be freed from the Tyranny thereof The seventh Discourse That self-love is nothing else but Concupiscence Though Divines have given as many names to Concupiscence as she hath committed sins and that every one paints her out as he finds her in another or according to his own experience yet they all agree that her most celebrated name and that which best expresseth her nature is self-love For as Charity comprehends all vertues self-love comprehends all vices as Charity unites us to God and loseth us from our selves her Enemy self-love severs us from God and fasteneth us to our selves As Charity hath no greater a passion for any thing then to love God and make him be beloved by all others self-love produceth no more violent desire in man then to love himself and to obliege all other men to love him To comprehend these truths you must know that Charity according to S. Pauls words and S. Augustines Comment composeth all vertues to be perfect It sufficeth to be charitable one vertue is sufficient in Christs school to acquire all others she believeth all things saith that great Apostle and so hath the merit of Faith she waits for the accōplishment of Gods promises so possesseth the certainty of hope she suffers all injuries as well as Patience doth she withstands sorrow with as much courage as doth fortitude and this Famous Doctor of the Gentiles who perfectly knew the Inclinations of charity gives her all the Advantage which belongs to all the vertues so as according to his principles the loue of God is only Requisite to become highly vertuous Saint Augustine who learnt nothing but in S. Pauls school mixeth all vertues with Charity and as if he wold reduce al things to an unity he teacheth us that the only vertue on earth is to love him who is perfectly lovely For love hath several names according to his severall imployments he changeth qualities though not Nature and continuing stil the same presents himself unto us under divers forms and shapes Temperance is a faithful love which wholly gives herself over to what she loveth not permitting Voluptuousnesse to divide them Fortitude is a generous love which with delight overcomes all the difficulties which can be met withal for her well beloved sake Justice is an uncorrupt love which instructeth how to reign in obedience which submitting herself to God as to her sovereign commands over all creatures as over her slaves In fine wisdome is an illuminated love which happily discerning between the wayes which may estrange her from God and those which may fasten her to him chooseth the former and rejects the other or to expresse the same truth in other tearms Love is termed wisedome when he keeps himself from straying and hath right to what he loves he is called fortitude when he fights against such sorrows as would astonish him Temperance when he despiseth such pleasures as would corrupt him Justice when to consecrate his liberty to God he disdains to serue the Creature so may we say that self-love which is Charities mortall Enemy comprehends all vices and that it only changeth countenance when it appears under the form either of Pride Colour or Envy it is unjust in it's Ambition prepares for Combat when irritated for vengeance when offended when unjust it bereaves it's Neighbour of his goods and good name and when Intemperate it engageth it self in unlawfull delights The great Apostle when he numbers up all faults puts it in the first rank and teacheth us that there is no sin which is not a sort of self-self-love disguised And Saint Augustine who hath drawn all his Doctrine from Saint Pauls words instructeth the whole Church that the faults which wee detest are not so much the effects as the proprieties of self love In effect is not Avarice an unjust love of riches is not Pride an unjust love of Honours is not opiniatrecie a furious love to be always victorious is not colour a detestable love of revenge And to conclude all in a few words are not all sins as many different loves which changing rather countenance then humour agree all in a designe of fastning themselves to objects which they like and of keeping a loofe off from such as they like not There is also the second opposition of the love of God and the love of our selves for charity hath no nobler imployment then to free us from all things to unite us to God she endeavours to perswade us that to love our selves well we must hate our selves that to have a care of our selves we must forget our selves and if we would finde out our happinesse we must seek for it from without our selves men wonder that the law of God which commands us to love our Neighbour doth not command us to love our selves and that it only mentions the love we owe unto our selves when it recommends unto us the love which we owe unto our Neighbours but to boot that this love was imprinted in the foundation of our wills by the hands of Natures selfe and that it was more then needed to command us a thing to which we had so great an inclination man loved himselfe sufficiently in loving of God and God had sufficiently provided for mans happinesse in ordaining man to love him above all things The love of God is mans true happinesse we are rich when we possesse it and poore when we lose it let our designes be waited upon by whatsoever good successe let the world promise us what ever good event what ever favour Fortune affordeth us all riches which consists not in the possessions of the Summum bonum is but a meer reall poverty for as Augustine saith God is so good as all men that leave him are miserable and man is so noble as whatsoever is not God cannot render him happy t is charities chiefest designe to fasten man to God so straightly As that nothing may seperate him from God and to in lighten his soule with so much love as that she may exstinguish selfe love or turn it into a holy hatred of himselfe This Divine vertue can mount no higher so glorious a Metamorphosis is the utmost of her power and God can demand nothing more of those that love him when that they may love him perfectly they arrive at the height of hating themselves Self love takes a clean opposite way from that of charity and by direct contrary traces endeavours to estrange man from God and to fasten him to himselfe or to the Creature it effaceth as much as it is able the inclination which his soule hath for the Summum Bonum if it cannot stifle it it diverts it and seeing that the heart of man cannot be without imployment it lays before him the beauty of the Creatures to divert him from those of the Creatour being accompanied with blindnesse and pride it easily abuseth the soule which it possesseth and figuring out the perfections thereof more glorious
it is a part of our selves In fine no reason can justifie despair the number of our enemies the evils of the present life the Good of the Future the cruelty of sicknesses rigour of servitude sweetnesse of liberty strength of Temptations nor the very fear of sin are not considerations sufficient to make us hasten our death 't is alwaies poornesse of spirit not to be able to suffer the evil which we will shun by Homicide Pride hath lesse part in this crime then weaknesse and whatsoever praise the desperate man expects for his attempt wise men will alwaies beleeve that if he had courage enough to bear the miseries of life he would never have had recourse to so cowardly a remedy Al the Fortitude of Philosophers is then but meer cowardise those wounds which despair impatience have made them give themselves deserve more blame then they have received praise a man cannot approve of their fault without becoming guilty thereof and when Seneca imploys his weak reasons to excuse Catoes murther he lets us see that he knew not wherein greatnesse of courage consisted since he made it consist in an action which is more familiar to women then men to slaves then to free persons and to weak than to strong spirits The eigth Discourse That Friendship without Grace is alwaies interessed IF the vertue of Pagans have her stains we must not wonder if their Friendship have her defaults sin hath corrupted the best things and her malice hath left almost nothing in man which doth not deserve reproach or punishment since a sinner is upon bad termes with God he cannot be upon good terms with himself nor with his Neighbour If he love himself t is in excesse and if he love another t is for interest his will being in the power of his enemie he can hardly make good use of it whatsoever he does he is in danger of sinning his love is not much more Innocent than is his hatred and be it that he loves his friends or hates his enemies t is with so little justice as he stands alwaies in need of pardon profane Philosophie prefers Friendship before vertue she gives her such praises as taste of Flattery and if we will beleeve her reasons she will perswade us that the joynt uniting of Hearts is the greatest contentment which man can partake of on Earth 'T is the knot of Society without which States cannot be preserved nor Families maintained Nature made this project in production of woman whom she drew from the rib of man to the end that the resemblance