reason must be above them Here they like their duties and take their obligation from an habitual love of Vertue The Fear of Punishment prevailes not here for though Punishment be an appurrenance of Law and necessary in regard of some unjust persons who must by it be compell'd to do their duty or suffer to make Reparation and Example of violated obedience and they have such here as are fitly appointed according to the nature of each fault yet it is less needful here because the people count no punishment equal to the deserving of it So that the chief work of their Judges is to decide some doubtful Cases with an impartial Judgement and to make their definitive Sentence end all further Controversie with the power of their just Authority Here Phronesia making a little pause said Noble friends you will it may be expect that since I have affirm'd Theoprepia to be built upon so brave a Foundation I should be able to show you some correspondent Superstructure and that I will do immediately For those Holy Rules being inviolably kept by them have produc'd all the desirable Effects of good Government and made all orders of people among them as happy as the condition of this world will bear both by improving and securing all their Enjoyments and relieving the Infirmities which are common to them with all mankind as far as the comfort of Society with the best of Neighbours can give succour If I should speak of all Particulars I should weary you and my self but I will recount some few that by them you may judge of the rest Every man is sufficiently secured against Wrong among those which rejoyce to do good and esteem it but a small piece of Righteousness to do no hurt and who judge it unjust not to help others in every thing which doth not harm themselves The concernments of Soul and Body which divide our whole Man between them are carefully preserv'd by all Why should they wrong others in Body detract from their Name despoile them of their Goods by Force or Fraud when their own desires not to be so used would make their Actions odious to themselves as well as afflictive to others They will very hardly do Wrong who have accustom'd themselves to part with their Right which they can spare when they are through mistake wrong'd by others and though the case require some yet then content themselves with moderate Satisfaction They have a principal care of Souls to teach them Knowledg and improve them in Vertue by good Example They esteem this duty but a Gratitude in themselves because they have receiv'd the same Favour from those which are gone before them that they might be enabled and obliged to show it to such as come after them Their sorrow for others Miseries engageth them to further the Happiness which they desire by directing them in the way to it and by showing them how to escape the calamities of Ignorance Vice Youth Age Sicknesse and Poverty Because things of Immortal concernment are greatest they acquaint the Ignorant with the Nature and Duration of Souls and teach them so to order this short life as to attain the peace of a good Conscience by an early Vertue and constant perseverance in well-doing and so prepare them for a true hope of a happy life after a chearful departure from this world If any erre they show him his way when they see him sluggish they provoke him to his duty with strong Incentives if he offend they admonish him and if he be dejected they administer Consolation according to the nature of his Grief Because Children are born Impotent and Imperfect they endeavour to prevent such mischiefs as may be separated from their Nativity and because an excellent complexion of Nature is a great advantage to Vertue they are carefull of fit Marriages and good Nurses the Mother is always Nurse too if she be able to perform that office When their Understanding begins to come in use they are curious of their Education for want of which many that are ill born are worse bred and as they grow in yeares and come into the Confines of Childhood and Manhood and are lyable to the Vices of both states they use all possible means of their preservation and amongst the rest the vigilant eyes of wise and Vertuous Tutors who in Theoprepia are persons of good esteem and want no due encouragements They have a sufficient number of Schools at convenient distances by which the attainment of Knowledg and Goodness is unspeakably facilitated For they are taught to know worthy things as soon as they know any thing and their inclinations are ingaged to Vertue before they are seiz'd upon and ruin'd by habituall Sin Which is in my opinion a great piece of Prudence for from this practise they find a benigne influence to flow upon the whole Country whilst those which have learn'd do afterward teach others and give as good an Example as they have received The Theoprepians are great lovers of true Learning and all Ingenuous Arts and have better Methods of Study then most other places and so arrive at that height of skill in a few Months which others after the expence of many yeares scarce attain at last by reason of the Preposterousness of their Industry Their custom is when they perceive in any a particular inclination to some Art taking it as a probable Augury of special aptitude to consign them to that Study in which they usually prove excellent But as things are valuable according to their Uses and Means are rated by the Ends which they serve so the Theoprepians bestow their paines chiefly to improve their best Faculties that having accomplish'd them with the Knowledg of Tongues and the more Noble Arts they may be more able to advance the good of Mankind Their chief design is to make their Youth perfect in Ethicks that so they may be Prudent Religious and Good They inform them carefully in the Principles of true Logick and help Natural Reason with Artificial They industriously pursue the Knowledg of Nature that they may understand the Works of God and by them Him They are well vers'd in Mathematicks which Profession is honorable to the Student because it makes him serviceable to his Country They neglect not Agriculture because the Earth brings forth all things Knowing the several benefits of Converse with forreign parts they are expert in Navigation In short they encourage the knowledg and advancement of every useful Trade They make their Recreations of such things as have Art in them and pay the Rational part something for the Intermission of its more Spiritual Exercises and though they are afraid of Corporal pleasures yet they do allow honest and healthful Exercises of the Body to strong and active Constitutions In stead of those foolish playes of Dice and Cards by which Youth in other places makes a vain Consumption of their time by the Permission of their Uncharitable Parents who through unspeakable
he thought it was best to communicate his Mind to Apronaeus for that he thought it necessary to the Prince's Escape that Apronaeus should assist him or at least connive at the Design Though he was something imbolden'd to reveal this secret to Apronaeus by that intimate Friendship which a long Acquaintance had contracted between them yet he found the matter of that Importance that he could not resolve presently what to doe both being doubtful how Apronaeus would resent such a high proposal and also being well assured that if he did disgust it he should not only ruine himself but utterly undo all further hopes of the Prince's Deliverance and thereupon resolv'd to doe what was possible in his single endeavour and chose rather to take any course for the Prince's rescue then to leave him to that danger which was unavoidable in the place where he was Whilst he was floating upon these Deliberations Apronaeus came to visit him and perceiving in his Countenance symptoms of discomposed Thoughts for he came upon him so suddenly that he could not wipe out the picture of his Mind which his Passion had drawn upon his Face he demanded the cause of his Melancholy Nothing troubles me replied Diaporon only I represented to my self the various Accidents of humane Life and as I was attentive upon my Imagination the unhappy state of our young Prince appear'd before me with strange mixtures and I could not but wish that either a Person of such a brave Spirit had not stain'd his Innocence with any unhandsome Designs or that so great a Vertue were not unworthily clouded And I began to wonder how Vice of late was grown so strong that it could endure to be punish'd or why Vertue should be so weak that it is not able to shine through the plausibility of false Accusation Away Diaporon said Apronaeus with these Philosophical follies Thou art alwayes troubling thy head with Religious Dreams To what purpose dost thou believe that vain Distinction of Vertue and Vice and meditate upon those useless notions of Reward and Punishment Dost thou not see how these Doctrines are confuted by the Practice of all the world Men seek Happiness by other Methods and neglect these Rules both as uncertain and unpracticable We have often heard our Governour say that there is no God or if there be that he doth not trouble himself with the Affairs of this lower World whether he doth or no I do not much care but I think it is true enough because I see into what a miserable estate this Prince is brought who was a known pretender to the Love of God and a great Patron of his devout Worshippers Here Diaporon interrupting his friend replied God forgive you this irreverent discourse Apronaeus will you never leave this Impious humour I know you suppose that you have sufficient Reason for your belief I think you have not You are now going to visit the Prince when we are with him I will by some means or other give you occasion to discourse these Opinions for he doth not only abhor them as prejudicial to the state of Mankind in their fatal Consequences but laughs at them as pieces of irrational wickedness in their monstrous Constitution I am no great Lover of Disputation said Apronaeus neither do I esteem that which you call Truth worth much Inquiry yet I will go with you to see our joynt Charge and since we have not much to doe this Discourse may possibly allow us some Recreation When they came to Alethion's Chamber they found him reading a little Book whose Title was Good men are ever happy Having given them his usual salutes he spoke something in Commendation of the Author who had shewn much prudence in chusing a subject that he was well able to demonstrate and had express'd the sense of his mind so artificially that his Readers were sure to find excellent thoughts cloth'd with sutable words After that he applauded the fortunate state of Vertuous Souls and admired the Goodness and Wisdom of Almighty Providence which had so secured the Interest of all those who had faithfully consign'd themselves to his care that nothing could make them miserable At these words Apronaeus smil'd The Prince perceiv'd it and ask'd him the Reason of his Mirth I laugh said Apronaeus that you whom I have alwayes esteem'd very Religious should notwithstanding you see your self abandon'd to Affliction talk still of Providence Sure Apronaeus answer'd the Prince you have something else in your thoughts which made you smile at what I said or you have some other Reasons which make you speak so disrespectfully of the Divine Providence I have several things replied Apronaeus but I think that what I have said is most proper to you for you reason against Sense and dispute against Experience saying as others of your Opinion do that a God created the World it may be so but if he did it was to small purpose in my mind since he doth not take care to keep it in better Order Possibly he is weak and cannot help it perhaps he is otherwise employ'd or else so idle that he will not trouble himself about it or it may be it is below him to mind such Trifles I know not which of these excuses you like but I am sure it is a piece of unjust carelesness if he can hinder it that he doth not relieve his friends but suffer them to be trampled upon by those which bid defiance to his Authority and quote their own Prosperity whilst they doe so for an Argument against his Providence I verily believe that ere long men will take it for granted that there is no God and that those which think there is will blaspheme him because he takes no care of them For my own part I make no doubt but that Fortune governs the world if it be govern'd at all and I think that she is blind in that she bestows great Gifts upon many that do not deserve them and I dare swear she is poor too because she hath not enough for those which do The Prince permitting him to go no further with a calm serenity replied Apronaeus though your words carry a very bad signification and must needs be offensive to all Rational Beings which gratefully acknowledging the Fountain from whom they have receiv'd their Essence cannot be contented to hear the common Father of the world dishonourably represented yet I do not wonder to hear you speak at this Ignorant rate since I know it is easie for Ingenious Atheists to abuse men of weaker parts and venting their thoughts where they dare for God be thanked Wickedness hath not taken such an universal possession of Humane Nature neither are all so degenerated from Knowledge or apostatiz'd from Truth that they have the Confidence to doe it every where but in some Company which they presume inferiour to themselves in Wit or it may be admirers of their Excellencies they endeavour to support the Reputation of their more then
