Selected quad for the lemma: honour_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
honour_n	advance_v	art_n	exalt_v	1,324	5	13.3337	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70920	A general collection of discourses of the virtuosi of France, upon questions of all sorts of philosophy, and other natural knowledg made in the assembly of the Beaux Esprits at Paris, by the most ingenious persons of that nation / render'd into English by G. Havers, Gent.; Recueil général des questions traitées és conférences du Bureau d'adresse. 1-100. English	Bureau d'adresse et de rencontre (Paris, France); Havers, G. (George); Renaudot, Théophraste, 1586-1653.; Renaudot, Eusèbe, 1613-1679.; Renaudot, Isaac, d. 1680.	1664 (1664)	Wing R1034; ESTC R1662	597,620	597

Cannons and see the field strow'd with Carcases and so in all other subjects which he treats Wherefore to be a good Poet one must know every thing in perfection which makes Poetry so difficult and consequently so rare and admirable that few succeed well in it For there are many Versifiers but few Poets The Third said There need no other Judges to condemn Poetry then Poets themselves who call their highest conceits Fury that is to say Folly whether it arrive to them from their fabulous gods or more truly from the fumes of Wine which cause them to make the best Verses as they tell of Ennius the frequentation of which is one of the greatest crimes that Cato imputed to Marcus Nobilior in the survey that he made of his Province and 't is observ'd that there is so great affinity between Poetry and Folly that the best Poets have very odd actions and postures while they are making their works and retain something thereof in their ordinary carriage The Fourth said Variety of Wit has not appear'd in any Science more then in Poetry For it has not only different laws according to the diversity of Nations which makes it doubted what sort of Verses those of Job are considering that they have no resemblance with the Greek and Latine no more then these have with ours But neither were ours which consist of certain numbers of feet and consonances or rithmes such as those in Caesar's time in which he reports that the Gauls versifi'd and within a thousand years that our rithme began in imitation of the Prose of the Church French Poetry hath been so often diversifi'd that the Poets of one age would not be so in another And yet sometimes under the name of Rithmers sometimes under that of Devisers and Poets they have been always very acceptable to great persons And Charle magne prefer'd the Poems containing the exploits of his Predecessors before their Histories The Fifth said That Plato and sundry other Politicians accounted Poety not only so useless but so hurtful to their Common-wealth that they utterly banish'd it from thence because Poets by their shameful relations of the vices of the gods intic'd men to commit the like conceiving they did not offend when they had the example of a god and for that Verses are more proper for loose loves then the Sciences of which the confinements of Poetry are not capable besides that the enthusiasm of Poets cannot consist with the gravity of Philosophy seldom with the probity of manners and never with a setled judgement the Italian Proverb being almost always found true Di buona terra cattiva Gente Di buon Poeta cattiva mente Whence Aristophanes saith that when Bacchus desir'd to find Euripedes or some other good Poet he went down to Hell because he could not any in Heaven Moreover their too great liberty of Satyrical detraction made them sometimes be driven out of Rome Their dangerous doctrine has caus'd the reading of them to be forbidden to Christians by the Canons and render'd them so infamous that Philip the first Christian Emperour in the third Law at the title of Professors and Physitians in the Cade grants no immunity to them as he doth to all others Indeed one may get his living in all professions with honour except in Poetry and if it always less fills the Poets Purses with Crowns then their heads with presumption so as it happens in all other Conceits or Pastimes it may be found sometimes proper for the divertisement of those few that have leisure to read them but 't is most unprofitable to the Authors for few or none are advanc'd by it but rather many have been hindred by this art of versifying from making their fortune otherwise Yea their profession is so vile and abject that whereas others count it an honour to be styl'd Physitians Advocates or the like these are offended with the name of Poet. And that with good reason considering that of all other Arts Poetry alone glories in disguising the truth For which cause it begins to be banish'd even from Theatres to which alone it was destinated and Prose is come in request in sundry places being preferr'd for gracefulness and naturalness by which means this Art is in danger to be confin'd to the corners of streets to serve only for Songs and Ballad● Hence it was that Ovid was so severely punish'd by his father to make him leave off this Art which prov'd so unlucky to him that for writing his Book of the Art of Loving he became of a rich Roman Knight a miserable exile amongst Barbarians