as this of Self-murther which occasion'd or attended the Ruin of it and in the first place think it necessary to be Atheist's in order to be good Republicans Conformable to this were their Manners Plain and Sincere Inflexible in their Resolutions Grave in their Deportment severely Virtuous this was the Masculine Air which they gave that noble Constancy that Probity that Honour which distinguish'd 'em from the rest of Mankind and made 'em truly greater before they Conquer'd the World than after it The Roman Nation being of this temper were naturally prepar'd to receive the Stoic Philosophy especially not being prepossest by any other For though Pythagoras had liv'd and grown Famous in one part of Italy yet the Romans who were given wholly to Arms seem'd to have heard little or nothing if him or to have minded any thing of this nature till Greece being subdu ' d and Macedon reduc'd into a Province they sent their Sons to Study at Athens where by their Natural temper they soon chose out the Stoics from all the other Sects to follow At the same time this Philosophy appear'd in Rome it self with great Advantages by Panaetius who was entertain'd in the Family of the Scipio's and grew into much Veneration among the Romans upon account of the great Virtues of Scipio Aemilianus which were suppos'd to be owing to his Instructions and Conversation having mention'd this great Man it will not be wholly foreign to my purpose and perhaps some relief to the Reader to make a little stand and take a short view of him P. Cor. Scipio who deseated â—…annibal had but one Son who was of a very infirm and sickly Constitution which hindred both his medling with publick Assairs and his having any Children but * 〈◊〉 this 〈◊〉 large 〈◊〉 lib. 37. attending his 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 in the Expedition against Antiochus and being taken Prisoner by him and Conversing with many of the Learned 〈◊〉 in his Court where he was nobly us'd was †〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one of the first of the Romans who had any 〈◊〉 of the Politer sort of Learning At his Return lest the Name of the Scipio's should fail he adopted one of the Sons of Paulus Aemilius who was the same Person we speak of who had the Courage and all the other Virtues of the first Africanus as well as of his own Father and after many Glorious Victories in Spain in one of which he ‖ Appian Alexandrin de bel Hispan kâ—…ll'd the Champion of the Enemies in a single Combate after the Destruction of Numantiae was chosen out for the Rasing of Carthage that Ancient Rival of the Roman Power But all lhis while after the Example of his Father by adoption he mingled the milder Studies of Letters with those of War his Tent entertain'd Philosophers as well as Officers and Panaetius and Polybius constantly attended him the one the best able to regulate his Actions according to Virtue the other the best qualified to Record'em Paterculus * Paterc lib. 1. cap. 12. an Author of vory great Wit and Integrity when he did not write too near his own times gives this Character of him that no Man ever laid out the Intervals of Business more Elegantly that he was the most Eminent of his Age for all Endowments of War or Peace that in his whole Life he never spoke did or thought a thing thing that was not Commendable This Panaetius though a prosest Stoic had nothing †〈◊〉 Cicer. de 〈◊〉 lib. 4. in item 〈◊〉 pro 〈◊〉 of the Sowerness and Sullenness of that Sect and theresore did not corrupt the mild and generous Temper of Scipio and Laelius but rather made 'em more Humane He despis'd the Moresâ—… as well as the Pedantry of that Sect was clâ—…arer in his Discourse gentler in his Carriage than the rest of them and had a respect for Plato Xenocrates Aristotle and Theophrastus 'T was with this Panaetius with Polybius with 〈◊〉 and with Terence that this great Man us'd to retreat out of Town in his latter Days to avoid the Corruption of the Times then begun and spreading a pace and when I consider him thus so well skill'd to make the best use of Life in all Events Bold and Active in War Gentle and Studious in Peace retiring from the noise of his own Fame encompass'd by the most ingenious Friends and the most able and saithful Counsellors and Virtue and 〈◊〉 carefully cherish'd in the midst of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the greatest Courage when I consider him in these Circumstances I cannot but think him the Wisest the Best the Happiest of all the Romans and that in some respects the Retirement of Scipio Aemilianus is to be prefer'd before the Court of Augustus Thus did the Stoic Philosophy come recommended to the Romans and appear'd