it is made a rare Engine of Spontaneous Motion and the noblest Automaton in the World not only moving the whole Body at once but directing the Spirits into what Muscles it pleaseth puts only such parts into Motion as serve the present Design How brave a faculty this is appears in those prodigious Dances of a Lutenists fingers which vary Harmony through so many Notes in a Minute that the quickest Ear can scarce hearken so fast as he playes To this I might adde another Excellent Product of this Power which is Speech by which the Soul puts Conceptions into Words and makes her Apprehensions audible By this we learn our selves hearing others speak and teach others speaking our selves By this when it is perfected into Eloquence we convince the Erroneous reconcile the Obstinate to their Duties and allure the Afflicted from their oppressive Meditations I cannot but take notice also how the Voice by the help of those Natural Bellows the Lungs and the Musical Larynx fitted with Muscles to further its Modulation enables us to entertain our selves and others with one of the best Recreations Vocall Musick which is advanc'd also by the Concent of others who sing the same Air in other well-agreeing Notes especially being accompanied with an Organ which Art having conform'd to the nature of Humane Voice doth not only assist but imitate us whilst we sing He that is deaf to the Voice of Divine Wisdom and doth not admire it whilst it expresseth it self so harmoniously may well be wondred at himself for an Unparallel'd Stupidity The best of the old Philosophers who were the Glory of their times could not behold the curious structure of this noble Machine which I have describ'd nor look upon the strange usefulness of its well-fitted Parts without making Hymns and offering Hecatombs as their humble acknowledgment of the Unspeakable Wisdom of that All powerful Mind which compos'd it How could they doe less For seeing all the Pieces not of this but all the Divine Works put into such exact order that all Wise men must needs approve it perceiving the Method according to which they were contriv'd of so deep a reach that none but great Minds can fathom it and observing the whole System to be so perfect that nothing can be desir'd towards its emendation but that which is impossible they justly concluded that it was the effect of no meaner a Cause then an Omnipotent and All-knowing Principle But here I must again entreat you most worthy Friends continued Bentivolio to pardon the tedious length of this Addition to my former Discourse which I make no doubt but you will doe both of your own Goodness and also considering that it is hardly possible to speak briefly of such a vast Subject It is easier for you to obtain our Thanks then our Pardon replied Eugenius since you have put an Obligation upon us by your Narrative of the Creation and presented to our view those various pulchritudes which adorn the Nature of things which for my own part I esteem a most Excellent Contemplation and worthy of the expence not of a few Hours but our whole Life And so do I said Pasenantius and should easily grant that your Argument did prove the Existence of a God because he made such a World but that we are told by such as pretend to know very much That it was not contriv'd by the Skill of any Artist but was Eternally such as it is now or if it did not alwayes exist in this Form yet they say that there is no necessity to suppose that some God fram'd it since it might be made by Nature and some affirm very confidently that it was produc'd by a Fortuitous concourse of small Particles of Matter which having mov'd up and down a good while in an infinite Space did at last stumble upon this form of things and they want not other Hypotheses beside this of which they make use to evade the force of your Argument for without that Method which you so magnifie in the contrivance and production of living Creatures they suppose that Men and Women sprung at first from the Earth of themselves I did expect some such Answers replied Bentivolio for I have often heard such things quoted by the Patrons of Atheism when they have been put to streights for the defence of their absurd Opinion but I never wonder'd at it For since the acknowledgment of a Creator would bring them under Obligations to a Religious Observance of him they endeavour to invent many things to undermine that Belief and grant any thing which can be suppos'd though never so vainly if it do but seem useful to that Design I think those Objections which you have mention'd as frivolous as the rest and as they all come far short of a just Accompt of the World 's Original so some of them are extremely ridiculous Your First Objectors pronounce the World Eternal and say that it did alwayes exist in such a Form as appears to us now and that there hath ever been a Sun and a Moon a Sea and Earth and that they were alwayes inhabited as they are at present and that Men and Women and other living Creatures having a Natural Power of Generation did from Eternity propagate their kind and by saying this they suppose they have sufficiently discharg'd themselves of a God But how vainly they think so and how weak this pretence is will soon appear if you will give me leave to shew you with what insupportable Absurdities it is clogg'd I might here take a just occasion to urge Atheists with the Unreasonableness of their Incredulity since they give an Historical Faith to most ordinary Writers and deny it to the most faith-worthy Book that ever was written in which we have receiv'd a clear Accompt of the Beginning of the World and where God is positively asserted to be the Creator of all things But because your Sect pretending only to Reason useth to disparage such Arguments under the Name of Rumours I shall endeavour to demonstrate otherwise how rational it is to believe that Report The disacknowledgment of God as the First cause of Being and the denial of him as the Creator of the Universe do utterly bereave us of all Hope ever to arrive at any knowledge of Truth which we both naturally desire with a strong Passion and are fully assur'd that we can never attain it till we find out the First Cause of all things For plunging our selves into the deep Study of Nature and strictly examining every effect which we see following it home to its Cause in the pursuit we over-take many Mediate Causes which divert our course awhile and requite our labour in part by the knowledge which we receive of them but upon Inquiry finding them to be only Effects of other Causes we are forc'd into this Thought That though the Chain of Causes and Effects may be drawn out into a long Series by many successive Links yet there must be in the
and Thrist are our best Sauces and we are not so lavish in the expence of them but that we still keep some to rellish our next meale and therefore though we have dined or supped we rise not without some Appetite To what purpose should a man for so poor a gain as a sick dullness endeavour to eate as much as he can Sometimes we have moderate Feasts but they are alwaies proportion'd to the just considerations of the Number and Quality of our Company and those who are entertain'd do then more especially mind their Rules knowing that their Vertue is under a Tryal and though we allow a greater measure of time for Converse and Chearfulnesse is not prohibited yet we so order the matter that we may not indispose our selves for what we have to do by sitting too long and do both deceive our palate with the best Discourse which we are able to furnish at the Table and cause the Cloth to be taken away when we perceive the Company have eaten and drunk enough I must confess that we are more strict in these Observations because by this means we endeavour to way lay an inconvenience which others accelerate by Excesse in meats and drinks for by that one sort of Intemperance ministers to another and of the latter we are more afraid then the former because it is more dishonourable but if they were equall we would be loath that any thing should make our Bodie so disobedient to the Government of our Soul that it should be provoked by its own negligence to lustful Sympathies and be destroy'd by the Beast which it could have master'd if it had not fed it too high The Pleasures of Abstinence have a rare gust being sweetn'd with subservience to Chastity by which we preserve the Honour and Strength of our Bodies And since the best of Spirits who is the Love of all Noble Souls doth ever refuse the Mansion which is disgrac'd with bodily Uncleanness and doth most of all abhor to be lodg'd with 〈◊〉 therefore we do so far abandon the use of alldishonest Pleasures that we keep the very thoughts of them from desiling our Minds and esteem those which are with just limitations allow'd to be then strictly forbidden when they are not joyn'd with abundance of Temperance and hallow'd with a great deal of Modesty We are more easily defended from the danger of these Pollutions when we come to riper yeares because our Wise Parents took great care that the Modesty of our young Natures might not be ravish'd with evil Examples light 〈◊〉 obscene Books or wanton Pictures and that the unspottedness of our Virgin-life might not be stain'd with bad Company lascivious Dances or the mischiefs which constantly attend upon an Idle life Idleness is esteem'd with us no better then it deserves that is an Ignoble thing and those who know not nor will practise some good Art are accounted uselesse members of the Creation For other particulars wherein we have no set Rules we guide our selves by the best Examples and incline to that part which is most severe to the Flesh keeping in all things a decorum with the Prudence of universal Moderation But that I am afraid to be troublesome to your patience I would tell you also that we do more heedfully observe the Orders of our Ancestors because we have heard and know it to be true that the Divine spark which is plac'd in the constitution of our Souls can scarce be discern'd where it is when it is 