and equality which she placed between them might oblige them to love one another she renews this in brothers who proceed from the same Originall and who are shaped in the same womb to the end that all things may invite them to love Vertue endeavours to make this good more universal and seeing that nature did not give all men brethren she would give them Friends repair their losse with usury For though brothers proceed from the same stem they are not alwayes of the same Humour they differ often more in their Inclinations then in their Countenances but say there were any thing of resemblance in their humours the dividing of Estates divides hearts and Interest which hath to do every where doth many times ruine their best intelligence But Friendship more powerfull than Nature makes a paâ—ty between those whom she will unite the unity of hearts is that which makes all things common and the words Thine and Mine which sets division between Brethren cannot do the like between Friends Nature leaves us no choise in her alliances we are engaged before we be capable of choise and she oft-times makes us love a Monster because he is our Brother but friendship gives us a freedome of choise she permits us to take the best and we are onely to blame our own folly if in the liberty she leaves us we make choise of one for a friend who deserves not our affection Our Brethren are the workmanship of nature she did not advise with us when she gave them life and not having the care of producing them we delight not in preserving them But our friends are the children of our will we formed them when we chose them we think our selves concernedin their losse because we have laboured in the acquiring of them And as Mothers expose themselves for their Children because they are their workmanship so men expose themselves for their friends because they are their Productions But not to spend more time in observing the advantages which friendship hath over and above nature we must confesse there is nothing in the world which ought not to give place to friendship Law which preserves Estates which punisheth vice defends vertue is not equall to her neither for antiquity nor power Punishments nor rewards were never ordained ' till friendship began to coole whil'st she continued in full vigour the use of lawes was uselesse and the Politiques do confesse that States are better governed by good Intelligence amongst Subjects than by Ordinances of Princes the latter reforme onely the mouth or the hand impede onely bad actions or insolent speeches but the former reformes the heart and gliding into the will guides desires and regulates thoughts The Law ends differences but friendship reconciles enemies the law inhibits injuries but friendship adviseth good offices In fine the law is requifite to the commencement or initiation of a good man but friendship is required to his accomplishment and by her advice renders him perfect She is also of use to all sorts of Conditions and that man liues not that needs not a friend A friend is needfull to old men to assist them to young men to guide them to the miserable to comfort them to the ignorant to instruct them and to Kings themselves to increase their felicity For though their condition seem to be raised above that of all other men and that amidst the abundance of riches and honours wherewith they are environed there remains nothing for them to wish for yet ought they to make friends and endeavour a delight which agrees as well with Greatnesse as with Innocence Friendship is the best of all exteriour Goods and 't were unjust that Kings who possesse whatsoever else is of good should not possesse this Friendship obligeth us rather to give than to receive and Kings are in a condition wherein liberality is their principall vertue In fine happy Princes ought not to be solitary and I know not whether any one of them would accept of their felicity at the rate of living solitarily Therefore greatnesse doth not forbid friendship to Soveraignes that which seems to keep them aloofe off from this vertue draws them nearer to it and their power is never more pleasing than when imployed in succouring the miserable or in making men happy Neither do we see any Prince who hath not his Favourite The proudest Monarches
then they are it makes her her own Idolater it raiseth her incensibly up to the height of impiety and by different steps mounts it even to the hatred of God for as the faithful man is perfect when he loves God even to the pitch of hating himself the sinner even hath the measure of his sin filled up when he loves himselfe even to the degree of hating God This passion reignes not much save in the souls of the damned one must be wholly possest by sin to conceive this designe and I know not whether there be any so sinful soule on Earth as can have so damnable a recentment Hell is the abode of these wicked ones and I firmly believe that as their hatred of God is the sow lest of there sins so is it the cruellest of their punishments yet can they not hate this Summum Bonum with there whole heart the foundation of their being is possest by the love of God they love him naturally whom they hate willingly they are divided between love and hatred there will is parted by these two contrary motions and for all they can do to stifle this naturall Inclination they cannot hinder their best part from languishing and sighing after God they afflict themselves that nature fights against there will and that her unalterable laws forceth them to love the author of their everlasting punishment But to reassume the threed of our discourse the last opposition of selfe love and charity is that the latter hath no more violent desire then to purchase lovers to God almighty to enlarge the bounds of his Empire and to disperce the holy flames of his Divine love into all hearts for a heart that is inflamed with this sacred fire knowing very well that it cannot love God according to his lovelinesse wisheth that all the parts of its body were changed into hearts and tongues to praise and love the only object of its love But as she sees her wishes are uselesse she endeavours to increase the number of Divine lovers to the end that making amends for her indigency they may love him with all their might whom she cannot sufficiently love Self love in opposition to this which obligeth man to make a god of himselfe inspires him with a desire to make himselfe be beloved of all the world Instructed by so good a master he imployeth all his cunning to rob himself of his liberties he discovers all his perfections to purchase lovers he proposeth himselfe unto himselfe as an Idoll to be adored and believeth that the truest and most legitimate happinesse on earth is to have slaves who are fairly forced to love him When Kings are arrived at this height of of injustice and Impiety men thinke them happy and the Politicks which labours to decypher a good Sovereigne is never better content then when she hath raised in them this violent desire of enjoyning their Subjects good will T is herein that she distinguisheth Kings from Tyrants and that she opposeth unjust Sovereignes to Legitimate Monarchies but we are taught by Christian Religion that blame may be incurred as well by making ones self be beloved as in making him be feared For though she honours Kings and condemnes Tyrants though she approve of Moderate Government and detests ruling by rigour yet doth she equally blame those who intrench upon Gods rights and who proposing themselves to their Subjects as their final end will possesse all their affections love appertaines aswell to God only as glory of all offerings he is best pleased with that of the heart and he loves much better to rule over men by the way of mildnesse then of rigour insomuch as Kings who would make themselves be beloved as Gods are not much lesse faulty then those who would make themselves be dreaded as Tyrants they are both of them guilty of Treason against the Diety and pretend to honours which are only reserved for God Lucifer never purposed to establish his greatnesse by violence he made more use of his beauty then of his power to Corrupt the inferiour Angels and if his Empire be terminated in rigour it began in clemency A legitimate Sovereigne straies as well from his duty in seeking after the love as after the fear of his Subjects and though one of these two ways be more innocent then the other in the sight of men it is not much lesse faulty in the sight of God it is not permitted in our Religion for a man to make himselfe be beloved t is a presumption to endeavour those liberties which pertain only to God to deboysh his subjects is to divide his Empire hee will have all his slaves to love him and according to Saint Austines maximes we owe all our love to God the Prince is bound to fasten his subjects to their Creator to make him reign in his kingdome and to receive no homage from his people save only for that he is the Image of God t is therefore the most dangerous impression that self-love can make in men when it perswades them that they deserve the love of the whole world and that they ought to imploy