A Sovereign Prince is in a middle Station between God and his People and therefore a Debtor he is to each of them As such he should constantly Remember that he is the living Image and Representation the Vice-Roy and Commissioner General of the Great the Almighty God who is likewise his Prince and his Master that with regard to his People he is a Shining Light a Mirror in continual Reflection a Spectacle set up on high that draws all Eyes to it A Spring of whose Waters all his Subjects hope to drink a Spur and mighty Incitement to Virtue and one that never can do any Good but the Benefit of it is diffused far and wide and the remembrance of it faithfully treasured up and put to Account This in short is his Character and these the Conditions of his Station and from hence it is very easie to infer what must needs be required of him to answer and fill up the several Parts of this Description It is evident then first of all that he is in an especial Manner obliged to Devotion Religion Piety and the Fear of God and That not only with regard to himself considered abstractedly and for the satisfying his own Conscience as he is a Man but moreover with respect to his Government in his Politick Capacity and as a Prince Now the Piety which concerns us to observe in this Place is consequently not so much the Personal as the Publick and Princely Acts of it The Care and Regard he ought to have for the Preservation and Security of the Established Religion making seasonable Provision for its Protection and Defence by wholesome and wise Laws ordering and inflicting severe Penalties upon the Poisoners and Disturbers of it and taking all possible Care that neither the Doctrines and Mysteries of it be reviled and blasphemed nor the Rights of it violated nor the Exercise of it innovated and confounded by Fickle and Factious Men. This is a Care that will conduce mightily to his Honour and the Security of his own Person and Government For Men are naturally disposed to stand in greater Awe of and pay a more willing Obedience to a Governour who they are continued does truly fear God They are more Fearful and Cautious in forming any Attempts against such a one because the Natural Notions of a Superintending Providence represent him to Mankind as one under the more special and immediate Care of God * Una custodia Pietas Pium virum nec malus Genius nec Fatum devincit Deus enim eripit eum ab omni malo Piety says an old Author is one strong Guard All the Malice of the Evil Genius and all the Strength of Fate are not able to take any hold on the Pious Man For his God delivers him from all Evil. Nor is this a Safeguard to his Person only but to his Country and Government also for all the Philosophers and wise Men are unanimously agreed that Religion is the Strongest Tye the closest and most binding Cement of Human Society and mutual Commerce The Prince is also bound to pay a strict and inviolable Obedience to the Laws of God and to enforce the same Obedience and Religious Observance upon other People For these Laws are Indispensable and Eternal and he who endeavours the reversing or which as to the Effect is almost the same thing the bringing them into publick Neglect and Contempt is not only a Tyrant but a Monster As to the People under his Jurisdiction he is oblig'd first of all faithfully and punctually to keep his Promises and Covenants and Treaties whether these Engagements were entred into with his own Subjects as Parties or whether with any other that have an Interest in them This is a Branch of Natural and Universal Equity even God himself who is above all Law but that of his own most Holy and Divine Will declares himself bound by and always true to his Promises Hath he said it and shall be not do it and God is not a Man that he should lye or the Sun of Man that be should repent Behold I the Lord have said it I will certainly bring it to pass These are the Characters given us of Himself by the God that cannot lie in Holy Scripture And it would ill become his Image upon Earth to degenerate from that Great Pattern above and be changed into the Resemblance of Him who is the Father of Lyes But besides the Obligations to Truth in this Respect A Prince is the Security the formal Guarantee for the Laws and mutual Agreements between his Subjects and he is to see that they proceed in all their private Transactions according to Justice and Truth His Engagement therefore to keep his Word is superiour and more binding than that of any other Man can possibly be for there is not any Quality or Crime possible for a Prince to be guilty of so shameful and detestable as the violating his Word and his Oath Upon which Account it hath been observed that when ever a Prince goes counter to his Promise we are to suppose him controuled and over-powerd by some extraordinary Accident or Exigence For to imagine him false to his Engagements without invincible Necessity were to entertain a Presumption inconsistent with the Reverence due to so high a Character Nor is he bound by his own Promises and Covenants only but likewise by those of his Predecessors if he succeeded into their Right by Inheritance or any other Way that declar'd him satisfied to take the Crown as he found it or if they be such as manifestly contribute to the Publick Safety and Advantage In short by the same Reason and upon the same Accounts he may discharge himself of all the unreasonable and prejudicial Promises with Regard to his People that private Persons think sufficient to disengage Them from when They stand bound to their Prince Again Princes even the most Absolute of them All ought to consider that although the Law the Civil and Human Law I mean be their own Handy-work and proper Sanction changed and abrogated at Pleasure for this Legislative Power is the peculiar Right and distinguishing Character of Sovereignty and so in that respect they are above the Law as the Creator is above his Creature yet so long as any Law stands unrepealed and in full Force they are bound in all Equity and good Conscience to make it the Rule and Standard of their Actions and Determinations And it would be an infinite Blemish and Dishonour to themselves as well as of ill Example and pernicious Consequence to others if they should do otherwise For This were to refuse to stand to their own Act and Deed a living in perfect Contradiction and giving the Lye to themselves The Great Augustus had like to have died with Remorse for having once upon Occasion done in his own Person a thing contrary to Law Agesilaus and Seleucus have left us very memorable Examples of this kind and paid very dear for them Thirdly The