The Sixth said 'T is to be a sworn enemy of excellent things or rather as Scaliger saith to renounce being man to think of banishing Poetry out of States which is slighted only by the ignorant and hated by those that have irregular minds For melody is natural not only to man but to all things in the world which God hath created in number and measure Which made the Pythagoreans say that not only the Celestial Bodies make a most agreeable consort but also the Plants by their proportions and the beasts by their motions chant measured Odes in praise of their Creator Therefore with more reason must man whose soul is a number moving of it self be delighted with numerous language which is Poetry the most sensible effect of that divine Harmony which is infus'd into his body And we may make the same judgement of good from vulgar wits by their delight or disaffection to Poetry as by the recreation which they take in Musick Indeed if a wise man ought to be regular in all his actions why not in his words the image of his Reason as Reason is of his soul. As if you should say that the well regulated dance of a Ball ought to be less priz'd then the ordinary walk or a Country dance Moreover Poetry hath such power over mens minds Tyrtaeus animated his Souldiers to fight by the rehearsal of his Verses which was also the custom of the Germans when they were to charge their enemies Moses David and many other Prophets accounted nothing more worthy then Poetry to sing the praises of God And the first Poets as Musaeus Orpheus and Linus were the Divines of Paganisme Yea the gods of antiquity affected to deliver their Oracles in Verse and so did Legislators their Laws to render them more venerable Besides they greatly help the memory their cadence or measure serving as a rule to the mind to keep it from being at a loss Poetry alone amongst all the Arts supplies praise to vertue the rampant stile of Rhetorical discourse though it borrow its fairest flowers and square periods from Poetry being not comparable to that of Poetry which is far more sublime and consequently more fit to immortalize the memory of Heroick actions Upon which account the Muses were believ'd the Daughters of Mnemosyne or Memory Now if Poets have been sometimes expell'd out of States so have Philosophers Physitians

which the Eagle had laid in his lap that is by thinking to repel a small Blame they incur a greater and oftentimes with the prejudice of another As it is manifest in the rage and wildness of Duels when for the repelling of a small injury a Man engages the life of a Second who usually becomes involv'd in the same destruction with himself It is not my purpose to declaim further here against that Madness for the Folly of Men is come to such excess that they who go most unwillingly to the field considering that they are going possibly to destroy both their Bodies and their Souls yet dare not seem to obey the injunctions and prohibitions against the same by the Laws both of God and Men. A brutishness worthy of Admiration as it would be of Pity were it not voluntary among those who value themselves above others But to leave them to themselves let us onely consider what a strange Power the Point of Honour hath which is able to carry before it all the torrent of Arguments and Reasons which disswade a furious Resolution Now it is as various as the Humours and Conditions of Men. Not that I think it imaginary but as there are actions of themselves honest or dishonest which are the real foundation of this Point of Honour so it is of the same Nature And although Diogenes accounted nothing dishonest i.e. unbecoming which is lawfull yet it cannot be believ'd by any but a Diogenes So that the Ingenuous Youth upon whose shoulder that Cynick laid a flitch of Bacon and lead him about the City in that equipage to accustome him to put off all shame obey'd Reason and not his Caprichio when he cast the same down and ran away When the Executioner causeth a Criminal to make an honourable amends by which understand a most ignominious punishment inflicted upon an extreme Offender who must go through the streets bare-foot and bare-headed with a burning link in his hand unto the seat of Justice or some such publick place and there confess his Offence and ask forgiveness of the party he hath wrong'd he many times endures no other evil but that of shame and yet I would not blame him that should prefer a natural death before such a dishonour It may be said that the Point of Honour reacheth not so far but is onely an image and shadow since words are but the images of things and that a Man will fight a Duel when another hath reproach'd him for a fault either of his own or of some other for whom he is concern'd But I answer that Men fight oftner for actions and bad offices then for words And although they commonly reflect thus what will people say of me if I put up this Yet the truth is 't is out of fear lest one contempt making way for another might give occasion to effects not onely prejudicial to our Reputation but also to our Fortune which we know in these dayes depends upon our Reputation A Captain known for a Coward will be cashier'd A Souldier that doth not defend himself will be