all their might to augment the number of their Lovers yet every one is possest with this passion and I see none who do not by severall ways aspire to this tyranny Men discover the perfection of their minds to make themselves admired women make the most they can of their bodily beauty to make them be adored but the one and the other of them will have their malady turn contagious and spread abroad the poyson of self-love which hath infected them into the souls of all those that come neer them The eighth Discourse That Concupiscence or Self-love divides it self into the love of Pleasure of Honour and of Knowledge MAns losse doth so sute with his greatnesse that to understand the one wel the other must necessarily be comprized and we must know what advantages he did possess in his Innocency that we may not be ignorant of such miseries as he undergoes by sin Originall righteousnesse which united him to God made him find innocent delights pure and certain knowledge and elevated honours of which ours are but the shadows in the Possession of the Summum Bonum when he lost Grace he therewith all lost all these glorious Privileges which were the dependances thereof his Pleasures were turned into Punishments his light into darkness and his glory into infamy the misery into which he saw himself faln did irritate his desire and the remembrance of his past felicity made him seek for that in the Creature which he had lost in his Creator Self-love which succeeded the love to God spread it self abroad into three as impure rivolets as was the spring head from whence they did derive the first was call'd the love of Pleasure the second the love of light or novelty and the third the love of greatnesse or of glory these three generall causes of all our disorders are the fatall
she hath rebellious Subjects to suppresse secret Traitors to discover corrupt Judges to reform and amongst so many disorders she hath but a weak instinct which supplying her ignorance indues her with aversion to what is evill and with Inclination to what is good But some may say I make Monsters to destroy them that I make the evill worse then it is to have the pleasure of curing it for in the state of Innocency the will was blind yet was not unhappy she was led by nothing but instinct and went not astray she took her light from the senses and her Counsels from the Understanding and yet did not this necessity make her miserable T is true she is naturally blind and that it is as much out of her power to know the truth as for the understanding to love vertue but she was assured of her officers fidelity the senses were not unfaithfull nor the Passions wild the imagination was not troubled nor the understanding darkned shee lived in a peaceable condition she neither feared her Enemies nor distrusted her Subjects but now she is shie of them all the senses will deceive her the Passions revolt her Imagination is confounded the understanding goes about to corrupt her and amidst so many disorders she hath but a weak inclination to Good which to say truth doth never abandon her We must moreover confesse that this inclination is much weakened by sin and that it is a kind of Miracle if it be not corrupted The Summum Bonum is so Excellent as he cannot be known without being beloved as soon as he suffers himself to be understood he makes himself be desired nor can the will be so depraved but that she must alwayes reserve some love for so ravishing an object The Angels find their happinesse in possessing him and the Devils their misfortune in losing him they cannot chuse but wish him and how maliciously so ever their will be bent it always languisheth after the Summum Bonum If they could be without love they would be without sorrow nor would they be sensible of their losse could they suffer it without sorrow Yet this inclination is rather naturall then voluntary t is rather grounded in their being then in their Liberty and t is rather a mark of the goodnesse of their Nature then of their good will If they naturally love God they hate him freely though they desire him they detest him and though their Inclination be forced their aversion is voluntary Thus we see that the wills instinct is not so constantly set upon Good but that it may be taken off and experience teacheth us that since the corruption of sin man is more inclined to vice then vertue We are much more prone to revenge an Injury then to acknowledge a good turn We remember an affront better then a favour we write good offices done in sand or water but ingrave ill ones in Brasse or Marble Whole ages are required to efface an offence but an obligation is forgotten in a moment The favours which we have received are debts and the injuries interests weare ashamed to be indebted and glory to be ungratefull we think we lose our liberty when we are obliged and we think to recover it by being unthankfull Mans nature is so corrupted as his hatred is purchased by favours and the love he bears to Liberty makes an obligation odious to him a good turn is sufficient to lose him and to be repaid with a bad one From this disorder another ariseth which is as unjust and more detestable We are much more eager in our hatred then in our love we pursue our Enemies with much more heat then we do serve our friends we are slack in friendship and vigorous in revenge we attempt impossibilities to rid our selves of one that hath offended us the remembrance of the injury augments our strength and we never want reasons to excite our Anger In assisting a Friend we are weak all things seem difficult unto us what he demands appears unjust and when once he is become necessitous we esteem him too importunate This evill inclination of the will appears no lesse reviling then in hatred we are flow to praise but ready to deprave we are naturally eloquent in Invectives but faint in praises All Antiquity hath been able to make but two or three Panegyricks yet all her Satyres are pleasing An Historian who praiseth vertue is not so much valued as he who blames vice and experience teacheth us that Orators cease to be eloquent when they become Panegyrical Tacitus ows the most of his Reputation to his reviling he is muchmore pleasing when he paints forth Tiberius his faults then when he describes Germanicus his vertues we adhibit more faith to his criminall then to his Innocent Maxims he passeth for a Statesman when he condemns the Caesars intentions or those of their officers his suspicions are as good as proofs when he speaks ill of Emperors and his reasons not so good as conjectures when he excuseth them If he praise Agripinâ—s Chastity he blames her pride if he heighten Germanicus his courage he abaseth his mildnesse if he value Augustus for his Government he blames him for his cruelty and if he make Tiberius his wisedom appear he every where discovers his dissimulation and fear It is easie to discover by his writings that the greatest part of the Pagans good works were sinfull since he attributes criminall Intentions to Actions which appear innocent He is only praised of all men for that he never praised any man and I am much deceived if his Design was not to win reputation at the cost of as many Princes as â—e writ off In fine our will is so depraved as we cannot see an other mans harm without some sort of satisfaction we are afflicted at his good successe and rejoyce at his mis-fortune not being offended with him we are pleased with his misery displeased with his happinesse we think his Glory lessens ours and like Caesar who could not looke upon the Image of Alexander without weeping we cannot looke upon our Neighbours advantages without sighing It seems as if fortune gave us what she takes from others and that she takes from us what she bestows on others and that she cannot make them happy unlesse she make us miserable Injustice is become naturall unto us and unlesse our inclinations be reformed by Grace they are much more bent to Vice then Vertue But you will say the will is alway Free that she may do well even in what she doth amisse since she may desire it and that this advantage alone is so great as that it recompenceth all her faults The following Discourse shall answer this objection and will let us see whether man hath sufficient Liberty left him or no in the state of sin to boast that he is rich in his losse happy in his misfortune and in his misery glorious The ninth Discourse That the Will to be able to do good