When he came to do so no wonder that he kill'd himself CHAP. XIII Of Honour That this is twofold either Inward a Principle of Virtue or Outward the Applause which follows upon it That neither of these can ever require Self-muriher The mistakes concerning Honour which occasion it Objections answer'd THe next pretence for Self-murther is Honour There is nothing I think that is more generally pretended to than this excepting Wit only and yet this seems to be as little understood as that Honour People find is something that is commendable though what it is they cannot tell therefore every one being desirous to have their Actions pass for honourable the Word is strain'd to as many Significations as they have Inclinations often 't is taken for some particular Quality which is thought to belong more to one degree of Men or to one Sex than another Thus in Women Chastity is Honour in Men of high birth Truth and Justice in Soldiers Courage in Tradesmen punctual Payment but since these several Qualities may be attended by great Vices Since these things are truly as commendable in one Person as another and equally required in all People this is but a very imperfect account of Honour For this must be something which concerns all Mankind and therefore humane Nature it self must be considered before we can come to any knowledge of it The perfection of Humane Nature and the great end of Humane Life has been shewn to be the following of Reason by Virtue therefore what I said of Courage before must be said of Honour now that the excellency of it consists in the promoting of this End now though whatever is an hindrance to this is call'd by the general Name of Evil yet all Evil does not appear in its own natural shape but often puts on the form of Good and so works and insinuates it self into Man by his Passions and Appetites wherefore Honour seems to be that Principle whereby the Soul is secur'd against both these kinds of Evil in the quiet pursuit of the End of Life And thus perhaps it may be describ'd Honour is an Elevation of the Soul upon the sence of its Preheminence above the rest of the Creation in regard to that great End of its being the following of Reason by Virtue a firm Resolution to observe it and agenerous disdaln of all Pleasure or Profit all loss or danger of whatever the World can promise or threaten of whatever is dreadful or delightful in comparison of doing so So that this is the greatest excellency of Man's Nature 'T is a Spirit drawn off from the noblest parts of humane Reason 't is that God within us as the Stoics speak that divine Power which directs Man's Free-will follows him diligently through every part of his Duty Regulates his Knowledge and his Courage and hinders the one from falling into Injury and the other into Knavery 1. This I take to be the first and most important meaning of the Word Honour as it is an inward Principle of Action and depends wholly upon ones self 2. There is another signification of this Word Honour as it depends upon other People and is something of the same Nature with Reputation but above it Reputation is esteem from supposed Excellencies when we say such an one is reputed so and so Honour is Praise Respect Veneration upon a clear Knowledge a certainty of such Excellencies and when this is given by many Men it is call'd Glory so that Honour is twofold inward or outward But the last depends chiesly upon the Persons that are to bestow it The outward Honour which is truly Valuable is the Image of inward Honour reflected back in the Applause of Good and Wise Men upon a Man's observing faithfully the true end of Life and making always a right use of those Powers by which he excells all other Creatures in following impartial Reason by steady Virtue what ever Dangers threaten or Pleasures slatter Thus Cicero who understood this very well though he was a little too forward to help himself to it tells us that Glory which is of the same Nature with Honour though of a larger Extent is * Gloria est solida quaedam res expressa non adumbrata ca est consentiens laus honorum incorrupta vox bene Judicantium de excellente Virtute Tuscul. Quest. lib. 3. something of substance like solid Imagery not the slight shadowing of fading Colours 't is the concurrent praise of Good Men the impartial Verdict of such as are able Judges of Excellent Virtue So that where there is excellent Virtue for the Foundation on the one side and where Men are qualified with Knowlege and Integrity on the other the Honour which is given by such is solid and lasting like the Statues of the Gods and all other no better than the slight daubing of fading Colours which decays immediately But because the love of Honour includes the fear of Dishonour and no Man can be desirous of Praise but he must have a proportionable Aversion to Disgrace it will be necessary also to observe from whence this comes this must be from acting quite contrary to what was said above from forsaking the true end of Life from refusing to follow Reason by Virtue and deserting it wilfully to obey Vice the result of this is first inward Disgrace when the Soul abhors it self and hates the sight of its own folly and this when known becomes outward Disgrace which truly consists in the concurrent dispraise of good Men But then we should take notice that though this is a great Evil and though a Man may happen to fall into it yet he may recover his Reputation or Honour again by taking the contrary Course and following of his Reason by Virtue and that the sooner because good Men upon whose Verdict Disgrace depends will be always ready to acquit others of blame upon reasonable Grounds and glad to believe and proclaim their change If this then be an Account of Honour how can it be pretended that it shou'd ever require a Man to Murther himself for first as to inward Honour if this be an Elevation of the Soul rais'd upon a just sense of the Advantages which Man has above other Creatures in the Powers of Knowledge and Free-will and the excellent end which they are given for and if it be a firm Resolution of pursuing that End What can be more contradictory to this than Self-murther What can it signifie to Man to have such Preheminences nay to be made to any purpose at all if the noblest Principle in his Nature shou'd teach him to decline that purpose if that which was plac'd in him to support and improve his Being shou'd require him not to be at all Again if Honour be the generous disdain of whatever is Terrible or Dangerous in the way to our performing the true end of Life and if it is always in a good Man's Power to perform this End What Circumstances can be of such