OF WISDOM THREE BOOKS Written Originally in French BY THE Sieur de CHARRON With an Account of the AUTHOR Made English By GEORGE STANHOPE D. D. late Fellow of King's-College in Cambridge from the best Edition Corrected and enlarged by the Author a little before his Death LONDON Prinâ—ed for M. Gillyflower M. Bentley H. Bonwick J. Tonson W. Freeman T. Goodwin M. Wotton J. Walthoe S. Manship and R. Parker 1697. THE Sieur de CHARRON's Three Books of WISEDOM Made English London Printed for Mat Gillyflower M Bentley H. Bonwick J. Tonson W. Free man T. Goodwin M. Wotton J. Walthoe S. Manship and R. Parker TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAM Lord Dartmouth My Lord IT is now near Two Years since I was desired to employ some of my leisure Hours in considering this Book and putting it into a Condition of becoming somewhat more useful and acceptable than it may without any suspicion of Vanity be said the former Translation could pretend to be A little Time spent in the Perusal satisfy'd me that there was Matter in it not unworthy my Pains and such as it was great Pity Men should want the Knowledge of who understand not the Original And as unreasonable did it seem that others should be discouraged from enquiring into this Author by the Misfortunes which naturally attend even the best Undertakings of this Nature when Time and Improvements of Language have given another Turn to Writing and created a Disrelish for every thing which is not suitable to the Genius of the present Age. The greatest Difficulty which lay upon me was that of finding Opportunities in the midst of those more important Cares of my Profession which neither This nor any other Attempt or Consideration however commendable or beneficial in it self must prevail with me to neglect But here I found even my Duty assisting for That requiring part of my Attendance in a Place of somewhat more Retirement and Ease than where Your Lordship's Father was pleased to fix me I made use of those Advantages to this purpose and finished much the greatest part of the following Book in a way of Diversion as it were and unbending from severer Studies and a more Laborious Station The particular Liberty taken by this Author is a Qualification which the present Generation at least in our Parts of the World will certainly be fond of But it happened to have the same Effect upon Him sometimes which we are not much to wonder if we find very frequent in those of less Judgment and that is over-straining Points of Dispute by affecting to say all which either the Case will bear or which any other Person hath said before This gave Occasion for my interposing sometimes with an Advertisement and that I hope in such a manner as may not have injur'd the Author while it designs the Benefit and Security of my Reader One thing only I cannot forbear adding upon this Occasion that in the midst of all his Free-Thinking he constantly expresses a due and absolute Deference for Revelation and Divine Truths And This indeed was by no means the Effect of his Profession but of his Judgment for Your Lordship is too discerning not to know that as a little and superficial Knowledge in Physick makes Men Quacks so it is not the Abundance but the Defect of Reason and good Sense which makes them Infidels and Scepticks in Religion How little the Sieur de Charron suffer'd his Thoughts to be under the Bondage of any private Respects will be sufficiently evident to any considering Reader from sundry Instances Particularly from what he hath deliver'd upon the Subject of Government in his Third Book In which tho' some Moot Points may seem a little uncouth to Us of this Nation yet if we reflect upon the Constitution under which he liv'd we shall rather have occasion to wonder at his admitting so few reserv'd Cases than mentioning so many Besides that even those mention'd would be of no mighty ill Consequence if always confin'd to those Conditions and Occasions which He hath temper'd and restrain'd them with But passing from the Mysteries of State and pressing unusual Emergencies to the Ordinary Measures of a Publick Administration there is somewhat of an Air so full of Ingenuity and such regard had to the Great Ends for which Government was instituted as a very gentle Application would think an Encomium upon the English Constitution and a sort of Prophetick Satyr upon the late Oppressions of a People to whom he stood nearly related Upon the whole Matter My Lord I have Reason to hope This may prove not only a Book of Good Entertainment but Great Benefit to Persons who have the Capacity and will give themselves the Pains to consider it Were it not so I should not have thought it worth my Trouble and should yet much less have presumed to make an Offer of it to Your Lordship I can with good Confidence say that no Man is better qualified to be a Master of the Subject it treats of The particular and intimate Knowledge of Your Abilities which my being Honour'd with the Care of Your Lordship at the University gave me would bear me out in delivering more upon this Occasion than Your Modesty will permit And indeed the General Opinion of all that have the Honour of Your Lordships Acquaintance saves You that Decency and hath prevented me in this Point The Manly Sense and Wonderful Penetration which appear'd very early in You have given me many pleasing Reflections and I am sure are Foundation sufficient for making Your Lordship a Greater Ornament and Honour to Your Family than even that Nobility which You have by Descent But I must beg leave My Lord to put you in mind that besides Your Own Your Lordship hath a mighty Stock of Honour and Esteem to set out upon deriv'd from the Memory of a Father than whom Few if Any of his Condition are more universally loved and admir'd I say loved my Lord for This as a more rare so is it a more valuable Tribute than that of Honour to Persons of Quality and in Great Offices For where so much is paid to the Station we can make very little Judgment what is sincere and what is the Effect of Formality or Fear or Interest But in His Lordship's Case there was something so Distinguishing in all the Respects paid to Him as plainly shew'd a particular Regard to his Person and that the outward Testimonies were not Things of Course but that he had engag'd the very Hearts of Those who paid them I will not so far seem to distrust Your Lordship's Acceptance of this Address as to make the least Apology for it You will interpret it I doubt not as a Testimony of the Honour I have for You and a Desire to publish my having it to the World And Your Lordship will do me the Justice too to believe that were it in my Power to give any other Evidence of This than such an open Declaration nothing should
Obsequio emnia constant For were it not for Government and Obedience all this goodly Fabrick would fall to pieces This Distinction I shall first endeavour to represent to you in the gross by the following Table The First and general Division All Power and Subjection is either 1 Private which extends to 1. Families and Houshold Government and here the mutual Relations are contracted Four Ways and the Authority is of Four Sorts 1. Conjugal between the Husband and Wife This Relation is the Source and Root of all Humane Society 2. Paternal between Parents and Children This is truly and properly Natural 3. Herile and that of two Sorts 1. Of Lords and their Slaves 2. Of Masters over their Servants 4. That of Patrons and their Dependants which is now out of Date and searce any where in use 2. Corporations and Colleges and Civil Communities such as are call'd the Lesser Communities which relates to the several Members of that particular Body 2. Publick and this again is either 1. Supreme which is of Three Sorts according to the Three known Constitutions 1. Monarchy or a Government vested in One single Person 2. Aristoâ—â—â—cy or that which is administred by a few of the best Quality 3. Democracy where the whole Body of theâ— cople have some Share in it 2. Subordinate which lieshetween Persons that are both Suporiours and Inferiours when considered in Different Respects and as Places and Persons may alter the Case and this is a Power of 1. Particular Lords in their â—â—â—eral Jurisdictions and admitting of many Degrees 2. Oâ—â—cers and Magistrates depâ—ted by the Supreme Power of which there is likewise great Variety This Publick Power whether the Supreme or the