vertue being solovely steals away the hearts of her Enemies and makes her self be admired even by those that persecute her the lascivious praise her whil'st they make war against her they wish that such women as they have corrupted were chast and that such as commit Adultery with them would be true unto them We must not therefore wonder if the Romans were ravished with her beauty that they have praised her and that there hath been some Commanders who amidst the licenciousness of war have supprest their Passions that they might purchase the glorious Title of Temperate they thought that to overcome pain they must overcome pleasure that before they fight for their Country they must fight for reason that it was not to be hoped for that he who could not resist a womans beauty could defend himself against a souldiers valour They perswaded themselves that temperance was the first step to fortitude and that one judged of the victory which a Commander might get over his Enemy by what he had won over his sensuality Thus great men did study this vertue early she was their first Apprentisage and when the bloud which boiles in the veines kindled in them unclean desires they quenched the fire thereof by the help of temperance One of the Scipioes won more glory by vanquishing his love than by quelling the pride of Carthage he purchased more credit in Spain by his Continency then by his valour and the quitting of a famous beauty and free gift of her to her sweet-heart got him a whole Province he won many Battels by defending himself from a Maide And his enemies were perswaded that their Souldiers could not overcome him whom their Yeomen could not corrupt this combat is heightened above his victories his valour is never spoken of without mention made of his continencie and as oft as men talk of the taking of Carthage they adde thereunto the restitution of this Princesse All the Circumstances of this action are so remarkable as they are not to be omitted without injury to this gallant man He commanded a victorious army to which the laws of war made all things lawfull which were not by them forbidden he had tane a Town by assault the resistance whereof had stirr'd up his anger 't was thought that to astonish all Spain he would have made it a cruell example and that the bloud of the inhabitants should have been that wherewith he would have quenched the flames which devoured their houses that he would have made victimes of all the Prisoners and that if the Womens lives were preserved it should onely be to bereave them of their Honours In this belief they present him with a glorious beauty whose misfortune it was to be immured within that fatall Town she was unfortunate enough to move pitty but too fair not to provoke love The Souldiers were perswaded that their General would suffer himself to be vanquished in his victory and that he would become his captives captive they expected to have seen him once overcome whom they had alwaies seen victorious Though they had his continencie in great esteem they did think it was not proof good enough against so exquisite a beauty and they could not imagine that a man who was yet in the prime of his youth should have power to withstand the Allurements of so fair a Maide who had nothing but her tears to defend her self withall The truth is his eyes thought to have betrayed his heart and he found how difficult a thing it is to behold a rare beauty and not love it his passion would have perswaded him that without injuring his greatness he might become his captives captive he had examples enough to excuse his fault flattery would have authorized it and if he would have listned to his Domesticks he had neer triumphed over his love Amidst this his trouble he endeavoured to comfort her who caused his pain and would give security to her who intrench upon his liberty He understood by her that though her fortune had made her a Prisoner she was by birth a Princesse that her Parents had promised her to a young Prince and that her Fate had cast her into the hands of her enemies the knowledge of these particulars and that his Prisoner was of so high a rank was enough to make Scipio resolve to give her her Liberty he made her Father and her husband be sought for who came upon his word into Carthage every one looked for an event answerable to the passion which gave it life some think he will demand her in marriage others that he will inquire into her birth and see whether without offending the Glory of the Scipioes he may take his prisoner to be his wife some fear least he will begin his Marriage by Murther and secure his sute by his rivalls death few believe that he will betray his love and by one and the same act of Justice restore a daughter to her Father and a Mistris to her servant this mean while when he knew that this Princesse was no lesse Nobly born then beautifull that her Father was Governour of a Province and that her servant did Command an Army he presently delivered her into their hands and would no longer suffer his eyes to behold a beauty which might invite him to do an unjust act and to Crown this Noble Action he gave her the money which was brought him for her ransom as part of her portion to the end that all Spain might know that Scipio knew aswell how to Triumph over Avarice as over Love I foresee I cannot condemn this Action without under-going the jealousie of such as favour the party of the Infidels that I shall draw either publique envie or publique hatred upon me if I shall question whether so glorious a victory deserve the name of vertue or no and that men will think my love to Saint Austine hath made me forgoe the love of truth yet according to his principles we must confesse that this vertue is a sin that not deriving from charity it proceeded from self love that Scipio did but â—ence himself from one by an other and that his keeping himself from Incontinencie proceeded from vain glory Infidels are slaves to the Devil their will is in his hands and as long as this cruell Tyrant doth possesse them he permits them not to do any one good Action out of a good motive he may suffer them to resist the violence of Love or the fury of Avarice but he corrupts their intentions and never with draws them from one evil but he ingageth them in another they shun an ill step to fall into a precipice and their will is so subject unto his as after long deliberation they alwaies put on the worst resolution This unjust Sovereign fits himself to their inclinations that he may undo them he adviseth them onely to such things as he knows doth please them and when he gives any counsel he alwaies
shun an ill step or two she falls into a precipice This misfortune may be observed upon a thousand occasions but particularly in what concerns the body of man for some seeing the unrulinesse thereof could not beleeve that it was the workmanship of God and falling insensibly into an Errour perswaded themselves that the Devil was the author thereof some others thinking to withstand this heresie fall into another and considering the beauties of the body thought that it still retained its first purity that the faults thereof were perfections and that all the motions thereof might be represt by free-will without grace The Catholick truth walks in the midst between these two errours condemning the Manichees she acknowledgeth that mans body is made by God enlivened by his breath and fastened to the soul by invisible chaines to make one and the same whole condemning the Pelagians she confesseth that mans body hath lost its innocencie that sin reigns in the members thereof that it infecteth the soul which inanimates it and that the well fare thereof which begins in Baptisme will not be accomplisht till the last generall resurrection Thus God is the Author thereof and 't is a marke of ' its Goodnesse Jesus Christ is the redeemer thereof and 't is a mark of it's corruption I therefore am obliged to part this subject into two discourses the first of which shall contain the bodyes plea the other its condemnation Though the body be the least part of man and that it be Common to him with beasts yet hath it advantages which make it sufficiently known that it is destin'd to be the organ of an immortall soul. For the members thereof are so artificially formed as we cannot judge whether they be more usefull or more pleasing their number causeth no confusion their difference augments their beauty and their proportion gives the last touch to the work which they all together make up All of them have their particular employments they mutually assist one another without intrenching one upon another they hold such intelligence as their good and bad is common the tongue serves for interpreter to the whole body the eyes serve it for a guide the hands for its servants the ears for informers and the leggs for supporters Some of them are in perpetuall motion and never rest Action is their life and rest their death whilest the eyes are lull'd asleep the ears closed up and whilest the feet and hands lie fallow the heart is always in action it seems that nature intended to make it her chief piece of workmanship and that she employ'd all her industry to render it admirable 'T is the first part of man that lives and the last that dies it is so little as 't will not suffice to give a Kite a meal and yet so great as the whole world cannot satisfie it nothing but his immensity that made it can fill the infinite capacity thereof All passions derive from it as from their spring-head 't is this that causeth love and hatred 't is this that shuns what it hates for fear and draws neer to what it loves through desire 'T is lodged like a King in the midst of its subjects it gives its orders without departing from its Throne its motions are the rules of our health and assoon as it is assailed we are sick it s least hurts are