〈◊〉 with an Atmosphere of bodily Fumes and that it is alwaies unfitted for its highest operations when it is clogg'd with turbulent Passions Converse with God is the top of our Joy and we cannot ascend to him but in a serene Calm of Soul no more then we can see the Sun when it is 〈◊〉 up in thick Cloudes We do not desire to be buried alive which misery we should think to befall us if the Eye of our Soul were darken'd to the sight of our best Good the gust of our present and future Happiness dull'd and the hopes and desires of Immortality choak'd in us and the power of the Soul by which it lifts it self up to the attainment of celestial life depress'd or extinguish'd And since we find that an immoderate resentment of fleshly Pleasures doth perversely aime at such dishonourable Ends we abandon it being so far in love with the Dignity of Humane Nature that we scorn to degenerate into Brutes through such mean perswasions but we subjugate our Fleshly part to advance the honour and liberty of our Minds having observ'd that men of the best-govern'd Affections have ever attain'd the greatest excellencies of Judgement Whilst vve content our selves vvith a Frugal vvay of life vve provide fevvel for charity and redeem something to bestovv upon such as vvant from lavish entertainments superfluous variety of gay Clothes and multitudes of needlesse Houses In short To the prudent Institutions of our good Father vve ovve an excellent Health an agile Body unhurt Senses quiet Sleeps a peaceful Soul serene Contemplations a symmetry of Passions freedom from shameful Lust and violent Anger preparations for Heaven and a happy Death after a contented Life from vvhich vve part vvith little trouble of Body but vvhose remembrance is so acceptable to our Mind that if we were to live it over again we should repeate it according to the same Rules When Sophron had finish'd his Discourse he desir'd them to walk into a little Grove which joyn'd to his Garden and there by an ocular demonstration he show'd them what pleasure may be found in a Little and by what way Wise men make the half more then the whole for with Herbs Roots Fruits Milk Honey Bread and the native Wine which he call'd by another Name he made a Feast which was a Practise upon his former Rules But this first part of the Entertainment was far exceeded by that which follow'd which was a rare Discourse manag'd by two young Ladies of which I shall give an account by and by It may be some Reader will wonder why I do so much magnifie this sort of Entertainment and because I have mention'd it divers times I will now give the reason of that Theoprepian Custom You must know that although the Theoprepians did frequently retire themselves to Contemplation and Piety and had appointed select Places remov'd out of the Noise of the Tumultuous world as fittest for Education yet they were not ignorant of those Advantages which may be had in Converse with others and it was received as a common Opinion amongst them That Ingenious Conference is one of the most pleasant sorts of Recreation and a most profitable as well as delectable exercise of our Natures since by this means every one doth teach and learn and by a free Communication of Souls in a lively and vigorous way of Knowledg enjoy a delight as far above that which is attainable in lonesome life as an excellent Song of many Parts is
worst enemy yet being desirous to perform a due requital for such a one they are willing to dy But I will conclude my Discourse lest by multiplying words I should be thought to suspect the Evidence of the Truth which I defend for such a dark business that it cannot be easily demonstrated and through tediousness of Speech concerning Charity forget my Argument and uncivilly abuse the courteous Patience of those Noble Auditors who have to me more then sufficiently discover'd the power of Love in that they could so long bear with my Infirmities Euergesia having finish'd her Discourse with a generall approbation which reveal'd it self in all their Countenances Urania desired Philothea to succeed her which she did with a modest Smile after this manner If I were able to form rais'd notions in my mind most Excellent Auditors and to clothe them with the beauty of Rhetorical Language I should think my self happy in this present opportunity having received a Subject which no low thoughts can reach and honour'd with Company which deserve the best of Discourses The discouragements which rise from my Imperfections do chiefly amaze me knowing that I can speak nothing that will 〈◊〉 the silence of your Attention I should undoubtedly hold my peace but that I know that those who are most able to do excellently themselves are most ready to pardon the failings of others and that they make not their Deserts the measures of their Acceptances and that I am assured by the experience of a happy acquaintance with your Vertues that you will take in good part what is offer'd with Humility though it fall extremely short of what you might have justly expected My Argument doth afford me some Comfort because it will be its own praise and doth contein so many refulgent perfections that to recite them is Eloquence and though I am not able to perform that in a manner answerable unto their worth yet I make bold to hope that I shall be excus'd in that defect because even Praise is not asham'd to confess its self poor of Encomiums for so rich a Subject Divine Love is the Exaltation of Humane Nature to the Top of all possible Perfection the Soul rais'd to the possession of its utmost Felicity By Celestial Love we receive the fruition of our chief Good Whilst the Soul is enamour'd with God it exerciseth its most noble Faculty upon the best Object What I have asserted concerning the Object is without the jurisdiction of doubtful disputation all other things being in comparison of God both as little in Quantity as a Drop to the Sea and as inferiour in true Worth as painted Fire is in respect of the real Sun All other good things are but little Pictures made to represent some small parts of this Universal Goodness Momentany perswasions of ill-bestowed Affections of which they are soon deserted having not rootes sufficient to uphold their own Loveliness which is soon wither'd by the Sun that produced it like the Flowers in Summer Concerning the Priority of the Faculty some Question is made though I know none that pretends Rivalry with Love but Knowledg but how unjustly it doth so I shall soon demonstrate There are but Two things which I can guesse by which our Faculties exalt their Worth the Excellency of their Operations or the Nobleness of the Object As to the Dignity of the Object no allegation can be made to put a difference between them because God is the same to both the First Truth is the First Good God is the most Knowable and most Lovely thing in the world excess of Knowablenesse following the Greatnesse of his Essence as Infinite Amiablenesse doth shine in the Goodnesse of his Nature Here Knowledg and Love are reconcil'd both conspiring in a strict Union joyntly to Adore so Worthy an Object We must give judgement then concerning the Meliority of these Powers by the Operations which they produce and they must stand or fall in the reputation of their Excellency as they rise higher in their Applications towards the most Supreme Object And here I think the difference is so visible that there is no Comparison between them for Love is admitted to a nearer approach to God then Knowledg and by the liberty of that access is demonstrated to be a more Sacred thing Knowledg is but a look upon God at a distance which is allow'd to such as are far enough remov'd from all Glory but Love is an Union with him Love takes it for its Definition to be the Union of the Lover with the Object loved Holy Love ties up the life of the Soul in God with the perfect bond of celestial Amity and it knows no death or destruction but Separation from its beloved God nor can endure to be absent from him And as he alwaies loves again for his Love is a great part of his Goodness or rather continues his Love by which this Affection was first produced in the Soul they cleave together by the close inhesions of Reciprocal Affection So that they are no Hyperboles which an intimate Friend of the Prince of Lovers us'd when he said He that dwells in Love dwells in God and he in him by a mutual inhabitation and his reason is strictly conclusive For God is Love Holy Lovers by this affection have such a Complacency in God that they live in him more then in themselves and are so naturaliz'd to his Conversation that they can be no where without him and do passionately reject all things as hindrances of their Happiness which do offer to keep him out of their Hearts But how far short doth Knowledg come of such a Bliss Where Knowledg ends Love begins perceiving it hath gone but a little way What is it barely to discover that there is such a thing as God or Philosophically to contemplate his natural Persections What am I the richer for understanding that there are Silver Mines in the Indies what the Mind understands only by Knowledg the Soul enjoys by Love and so is made happy How little Excellency doth arise from lonesome Apprehensions is manifest in that Forlorn Spirits remain Devils still though they know God because they do not love him too It s true Love makes use of Knowledg in the accomplishment of this sacred Union because it is naturally impossible to love that which we do not know or to place a strong Affection upon that whereof we are but uncertainly inform'd But what preferment doth Knowledg receive by this more then the Honour of an Instrument I deny not Knowledg to be the handmaid of Love for so she is and therefore receives respect because of the Relation which she bears to such a Noble Mistresse in her Illustrious company she is alwaies honoured as all are that serve where she doth but when she hath dismiss'd her self from that attendance and is met alone she is like a Cypher without Figures is of small regard and is many times corrupted with very dishonourable practises Of what small