Subordinate Supreme Power Subdivided admits of several Subdivisions very necessary to be attended to The Supreme which as I observ'd is of Three Sorts according to the different Constitutions and Methods of Government executes and exerts it self in as many different ways and each of These according to the different Temper and Management hath been distinguish'd by the Titles of Kingly Arbitrary and Tyrannical Kingly is when the Supreme Power be it lodged in one or in more Hands is it self strictly Obedient to the Laws of Nature and preserves and protects its Subjects in their Natural Liberties and Civil Rights All Power in general belongs to Kings particular Properties to private Men. The King is Universal Lord and hath a Right Paramoum Others have the Right of Lordship and Possession Arbitrary Government is when the Sovereign is Lord of Mens Persons and Estates by Right of Conquest and the Subjects are Governed without any Regard to Claims or Laws or Rights but in an absolate Way as Lords use their Slaves This is rather Bondage and Captivity Subjection is too gentle a Name for it where Lives are cut off and Estates seized and rack'd and taken away at Pleasure Tyrannical Government is where the Sovereign despises and disregards all the Laws of Nature and Original Rights of Mankind and so does not only make use of but abuses the Persons and Possessions of the Subjects and this differs from the former Arbitrary way much after the same manner that a Robber differs from a Fair Enemy in the Field Now of these Three Different Constitutions the Monarchical but of the Three Tempers or Ways of Governing the Arbitrary hath been observed to be the most Antient and best Calenlated of any for Grandeur Continuance and Splendor Thus it was with the Assyrian Persian Aegyptian and at present that of Aethiopia the most Antient of any Moscovy Tartary Turkey and Pern But the Best and most Natural Estate is that manner of Government which we call Kingly according to our late Distinction of it The Famous Aristocracies were That of the Locademonians heretofore and That of the Venetians and States of Holland at this Day The Democracies were Rome Athens Carthage but the Government of all These as to its Temper and Method of Administration was what we call Kingly The Publick Power which is Subaltern Of particular Lards or Subordinate is lodg'd in particular Lords and These are of several Sorts and Degrees according to their respective Tenures and Capacities But the most Considerable are Five 1. Lords Tributary who only owe Tribute and nothing else 2. Feudatary Lords who hold their Lands in Fee 3. Simple Vaslals who owe Fealty and Homage for their Fee These Three may be Sovereign Themselves too 4. Liege Vassals that besides Fealty and Homage owe Personal Suit and Service and so cannot be truly Sovereign 5. Natural Subjects whether Vassals in Fee or in Cens or in any other Tenure and Capacity These owe Subjection and Obedience and cannot be exempted from the Power of their Sovereign Lord and yet are Lords Themselves The Publick Subordinate Power which consists in Offices under and Proper Officers employ'd by Oâ—fâ—â—ers the Supreme Power is of several Sorts but may be reduc'd to Five Degrees with regard to the Distinctions of Honour and Power which belong to or may direct us in the Consideration of them 1. The First and lowest Sort is that of Publick Executioners such as give the last Stroke and finish upon Criminals what the Courts of Justice have awarded and begun These however necessary have yet somewhat so shocking in their Employment that it hath been generally look'd upon as Odious and Scandalous and the Persons in that Office not suffered in many Places to dwell within the City 2. The Second are Men that are neither Honourable nor Dishonourable upon the Account of their Post such as Sergeants Trumpeters and the like 3. The Third Sort have Honour and Respect indeed by Virtue of their Office but no Authority by way of Cognisance or Power such are Notaries Receivers Secretaries and the like 4. The Fourth have not an empty Honour only but Power and Cognisance and yet not any Jurisdiction properly so call'd such are The King's Counsel for Example who may examine Publickly but can determine or give sinal Issue to nothing 5. The Last have Jurisdiction properly so call'd and by Virtue of This they have all the Rest And These only in Strictness of Speech are Magistrates which may be dislinguish'd several Ways particularly into these live Sorts each of which is Two-fold 1. Mayors Senators Judges Colonels c. Generals Judges 2. In Politicks or Civil Government In Military Matters 3. In Cuestions and Cases of Property and Right In Criminal Cases or Tryals of Offenders 4. Offices Titular fixt and Hereditary Offices in Particular Commission 5. Officers Perpetual of which Nature it is sit that there should be fewest and Those only of the least Consequence Officers Temporal or Removeable such as all of the Highest Importance ought to be Of the Conditions and Degrees of Men particularly according to the foregoing Table ADVERTISEMENT IT is Necessary to observe upon this Occasion that the several Divisions of this Table and the Distinction of those Powers and their respective Dependencies
Cowardice and base Degeneracy of Spirit for Lords made Men Slaves because when they had them in their Power and Possession there was more Profit to be got by keeping than there could be by killing them And it is observable that heretofore one of the most valuable sorts of Wealth and that which the Owners took greatest Pride in consisted in the Multitude and the Quality of Slaves In this respect it was that Crassus grew rich above all other Romans for besides Those that continually waited upon him he had Five Hundred Slaves kept constantly at hard Work and all the Gain of their several Arts and Labours was daily brought and converted to his Advantage And this tho' very great was not all the Profit neither for after that they had made a vast Account of their Drudgery and kept them a great while thus in Work and Service their very Persons were a Marketable Commodity and some farther Gain was made in the Sale of Them to other Masters It would really amaze one to read and consider well the Cruelties that have been exercis'd upon Slaves The Cruel Usage of Slaves and Those not only such as the Tyranny of an inhumane Lord might put him upon but such as even the Publick Laws have permitted and approv'd They us'd to Chain and Yoke them together and so make them Till the Ground like Oxen and they do so to this Day in Barbary lodge them in Ditches or Bogs or Pits and deep Caves and when they were worn and wasted with Age and Toil and so could bring in no more Gain by their Service the poor impotent Wretches were either sold at a low Price or drown'd and thrown into Ponds to feed their Lord's Fish They killed them not only for the slightest and most insignificant Offence as the Breaking of a Glass or the like but upon the least Suspicions and most unaccountable Jealousies Nay sometimes merely to give Themselves Diversion as Flaminius did who yet was a Person of more than ordinary Character and reputed a very Good Man in his Time It is notorious that they were forc'd to enter the Lists and combat and kill one another upon the Publick Theatres for the Entertainment of the People If the Master of the House were Murdered under his own Roof let who would be the Doer of it yet all the Slaves tho' perfectly innocent of the Thing were sure to go to Pot. And accordingly