mortall Nature which knows the worth and the weaknesse thereof hath endued all its subjects with a secret inclination to expose themselves for its defence the hands put by the blows that are made at it and knowing that their welfare consists in the preservation thereof they hazard themselves to save it from danger To reward this their service this Sovereigne is so vigilant as he never takes rest he labours alwayes for the weal-publick and whilest the senses are asleep he is busied in moving the Arteries in forming the Spirits and in distributing them about all the parts of the Body The Braines finish this work and giving it its last perfection dispose it to the noblest operations of the soul. This work ceaseth not though men sleep though the Soul take some refreshment these two parts of the Body are always in action and when they cease to move they cease to live All these live in so full a peace as the difference of their temper is not able to disturbe it Cold accords there with heat moystnesse is there no longer an enemy to drynesse and the elements which cannot tolerate one another in the World conspire together in man for his bodies preservation If any disorder happen it is occasioned by forreign heat the naturall Subjects never trouble the States tranquility they are so straightly joyn'd by their Interests as nothing can befall the one which the other doth not resent the pain of one part is the sicknesse of the whole body and if the foot be hurt the tongue complains the heart sighes the eyes weep the head bowes to consider the evill and the armes extend themselves to apply remedy If their love be so rare their obedience is no lesse remarkable for they force their own inclinations to observe the orders of the will and their fidelity is so ready as the command is no sooner impos'd then obey'd at their Soveraigns bare motion the hands strive to be acting the tongue explains his intentions the eyes expresse his thoughts and the eares execute his designs The will findes out so much submission in the faculties of the soule as in the parts of the body she is oft-times divided by her desires and opposed by her own inclinations sheis a rebell to her selfe cannot comprehend how one and the same object can cause horrour and love in her at the same time but she never commands her body without being obey'd and unlesse passions make a mutiny in it or that it be disorder'd by sicknesse it fulfils her orders with as much readinesse as faithfulnesse She likewise undertakes nothing without the assistance of this faithfull companion she stands in need of his aid in her noblest operations and though she be a meer spirit she can neither discourse nor reason but by the interposition of the body if she will forme thoughts she must consult with the imagination and if she will explain them she is forced to make use either of tongue or hand she hath no strong agitations which appear not in the eyes and when she is disquieted by any violent passion 't is soon seen in the face A man must be very vigilant to hinder the commerce between the body and the soule the rules of discretion and all art of policy which re-commends dissimulation to Soveraigns cannot keep their countenances from discovering their designes nor their eyes from betraying their wills the soule conceales nothing from this her faithfull confident he that could well study the changes which appear in the face might infallibly know the alterations of the minde and without needing to wish as that
and where women should have dominion over their husbands yet corrupted nature is engaged in this disorder and since our first Fathers sin the senses are the souls Counsellours and this faint-hearted Sovereign renouncing her lawfull authority receives orders from her slaves Their tyranny hath occasioned another more cruell and more dangerous for as they are subject to the devills illusions they fight under his colours and become accessary to all his wicked designes he hath wonall our senses over to him since sin the noblest are most trusty to him and he hath so corrupted them as one must either be very wise or very fortunate to defend himselfe from them He hath put slandering in the tongue uncleannesse in the eyes errour in the eares revenge in the heart and pride in the head He hath disperst disobedience amongst the passions revolt amongst the members and infidelity amongst all the senses If we speak he sollicits us to speak wrongfully if we hear he engageth us in errour if we look he strikes us in love if we think upon our injuries he incites us to revenge and if we consider our advantages he makes us vain glorious Thus are our senses the Executours of his fury the parts of our body are confederate in his faultinesse and the members which nature hath given us to defend our selves are the weapons which he makes use of to fight against us But lest I may be accused of adding to our mis fortune to excuse our sin I will consider the senses in particular and after having observed their advantages I will consider their defects If the eye be not the Noblest t is at least the most beautifull of all our senses and if it be not most usefull t is at least the most delightfull Nature imployes nine Moneths in forming it it is one of the parts of the Body she begins the soonest and ends the last t is a Master peece of workmanship wherein her power and her dexterity are equally to be admired She mingles conrraries so warily there as waters are there observed to agree with flames they are the rises of fire and of tears which cause deluges inflammations All passions are there seen in their glory sorrow and joy make it their chiefest Theatre and when the heart burns with love or with hatred it darteth out Thunder and lightning by the eyes their greatnesse is rather a prodigie than a wonder for they inclose the Heavens with all the stars therein the sea with all her rocks and earth with all its mountains the severall species of all these objects lodge there without confusion and Nature is amazed to see her whole Image in so small a looking glasse All their parts are of so nice a composition as they are undiscernable the nerves which convey the sight are smaller than the hairs of the head the thin filmes which covereth them are more transparent then Christall and the waters which are inclosed in their receptacles are so calm as no storm can trouble them Nature which governs her love according to the merit of her works hath given them so many guards as their excellencie is easily judged by her care in preserving them For to boote that the hairs on the eye-lids are as many bristled points which defend them that the eye-brows are arches which cover them that the eye-lids are vails which hide them the hands are imployed to save them and their Chief exercise when in the dark is to guard these sons which guide us in the day time They are so sudden in their operation as it holds of the Nature of lightning they raise themselves up to the heavens and descend to the depths in a moment they finde out things furthest of without wearinesse and by an ordinary miracle they joyn themselves to them without disjoyning themselves from the body They serve for an Interpreter to those that cannot speak they expresse thoughts which the understanding dares not trust the tongue withall they are so happy in their expressions as savadge men understand them and they are so powerfull in their perswasions as they oft-times obtain more by their looks then the mouth can do by words But assuredly it must be confest that their bad exceeds their good and their defaults their advantages For the greatest sins commence by the sight love hath no force with those that are blinde though he be blinde-folded his looks make his greatest Conquest and the arrows which he shoots proceed rather from his eyes then from his quiver The subtilty of this sense serves onely to make it the more guilty it commits faults where it is not and being more subtil then thunder it scorcheth People without touching them it meditates adulteries before the heart conceiveth them and in all unchaste sins it is alwaies first faulty most men would be innocent if they were blinde and without seeking so many remedies against love want of sight would serve the turn The Soul having a more Noble residence in the eyes then in the other senses she shapes no wishes which she expresses not by them nor conceives she any designe wherein they are not Complices Every part of the body is capable of some crime and since our losse of innocency we have no part in us which is not able to irritate Gods justice But yet we have this of comfort in our misfortune that their mischiefe is bounded and that by a fortunate disability they can commit but one sort of sin The hand is onely guilty of Murders and Theft the tongue of blasphemy and calumnie the ear of hearing errour and falshood and the mouth of excesse in eating and drinking but the eye is guilty of all crimes it sees no object wherewith it is not tempted and all sins which can kill our Souls can seduce our light pride seems to have establisht its Throne there lying is not more naturall to the tongue then vain-glory to the eyes As they have the art of speaking they have also the cunning of mis-speaking their very looks without the help of worâ—s sufficiently witnesse their despisal Slothfulnesse reignes there no lesse then obloquie though they be so active they cease not to be slothfull drowsinesse assails them to make us sleep they are sooner shut then the ears and experience teacheth us that we hear words when we see no objects Anger is seen to break forth there in fury Lightnings and Thunders burst forth from thence as messengers of revenge and this violent passion makes not much more havock in the heart than in the eyes Like avarice they are insatiable that which hath been pleasing to them causeth their pain and their punishments arise from whence their desires did first derive Envie sins more by the eyes than by the hands though she be made to passe for blinde she looks upon her neighbours happinesse with repining and should she have lost use of sight she would have found a remedy for the greatest part of her