was beautified with many fair Plats incompass'd with little Myrtle-hedges and being adorned with excellent Flowers and fragrant Herbs did recreate the Senses and Minds of such as came near them with sweet odours and lovely colours It was grac'd with variety of broad Allies bordered with Cypress-trees At the four corners of the Garden were Sommer-Pavilions of structure sufficiently handsom Upon the other side of the House was a fair Orchard planted with the best sorts of Fruit-trees and many rare and useful Plants The passage to it was through a little Wilderness which by many windings representing a Labyrinth in a Wood of Laurel Holly and Juniper led to a delightsom Aviary peopl'd with the best-voic'd Birds The middle of it was embellished with an artificial Rock out of which crystal streams continually ascended through little Pipes and falling down the sides of the stone fill'd a small Sea in which the Rock stood with water Here the Birds took an infinite delight to drink and bathe themselves Neither did they think themselves Prisoners for the Cage being large handsomly turfed and having many Trees planted round about the sides of it gave them so much room to build their Nests and fly up and down that they seemed to enjoy a Wood in a Palace When they came to the outermost Walks upon the North-side of the Orchard they saw large Fish-ponds some of which bred so plentifully that they stored all the rest and those which were not Mothers prov'd good Nurses and did so well feed the young Frie that they supplied the house upon all occasions with delicate and well-grown Fishes They had no sooner entered into the Garden but they were in full view of the House which though it was not so curiously fram'd as to make signification that he which built it hoped to live in it for ever yet neither was it so meanly contriv'd or furnish'd but that it was fit to entertain most worthy persons At this time the Owners look'd upon it more pleasingly then ever judging it now the happy Receptacle of such Company as Angels would be glad to receive into their Celestial Mansions Here the Vertuous Theonoe receiv'd the Noble Travellers and accosted them with such a Grace that it struck them into no small Admiration of her presence She did fully answer and somewhat exceed those fair Proportions by which they had drawn her Image in their minds not so much in regard of those fading Lustres which are visible in the Body and do usually produce a slight Love in amorous Hearts though she had Beauty enough to make her Body a lodging most agreeable to the Excellent Qualities of her Heavenly Soul and it became her as properly as a handsome Cabinet doth a most rich Jewel but she was chiefly wonder'd at for those better Vertues which raise and fix the greatest Estimations in the Breasts of the most knowing Persons But that some which have heard of her incomparable Perfections would think them prophan'd if any of no greater abilities then mine are should offer to picture them I would venture at her Description However I suppose I may lawfully doe it or at least it is but a Sin that she her self would pardon that upon so just an occasion I make bold to relate what I can remember of her singular Vertues The shape of her Body was so full of Symmetry that the most curious Limner could find no fault in it Her Eyes were beautified with a sparkling Modesty Her Countenance was a lively Pourtraiture of Grave sweetness Her Dresse was such as shew'd that she neither wanted Art to put it on decently nor was troubled with any phantastical delight in Apparel Her Father neglected nothing which might signifie his affectionate care of her Happinesse but being sensible that he had receiv'd from God a Daughter of an Excellent Nature he was diligent to give her Education suitable 〈◊〉 Capacity and Birth In this point Theonoe had the best assistance in the World that is the daily Example of her most prudent Mother Sosandra Her great Knowledge testified that she had improv'd all advantages to the utmost and was a clear proof that the Capacity of the Female Sex is not so inferiour to ours as some Men do ignorantly believe Her Fancy was quick her Memory faithful her Judgment solid She understood many Languages and could speak some very exactly Her Discourse was compos'd of discreet Wit and rais'd Admiration in all that convers'd with her for she delivered well-fitted words and excellent sense with such tunable Accents that those which heard her thought she spoke like Memnon's Statue when it was struck with the Sun-beams Her Conversation was Ingenious and alwayes express'd such a modest Confidence as accompanieth Innocence when it is lodg'd in a generous Soul Her Temper was something reserv'd but void of all Morosity Her Deportment prudent and wanted nothing which is requisite to make up a graceful Carriage She us'd no Affectedness in her Speeches Looks or Actions Humility pleas'd it self to dwell in such a Noble Spirit which set off its worth with all possible Advantage She had so much Discretion and Fidelity that the most Excellent Persons in the World desired her Friendship She did so truly love Charity and express'd her regard of those which needed it with such an universal care that there were none of her poor Neighbours which pray'd more heartily for themselves then for her She was known to be such a passionate Votary to Chastity that none durst speak rudely in her presence She was a true Lover of God and devoted her best Affections to him and to his service ever esteeming it as a great folly to pretend Love to amiable Persons or worthy Things and to slight God the greatest Good and First Fair by whom all other things were made lovely Her Religion was not made of Talk or fram'd of a few external addresses by which many make their Devotionary part like the rest of their Life a Complement 〈◊〉 it consisted in a great Knowledge and much Love of the Divine Nature and in a constant Resignation of her Will and Actions to all holy Commands as indisputable Laws Having spent a good part of her Life according to this infallible Method at last she grew accomplish'd with all those Vertuous Habits and was bless'd with those serene Tranquillities which fix themselves in those Ingenuous Souls where true Knowledge is sincerely obey'd This is a rude draught of Theonoe's Perfections and though I have not been able to paint her to the life yet it doth so far resemble her that by it you may know the Qualities of Irene for they were not more Sisters in Nature then they were alike in all vertuous Accomplishments Indeed they were two lively Reflexions of one Divine Beauty parted between them and shined with no more different Rayes then the Sun would send down if it were cut into two pieces Some possibly which may chance to reade this Story will be apt to think that I
However we see Reason enough to imagine that he did not intend men should increase their Faith of a Deity by reading his Books because he hath written so ambiguously concerning his Nature One while he says there are no Beings but Bodies and that Incorporeall Substance is a term of Contradiction which would make us think that he believes no God but the Visible World and that the Sun Moon and Stars Men Beasts and Trees are the Limbs of his great Body but that at other times he hath been heard to say that God neither is nor can be a Body for when they consider that these Expressions jarre so horridly that they are incapable of Reconciliation they are forc'd rather to conclude that he is in jest when he mentions God and useth the name Deity by way of scorn or for fear of the Fate of Vaninus For when he wrote his Books he knew well enough that the Religious acknowledgment of a Supreme Power is so deep impress'd in the Minds of men that if he had talk'd plainly against Almighty God some of his more Loyal Creatures would have chastis'd the boldness of his Blasphemy after some such Fashion Sometimes he sayes there may possibly be a God but we are utterly ignorant what he is that is that there is something in the World which none can tell what it is which is God and that we ought to adore him that is doe honour to we know not what When some much displeas'd with such a dull Assertion have answer'd That his Attributes are known significations of his Divine Nature that is Essential Properties which are manifest by his Works and urg'd that we have as true a knowledge of God as of any thing else and behold the Wisdom Power and Goodness of his Eternal Being reveal'd long since in the Creation of the World and which do still present themselves to the eyes of men in the Preservation and prudent Government of all Created things He replies that the foremention'd Attributes may be given to God but they do not truly expresse what he is more then the Amorous Sonnets of Extravagant Lovers do give a true Character of their Mistresses Persons and that the Praises which they import do not more properly belong to God then the Flatteries of Amoroso's do to their Idols whom they extoll for Perfections which were never in them Since some would be apt to call this Atheistical Impiety he hath endeavour'd to hide it under the plausible Notion of God's Incomprehensibility that is he would have men such Fools as to believe that because they cannot comprehend the Immense extent of the Divine Nature therefore they do not apprehend any thing concerning it as if it were not more easie to find the great Sea then a small River or as if we could not discern the wide-spread Ocean at all because we cannot drink it all up with our Eyes You will easily suppose Bentivolio said Philalethes continuing his Discourse that he hath represented Religion as springing from base Grounds who hath given such a miserable accompt of the Deity which is to be acknowledg'd by it If he had not been disaffected towards the Divine Nature he might easily have found many good Reasons to support his Honour in the World The chief of those which he hath assign'd are these Ignorance in the Generality of Mankind the Impotent Fear of Superstitious Fools the Cunning and Hypocrisie of Princes and Priests and the Influences of some Stars Thus he pleaseth himself to imagine that the Ignorance which forceth Mankind to frame strange conjectures for want of acquaintance with Ordinary causes made them suppose that some Invisible Power created the World and that seeing the Condition of Mortal men is often oppress'd with Poverty Disgrace Sickness and Captivity through an impotent fear of such Misfortunes though they happen by chance yet either by reason of their own Ignorance or because they have been told so by others no wiser then themselves they esteem them Punishments inflicted by an Invisible Power whom they have offended and to whom out of a slavish pusillanimity they are apt to doe Homage and appease with Prayers and Sacrifice that so they may escape Torment Some have observ'd that in his lucid Intervalls the inbred Notion of a Deity hath forc'd him almost to confess that there is something in God for which by the Right of his Nature he is to be ador'd yet he will by no means allow it to be Beneficence which doth naturally infer Gratitude but if there be anything it is Power by which he is inabled to doe us a Mischief Thus he would have men to acknowledge God only for such Reasons as the Devils because they can doe hurt are ador'd by the Indians in a dreadful Image arm'd with sharp Teeth and crooked Claws By this Iron yoke the Heathen world was of old kept in subjection to those Cruel Spirits whom the Hebrews properly nam'd Asmodei and the Greeks Apollyons and we from the Evil which they doe Devils the power of their mischievous nature commanding fear by hurtful actions Men being naturally under the power of the foremention'd Principles he says that cunning Princes who with the Assistance of covetous Priests both contrive and alter Religion as it best serves their Designs to awe their People into Obedience endeavour to make them believe that they receiv'd their Laws from God telling them that when contagious Sicknesses cruel Famine dreadful Earthquakes or any other extraordinary Misfortunes happen it is because God is angry for the neglect of his Rites teaching them to appease his wrath with expiatory Sacrifices and when they took notice of obstinate Offenders whom they could not conveniently punish because of their Multitudes they threatned them with Punishments to be endur'd in the World to come by which means Melancholick people are affrighted into their Duty Besides these Reasons by which Piety is rather undermin'd then supported he says that Mankind is piously affected by certain Stars and that Religion is diversified according to the Variety of Influences which are sent down upon the Earth He pretends also to know the Complexion of every Star so exactly that he can declare by what Planet or Conjunction of Stars every distinct Religion is produc'd and affirms boldly that the Jewish Discipline is from Saturn the Christians Gospel from Jupiter and Mercury the Mahumetan Superstition from the Sun and Mars the Idolatry of the Pagans from the Moon and Mars It is strange that he deriv'd not Heathenism from Jupiter since his name was so famous among them and that Mahumetanism should not have taken its Pedigree from the Moon which would have symboliz'd with the Turkish Arms the three Crescents and that neither of them should have been made to hold of Venus since both are so full of abominable Lusts. However borrowing a little more canting Ignorance of the Astrologers he sayes that all these Constitutions have been and shall again be afflicted according as there happen any