a kind so Evil so Painful Dangerous or Dreadful wherein Honour can put a Man upon killing of himself Lastly if this be the guard which is to follow the Soul diligently through every part of its Duty as to the chief Objects of it God our Neighbour or our selves how can it ever perswade a Man to such an Act as is the highest Injustice to every one of these Whoever considers inward Honour which is the most worthy of a great or good Man's care in these respects he will find nothing more against Self-murther than this so likewise as to outward Honour if this consists in the praise of good Men grounded upon excellent Virtue and if nothing is truly Disgrace but what comes from the same Persons for forsaking the true End of Life and if this though forsaken may be recovered again when the Party concern'd pleases then how can any Man kill himself to avoid Disgrace especially since killing himself is an Act of the greatest Injustice in the Judgment of the best Men and therefore the doing so must be increasing of Disgrace rather than avoiding it Wherefore whether we consider inward or outward Honour neither of these can ever require a Man to Murther himself and therefore I suppose that whenever this is said to be done upon this Account it is either meer Pretence or else proceeds from some mistake concerning one or both of these kinds of Honour Let us see then what these may probably be Some Men are deceiv'd by reckoning Honour nothing but a greatness of Mind Elevation of the Soul without considering upon what Grounds it ought to be rais'd and by what Rules directed when it is so from whence instead of any just Grandeur they sall into insolent Haughtiness and this encreases upon the value which they set upon themselves and that value is nourish'd by their choosing out some one Virtue asfecting the observation of it in a more extraordinary manner than other People do which makes 'em run over the bounds of what is sit and just as far as the Idle or the Cowardly fall short of 'em Montaign says very well that * Essays lib. 3. cap. 2. the Virtue of the Soul does not consist in the flying high but in walking orderly But these Gentlemen are contented with nothing but what is †Honour is nothing but an itch of Blood A great desire to be extravagantly Good Mackenzy's Moral Galantry pag. 3. extravagant their Actions like the thoughts of young Poets are above the ken of Reason too lofty to be Regular too sublime to be Understood Thus they become Prodigal instead of being Liberal sollicit Danger rather than resist it and despise Justice as much as Cowardice And this running 'em into great Inconveniences making them to be obnoxious to humane Laws or to fall into Poverty Sickness or Disgrace they know not how to be controul'd repine under the ill usage which they think they suffer from God and Man and foolishly imagine to be reveng'd of both by falling upon themselves Others again have taken up a particular Principle proclaim'd it to the World boasted of it at several times as for Instance this of Self-murther they have often maintain'd in Company that it was reasonable in such and such Cases and then falling into the same Cases themselves think that they are obliged in Honour to put it in Execution But if Self-murther is unlawful in so many respects as has been shewn * See more to this purpose Chap. 11. concerning Decorum what can be more Absurd than for a Man to think it more Honourable to continue in the Wrong than to change for the Right * 〈…〉 and to be a Martyr to Errour by his own Hand only for the Reputation of Constancy and Perseverance in it But that which is the greatest occasion of Errour in this matter is the immoderate desire of Applause the neglecting the Principles of Virtue upon which inward Honour is form'd and aspiring impatiently to outward Honour only and not only so but mistaking the Persons who are to bestow it and therefore endeavouring to please the most and not the best the very same is done likewise in relation to Disgrace this is that fatal Rock upon which many great Spirits have been cast away and therefore there never was any considerable Moralist but has cautiously warn'd People of it and endeavoured carefully to recal them to consider the Dictates of Reason and Conscience and inward Honour to Reverence themselves and not the Multitude and to do well for their own sakes without any regard to common Praise or Disgrace And indeed it might be enough to cure this to consider attentively how much a Man must undervalue himself in order to be rais'd in this manner he that courts any one must endeavour to humour and please him now this cannot be done but by being like him by levelling a Man's self both to his Capacity and Inclination by renouncing his own