to cure us without offending some of oursenses all her remedies are torments if she restore us to health we must undergoe pain ere we come by it she hurts us to cure us nor hath she yet found the receipt how to make her potions pleasing the sweetest things in her hands become either dead or bitter sugar and honey do distaste us when prepared by her and she is so unfortunate in all her designes as she weakens her remeâ—s when she thinks to make them appear pleasing Chyrurgerie which follows her as her handmaid out-bids her Mistresse for cruelty Tyrants are not so cruell as her officers she hath more instruments to afflict the sick withall than hang-men have to torment the guilty all her cures are effected by fire and iron she widens wounds to close them she cuts off some members to save the rest of the body she draws the stone out of the bladder with such torture as seems to equall that of the damned and she is either so cruell or so unfortunate as she cannot make men whole without making them Martyrs a life accompanied with so much pain cannot be very pleasing health so dearly bought cannot be much delightfull and a man must be stupid if he do not equally apprehend the malady and the cure We see nothing in the world which ought not to cause horrour in us The simples in our gardens call to minde our sicknesses the fairest of our flowers teach us that we either are sick or may be those drugs which we fetch from the furthest Indics are proofes of our infirmities our Ancestors world will not suffice to cure us we must seek for a new world to find new remedies in and if the desire of glory make the ambitious passe over unknown seas the desires of health make the sick discover forreign Countries Who will not confesse that man is sufficiently sinfull since there is no part of his body which is not threatned with sundry maladies and who will not confesse that he is very unfortunate since all his remedies are punishments and that he cannot buy his health but by the losse of pleasure 'T is true that if we more value Gods glory then our own interest we shall finde contentment in our pain for his justice is satisfied by our sicknesse his power appears in our infirmities and his mercies are seen in our recoveries He invents evills to punish the guilty he imployes our sicknesse to expiate our sins he makes as good use of a fever as of death to convert us he beats down the pride of Monarchs with punishments which taking their name from their weaknesse are called infirmities His power was admired in Egypt when he made use of little flies to overcome Pharaohs obstinacy men were astonished to see these small animalls set upon the souldiers of this great Prince that they wounded them deeply with weak weapons and that by their little Trunks more powerfull in the hand of God than those of Elephants they brought all that Monarches subjects to despair they were surprized when grashoppers made up a body of an Army in his State when they spread themselves overall his Provinces when they laid all his grounds waste eat up the eares of corn and left a fearfull so litarinesse which threatned the whole Kingdom with an universall Famine Men wondred when the frogs forsaking their marish grounds entred Towns and houses broke through the Corps du-Guards threw themselves into Pharaohs Palace and passing even to his private Closet whereunto he had withdrawn himself did in their croking voice upbraid unto him his pride and infidelity But this so mighty miracle comes short of that which Divine Justice shews in the sicknesses of the earthly Monarches grashoppers are not so dreadfull in his hands as are fevers and contagious diseases and if he appeared adorable when he revenged himself upon his enemies by flyes and frogs he is no lesse the same when he stings the nerves by the Gout When by a grain of sand he stops the uritaries or when by a vapour which assailes the brains he puts a period to the designes of the greatest Princes of the world Grashoppers are the works of his hands he imploys the beautifullest of all constellations to form them and he gives them meadows to walk in and disport themselves but sicknesses are the daughters of sin and mothers of death Being the spring of Rebellion they ought not render obedience to God and not being the workmanship of his Power they ought not to serve his justice yet he imployes them to punish the Rebels of his Kingdom he useth them as State Policies and not making use of fire or water he commands the Fever or the Goute to set upon Princes in their Pallaces to mow down their Subjects and to turn the most populous Towns into dreadfull desarts if these faithfull Officers doe sometime serve his Justice they are also sometimes serviceable to his mercy for sicknesses do losen us from the earth they bereave us of the use of pleasure and taking from us the power of doing ill they make us forgo the desire thereof they change the love we bear unto our body into a holy aversion they ruin sin whereof they are the effects and rendring obedience to Gods designs they cure the man by hurting the Malefactour The sixth Discourse That the bodies beauty is become perishable and criminall A Man must be blinde if he value not beauty her advantages are so visible as she is sure to have the better if her judges have eyes Beauty is the first perfection which is seen in any one and which steals away the heart of the beholders She doth so powerfull forestall the understanding as we cannot harbour an ill opinion of a handsome personage and since we are perswaded that the works of Nature are perfect we are apt to beleeve that she hath inclosed a fair Soul in a handsome body T is therefore that the Platonicks terme beauty the luster of Goodnesse and will have her to be the visible Image of an invisible perfection she hath such power over humane Judgement as good fortune cannot be expected where there is no handsomenesse Angels finde their contentment in beholding the beauty of God Devils think themselves onely unfortunate for having lost the hope of enjoying it and though it be the cause of their torments yet is the object of their desires This perfection ravisheth the will so readily as the sight of her is sufficient to make her be beloved she oft-times changeth hatred into love and to make her power appear she delights to make her Enemies her Lovers We have heard of a daughter that fell in love with him that murthered her Father the handsome comportment of this Prince blotted all hatred out of her heart and the beauty which appeared in his countenance forced her to love him whom by nature and reason she was bound to hate Barbarians bear respect unto her fair personageâ—
them she inthrals the heart by the ears and whosoever doth not use Ulysses his harmles cunning indangers the losse of liberty Her hair is a net wherein Lyons and Tygers are taken her strength like that of Sampson lies in her weaknesse she imployes onely these weak arms to overcome the couragious and makes use onely of these small threads to stop the course of the most unconstant The lillies when on her face lose their purity and the innocent rose becomes guilty upon her cheeks and as the spider makes her poyson of the best things she composeth the venome wherewith she infects souls of the fairest flowers Modesty and Majesty which else where defend vertue do corrupt it in the person of a handsome woman and these two advantages which makes her beauty the more powerfull make it also the more dangerous her very gate is not without affectation and fault her studied steps have a certain becomingness which is fatall to those that behold them each pace steals a heart from some of her servants and doing nothing without design she either wounds or kils those indiscreet ones which approach her In fine beauty is so pernicious as God himself who extracts Grace from sin makes use thereof onely to punish his Enemies it is more dreadfull in his hands then thunder and he hath tane more vengeance by womens allurements then by the arms of souldiers He ruin'd Hamans fortunes by Hesters countenance the gracefull demeanor which he indued