beaten A Gentleman that doth not swagger when he is affronted he will be abus'd not onely in his Honour but also in his goods by all his Neighbours So that the Point of Honour is not so little real as it is imagin'd since it hath an influence not onely upon a Mans Honour but likewise upon his goods and life In brief we may consult those who deny the Point of Honour to be a real thing by all this Honourable Assembly and especially by the many excellent Wits who are excited by Honour to appear therein and acquire what they may justly expect the commendation which is due to their merits The Second said That he found some difference between being an Honest Man and a Man of Honour for that to be an Honest Man it is requisite onely to possess the Honest Good Bonum Honestum which is Virtue But to be a Man of Honour besides that the world must know that we possess the same and give us the reputation of being virtuous For 't is stupidity not to care what opinion Men have of us Which caus'd the Wise-man to pronounce a Curse against those who neglect a good Fame which is so natural and so neerly alli'd to Virtue that she seems not to have her utmost perfection when she is separated from it and a Prudent Man desires equally to be virtuous and to be esteemed such Now if Honour consist in the possession of Virtue thus accompani'd the Point of Honour will be the Point of Virtue that is the perfection thereof or rather Virtue most perfect accompani'd with a compleat Reputation This perfection in my Judgement is the War-like Virtue call'd by the Greeks by way of excellence The Virtue of Man and so esteemed by all the world that no people however otherwise barbarous ever deny'd it the Title of Nobleness It is not then to be wonder'd if Men of Courage think that the Point of Honour consists in preserving to themselves the Reputation of being Valiant and endeavour by all means to make it appear to every one that they are endew'd with this War-like Virtue Whence most Quarrels are occasion'd by Mens accusing one another of want of Courage or other appurtenances of that Virtue The Third said That which we call the Point of Honour is nothing else in my Judgement but the desire of being esteem'd more honest persons then we are For Man being the greatest dissembler of all Creatures endeavours to make himself thought what he is not because it being essential to him to desire Good and his perverse Inclination not leading him to the true therefore at least he desires the apparent This is seen in all his actions which aim onely at three kinds of Good namely the Honest the Profitable and the Delightful Now of these three onely the Honest is called the Good of Man because the two latter usually corrupt him the former preserves him And nevertheless many addict themselves to Pleasures more run after Profit but very few comparatively follow the Honest Good for its own sake unless it be joyn'd with one of the other In the mean time there is none but would perswade others that he is passionately in love with the latter and not anxious for Honour But I conceive we may know persons of Honour by the little account they make of injuries which seem to tend to their disparagement especially when they think the same do not belong unto them and they who are worthy of Honour seek it least and are not troubled so much as others at the injury which any one thinks he doth them So we see a Prince will not be so sollicitous to employ his qualities in a publick act as a Man of low condition newly exalted An Honest Woman will not be so much troubled at an injury offer'd to her Honour as she that is of an evil Life because the former hath true Honour which

of Man so much that she trusts in it and say the Historians she understands it so well that when the Hunters would take her they must cry I will not have her I will not have her But when once they have obtain'd the Honour at which they thus aim'd by contrary pretensions they shew sufficiently that they desir'd it The Second said That Ambition is a desire of exalting our selves and over-topping the common sort The Object of it is Honour in the pursuite of which three things are consider'd namely the Mediocrity the Excess and the Defect The Mediocrity is call'd Magnanimity or greatness of Courage by which we seek the great Honours which we merit The Excess is called Vanity when we pursue great dignities which we deserve not The Defect is called Pusillanimity when a Man hath so little Spirit that he deprives himself of Honours though he is worthy of them Now as Liberality answers to Magnificence so to Magnanimity answers another Virtue which hath no name in Aristotle and differs from it but in degree For that hath regard to great Honours and this to moderate and as all other Virtues it hath its two vicious Extremes its Excess which is call'd Ambition and its Defect which is want of Ambition Moreover there are two kinds of Ambition One which is bounded within the limits of each condition whereby every one desires to become perfect in his Art and to excell others of the same condition which is very laudable and argues that he whom it possesses hath something more excellent in him then the vulgar The Other is that which