we find that when Pedanius a Roman was killed notwithstanding they had certain Intelligence of the Murderer yet by express Decree of the Senate Four Hundred poor Wretches that were his Slaves were put to Death for no other reason but their being so Nor is it much less surprizing on the other hand to take notice of the Rebellions Insurrections and Barbarities of Slaves when they have made Head against their Lords and gotten them into their Power And That not only in Cases of Treachery and Surprize as we read of one Tragical Night in the City of Tyre but sometimes in open Field in regular Forces and form'd Battles by Sea and Land all which gave Occasion for the use of that Proverb That a Man hath as many Enemies as he hath Slaves Now in proportion as the Christian Religion first How they came to lesson and afterwards the Mahometan got ground and increas'd the Number of Slaves decreas'd and the Terms of Servitude grew more easie and gentle For the Christians first and afterwards the Mahometans who affected to follow the Christians Examples made it a constant Practice and Rule to give all those Persons their Freedom who became Proselytes to their Religion And this prov'd a very great Invitation and powerful Inducement to convert and win Men over Insomuch that about the Year Twelve Hundred there was scarce any such thing as a Slave left in the World except in such places only where neither of these Two Persuasions had gain'd any Footing or Credit But then it is very remarkable withal that in the same Proportions And the Poor to increase as the Number of Slaves fell away and abated that of Poor People and Beggars and Vagabonds multiply'd upon us And the Reason is very obvious for Those Persons who during the State of Slavery wrought for their Patrons and were maintain'd at Their Expence when they were dismist Their Families lost their Table at the same time they receiv'd their Liberty and when they were thus turn'd loose into the World to shift for Themselves it was not easie for them to find Means of supporting their Families which by reason of the great Fruitfulness of People in low Condition generally were very numerous in Children and thus they grew overstockt themselves and filled the World with Poor Want and extreme Necessity presently began to pinch these kind of People Return to Servitude and compelled them to return back again to Servitude in their own Defence Thus they were content to enslave Themselves to truck and barter away their Liberty to set their Labours to Sale and let out their Persons for Hire meerly that they might secure to Themselves convenient Sustenance and a quiet Retreat and lighten the Burden which the Increase of Children brought upon them Besides this pressing Occasion and the Servitude chosen upon it the World hath pretty much relapsed into the Using of Slaves again by means of those continual Wars which both Christians and Mahometans are eternally engag'd in both against each other and against the Pagans in the East and Western Countries particularly And though the Example of the Jews be so far allow'd as a good Precedent that they have no Slaves of their own Brethren and Countrymen yet of Strangers and Foreigners they have and These are still kept in Slavery and under Constraint notwithstanding they do come over to the Profession of their Master's Religion The Power and Authority of common Masters over their Servants is not at all domineering or extravagant nor such as can in any degree be prejudicial to the Natural Liberty of Them who live under it The utmost they can pretend to is the chastizing and correcting them when they do amiss and in This they are oblig'd to proceed with Discretion and not suffer their Severities to be unreasonable and out of all Measure But over those who are hired in as Workmen and Days-men this Authority is still less There is only a Covenant for Labour and Wages in Exchange but no Power nor any Right of Correction or Corporal Punishment lies against These from their Masters The Duty of Masters and Servants is treated of Book III. Chap. 15. CHAP. XLIX Of Publick Government Sovereign Power and Princes AFter the Account already given of Private Power The Nature and Necessity of Pub-blick Government the next thing that falls under our Consideration is the Publick or that of the State Now the State that is to say Government or a Determinate Order and Establishment for Commanding and Obeying is the very Pillar
submit but to think themselves bound to do so and that they are not at liberty to satisfy their own Reason What a Horrible Indignity what a Degradation of Humane Nature is This In other Cases we find them bold and assuming extremely jealous of their Honour and tenacious of their Privileges But here they are despicably tame and poor-spirited which is the justest the most indisputable the most inherent Property of any that belongs to them 'T is certain that there can be but One Truth but Falshood is infinite A Thousand differing Judgments upon the same Thing and but One of all these in the right and shall I in the midst of all this Doubt and Confusion be forbidden to use the Means God hath put into my hands for the finding out which That is Shall it be thought Taking more upon me than becomes me if I endeavour to discover the best Appearance of Truth or Equity or Profit or Convenience for a Rule and Measure to my own Actions Is it possible to suppose that among the many disagreeing nay opposite Laws and Customs of the World none but Ours should be good for any thing Are all Mankind out of their Senses and hath every other Nation taken wrong Measures Who can have the Confidence to assert this Or who makes any Question but other Countries are even with us and think every whit as meanly of Our Constitutions as we do of Theirs Nay there is no dispute but this very Person whoever he be that is so blindly fond of his Native Manners would have had the same partial Liking for those of any other place where it had been his Fortune to have been born and bred He would have been as warm in preferring Those above such as he now thinks best for no other reason 't is plain but because he hath been used to them If any Man shall venture to assert the Contrary I must beg leave at least to answer him that This Liberty of Judging is a good Rule however for all Foreigners to make Use of that so They by the Practice of it may convince themselves how much Our methods of Living excel Theirs This he must grant me sure and if he do it will follow that a Wise Man will think it advisable to do this upon All Occasions and pass Sentence upon nothing till he have allowed it a fair hearing and weighed the Matter impartially To be led thus like Oxen and follow the Herd is fit for none but Brutes or Men but one Remove above them I would by all means have a man behave and express himself and make his Figure in compliance with the rest of the World but I would not have him conform his Judgment to Theirs nay I would have him even sit in Judgment upon Theirs What Privilege do you leave the greatest Philosopher above the most ignorant Clown if the noblest part of him his Mind shall be enslaved to common Vogue Methinks the World should be very well satisfied with a Man's Compliance in outward Behaviour But all Within is my Own And what hath the World to do with my Thoughts They shall give Rules if they please to my Tongue and my Hand but my Mind by their good Leave is out of their Jurisdiction and is accountable to another Master The Liberty of the Mind is what no