her withall made Ahasuerus condemn his Favorite and the death of this insolent enemy of the Iews is not so much an effect of Mordecais wisedom as of his Nieces beauty God chose out a widow to slay Holofernes he obteined two victories over this Conqueror by the means of one onely woman he took his heart from him by her eyes and his head by her hands he made first use of her beauty then of her courage and would have the Assyrians defeat to begin by love and end by murther Thus are handsome women the Ministers of Gods fury he imploys Hesters and Iudeths as souldiers to revenge his quarrels and beauty which causeth impurity doth oft-times punish it We see no faults in the creature from whence God draws not some advantage our weaknesse is the cause of our penitency if we cannot alter we cannot repent and if we had the constancy of Angels we might have the opiniatricy of Devils Our offences serve to humble us and the proudest spirits cannot think upon their sins without confusion Concupiscence which is one of the originals of our disorders is one of the foundations of Grace Adams sin fastens us to Jesus Christ and the miseries which we suffer under make us have recourse to divine Mercy But beauty seems onely proper to seduce sinners if she be not serviceable to Gods justice she is serviceable to the Devils malice and causeth Murthers when she cannot produce Adulteries Of all the perfections of man this is the onely one which Jesus Christ would not imploy to save souls He imployed the eloquence of Orators to perswade Infidels he made use of the doctrine of Philosophers to convince the ignorant he useth the power of Kings to reduce rebels and he imployes the wisedome of Politicians to govern states but he rejects beauty and judging her to hold Intelligence with his enemy he never makes use thereof but to undo sinners The beauty of those Virgins which were consecrated to him converted no Infidels the innocent allurements of the Lucia's and Agneses were of no use to the establishment of our Religion there modest countenances forbore not to kindle impure flames and if their executioners were toucht to see their constancy their beauty set Tyrants hearts on fire Gods beauty is then that which can onely securely beloved t is that that we ought to sigh all other desires are unjust Whosoever betakes himself to the beauty of Creatures revives idolatry erecting an Altar in his heart he offers Sacrifice to the chief Diety which he adores where he himself is both the Priest and Sacrifice The beauty of the creature ought not to be looked upon otherwise then as that of a picture which we value either for the persons sake whom it represents or for the painters hand that drew it He who exceeds these bounds Commits ungodlinesse and who doth not elevate his love to the first and chiefest beauty of which all others are but weak copies is either ignorant or impious If the beauty of the first Angel have made Apostates and if the love which it occasioned in the hearts of those pure spirits made them idolators what may we expect from a beauty which being engaged in the flesh and in sin produceth onely wicked desires Those who have fallen into this disorder must repent themselves with Saint Austin To repair their outrages done to th beauty of God by their infidelity they must afflict themselves for having so late known him And to make amends for their losse of time and losse of love they must labour to love him with more fervencie and to serve him with more constancie The seventh Discourse That the life of man is short and miserable T Is strange yet true that man having changed his condition hath not changed his desires and that he wisheth the same thing in his state of sin as he did in his innocency For that strong passion which he had for glory is but the remainder of that just desire which he had to command over all creatures his indeavouring to enlarge the bounds of his Empire tends onely to recover what he possessed before his revolt the pleasure which he seeks after in all his pastimes is grounded upon the remembrance of his former felicity Those riches which he accumulates with so much labour and preserves with so much care witnesse his sorrow for being fallen from his aboundance and the extream desire which he hath to prolong his life is a testimony that he as yet aspires after immortallity Yet hath not life those Charms which made it so amiable the longest is but short the sweetest but full of troubles and the most assured uncertain and doubtfull For since the soul ceased to be upon good tearms with God the body ceased to correspond fairly with the Soul Though they go to the composure of the same Integrall they cannot indure one another their love is mixt with hatred and these two lovers have alwayes somewhat of 〈◊〉 which makes them not agree The cords wherewith they are joyned together are so weakened as the least accident is sufficient to break them that whereof man is composed may destroy him the very things without the which he cannot live make him die rest and labour are equally prejudiciall to him his temper is altered by watching and by sleep when either are immoderate the nourishment which susteines him suffocates him and he fears abundance as much as want his soul seems as if she were borrowed and that she is onely
framed a method to acquire Vertue and proposing no other helps to their Disciples then Reason and Liberty they upheld them in their Vain glory and did not assist them in their Weaknesse These two Idols seemed powerfull enough to overcome all their Enemies and not knowing that Reason was Blind and Liberty a Captive they impudently affirmed that there were no Inclinations so Bad nor Habits so Obstinate as might not be overcome by this weak assistance they boasted that their felicity depended upon their Owne proper Power that they might be happy in Despight of Heaven and that though their happinesse were not of so long Durance yet was it of the same Tranquillity as that of God Amongst so many Impieties and Blasphemies which Pride extorted from out their mouthes they 〈◊〉 not sometime to betray their owne cause and publquely to acknowledge their owne Misery For Nature which cannot lye long made them find her disorders and forced them to confesse that Faults were learnt without Teachers that we are Borne out of Order and that wee have much Stronger inclinations to Vice then to Vertue Their Sect was borne down when the Pelagians raised up their heresie upon its ruines and when undertaking to defend Corrupted Nature they declared warre against the Grace of Iesus Christ they made all our Disorders to passe for Natural Effects they laught at Originall Sin and maintained that Man had no Other offâ—nces then what he committed by his Own proper Will they thought all our Bad inclinatâ—ons sufficiently recompenced by Liberty and confiding strangely in their Owne Strength they would not be beholden to Grace to withstand Vice nor to defend Vertue Though St. Austin by his Learning and Humility hath triumphed over this proud and learned heresie yet hath it out-lived that defeat and found partakers after his Death we run into the errours thereof at unawares we speak the Language of the Pelagians not having their Beliefe and attributing more to Liberty or Free-will then to Grace we will be Our Selves the Authors of our Salvation To remedy this evill which appears much more in our Actions then in our Words I thought it became me to represent the deplorable Condition whereinto Sinne had reduced Nature and to make it evident in this worke that there is no faculty of our Soules nor part of our Bodies which is not out of order The profit will not be small if we can tell how to husband it well for to bâ—ot that our Misery will cause confusion in us by reason of our Sinne and make us abborre it 't will lessen the haughty Confidence which we have in our Free-will and make us acknowledge the Need we have to be assisted by Crace the being sensible of our Malady will be a Disposition to our Cure and the weight of our Irons may serve to heighten our Saviours Merits The high opinion we have of our Owne strength is injurious to His Glory and those good inclinations of Nature which we call Seeds of Vertue doe not seem to lessen Adams sin save so farre as to set a greater value upon the Grace of Iesus Christ but the perfect knowledge of our Misery cannot but produce good effâ—cts and when we shall be fully perswaded that we can doe nothing that is pleasing to God without his Son's help we will endeavour to obtain that assistance by our Prayers and to procure it by our Teares Following this designe I shall then make it appeare that there is an Originall sinne which is the fruitfull Spring-head of all our Misfortunes and penetrating to within the Soule of Man I will shew that her principall faculties retaine no longer their first Purity nor their ancâ—ent Vigour and that all the Vertues which are the Workmanship thereof are accompanied with so many Defâ—cts as that they doe not deserve the glorious Name which they beare From thence I shall descend to mans Body the Constitution and Miseries whereof I will examine