Judgment and following what he takes to be the others that is by counterseiting both Ignorance and Vice When any one of the Multitude is to be Courted But who wou'd do this for publick Fame who wou'd rake for Reputation so very low This is no less than to invert the Nature of things to make the Lees of Mankind the Fountain of all Honour * If Publick Honour were a thing of Value the Multitude would not have it to bestow for it is not reasonable to think that Providence would deposit things precious in such Hands It must chuse it Servants very ill if these are its Stwards Mackenzie ag calum p. 34. and sorce its foul and heavy stream to mount upwards And yet this is not the way of the World in matters of much less Importance than those which we are speaking of Virtue and a good Conscience In Building or Painting in Musick or Poetry the sensible Artist does not appeal to the Multitude but is contented with the Applause of the few skilful only Shou'd not a Man then who has a just sense of his Duty and who is conscious to himself of obeying his Reason faithfully by Virtue shou'd not such a one be as well satisfy'd in his few Applauders as he that excells in any Art or Science Many Men indeed are apt to be deceiv'd by the noise the bulk of a vast Multitude but can Number alter the Nature of things or shall it be put to the Vote what is Good and Evil A great many Men may be the stronger as Beasts are when they gather into a Herd but not the wiser nor the better Judges of Virtue or Dispensers of Honour and the best way to remedy this Errour wou'd be to take out the first Man that we meet withal in the Crowd we Adore and to weigh his Education Capacity and Honesty Wou'd you trust such a thing as this with a Secret Wou'd you ask his Advice in any matter of Importance the putting out your Money disposing of a
Malice this I am sure is no Masculine Reason This I believe indeed is the Cause why many Men destroy themselves in such Cases Anger Despight Rage Envy and Revenge drive 'em to this unjust Action and put 'em upon disappointing their Enemies Malice with as much Malice of their own an excellent temper of Mind to leave the World in But if an Enemy shall not drive me to an unjust thing by any Flattery or Reward shall his ill usage do so This wou'd be to fulfill his Will effectually to glut his Malice even to a kind of Luxury for his Wili is that you should Fret and Torment your self under what he makes you suffer his Will is that People should think you Guilty that the Credit which you gain'd formerly shou'd be lessen'd by your poor Behaviour at last all which wou'd be gratify'd by Self-murther But if you wou'd disappoint his Malice though alas that is but a base Motive to the doing any part of ones Duty continue in the same Virtue which first rais'd his Envy and Hatred march with the same steddy Pace through the ingrateful Multitude with which thou used'st to do against their Enemies Pity them with the same greatness of Mind wherewith thou didst defend 'em and deprive 'em of a Triumph by maintaining still the same Character and being even in Death a Conqueror So Regulus went to embrace certain Death amidst a Thousand Torments With such a Mind Scaevola expos'd his Arm to the Flames and many others in this manner have turn'd their Persecutors Barbarity upon themselves and shaken their ill gotten or ill us'd Power more by the calm Bravery of their Deaths than Thousands cou'd have done in the Field All Histories will afford Instances of this kind In a Word this is most certain that there never was a great Innocent Man put to Death Publickly but that the Power who caus'd this wou'd have been heartily glad that he wou'd have prevented it by being the Murtherer of himself Thus I have gone through this Pretence also more to comply with some particular Persons than out of any real Necessity that there is of such Proofs since all depends upon what was said at the beginning of this Treatise concerning Self-murthers being an Act of Injustice and if so whatever may be pretended upon the account of Honour If Honour be any thing of a Virtue it can never require that which is unjust and consequently it can never be the occasion of Self-murther CHAP. XIV Liberty the last Plea for Self-murther examin'd Of that Liberty in General which Man has over his Actions That this can't be a just pretence for Self-murther That whatever Calamities what Grief or Pain soever afflict the Soul or may be suppos'd to enslave it Man has no Power or Liberty to set it free in this manner That it would be in vain to attempt to do so because it would not be in a State of Liberty but in a State of utmost Slavery afterwards The Conclusion WHen Cato was at Supper with some of his Friends the Evening before he kill'd himself one of the Stoics Paradoxes That a Good Man alone was Free and that all Bad Men were Slaves happening to fall into the Discourse he maintain'd it with so much Earnestness and Heat That Plutarch says Every Body perceiv'd plainly that he had resolv'd to free himself from the Troubles he was in by putting an end to his Life in some violent manner This would not be a Paradox in it self unless it were join'd with Self-murther Good Men alone are free and always free while Good They maintain their Liberty by observing the Dictates of Reason and following the End for which they receiv'd Life which gives