body can actually take away and if any Attempt it they are of all Tyrants and Usurpers the most unreasonable the most insupportable Every Wise Man will be sure to be tender of it and offend in neither Extreme for he will neither endure to part with his own Freedom nor offer to invade any other Man's Now I own that while a Wise Man asserts this Liberty to himself it cannot be expected that he should be always of a piece For at this rate his Hand and his Opinion his Body and his Mind will be frequently put upon contradictions to one another and there is no avoiding it because Prudence governs his outward Actions and private Judgment the Sentiments of his Soul So that here are two different Characters to be maintained and he must play both or be unjust either to the World or to himself The Common Remark that all Mankind act a part upon this Stage of the World is as strictly true of the Wisest Men as of any others whatsoever for they are quite other sort of persons within than they appear to the Spectators and if they should not play thus but shew themselves without any manner of disguise the difference would never be endured all their Behaviour would be so particular And yet at the same time were their real Opinions in agreement with their Practice this would involve them in so many Errors and Corruptions that they would not be able to endure themselves Many Compliances must be indulged out of Respect to the Opinion of the World and the Laws and Customs which prevail abroad and particularly in the places where we dwell But then a man owes it to himself too not to make These the Standard of his Opinions but form Them upon the Dictates of Nature and the Rules of Universal Equity and Reason And he who does thus must content himself with many things which he does not strictly approve and while he lives among Men must act as They do but with this Reserve to himself that these things are not done by him in the Quality of a Wise Man but merely under the general Character of a Man and a Member of Society Thus He in his Actions will be like Cicero in his Expressions who declared he referred the Usage of Words to the People but the proper meaning of them he reserved the right of judging in to himself To instance now in a few particulars and those some of them very frivolous and of little or no Consequence I make no Scruple to pull off my Hat in Civility and Deference to a Man of Quality because this part of the World express their Respect that way but at the same time I am free to think the Eastern Custom better who express their Reverence by laying their hand upon their Breast and never hazard their health nor expose themselves to any of the other Inconveniences incident to frequent Uncovering of the Head So again were I an Inhabitant of the Oriental parts of the World I would eat my Meals upon the ground or leaning or lying along as they do and as great part of the World did heretofore particularly the Jews as we find by the Description of our Lord's last Supper but still I could not forbear in my own private judgment preferring the sitting upright at Table as our present manner is for the much more commodious way of Eating Again to mention a Matter of somewhat greater Importance I am satisfied that the Dead Bodies of my Friends should be interred and given as a Prey to the Worms but still I cannot but think the old way of burning and preserving their Ashes in Urns much more cleanly
happen that a Man be obliged to struggle with his own Inclination and must conquer and commit a violence upon his Nature to make it serviceable to his purpose and capable of discharging the Employment he hath taken upon him Or on the other hand if in obedience to Nature and to gratify our Inclination we are either with our own consent or insensibly and against our Wills trapann'd into a Course that falls short of our Duty or runs counter to it what miserable Confusion and Disorder must here needs be How can we ever expect Evenness under so much Force Constancy from so much Constraint or Decorum where every thing is against the Grain For as is well oberved * Si quicquam decoium nihil profecto magis quam aequabilitas Vitae universae singularum actionum quam conservare non possis si aliorum imitans Naturam omittas tuam If there be such a thing as Decency in the world it is seen in nothing more than in an easiness and consistency both of one's whole life in general and of each particular Action in it And this Decorum can never be maintain'd if you live in conformity to other people's dispositions and have no regard to the following your own There cannot be a vainer Imagination than to suppose any thing can last long or be well done and eminently good in its kind or that it can become a Man or sit easy upon him if there be not somewhat of Nature and Inclination in it †Tu nihil invitâ dices faciesve Minervâ Hor. Art Poet. Discern which way your Talent lies Nor vainly struggle with your Genius Lord Roscom * Id quemque decet quod est suum maximè Sic est faciendum ut contra naturam universam nil contendamus eâ servarâ propriam sequamur That which is most a Man 's own is always most graceful And we must always take care so to order matters as first to offer no Violence against Nature in general and then to follow our own Genius in particular But now if it should so fall out that a Man either through Misfortune Imprudence or any other Accident should perceive himself entred into a Profession and course of Life full of Trouble inconvenient and improper and that he is so deeply engaged too that there is no possibility of changing or getting quit of it in this case all that Wisdom and good Conduct hath to do is to resolve upon supporting and sweetning it keeping one's self easy and making the most of it Like skilful Gamesters who when they have an ill Throw mend it in the playing For Plato's Counsel is best upon these occasions the bearing our Chance patiently and managing it to all the Advantage an ill Bargain is capable of You see what a Knack of this kind Nature hath given to some sort of Creatures when the Bees out of an Herb so rough and harsh and dry as Thyme is can extract so sweet a Substance as Honey And this is such an Excellence as all those wise and good Men Imitate who manage Difficulties dextrously and as the Proverb expresses it make a Vartue of Necessity CHAP. V. The First Act or Office of Wisdom The Study of and serious Endeavour after True Piety THE necessary Preparations to Wisdom being thus explained in the former Chapters which are in the manner of laying our Foundation it may now be seasonable to proceed to the Building it self and erect upon this Ground-work the Rules and Precepts of Wisdom And here the First both in Order and Dignity which offers it self to our Consideration concerns true Religion and the Service of Almighty God For certainly Piety ought to have the precedence of all Virtues and is the highest and most honourable in the Scale of Duties But the greater and more important it is the more we are concerned to have a right notion of it especially when to the insinite consequence of the thing we add the danger of being mistaken and withal how very common and easy it is to deceive our selves in this point Great need therefore we have of Caution and good Adâ—ice that we may be truly informed how the Man who makes Wisdom his Aim and Business ought to manage himself upon this weighty occasion And the giving Directions of this nature is the design of my present Discourse after I have first made a short