Musick as well as they and not believing that the Trees or Stones did ever dance after any Harper though some Poets have said so Thus as he would have the Constitution of the World understood without a God so he would have all the Phaenomena of Humane Nature explain'd without a Soul that so Men may be free if they please to live like brute Beasts to whom by his Argument they are not Superiour The best notion which he can bestow upon the Soul is but a Vivacious Habit of Body or the local Motion of some particles and the Beasts have that and Life possibly is an Harmonical Wind such as is convey'd by Bellows through the Pipes of Organs whom we may suppose to live as long as they breathe Discourse is nothing with him but Motion with Reaction of which a Lute-string is equally capable with any Man He obliterates all Connate Idea's of God by which Excellent persons think themselves inabled to converse with the Divine Nature as the Eye being replenish'd with a Crystalline Humour is made capable of seeing the Sun Thus Men are represented as no more fitted for Religion then Beasts But as his Doctrine raiseth Wood and Stones to the same pitch of Sense with Humane Nature it is but a small matter for him to depress it to the same Level with Beasts either in Excellency of Knowledge or Capacity of Religion It is consequent to this That the Soul is Mortal How should it be otherwise being but Motion when that ceaseth it dies And considering that many believe otherwise he adds that the Immortality of separate Souls is only a Window open'd into the dark Region of Eternal Torments by such as have been fool'd with the Demonology of the Greeks I perceive you are cloy'd with his Natural Philosophy and therefore I will set no more of it before you but give you a taste of his Ethicks But doth he acknowledge any such thing as Vertue said Bentivolio You may well make a Question of that replied Philalethes by what I have reported but I will tell you what he says and then you may judge He asserts that in the Natural state of Humanity all things are indifferent that nothing is absolutely Good or Evil and that no common Rule of Good and Evil can be taken from the nature of the Objects themselves but all things are to be measur'd by mens Appetites which have the only Power to make whatsoever pleaseth them Good He supposes men in the state of Nature to be a company of Licentious People stragling up and down the surface of the Earth without any Law obnoxious to no Authority incapable of Sin both because there are no Eternal Rules of Good and Evil of which the best Philosophers have believed the Law of Nature written upon our Hearts to be a Transcript and because no positive Commands were given to them for from whom should they receive them who were their own Lords He says that the World had never been troubled with those useless Notions of Vertue and Vice but that some proud Ignoramus introduc'd them upon an arrogant Supposition that men have Liberty of Will that is a free Principle of Action whenas by his words all the Freedom that they have is that they do not see that they have none mens Wills being like other things extrinsecally determin'd Hence he infers that either there is no Sin or that God is the Author of it who doth not only help us to Act but force us to Will teaching the vilest Persons to excuse their worst Actions by accusing those causes which with irresistible sorce necessitate them to operate as they do Thus Deliberation is rendred as a great Foolery and a Horse made as capable of Honesty as a Man and a Stone as either of them Conscience which the Good men of all Ages have ever rever'd as an in-dwelling God is despis'd by him as an Idol made by false Imagination Blame is reckon'd but a signification of Displeasure not the Imputation of a Fault His new Gospel hath abolisht ingenuous Shame and says that those whom we call our first Parents had no troublesome resentment of their Eating the Forbidden Fruit as a Crime but express'd a little Anger against God for not making them with their Cloths on as if they had been blind and did not see their skins before they broke their Creator's Orders or had no reason to blush when through an ingrateful Carelesness they devested themselves of the Innocence with which he indu'd them by doing what he had prohibited Thus he hath exterminated Sorrow for unworthy Actions which in sinners begins the Practice of Repentance and made humble Prayers by which all the World doth express a Dependance upon God as impertinent as if we should make an Oration to the Sun to day to perswade it to rise to morrow It 's true sometimes he makes bold with his own Doctrines and frets at cross Accidents and says that by reason of great Prudence one man is fitter to give Advice then another and admits of the Distinction which is made between Counsels and Commands with many other such like pronuntiations which being mingled with his assertion of the extrinsecal Pre-determination of all Actions and Events are Arguments against the Liberty of the Will compos'd much after the manner of those Horns which Mahomet saw upon the heads of some of his Monster-Angels which as he says were made of Snow and Fire Mens particular Natures being thus represented you will expect that he should appoint strange Rules to govern them when they are joyn'd in Society They would be excellent if they were proportionable to that great Conceit which he hath of his own Ability in this kind for before his time he saith the Doctrine of Civil Government was unknown and that his Prescriptions are far above any Comparison with what hath been deliver'd by the best Legislatours in the World in that the better sorts of Beasts have a more prudent Politie then Men and could promulgate better Laws if they would please to speak in such a language as we understand But some which have consider'd his new Modell affirm it to be only a fictitious supposal of a state of Humanity that never was or will be and that his several Dictates are useless Consequences drawn from false Principles and perversly applied to the Condition of Mankind which doth not only reject them as impertinent but abhor them as mischievous to the Nature and Happiness of Men. Some of his Orders suppose men to be Autochthones Intelligent Mushromes or else Pre-Adamites born before the Moon upon some Arcadian Hill others are fitted well enough for the Serpentine Brood of Cadmus or for a barbarous 〈◊〉 of Men degenerated into Beasts but they agree not with the nobler state of Mankind which by the prudent appointment of our great Creatour is derived from our Common Parents Adam and Eve whose state was never Anarchical for their Creator was their King neither were they at any
when they were arriv'd to that age in which they were capable of being taught by others they plainly perceiv'd that it did naturally spring from the free exercise of their own understandings If this were not true I can give no rational account how it came to be generally receiv'd by the World it being impossible that by Force or Fraud any contract should have been made to necessitate such a common Faith For what Prince had ever power to enact such a constitution or what Oecumenical Sanhedrim ever met to consult about such a business It is also manifest That this is an everlasting Truth deeply engrav'd in humane Souls since no successions of time have been able to wear it out Though Falshood steal the Mantle of Truth yet it cannot so conceal it self long for Time will pull it off and discover the Cheat. If it had been unnatural men would long before this time have rejected it and being alwayes impatient of yokes they would not so long have born this which doth oblige them to the strictness of Religious observances But they have been so far from abandoning this Truth that they have not subjected it to be dishonour'd with Disputes and so have declared That this is that great Article of their Common Faith in which they all agree If this which I have said be not enough to justifie the Reality of this Truth and to free it from all suspicion of Fictitiousness we must confess that notwithstanding our best Faculties which are appointed for our guides we are capable of being at a loss when we have good reason to think our selves most sure of our way and being bestow'd upon us to such mean purposes we may justly cast this 〈◊〉 slur upon Nature to speak in the language of Atheists that she hath made one of her best works in vain having given men Rational Faculties without any possibility of being assur'd what is Truth by the use of them and so hath expos'd them to a necessity of being deceiv'd notwithstanding the pretence of a rare Criterion and so hath not only made a snare of the best of Notions but also having put us into a strong propensity towards the Divine Nature and made us think our selves happy in that noble Love hath abus'd us with a vain affection which hath no real object and rendred us Fools by making us Religious Which is so absurd to imagine that it is not more incredible to say That wise men build great Ships only to lie at hull and drive up and down with every wind Since then the evidence of Reason is so great that it hath led all men to an ingenuous Acknowledgment of God I cannot think that it is only a wildness of phansie but a perverse disposition in men who have us'd themselves to resist known Truths that enables them to deny him But that it is unreasonable to suppose it true of any I should think them the only persons in whom Nature hath implanted Errour When Bentivolio had thus declar'd the sense of his first Argument Pasenantius was about to frame an answer but Eugenius desiring his patience for awhile intreated Bentivolio to explain himself more fully For by that which you have affirm'd said he you seem to believe that the Minds of new-born Infants are possest with a Notion of God and that such as scarce know any thing have an actual sense of the Divine Being I would not have you understand me after any such manner replied Bentivolio For when I say That the Notion of God is inbred I mean That the Soul is principled with a natural sagacity by which she is apt upon the first occasions which are administred to her after she is out of her Nonage and admitted to the free exercise of her Rational powers to make a clear acknowledgment of a Deity The Energy of Nature being excited by outward Objects there is form'd in our minds an Image of the Supreme God this Effect notwithstanding being due to the innate virtue of our Soul as the principal Cause and which doth owe to the Impulse of the foremention'd Objects only for the assistance of an Extrinsecal occasion The Seed which is sown under ground awaits the warmth of the Spring to make it bud but the blossoms and fruits which it sends forth are chiefly to be attributed to the Plastick power of the seed not to the heat of the outward air Humane Souls have many natural Ideas imprest upon them for which they were never indebted to Matter of which that of the Cause and Effect is one which being awaken'd in the Understanding by the Consideration of such a noble Being as the World is hath present recourse to some excellent Nature as the Cause of so great an Effect This rational capacity is plac'd in our Souls as an Antecedent Principle of 〈◊〉 Knowledge and it improves and ripens it self into an actual apprehension of God by time and 〈◊〉 I understand now what you mean said Eugenius to Bentivolio and if you please added he turning towards Pasenantius you may let us see if you can disprove what he hath said You have put a fair colour of verisimilitude upon this Notion said Pasenantius to Bentivolio by the greatness of your Eloquence but the truth of what you affert lies so open to the mercy of powerful Objections that it is no hard matter as I think to dispute probably against it and to allege various reasons which disturb the belief of what you have said That this universal acknowledgment signifies not so much as you would make us believe seems to be evident from this That you all confess the God of whom you speak so confidently to be Incomprehensible that is neither perceiveable by our Senses because he is Spiritual nor to be comprehended by our Mind because he is Infinite The weight of that allegation which you make of numerous witnesses seems to be lessen'd in that the greater part of them are Fools and you despise them when you please for their Ignorance Their folly is but too apparent in those ridiculous Explications which they have given of the Deity and you your selves confess them worthy to be abhorr'd For there is nothing so contemptible but the rude Heathen adored it for a God This testimony is not Universal neither for many Nations never heard of God and in those which did many have profess'd Atheism and there is no doubt but many more did think there is no God who durst not express the sense of their minds in words Those which were seduc'd into this belief may well be suppos'd to have been out-witted by Politicians who cunningly invented and afterwards made use of the Notion of a Deity But if it had not taken its Rise from them yet the fears which vulgar minds unacquainted with natural Causes are apt to entertain upon extraordinary Accidents would incline them to think that God was the Author of that which they did not understand possible to be produc'd any other way and