Peace Joy and lasting Happiness and this is true Liberty On the other side ill Men by deserting the same Dictates and renouncing the same End fall into Trouble Anxiety and Remorse which is the worst Slavery Now if Cato himself was free in this sense as to his being a good Man then what occasion had he to die to obtain further Liberty If he had occasion for it then he must own that he was an ill Man a Slave or in unavoidable danger of being so which a right Stoic cou'd never be Or if by being Free be meant the doing what one will an ill Man is as much free in this Respect as a good Man nay more so for a good Man wou'd not be free to do an unjust thing And that Self-murther is an Act of Injustice in the highest degree has been shewn all along Yet this is the thing which is continually pretended as a reafâ—…nable ground of this Action and the Writings of the Stoics abound with Exhortations to make use of such Liberty Seneca is the boldest and forwardest upon this Occasion * Seneca de Ira. Lib. 3. Sect. 15. Whatever your Evils are says he look which way you will and you may find an end of them Do you see that Precipice there that 's the way down to Liberty Do you see that Sea that River that Well there 's Liberty at the Bottom Behold that blasted wither'd Tree every Branch of it bears Liberty †Epist. 70. The Eternal Law of Nature has done nothing better than that it has given us but one way of coming into Life but many to go out of it Why should I wait still the Cruelty of Man or Sickness when I can walk out of Life through the midst of Torments and but shake my self and be free from all Adversity This is the only thing we cannot complain of Life for it stays no Body Does Life please you Live on Does it not please you Return to the place from whence you came You have been let Blood to Cure the Head-ach Your whole Body may be eas'd in the same manner and even a little Lancet will open the way to great Liberty This is as much as to say that whatever we are able to do we may do whatever is in our Power is Lawful After this rate all Right and Propriety all Justice and Fidelity can signify nothing for what is there that has been allow'd to be Evil by the Consent of all Mankind let it be Sacrilege Adultery Perfidiousness Treachery Theft but may become Lawful according to this if we have but the opportunity of committing it For Instance Suppose a Man should be entrusted by a Friend with the management of a great Estate and left in Possession of a Palace richly Furnish'd many Jewels much Money c. During his Friends absence he falls into great Misfortunes is very hardly us'd by those he has to do withal and upon this grows Discontented and Melancholy when accidentally some Philosophical Acquaintance comes in and having heard his Case talks to him to this purpose Since the Soul affects Freedom naturally why shouldst thou be a Slave to Poverty Turn thine Eyes which way thou wilt and the way to Liberty lies open Do you remember where you are Do you see
giving him leave to destroy himself For the Reasons following 1. Though these great Evils are caus'd by God's particular Providence yet they come upon the Party in a Natural way they may have their Causes assign'd by skilful Men without any recourse to Miraculous Power If so then since Self-murther has been proved to be naturally unlawful no Event which is Natural can be a sufficient sign to assure any Person that God gave him leave to do that which is against Nature * See Chap. 6. p. 69. 2. Pain can be no certain sign of God's giving Men leave to Kill themselves because there can be no degree of it fixt no particular time settled when they can judge assuredly that it is so and therefore People must be left to their own Fancies to destroy themselves when they think fiting according as they are led by their Cowardice or their Discontent Pain as I said before is most acute at first when the Disease strugles with Nature in its strength and before it has actually overcome it the Sensation of it grows less and less as the parts affected are weakned and it becomes Incurable When then can a Man suppose that God gives him leave to Kill himself upon the account of Pain when it is most Violent but then 't is Curable When it becomes Incurable as the Stoics taught but then a Man is past the worst of it and Natural Death draws nearer and nearer Beside People feel Pain differently according to their different Humours or Dispositions of Mind the same Man will sometimes bear much more when he has been pleas'd and his Affairs go on well in other Respects then when he is cross'd by Accidents and Disappointments therefore to make Pain the sign of God's giving a Man liberty to Kill himself and to leave every one to judge when it is so is to leave Mankind to their own Fancies and then one might destroy himself as well for a small fit of the Tooth-ach as another for the most violent fit of the Stone Add to this how many others have been in the very same Circumstances of Pain as you are you will not deny but that some of them have been as Wise as Learned as your self and as desirous to die too and yet they have not kill'd themselves they have not taken extreme Pain to be any sign of God's giving leave to do so and therefore how can you be ever satisfy'd that this is such a sign to you which they could never understand to be so to them †Chap. 