Digression concerning the State and Success of several sorts of Religion in the World Of which I shall chuse to speak but briefly here and refer my Reader for farther Satisfaction to what I have said more at large to this purpose in another Treatise of mine called the Three Truths And first of all Difference of Religions I cannot but take notice how dismal and deplorable a thing the great Variety of Relgions is which either now do or formerly have obtained in the World And which is yet a greater misfortune and reproach the Oddness of some of them Opinions and Rites so fantastical so exorbitant that it is just matter of wonder and astonishment which way the Mind of Man could so far degenerate into Brutality and be so miserably besotted with Frauds and Folly For upon examination it will appear that there is scarce any one thing so high or so low but it hath been Deified and even the vilest and most contemptible parts of the Creation have in some quarter of the World or other found People blind enough to pay them Divine Honours and Adoration Now notwithstanding this Difference be really as vast and as horrid as I have intimated or my Reader can imagine yet there seem to be some General Points in common which like Principles or Fundamentals are such as Most if not All of them have agreed in For however they may wander from one another and take different Paths afterwards yet they set out alike and walk hand in hand for some Considerable Time At least they appear and affect to do so the Devil transforming himself into an Angel of Light and undermining the Truth by Mimicking it as knowing that the most effectual Art to seduce Men is by contriving fair and plausible Lies and dressing up Wickedness in its most engaging Attire To this purpose it is observable that the most prevailing Persuasions have sprung from the same Climate and first drew breath in almost the same Air. Palestine I mean and Arabia which are Countries contiguous to one another Some of their First and main Principles are very near alike such as the Belief of one God the Maker and Governor of all things All own the Providence of God and his Particular Love and Favour for Mankind the Immortality of the Soul a Reward in Reserve for the Good and terrible Punishments which await the Wicked even after this Life some particular Profession and set Form of Solemn and External Worship by which they put up their prayers invoke the Name of God and think that a decent Honour and acceptable
Religion since in All there is so very little of such Doctrine as is agreeable to the common Temper and Capacity of Mankind but the principal Points of Faith and Worship are in one of the forementioned Extremes and those of Practice distant either from common Use or from general Inclination Hence it comes to pass that the Men of strong Parts have so often despised Religion and exposed it to the Derision of the World and those of Weak and Superstitious Minds are confounded and scandalized at it This was St. Paul's Complaint in the first planting of the Christian Faith 1 Cor. 1.23 We preach Jesus Christ crucified to the Jews a Stumbling-block and to the Greeks Foolishness And this indeed is the very Reason why we find so much Prophaneness and Irreligion so much Error and Heresy in the World Some believe not at all and others believe amiss because they consult their own Judgment only and hearken to no other Guide but the Dictates of human Reason They bring matters of Religion to the same Trial with other common matters and will needs undertake to examine and measure and judge of them by the Standard of their own Capacity They treat this Divine like other Common and merely Human Sciences and Professions expecting to master and penetrate to the bottom of it by the strength of Natural Parts But This is not the way of dealing with Divine Truths A Man's Affections must be qualified and disposed for these Doctrines They require Simplicity and Honesty meekness of Temper an humble and obedient Mind These only can fit a Man for receiving Religion For he that does so in good earnest must believe its Declarations submit to its Laws and govern himself by them with Reverence and Resignation of Soul In short he must be content that his own Judgment should be over-ruled by the Word of God and to live and be led by universal Consent and Authority which seems to be the Subjection intended by the Apostle when he speaks of * Captivantes intellectum ad obsequium Fidei Casting down Imaginations or Reasonings 2 Cor x. 5. and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringing into Captivity every Thought to the obedience of Faith And Reason good they should be so however the Conceited or Unthinking part of the World may quarrel at this method yet it was certainly a great Instance of the Divine Wisdom to order the matter thus For such a proceeding seems highly necessary in order to preserve that Admiration and Respect which is due to Religion and which upon any other Terms would very hardly have been paid to it For religion ought to be entertained and embraced with Holy Reverence and great Authority and therefore with some degree of Difficulty too For Reason and Experience may soon convince us that if it were in every Circumstance suited to the Palat and of a size with the natural Apprehensions of Mankind if it carried nothing at all of Miracle or Mystery in it as it would be more easily so likewise it would be less respectfully received And so much as you bring it nearer to the Level of common Matters so much you certainly abate of that Regard it ought to have above all other matters whatsoever Now Why they are not to be received by human means since all Religions and Schemes of Belief are or pretend to be what I have here described foreign from and far above the Common Sense and Capacity of Mankind they must not they cannot be received or take possession of us by any human and natural means For had the Case been thus the most exalted Minds would have been in proportion eminent for Religion and so many Men of Wit and Judgment in Other things could never have been defective here but these Notions must needs have been conveyed into Mens Minds by supernatural and extraordinary Methods by Revelation from Heaven and The persons that receive and imbibe them must needs have them by the secret Teachings and Inspiration of God And thus you find that All who believe and profess Religion say for all of them do in effect assume to themselves that Declaration of the Apostle Gal. I. 1 12. Not of Men neither by Man nor of any other Creature but of God But if we lay aside all Flattery and Disguise and speak freely to the Point But yet so they are there will be found very little or nothing at the bottom of all these mighty Boastings For whatever Men may say or think to the contrary it is manifest that all sorts of Religion are handed down and received by human Methods This Observation is true in its very utmost Sense and Extent of all False and Counterfeit Persuasions for These when search'd to the bottom are no better than Diabolical Delusions or Human Inventions But True Religion as it is derived down to us from a Higher Original so it moves us by other Springs and is received after a very different manner And here to get a right understanding of this matter we must distinguish between the First Publication of the Truth that Reception which made it general and gave it a Settlement in the World and that Particular One by which private Persons embrace and come into it when already