it was easie to propagate such a vain belief by Tradition For such as had been deluded first would be apt to transmit it to successive Generations and spread the Infection from one Country to another Besides this it is manifest enough that those great Deists who concern themselves as great Patrons of this Faith and seek applause by endeavouring to make Proselytes do believe no such thing themselves being guilty of those enormous crimes which nothing but the Disbelief of a Just 〈◊〉 Potent God could make them commit I did expect some such Objections replied Bentivolio for that dull Principle Atheism hath not been able for many hundreds of years to improve the Minds of those who entertain it or teach them for its defence to adde any considerable thing to the boldness of their few Predecessours and by discovering the falshood of each Allegation in order as you have recited them I will shew you with how little reason they magnifie themselves against the Truth As to your first Exception I grant That because God is Spiritual we cannot perceive him by any of our external Senses nor paint his sublime Nature to our selves in Corporeal Images but since he hath given us divers Faculties which are so many distinct wayes of perception we can no more justly conclude that he is not Knowable by our Understanding since he doth not fall under the notice of our outward Senses then we can infer that there is no such thing as Sound since we cannot hear it with our Eyes When we see a Ship under sail we often discern no Pilot with our Eye yet we know that he is at the Helm because the Vessel escapes the circumjacent Rocks But whereas you say That we do not perceive God by our Understandings because he is Infinite I must take a larger compass to give you satisfaction and convince you that we do I grant that it were too great a presumption to hope to bring down that Excellent Being God to a just equality with our Understanding since we are inform'd by our own Reason that he is rais'd far above the highest reach of our Imagination The Nature of the Godhead must be Infinite because if it had bounds it would be imperfect and though we conceive this Immensity rather in respect of those degrees of Virtue and Power and Duration which are contain'd in his great Being then by Extension of Figure or Unlimitedness of Space yet those Degrees being unmeasurable when we conceive of God as the most Perfect Being we always grant that he doth incomparably exceed our best Conceptions Yet our Assurance of his Existence is not hurt by the 〈◊〉 of our Intuitive Knowledge of his Essence To say that because we comprehend not the Divine Being whose Nature we know to be Incomprehensible therefore we have no Reason to think that it doth Exist or because we understand him not perfectly therefore we know him not at all is no more reasonable then to affirm That there is no Sea or that we do not see it in part because we cannot grasp its vast compass in one look For though we are not able to frame a complete Image of the great God in our confined Minds yet the power of our Reason compells us by the force of strong Arguments to acknowledge the truth of his Existence and assures us concerning the properties of his Nature by rational consequences and we do most distinctly apprehend the Divine Perfections when we do endeavour to entertain our selves with the Contemplation of them because they do more fill our thoughts with the greatness of their Essential Worth then any bodily thing can doe neither are our minds troubled with those Limitations and Littlenesses which we meet with in our perception of other things I grant it is ordinarily said That the Divine Nature cannot be known but we must distinguish between that which subtil Atheists pronounce upon Design the unwary Rhetorick of foolish Oratours and the well-weighed Assertions of considerate Philosophers For many speak of Knowledge who know not what it is to know and so being ignorant that all the knowledge of which we are capable is only to understand the Properties of things by their Effects they puzzle the weak make sport to Atheists and are pitied by the Ingenuous for their Ridiculous Philosophy We are not allow'd such intimacy with any created Being as to see its naked Essence that is hid from mortal eyes Nature in all her converses with Men keeps her veil on which none yet have been able to pull off Therefore I infer That the Properties of the Divine Nature are as perceivable as those which belong to any other Subject The virtue of the First Cause being as manifest in its Effects as the Powers of any which are Secondary whose Properties we know only by their Effects These things being consider'd I know no reason why we should not think the Godhead understandable except we judge it good sense to say that because we cannot look directly upon the Sun with our weak eyes therefore we do not perceive its glorious Light when it is reflected For God is represented by his works as it were in bright Looking-glasses Or if because some things in the Divine Nature do transcend the power of our Perception we ought to think that we are not sufficiently assured of its Being why do Atheists grant so freely the Existence of Matter and talking confidently of its Nature make no doubt but it is Quantitative and yet cannot tell whether it be divisible into Finite or Infinite Parts Those who argue after this manner do only take a poor Sanctuary in a Sceptical device and say Wel know nothing because we know not all things or which is all one because we are not able curiously to explain the Modus of every thing therefore we are not sure of the Existence of any thing and that we ought to reject the most known Truths because we cannot give a Reason for all particular Effects But will any rational man give cred't to those who deny the Being of God and do not believe what they themselves speak when they say so Those great Philosophers who well knew that Modesty doth alwayes become us and especially in Divine Enquiries have confest that considering the great nature of the Object they thought themselves more happy in that little knowledge which they had of God then in the most perfect understanding of less worthy things But because this Notion will receive a clearer Explication and so a fuller proof from the Arguments which I am to produce I will at present confine my Discourse to answer your other Objections You said That a great part of those who are concern'd in this universal confession of a God are Fools and thence deduce the invalidity of their testimony Really Sir if the opinion of Fools is to be despis'd I might very well except against the Objections of Atheists For they disbelieve or at least deny what we say concerning God
World some Great Cause of which there is no former eternally existing of it self from which all others derive their Beginning and having found out this we rest very well satisfied So the Traveller being instructed by the purling water which runs along by him in a little chanel that there is a Fountain from whence it springs guides himself by the windings of the Stream which threds the Medows and as by a Clue leads him to the Rock out of which it bubbles and there he sits down and drinks This Hypothesis of a First Cause is a Principle so necessary to Contemplation that all Philosophers have look'd upon an infinite Series of Causes as an intricate Labyrinth of 〈◊〉 out of which there is no Egress and have avoided it with the same wary care which they would take not to fall into a bottomless Pit Some also of them have said whom it is not easie to confute That if they should admit this absurd supposal of the World's Eternity they would be forc'd to grant that there are more Infinites then one and that one of them may be greater then another or that one of them may be a Part of another and yet equal to the Whole which are Assertions hard to be swallow'd or digested by a rational Belief If this World had no Beginning you can assign no Time in the Duration of it but an Infinite number of years went before it one Infinite number finish'd a hundred years since must needs be shorter then that to which another Century is added and so one Infinite is bigger then another or if you say that they are equal because both are Infinite then the first being but a part of the second it will follow that a Part is equal to the Whole and we must be content to grant too that there have pass'd as many Years as Hours in this feign'd succession For Infinite Years having pass'd the number of Hours though there be some thousands of them in one Year cannot exceed them for it is but Infinite If these things contain an inexplicable Darkness then this Notion of an Infinite Succession of Generations which is brought in to take off the Dependence of the World from a First Cause signifies no more but this That Atheists desiring to reject a great Truth under pretence that it is hard to be Believ'd are able to find nothing to avoid it but an Hypothesis which cannot be Understood I confess said Eugenius I am not well able to dive into mysterious Arguments but I have thought sometimes as I have walk'd upon the Banks of a River that if the World had been Eternal those great Hills which I have seen pleasantly situated upon it would have been worn away before this time with the constant beating of mighty Waters and that their high Tops would have been levell'd by the undermining Streams And when I see those dreadful Rocks which stand in the Sea and raising their Heads above the Waves threaten the fearful Sailours to dash their Ships in pieces if they come near them I am apt to think that if they had been plac'd there from Eternity the rough Waves would have wash'd them quite away long ago For though Stones do grow yet it is easie to observe that what the Sea devours in a Year is not to be repair'd in an Age and that growing more greedy after it hath swallow'd a Part it doth with more facility prey upon the Whole But I have not said this to interrupt you added Eugenius to Bentivolio and therefore I desire you to