6. p. 68. But to give farther scope in this Matter suppose that extreme Pain should not be only caused by God's Particular Providence but also in a miraculous and preâ—…ernatural manner yet this would not be any sign that God gives the Sufferer any leave to destroy himself Because 1. This would imply a Contradiction in God's acting 't would suppose him to will and to will not the very same thing at the very same time It has been already shewn * Chap. 1. p. 7. that the continuation of Life is as much owing to God as the beginning of it if this be so then as long as a Man lives let it be in extreme Pain Natural or Miraculous or in what ill condition soever so long 't is certain that it * Chap. 6. p. 61. is God's Will that he should Live If it were not that which is the cause of his Pain would put an end to his Life the first Moment it came upon him How then can it appear from any Circumstances of Life though never so dreadful that God gives a Man liberty to destroy Life This must be impossible because he alone continues that very same Life without him it could not subsist one Moment in Pain any more than in Ease and therefore since it does so 't is plain that he Wills that the Person should Live on not Kill himself And a good Man would be apt to reflect thus with himself in such Circumstances as I at first was so I still am by the Will of God alone He continues my Life as truly in this Torment let it be Natural or Miraculous as he did heretofore If He would have me die I should do so instantly without any need of my own Hand or of his manifesting his Will to give me leave but since I do not I find I have no such leave and therefore I will struggle on and whether in Life or Death conform my self the best I can to the Will of God I might add farther That extreme Pain though brought upon a Man by particular Providence nay even by Miracle cannot be any sign of such leave because by Providence is meant the Wise and Regular course of God's working and consequently supposes him to work always for some End That his working in this manner by extreme Pain c. cannot be to this End only that Man should destroy himself as by the last Argument appears that there are other important Ends of such Events namely the Punishment of the Wicked the Improvement of the Good and the Examples necessary to be given to the World of God's Justice on the one side of Patience Constancy Humility c. on the other that whatever the end of God's Providence is in this case whether any of these or any other 't is certain that very End is defeated by Destroying ones self and therefore we cannot suppose that extreme Pain can be any sign of leave for so doing But what has been said may suffice to shew the Unreasonableness of this pretended Rule for Self-murther viz. When God is pleas'd to reduce us to such a Condition that to Live is far worse than to Dye And whereas 't is said slightly that God gives a Man leave enough This shews their mistrust of what they say and that they are conscious that no such leave can be prov'd for what leave can be enough in this Case Let any one that is thus tempted consider the Nature of the Fact in Question and the Importance of it that without this leave 't is the Destruction of God's own Propriety the Rebelling against his Providence the positive Renouncing that end sor which Life was given the committing that which is Destrucâ—…iâ—…e to Civil Government to Humane Nature and withal that a mistake in this Case can never be recover'd Let him consider this I say and what he has just now read and then perhaps he will own that no leave can be enough but what is given by direct and evident Revelation 'T is true after all extreme Pain is the most dreadful Condition of Humane Life and the severest Trial of a good and great Mind 't is true it may be so excessive that all Reasoning of this kind may be to no purpose and Arguments concerning God's Propriety or the End of Humane Life or Civil Society cannot be much attended to in a violent sit of the Cholick or the Stone when Reason it self shall be often overcome
to punish Nay if we consider him as a Member of Civil Society Humane Laws cannot always reach that which is naturally Evil for not to insist upon the many Designs and Contrivances of Lust Envy or Revenge before they are put in Execution How many evade Punishment after they have been Executed and that very insolently by Interest or Authority A Powerful Offender or Corrupt Magistrate may make the threats of Positive Laws how just or how severe soever to signifie nothing Wherefore either there must be no End at all of Humane Life or there must be no such Rules or Laws of Nature as are necessary for the obtaining of this End or these must be without any Sanction or that Sanction must be to no purpose or else there must be another State wherein those who transgress such Laws now without any Punishment shall receive what is their due hereafter 2. The different Events which befal those Persons which pursue or forsake the End for which Humane Life was given shew also that if we believe that there is a God there must be a Future State They who are least careful to pursue the true End of Life or rather who most industriously forsake it are often most Happy as to all Appearances and grow Great and Wealthy and live in Peace and Honour On the other side they who pursue this End