carries us to Honours which greatly exceed the bounds of our condition and are not due to us This is very blameable and dangerous because it causes great confusion in Mens Minds and consequently in States For what is more absurd then for a Citizen to act a Gentleman or a Gentleman a Prince Yea even this last ought to set bounds to his Ambition The Third added That things are to be judg'd of by their Effects and we see most of the mischiefs which come to pass now in the World are caus'd by the Ambition of those who weary of their condition in which if they continu'd they would be happy by all means seek after others which seem higher Ambition making them prefer before the good which they know an evil which they know not because this Passion represents the same to them under the semblance of a greater good Wherefore the Julian Law was introduc'd with good reason to check and moderate this exorbitant appetite of Honours The Fourth said That indeed extreme and immoderate Ambition is a perpetual rack and torture to the Soul and begets an Hydropick Thirst in it which all the waters of the World cannot allay But that which is moderate in my judgement is not onely unblameable but very praise-worthy since it is a desire of perfection and never any person was ambitious in this manner but he was either virtuous or in the way to be so For this Ambition proceeds from a desire of glory and being accounted better greater and wiser then others and it is grounded upon the knowledge we have and would derive to others of our peculiar merit And though the Man be not virtuous yet there is nothing more proper to render him so then such Ambition one of the most powerful spurs to encourage a well-temper'd Soul to Virtue 'T is an Instrument that smooths all its rough paths 'T is a flame that enkindles generous purposes in the Soul to surmount all kinds of obstacles Would you see its excellence Compare this Ambition from whence sprang those brave thoughts which brought so great glory to Alexander Caesar and all those other Heroes of Antiquity with the shameful sloth of the infamous Sardanapalus Heliogabalus and other Epicures buried in the ordures of their vices for want of this noble desire of glory But it is most remarkable in reference to Ambition that they who blame it are themselves ambitious for they do so onely to ostentate themselves and they who have written Books against Vain-glory have yet set their Names in the frontis-piece and wherefore but to be talk'd of The Fifth said That the Goodness or Badness of all Actions depending onely upon their good or bad End it must be affirmed likewise concerning Ambition that it is blameable or commendable according as he who seeketh Honours hath an honest or dishonest End and pursues the same by lawful or oblique courses The Sixth said It is so true that there is a laudable Ambition that not ouely all that is rare in Arts and Sciences but also all the bravest Heroick Actions owe their being to it 'T is one of the most commendable Virtues naturall to Man and inseparable from a gallant Spirit It is so much the more excellent in that it hath for its Object the most excellent of all external Goods namely Honour which Men offer to God as the most precious thing they have and which Legislators finding nothing more valuable propose for the guerdon of Virtre This may serve to explain what is commonly said That Virtue is a reward to it self Legislators having determin'd that Virtuous Men should find the recompence of their brave Actions in that noble desire of the glory which they deserve So that he is no less blameable who deserving Honours and Dignities and being able to support and exercise them worthily and profitably to the publick doth not seek them then he that strives for them and is unworthy thereof Yea the former seems to me much more blame-worthy then the latter whose Ambition though immoderate denotes greatness of Spirit whereas the former too much distrusting himself and not daring to attain or reach forth his hand to what appertains by right unto him shews abundantly the lowness of his Mind or the little account he makes of Virtue by sleighting Honour which is the shadow and reward of it and depriving himself of the means to perform Virtuous Actions which he may better exercise in Offices and Dignities then in a private life And which is more he sets a pernicious example to his fellow-citizens to neglect that Recompence of Virtue which costs the State less then any other CONFERENCE XXI I. Of Dreams II. Why Men are rather inclin'd to Vice then Virtue I. Of Dreams IT is no wonder that Men seek the interpretation of Dreams For having from all times bent their Minds to foresee the Future as the Desire of becoming like God by the Faculty of Divining hath been transmitted from the First Man to all his Posterity it seems the Images of things presented to them in the night are unprofitable to any other end besides this And truly since the highest pitch of every Faculty consists in Divination and the Holy Scripture hath nothing so wonderful as its Prophecies Physick nothing so admirable as the Prognostication of diseases Civil Law then the Resolution of the good or bad success of an Affair Yea