proceed It is no Interruption of my Discourse but as I think a Confirmation of the Truth which I defend replied Bentivolio however I will goon and as I think that which hath been said sufficient to prove that the World did not eternally subsist in this order which is now visible so I think that the other Objections which are gather'd together to cloud this Truth may as easily be blown away Your Second Disputers possibly doubting the Truth of the former Assertion and being willing to find out some other Subterfuge have affirm'd that Nature made all things These seem to have had such an eager desire to say something that they resolv'd to speak though what they said was as ill directed to the purpose as the Speech of the blind Senator to the Turbat The truth is the Objection is so foolish that it scarce deserves to be confuted but because some Atheists play so low I think it not amiss to shew in a few words that those who use this Argument either do not care what they say or know not what they mean For by Nature they would signifie either a Dull Principle which having neither Reason nor Sense hath brought forth all things and dispos'd them in so good order that no Art can correct it which is an absurd Imagination as will appear by and by or else by Nature they mean a knowing Power which having made the World and well understanding the distinct Properties of all things assign'd them convenient stations according to the Direction of an excellent Wisdom and so they confess a God only they will not call him by that Name If this answer satisfie not we must ask them whether by Nature they mean Particular or Generall Nature If they say that some Particular Nature made all the rest which is it That of Men or Beasts Sun or Moon If any of these be quoted the Doubt remains still for we shall ask who made that which will be hard to answer except they say That things made one another by turns If they say It was General Nature that is nothing but all the Particulars which we put together in our Conception or if you will the Universe And then the sense of the Objection will be That the World made it self and so was both before and after it self Or if by Nature they understand some other substance distinct from created Beings diffus'd through the Universe which doth sustain all things by a mighty Power and direct them to their respective ends with an unerring Knowledge they grant that there is a God but they know not what they say Others which think themselves more Ingenious to mend the matter have made a Conjecture which they esteem very plausible and imagine that the World was probably sometimes adorn'd with this form of Being in which we behold it at present and afterwards possibly fell from it into a shapeless Chaos and was resolv'd into innumerable multitudes of Atoms which fluctuating for many years and justling one another thrust things into that Order which they now have taking it for granted that Matter and Motion were sufficiently able to produce the World without any knowing Directour But the insufficiency of this device discovers it self in that it doth shamefully beg those things which ought to be prov'd as Foundations for what is asserted and they superstruct upon it such an heavy Fabrick of wild Consequences that it is not able to sustain
Pannychis told them that she had a Revelation that they ought not to go any further till the Day should dawn Hieromimus having pay'd dear for his bold Errour was content to be mutually exhorted especially because they could not get out the Asse which was laid fast in the Mire When the Light began to appear the Asse had strugled her self out and as she was going to graze Quintilla catch'd her by the Ears and the Rider having gotten upon her back they began to march again but as they went along the Asse being not held in with any Bridle did by often going out of the Road create so much trouble to both the Lacquayes in reducing her that they were forc'd to tie their Garters together to make a Curb for the unruly Beast When they had scarce gone half their way the faint Asse being much wearied with the heavy load of this fat Baalam stood still Hieromimus having no spurs she would not answer the dull blows of his unarm'd heels whereupon Quintilla went to the next hedge and having pluck'd off a sprig of thorn whipp'd her on The angry Asse being inrag'd with the pain which she receiv'd from these sharp prickles did frequently shake her Rider with rude Kicking and at last the soft Prophet was so gall'd with the hard back of his lean Steed that he was forc'd to tell his Lacquayes that it was their duty to take off their Peticoats and lay them under him for a Saddle In this mad guise 〈◊〉 arriv'd at last in a Village not far from Phronesium well known to most of this Company and which will be for ever famous by reason of his being there his two impious Attendants blasphemously singing Hosanna's to him as he past through the Streets to his Lodging which was taken up for him before by Jamnail and whither his Complices resorted to him The Company having laugh'd a while at this ridiculous mode of Travel Amerimnus went on thus The first trick which he shew'd after his Arrival was a Device invented long ago by one Psaphon He had a Cage full of Parrots which he had taught to speak and accustom'd to pronounce these words Hear Hieromimus These he convey'd privately into a Wood by Loxias whom he order'd to let them flie among the trees and return unseen The Parrots being glad to have escap'd their Prison repeated the Syllables which they had well learn'd with a loud chearfulness The Neighbourhood wondring at this strange Voice of Birds inquir'd who this Hieromimus was A holy Prophet said Davigeor whom God hath sent amongst you to give you the last warning of Repentance Whilst some exprest a wonder at the advice of Birds speaking with an Articulate Voice Astriatrus Phlegon Thaumaturgus and the rest of Hieromimus his Agents according to the Instructions which they had receiv'd from him endeavour'd to support and augment the great estimation which this Accident had begun to lodge in the minds of some weak people and told them not without signs of deep Veneration that Hieromimus was a Divine Person design'd by God for the Paraclete long since promis'd consubstantiated with the Deity and descended lineally by the Mother's side from the holy Achamoth beloved of God above all men and that the Dignity of his transcendent nature did many times reveal it self by most glorious Irradiations his Face shining with such illustrious beams that they were not able to look upon him Sometimes they extoll'd his Divine Knowledge affirming him to have attain'd a rare Wisdom which was never before imparted to any created Being Which he receiv'd not by Education by improvement of Reason by reading of Books by Observation or any ordinary way by which common men attain their Skill but by Revelation God having so far favour'd him that he should not be at the trouble of collecting Knowledge by rational Discourses but shew'd him all things after an intuitive manner in Ecstatick Dreams and Prophetick Visions And they boldly affirm'd that God did sometimes transport him into the Celestial Regions where he saw Anonomasta and Hyper-Urania heard the voice of deep Silence saw the infinite measures of the Abyss number'd the AEonian Ogdoads and beheld without any amazement the famous Tetractys who brought with her Alethia and made her shew her self to him without a Veil and which was an honour not allow'd to Archangels saw in the Cabinet of Heaven the sacred Trias with bodily Eyes from whom he receiv'd the Keys of those Treasuries where the most hidden Mysteries are locked up Hieromimus endeavour'd to justifie their Lies for pretending to be thus wonderfully illuminated he told the World that all old Doctrines were but Fables decry'd Humane Reason as a name of the most fallacious Ignorance condemn'd all Learning as Black Art reproch'd Books as the Tools of Antichrist call'd Libraries the Devil's Kitchins and bad them only await the Irradiations of a Light which would shine within them if they gave obedience to his Precepts and teach them infallibly make them Judges of Truth and Falshood and render them unaccountable to others for thier Opinions or Actions In short he boasted that all who were before him had never penetrated so much as the Rind of true Wisdom but only had read the History of Truth which they did not understand but that he was honour'd with the Mystical Light the Inward Word which doth enlighten all things which God had Centred in him as the Intellectual Sun appointed to chase away the shadows of Darkness and to illustrate the World with a Spiritual sense and promis'd to all that follow'd his Directions that in a little time they should see all things being encompass'd with a holy Cloud and be united with God by a Divine Ignorance which should teach them to verifie Contradictions and make them one with every thing which they understood To encourage those who would become his Disciples he promis'd to give them a Book written by himself which his Scholars call Pansophia but which he nam'd Jaldabaoth in which he had recorded whatsoever was known formerly or possible to be known in all Ages to come He boasted also of a magnificent Charter which he had receiv'd from Almighty God which contain'd a Grant of such Privileges as were not before allowed to mortal men and that he had Authority to give them to whom he pleas'd The chief of which was That such as conform'd to his Discipline should not need the Mediation of our Saviour should be pardon'd without making use of the Propitiatory Sacrifice of his Death and should have a Dispensation from the Observance of his Laws to which others are obliged He having as he said receiv'd a Commission from God to supply the Defects of the imperfect Doctrine of Christ to make all things new and amongst the rest a New Testament to reform the Austerity of holy Laws and to save the World not by Obedience perform'd to severe Rules but by pleasant Directions the Relaxation of Self-denial the Abolition of the Cross