established The Former of These which first fix'd this Heavenly Plant was altogether Miraculous and Divine and agrees punctually with the Evangelist's account The Lord working with the Apostles and Preachers and confirming the Word with Signs following But the Latter must be acknowledged in great measure Human and private Mens Faith and Piety to be wrought by common and Ordinary Means This seems to be sufficiently plain first from the Manner of Religion's getting ground in the World and that whether we regard the first general planting of any Persuasion or the method of its gaining now upon private persons For whence is the daily Increase of any Sect Does not the Nation to which we belong the Country where we dwell nay the Town or the Family in which we were born commonly give us our Religion We take that which is the growth of the Soil and whatever we were born in the midst of and bred up to that Profession we still keep We are Circumcised or baptized Jews or Christians or Mahometans before we can be sensible that we are Men So that Religion is not the Generality of People's Choice but their Fate not so much their own Act and Deed as the Act of Others for and upon them See the Notes The Man is made a Member of the Jewish or Christian Communion without his Knowledge because he is descended of Jewish or Christian Parents and in a Country where this or that Persuasion obtains most And would not this do you think have been his Case if born in any other part of the World Would not the same person have been a Pagan or Mahometan if born where Heathen Idolatry or Mahumetism
the Bearer and Breeder up of Human Society and all States and Politick Constitutions are maintain'd and preserv'd by virtue of her Influence None but Tyrants and Monsters are jealous of or have a dislike to it not but that even They adore this Virtue in their Hearts and have a secret Esteem for it but because they themselves cannot come within the Verge and Benefit of it therefore they bid it open Defiance Love is powerful enough of it self to keep the World in order without the Addition of any other Helps And were it suffer'd to have free Course and operate every where with its utmost Vigour the necessity of all Laws would be quite superseded For Laws were only a Resuge taken in to help at a dead List and as the best Remedy that cou'd then be found to supply the Defect and Decays of Love and the very End and Aim of these is to bring Men by Authority and Compulsion to do That almost whether they will or no which they ought to have done freely and out of Inclination upon a Principle of Kindness But still Laws fall far short of This in Point of Efficacy and Extent For These can only take cognizance of Overt-Acts and pretend not to restrain or make Provision against any other Whereas Love goes to the Bottom regulates the Heart as well as the Tongue and the Hands purifies the Will and directs its Operations thus sweetning the very Spring whence all our Actions flow Upon this Account Aristotle seems to have said That Wise and Good Lawgivers have a greater regard to Love than to Justice And because in this wretched Degeneracy of Mankind both the One and the Other of these are but too often slighted and defeated therefore a Third Remedy hath been thought of but That still less effectual in its Operations and less valuable in it self than either of the Former which is Force of Arms than which nothing can be more directly contrary to that first Principle of Love And thus you have a short Scheme laid before you of Politick Institutions and Government and by what Steps they grew or rather indeed fell and sunk down into that Condition we now see them in But still the first and single Principle of Amity is worth All incomparably above all the rest as indeed it usually happens in other Cases that the Second and Subsidiary Remedies never come up to the First and Principal for These are the Effects of Choice and taken for their own Sakes but Those the last Shifts of necessitated Men who in their Extremity lay hold on any thing that comes next and must be content to take what they can get There is it must be confest Distinguish'd as to Caulis great Ambiguity in this Term of Love and many Distinctions have accordingly been made which were but needful to give Us a true Idea of the Variety of Passions proceeding from it The Ancients were wont to divide it into Four sorts Natural Social Hospitable and Venereal But this Division so far as I can apprehend does not do the Business and therefore we will try another Method and distinguish it these Three following ways First with regard to the Causes that create it and They are Four Nature Virtue Profit and Pleasure and these sometimes advance all together in a Body sometimes Two or Three of them and very often One of them appears single But of all these Virtue is the noblest Cause and the most powerful for This is pure and refin'd and hath it's Residence in the Heart the Seat of Love it self Nature runs in the Blood Profit lies in the Purse and Pleasure is consin'd to some particular Part and works but upon the Senses of the Body except at a distance and by Reflection only Accordingly Virtue is more free and open and pure and firm in its Affection for all the other Causes when destitute of this are sordid and mean fickle and of short Continuance He that loves upon the Account of Virtue can never be weary because there are always fresh Charms to attract and entertain him and if such a Friendship happen to break off he hath no reason to complain because the Breach could not have been if all that was worth his Love had not fail'd He that Loves for Profit if a Breach happen there is full of immoderate Complaints but exposed to very just Reproach for having spared no Pains and yet gaining nothing by all his Trouble He that Loves for Pleasure when the Satisfaction ceases the Passion ceases too and he takes leave of the Object without murmuring or complaint The Second Distinction relates to the Parties concern'd in this Affection The Persons and of These there are Three sorts remarkable One proceeds in a direct Line between Superioural as between Parents and Children Uncles and Nephews or Legal and Political as between a Prince and his Subjects a Lord and his Vassals a Master and his Servants a Turor and his Pupil a Prelate or Preacher or Magistrate and the People under his Care Now if one would speak properly and go to the Nicety of the thing This is not true Love by reason of the Distance and great Disparity between the Circumstances of the Parties which hinders that Easiness and Privacy that Familiarity and entire Communication which is the Principal Fruit and Consequence of Love as also upon the Account of that Obligation there â—es upon them which leaves such Persons very little at their own Disposal in this Matter and so takes off from that Freedom supposed in this Virtue making the Affection rather an Effect of Duty and Necessity than of Choice And in consideration of This it is that we call it by other Names more suitable to those Engagements Thus Inferiours we say owe Honour and Respect and Obedience to those above them and Superiours owe Care and Protection and Vigilance and kind Condescension to those beneath them The Second sort of Love with regard to the Parties proceeds in a Collateral Line and This is between such as are either almost or altogether Equals This again is Twofold either Natural or Voluntary The Natural first as between Brothers Sisters Cousins and the like which is more properly call'd Love than the Former because there is less Disparity in their Condition and so more room for Familiarity and free Converse But then here is an Obligation from Nature too and that such a one as loosens or slackens that Knot in one respect which it ties and binds us by in another For many Quarrels and Misunderstandings commonly arise between these Relations upon the Account of Portion Inheritance and that variety of Business and Interests wherein they are mutually concern'd Besides that very frequently there wants that Similitude and exact Agreement of Humours and Inclinations which is the very Life and Essence of true and entire Affection I must confess he is an ill Man or a Fool but he is my Brother or my Relation are Complaints exceeding common