most saithfully are exposed to great Sufferings their Virtues are often to their Disadvantage their Humility Patience and Generosity encourage Insolent and Violent Men to injure and oppress them and their Constancy and Integrity brings them some times to Barbarous and Bloody Deaths So that Man's indispensible Duty and his Happiness as to this World are often inconsistent and therefore we must conclude either that God is Unjust or Unwise in proposing such an End of Man's Being as may make it Miserable nay as may prove the Destruction of it or else that there must be another State wherein those who pursue or forsake this End most shall be Rewarded or Punish'd more equally 3. Man is capable of doing so much Good by the pursuing of this End that he cannot receive an adequate Reward in this Life and is capable of doing so much Evil by acting against it that he cannot be made to suffer an adequate Punishment and therefore there must be another State for both these Purposes As to the first A Man may make so great a Progress in Knowledge and Virtue and be so very Good himself that by his Example and Instruction especially if he have Interest and Power in the World he may retrieve many from Ignorance and Vice he may be the occasion of such good Laws or of making such Provision for the Unhappy as may extend to Future Ages What a Blessing is a Wise and Good Prince that faithfully emploies his Time and his Power for the benefit of his Subjects Now what Reward can this World afford that can be any ways proportionable to such a Persons Virtue especially if we consider that the more Rational and Virtuous any Soul is the more it must be above whatever belongs to Sensation that is whatever Wealth Honour or Pleasure this World can offer it 'T is true the Pleasures of a good Conscience look something like a proper Reward in such cases but alas what are these without the prospect of a better State and how much must they be check'd and damp'd continually by the consideration of the shortness and incertainty of this only Being As to the second A Man may commit so much Wickedness he may be guilty of so many Murthers he may spread such pernicious Principles as by destroying the Belief of a God and enervating the force of Humane Laws may let loose the most furious Passions and wildest Appetites and this may end not only in the Misery of the Present Age but infect the Future and what Mischief is not a Vicious Tyraut capable of doing The worst Punishment that can be inflicted in these Cases must end in Death but how inconsiderable is that though caused by the most exquisite Torments if compared with such Crimes and many others which may easily be supposed Wherefore since Man is capable of doing more Good or Evil than he can receive an adequate Reward or Punishment for in this Life we must either accuse that God who made him so of want of Wisdom Goodness or Justice or else allow that there shall be another State c. If we consider also the vast Capacity of Humane Nature the excellency of those Faculties whereby Man is qualify'd for pursuing his proper End How much they set him above all other Creatures how they suggest to him naturally Future Happiness and Misery and fill him with Hopes and Fears accordingly this also will afford us other Arguments to the same purpose 1. As to that great degree of Capacity which Man has in regard to other Creatures and the Excellency of those Faculties by which he is distinguish'd from them * Vid. pag. 13 14. sup To what purpose were these if there were no other Life but this Instinct and Sensation would do the business of Self-preservation as well in Man as in Beast without the great Endowments of Reason and Freewill by the misuse of which Man has a possibility of making his Life both more miserable and short than they can theirs so that these Powers which he values himself upon so much wou'd not be only Supersluous but greatly to his Disadvantage wherefore as the very placing of these Faculties in Man by a Wise and Sovereign Being shew that he was made for a greater End than only to continue such a time here so if we observe the Operations of them we shall find that they aspire to something greater than this World can afford that we have a Capacity too great to rest satisfy'd with the choicest Enjoyments here that our Reason teaches us to despise them and raises us to Desire more Noble Objects and more solid and lasting Happiness * See that late Learned and Ingenious Discourse Concerning The Certainty and Necessity of Religion In General Pag. 142 c. Had God intended this Life as the only Scene of Man's Happiness he would have sitted and proportion'd his Capacity accordingly he would have made him to acquiess in such Enjoyments as he found here and not have dispos'd him naturally to think of another State and to long after it and therefore since he has done so we may be assur'd that there will be another State answerable at least to such Conceptions * See that late Learned and Ingenious Discourse Concerning The Certainty and Necessity of Religion In General Pag. 142 c. 2. This is also Evident from the Natural sense of Evil and of Guilt upon committing it and the fears which attend it otherwise Man would be the most wretched of all Creatures to no purpose There is no Creature that feels Remorse upon sense of Guilt or that dreads Punishment accordingly