this corruptible Body or that if Death had any wedge able to cleave my Soul I should have seen some Chip fall from it yesterday when my Arm was sawn off and have felt my Soul grown less then it was before I did not I am the same I still and I do not doubt but I should be so if the other Arm were cut off and after that my Feet and then the rest of those Parts which constitute this Bodily Frame Having this sensible assurance I take the more Confidence to believe that I shall eternally exist in this Rational Nature which now makes me my self I know some say that Immaterial Beings if there are any may be Mortal though not by Separation of Parts yet some other way unknown to us I suppose they mean Annihilation To which I answer that though I cannot but acknowledge God may if he will destroy what he hath made and at his pleasure take away that Being which is deriv'd from his Power yet I think it Absurd to suppose that he doth Annihilate Souls because it is contrary to that Method which he observes in other parts of the Universe nothing of which doth so perish And I must esteem it too great a Boldness for any man to affirm that we are reduc'd to Nothing by Death because he doth not know whither we go If he say that the Soul is of that nature that it can have no Being out of the Body he falls upon the fore-mention'd Rock and must say that it is Annihilated by Separation for else it will exist out of the Body But because by your Objections you seem rather to imagine that the Soul is nothing really distinct from the Corporeal Substance I will make no further enquiry whether Immaterial things can perish but rather endeavour to shew you sufficient Cause to believe that Humane Souls are Incorporeal You cannot but know Synthnescon that this Word Soul and others correspondent to it in different Languages hath been long us'd in the World and I take it for granted that it signifies something and suppose that none will venture to affirm that those learned Persons who made use of it in their Writings did intend to signifie nothing by it but a Body or though some may judge them highly mistaken in thinking it had any other true meaning yet as I doubt not but the Venerable Ancients knew very well what they said so I think it may easily be prov'd that the Notion of an Immaterial Substance distinct from the Body which they intended to express by it is natural and true That the Soul is not a Temperament of Corporeal Humours is manifest in this that it is neither a Good nor a Bad Contemperation If it be a healthful Temperament only then we have no Soul when we are Sick if an unhealthful then we are dead when we are Well Besides if the Soul were only a Crasis of the Body it would be capable of no Distempers but by a fit of the Gout the pain of the Stone the heat of a Fever or some other sickness depending upon indispos'd Matter Whereas it is manifest that it hath many Diseases which arise not from Dilatation or Compression of the Matter Obstruction or Inflammation of the Humours or Solution of Continuity The Troubles of Conscience which arise from Moral Causes being no more capable of being remov'd by a Physician 's Receipt then the Gout can be cur'd with a Moral Lecture The Soul is not a Contexture of Material Parts for that is nothing really distinct from the whole Body but that the Soul is not the Body Part of it or any Corporeal thing we have many good assurances Those who would know what others are do rationally seek a satisfaction of their Desire by conversing with them and such as would know what they themselves are must converse with themselves It is necessary to observe this Method for there is no other way to come to the Knowledge of our Souls Since the Essences of all things are veil'd we must endeavour to know them by their Operations for the Forms of things are only intelligible by the Properties which are peculiar to their respective Natures and these distinct Properties reveal themselves only by different Operations Whilst we are intent upon this Contemplation we shall find in our selves the Acts of an Intellectual Essence which upon strict Examination will appear to be of such an excellent Nature that they transcend the finest Modifications and exceed the most subtile Motions of Bodies Those who acknowledge nothing but Material Beings in the World and make our Sensation the effect of Motion do also grant that our highest Perceptions rise but to Imagination which operates only by Corporeal Phantasms that is Images fram'd in the Brain according to those various Impressions which are made upon the Organs of Sense by the Impulses of external Objects If therefore we can make it appear that we have in our selves the Notions of things which were never capable of Sensible Representation we may justly conclude that we have a higher Mode of Perception then Imagination and consequently are ennobled with an Immaterial Principle of Knowledge That we are acquainted with many things of which we cannot have notice by the help of any Sensible Images is manifest in that we understand the Logical Notion of Causes Effects other mutual Respects of things and Universality in that we have cognizance of Mathematical Terms as Proportions of Figures Symmetry of Magnitudes Bredth abstracted from Depth Inequality and Distance in that we find also in our Souls the Perception of Moral Congruities and Repugnancies the Knowledge of Good and Evil the Nature of Vertue Principles of Justice the Decencies of Gratitude Deliberation and Liberty of Will To these I might adde the Species of Reason of Infinite Space Eternal Duration and the Notion of Perception it self we discern also Theological Truths shining there as the lively Idea of God pourtrayed in his Divine Attributes and the sense of our Dependence upon him These things have no Signatures in Matter are no Sensible Objects nor Phantasms of Corporeal Beings deriv'd through our Senses or excited in us by the Impresses of Bodily Motion and therefore we ought to conclude that the Incorporeal Idea's by which we know these things are Congenial to our Souls and also to rest assured that they are Immaterial If the Soul were only a few thick Curds inclos'd with a Bony Skull and all things without us be only Bodies it is no more possible that any knock of dull Matter should be able to beat the subtile Notion of a Deity into our Heads then it is to make an Intelligent Posset of Sack and Milk What sort of Glass is that in which you can hope to represent to our Eyes Comparisons Similitudes and Dissimilitudes If the Soul were Corporeal it could no more be sensible by an external Motion that it is a Being which Understands Reasons and Discourses then an Artist can make a Looking-glass
which will shew the Images of things that are Invisible We have the fore-mention'd Idea of our Soul and it is clearer then any Conception which we are able to frame of Bodily nature and yet no Corporeal Matter could represent any such thing to us it is necessary therefore to conclude that this Knowledge arises from the Innate Power of an Immaterial Principle The Soul doth not only shew the Excellency of its Understanding Faculty by a simple Apprehension of single Objects which it takes in to furnish it self with fit materials of Discourse but doth also compare their several Natures consider their different Properties and contemplate their various Respects and so arrives at an useful Knowledge of things By this Discursive Power we are enabled to frame Arguments to make Inferences to pronounce concerning the Similitude and Dissimilitude of things to design set Ends of our Operations to chuse fit Means and reject such as are unfit for our purpose and by a rare Activity of this Intellectual Faculty the Soul doth with an unspeakable quickness apply it self to the Contemplation of all things and march in a few minutes through the whole Region of Intelligible Objects and so declares how far its Acts are exalted above any thing which is discernable in Bodies assisted only by Motion I know very well that some who affirm that all the Phaenomena in the World may be resolv'd by Matter and Motion will say that these Operations are not manag'd by virtue of any Immaterial Principle but by the Impulse and Re-action of agitated Bodies But we must deny that this is possible except we will be so absurd as to say That whatsoever is moved doth perceive and so grant that a Stone hath Perception as well as a Man that the Paper feels the Pen that writes upon it that a Viol while it is played upon is a Sensitive Creature and conclude That the Soul is only a little fine dust which feels the force of Arguments That Atoms make Syllogisms That Disputation is only some Aerial Particles blown up and down with a Philosophical wind and That the whiffling dust which flies in the faces of Travellers doth take a distinct notice of them as they pass upon the Road. If the Particles of Matter have no Sense in them they can never produce it by any sort of Motion unless we grant that there may be more Excellency in the Effect then in the Cause That there is a higher Principle of Knowledge in Humane Nature then moved Matter and its Re-action appears further by those Reflex Acts of this Self-knowing Substance in which the Soul becomes its own Object and perceives that it doth perceive All Matter is so extended that no part of it can act upon it self by a Revolution into it self more then the end of one of our Fingers can touch it self or the Eye see it self And when Material things seem to act upon themselves it is manifest to such as consider that it is only one part that acts upon another part of the same thing This Reflex Operation doth not only exclude the Senses but is rais'd above the Power of Phancie For that working only by the help of gross Phantasms is not able to perceive that it doth Imagine because no Image of Perception can be convey'd to the Phancie by any Instrument of Sense Shall we be so vain as to think that a Looking-glass doth not only represent our Image but also see us when we stand before it and reflecting upon that act discern that it doth see us That Caves reverberate Sounds we know but do they hear us too and consider that they doe so Foolish Lovers You think you talk unheard in your solitary Walks the hollow Rocks with which you converse are more pitiful then you imagine they understand your complaints and resent your wrongs Nay your sympathizing Lutes hear the Airs you play and are much affected with the proper Composition of your passionate Sonnets No no Medenarete let us not believe such ridiculous things Perception is not Re-action after Motion but a Recognition of those Impressions which by Motion are made upon us which is above the power of dull Matter I cannot but think also that the Soul doth sufficiently reveal its Immaterial Nature whilst it collects the Perceptions of all the Senses compares them together orders the great variety of Phantasms which float in the Imagination and makes a Judgment both of the Sense and Phancie It is not any of the Senses for they do never reprehend themselves the Eye doth not judge of Hearing nor the Ear of Tasts It is not the Phancie for that receives no Images of things but such as are deliver'd by the Senses and yet we find a Principle in us which forms apprehensions of things contrary to those which are convey'd to us by the Organs of Sense and rejects the Phantasms of Imagination as insufficient Assurances concerning the truth of external Objects not pronouncing that either the Senses or the Phancie are deceiv'd for it knows that they only declare their own Passions which are really such as they seem to be but discerns withall that it should be deceiv'd if it did alwayes believe things to be such as they are represented by those Images When the Eye sees a Stick whose half is under water it is pictur'd to the Imagination as crooked but the Mind knowing that the Representations of Sense which are carried to the Brain by Coporeal Motion are made without Judgment examines the Phantasm and pronounceth the Stick to be straight By this it plainly appears that the Soul is not a Corporeal Faculty for they are all confin'd to their own single tasks as the Eye to seeing and the Ear to hearing but the Soul hath an universal Perception an unbounded capacity of Sensation extended to all things even it s own Perceptions and is plac'd amongst those little Powers which flow from it self as a Supreme Judge of all their Operations And as the Soul would be frequently deluded by more Senses then one if in many cases it did not contradict Corporeal Impressions and frame another Judgment of things then that which agrees with Sensible Representations so it could never be able to withdraw it self from these bodily Images that it might clearly discern what is true if it were not an Immaterial Principle neither could it make results contrary to the Perception of the Sensitive Faculties if it were not a distinct Power Superiour to them Though these things are abundantly sufficient to assure us what kind of thing the Soul is yet as if it desir'd to appear plainly to all who are willing to be acquainted with it the truth of its nature is discover'd in many other Operations but I will instance only in that of Remembrance If the Soul were only Matter the Notions of past things would seem only to have been written in water for we know that our Bodies are continually wasted with insensible Transpirations The parts of this Atomical