to her former Circumstances Whether she did or did not bring a Fortune That alters not the Case one whit such Considerations are quite out of Doors and nothing now lies before him but the present Relation between them He is indeed to be governed by his own Abilities and will do well to secure the main Chance but then all the Frugality upon this Account must extend to the retrenching his own Expences too For whatever Figure he allows himself to make his Wife ought to be supported Suitably and in Proportion to it 3. The providing her with Clothes which is a Right so undoubted that all Laws concur in giving a Wife this Privilege and that in so Solemn and Incommunicable a manner that they have denied the Husband a Power of disposing any thing of this Kind away from her and have not left them liable to the Payment of his just Debts 4. The Rights of the Bed 5. The Loving Cherishing and Protecting her Those Two Extremes which the World are apt to run into are Vicious and Abominable The keeping them under and treating them like Servants and the submitting to them as if they were absolute Mistresses These I take to be the principal and constant Duties Others there are Accidental and Occasional Duties secondary to and consequent upon the former Such as Taking Care of her if she be sick Ransoming her if she be taken Captive Burying her Honourably and according to her Quality if she happen to die and Making Provision by his last Will for her decent Support in her Widowhood and the comfortable Subsistence of the Children she hath brought him The Duties of the Wife are to pay all becoming Honour and Reverence and Respect to her Husband Wive's Duty looking upon him as a kind and Affectionate Master Accordingly the Scripture takes Notice that Women eminent for their Conjugal Virtues used to call their Husbands Lord and it is observable that the same Word in the Hebrew Tongue signifies Lord and Husband both The Imagination that a Woman lessens her self by this respectful and submissive Behaviour is most Frivolous and Foolish for she that discharges this part of her Duty well consults her own more than her Husband's Honour and she that is Insolent and Imperious Humoursome and Perverse does the greatest Injury to her self A Second Duty is Obedience to all his lawful and just Command's complying with his Humours and bringing over her own Inclinations to His For a good and a prudent Wife is like a true Glass which makes an exact Reflection of the Face that looks in it She should have no Design no Passion no Thought particular to her self but to be sure none in Opposition to His. Like Dimensions and Accidents which have no Motion no separate Existence of their own but constantly move with and subsist in the Body whereunto they belong so Wives should always keep close and be from the very Heart and even Affections of their Souls entirely and inseparably united to their Husbands A Third is Service That part especially which relates to the providing him seasonable and Necessary Refreshments over-looking the Kitchin ordering the Table and not disdaining to do any Offices or give him any kind of Assistance about his Person a Duty so fit to be condescended to that the Antients were wont to reckon Washing the Feet in particular among the Instances of Service due from the Wife to her Husband Fourthly Keeping much at Home upon which Account a Wife is compar'd to a Tortoise that carries her House upon her Back and used heretofore to be painted with her Feet Naked an Emblem of her not being provided for stirring abroad This is a modest and decent Reserve requisite at all Times but more especially in the Absence of her Husband For a good Wife is the exact Reverse of the Moon she shines abroad and in full Lustre when near her Sun but disappears and is totally invisible when at a Distance from him A Fifth is Silence for she should never give her self the Liberty of talking much except with her Husband or for him Here indeed her Tongue may take a Loose and is subject to no other Restraint than the speaking no more than is convenient This I confess is a very difficult Point hard of Digestion in this lavish Age where Multitude of Words sets up for a Female Virtue and so rare in all Ages Ecclus xxvi 14. that the Wise Son of Sirach calls a silent Woman a Precious and Particular Gift of God The Sixth is applying her self to Houswifery and good Management Prov. xxxi for though Solomon's Description of a wise and good Woman may be thought too Mean and Mechanical for this refined Generation yet certain it is that the Business of a Family is the most Profitable nay the most Honourable Study they can employ themselves in This is the Reigning Accomplishment That which so far as Fortune is concerned ought to be 〈◊〉 esteemed and regarded in the Choice of a Wife To 〈◊〉 the Truth This is a Fortune singly and by it self the Observation or the Neglect of it without the Addition of any Casualties is sufficient to ruine or to preserve nay to make a Family But This hath the Fate of all other Excellencies too which is to be exceeding rare and scarce There are I confess a great many sordid and scraping Wives but very few good Managers But alas there is a vast deal of Difference between Avarice and Parsimony and provident Care and good Houswifery As to the Enjoyments indulged in a Married State Men should always remember that this is a Chast a Pure and a Religious Union Consecrated to Excellent Mysteries and Holy Purposes and therefore that all the Pleasures of it should be used with Moderation and Sobriety In such Measures only as Prudence and Conscience would direct when consulted seriously and without any Byass from gross and carnal Affections And sure it would very ill become a Society instituted for mutual Comfort and the Advancement of Religion and the preservation of Purity to throw off all Restraint and convert their Privilege of Lawful Delights into an Occasion of abandoning themselves to Sensuality and Licentiousness This is One of those Cases where no certain Bounds can be prescribed but it will highly concern all Persons engaged in this State to consider the Dignity and the Design of it and to keep themselves under such Reserves as may neither profane the one nor evacuate the other CHAP. XIII Good Management THis is a very becoming and necessary Care An Employment not hard to be attained to every Man of common Discretion is capable of it But though the Art be easily learned the constant Exercise of it is Intricate and Laborious by Reason of that Great Variety of Business in which it engages us and though many Matters about which it is managed be small and inconsiderable in themselves yet the constant Succession of them is very troublesome Domestick Cares give great Uneasiness because