Then quitting Man I shall consider all the Obiects which doe environ him and which may cause Love or Hatred in him And concluding finally by the Disorders which are in the World I will shew that the Parts wherof it is Composed have been out of Order only since Sinne I 'le prove that Deluges and Devastations by Fire are punishments which Divine Iustice hath invented to punish Guilty man withall and will make it clearly appeare as I hope that there were no Monsters nor Poysons in the State of Innocency I have in all this my worke endeavour'd to mingle Eloquence with Doctrine and knowing that I was to be accountable tâ— All the World I have sometimes suffer'd my thoughts to flie a Lower pitch that they might be the more intelligible I have been of opinion that Descriptions did not injure Argumentations and in writing like a Christian Philosopher I might bâ— permittâ—ed to play the Oratour If any man shall thinke me too Copious I am of His opinion but to boot that this fault wants neither Example nor Excuse I have striven to use no manner of Enlargement but what would bring with it some New Light to the Vnderstanding and which might serve for Ornament to the Truth if not for her Defence A Table of the severall Treaties and Discourses handled in this Book The first Treatise Of Originall Sin and the effects thereof Discourse 1 THat Faith acknowledgeth Originall sin That Nature hath a feeling thereof and that Philosophy suspects it Page 1 2 What the state of Man was before sin p 8 3 Of what kind the first sin which Adam committed was p. 12 4 How Adam sin did communicate it selfe to those that are descended from him p. 16 5 Of the nature of Concupiscence p. 20 6 The pursute of the same subject and divers descriptions of Concupiscence p. 26 7 That Selfe-love is nothing else but Concupiscence p. 28 8 That Concupiscence or Selfe-love divides it selfe into the love of Pleasure of Honour and of Knowledge p. 33 9 Wherefore Concupiscence remaines iâ— Man after Baptisme p. 38 10 That Gods Iustice hath permitted that man should be divided within himselfe for the punâ—shment of his sin p. 42 The second Treatise Of the corruption of the Soule by Sin Discourse 1 OF the Souls Excellencâ— and of the miseries which she hath contracted by sin p. 47 2 That the sonle is become a slave unto the body by reason of sin p. 55 3 Of the weaknesse which humane understanding hath contracted by sinne p. 61 4 That there is no error into which human understanding hath not plunged it selfe since the state of sin p. 68 5 That Reason in Man is become blinde and a slave since sin p. 77 6 That Memory hath lost her vigor by the meanes of sin and that she agrees not very well with Iudgement p. 80 7 That Concupiscence is neither a good Iudge nor faithfull witnesse since sin p. 86 8 Of the unrulinesse of the will and of its inclination to
his mother had brought him into the world After this crowd of reasons and authorities I know not what can be said against the belief of originall sin who can deny an evill of whose effects all men have a fellow-feeling Since all Phylosophers before they knew what name to give it knew the nature thereof and all the complaints they have made of our miseries in their Writings are so many testimonies born by them to the truth of our Religion The second Discourse What the state of man was before Sinne. THough there be nothing more opposite to the state of sin then the state of innocency there is not any thing notwithstanding which better discovers unto us the disorders thereof and it seems to be a true looking glasse wherein we may see all the other deformities To know the greatnesse of mans miserie wee must know the height of his happinesse and to know with what weight he fel we must know the height of his dignity Man was created with originall righteousnesse his Divineâ— Quality made a part of his being and seemed to be the last of his differences Reason and Grace were not as yet divided and man finding his perfection in their good Intelligence was at once both Innocent and rationall Since sin hath bereâ—t him of this priviledge he seems to be but half himself though he hath not changed Nature he hath changed condition though he be yet free he hath lesse power in his own person then in the world And when he compares himself with himself hardly can he know himself In the state of innocency nothing was wanting to his perfection nor felicity and whilst he preserved originall righteousness he might boast to have possessed the spring-head of all that was good T was this that united him to God and which submitting him to his Creator submitted all Creatures unto him t was this that accorded the soul with the body and which pacifying the differences which Nature hath plac'd between two such contrary parties made them find their happinesse in agrement this it was in fine which displaying certain beams of light about his Countenance kept wild beasts in obedience and respect In this happy condition man was only for God he found his happinesse in his duty he obeyed with delight and as Grace made up the perfection of his being it was not much lesse naturall for him to love God then to love himself he did both these Actions by one and the same Principle The love of himself differed not from the love of God and the operations of Nature and of Grace were so happily intermingled that in satisfying his Necessities he acquitted himself of his duty and did as many holy Actions as naturall and rationall ones He sought God and found him in all things much more happy then wee he was not bound to seperate himself from himself that he might unite himself to his Creator Godlinesse was practised without pain Vertue was exercised without violence and that which costs us now so much trouble cost him nothing but desires there needed no combates to carry away victory nor was there any need to call in vertue to keepe passions within their limits Obedience was easie to them nor is Rebellion so naturall unto them now as was then submission This Grace which bound the soule unto the body with bonds as strong as pleasing united the senses to the Spirit and assubjected the passions to reason Morality was a Naturall science or if it were infused t was togetther with the soul and every one would have been eased of the Pain of acquiring it all men were born wise Nature would have served them for a Mistris and they would have been so knowing even from their births as they would not have needed either Counsell or Instruction Originall righteousnesse govern'd their understanding guided their wills enriched their memories and after having done such wonders in their souls it wrought as many Prodigies in their bodies for it accorded the elements whereof they were Composed it hindred the waters from undertaking any thing against the fire tempered their qualities appeased their differences and did so firmly unite them as nothing could sever them Man knew only the name of death and he had this of comfort that he knew it was the Punishment of a fault from which if he would he might defend himself All nourishments were to pure that there was nothing superfluous in them Naturall heat was so vigorous as it converted all into the substance of the body was in all other respects so temperate as it was not prejudiciall to the radicall moisture Man felt nothing incommodious Prudence was so familiar to him as he prevented hunger and Thirst before they could cause him any trouble in his person and in his State he enjoyed a peacefull quiet and he was upon good Terms with himself and with his subjects because he was the like with his Sovereign he waited for his reward without anxiety and grounding himself upon the truth of his Creators promises he hoped for happinesse without disquiet Death was not the way to life there needed no descending to the earth to mount up to the heavens the soul fore-went not the body to enjoy her God and these two parts never having had any variance were joyntly to tast the same felicity But when the Devill had cozened the woman and that the woman had seduced the man he fell from this happy condition and losing Grace which caused all his good he fell into the depth ofall evills He received a wound which hecould never yet be cured of he saw himself bereft of his best part and could not conceive how being no longer righteous he continued to be rationall and left us in doubt whether he was yet man being no longer Innocent His Illuminations forsooke him together with Grace self-love came in the place of Charity He who before sought nothing but God began now to seek himself And he who grounded his happinesse upon his obedience would build his felicity upon Rebellion as soon as his soul rebell'd against God his body rebell'd against his soul these two parts changed their love to hatred and those who lived in so tranquill a peace declared open war one against another the senses which were guided by the understanding favoured the bodies revolt and the passions which were subject to reason contemned her Empire to inslave themselves to the Tyranny of Opinion If man were divided in his person he was not more fortunate in his condition wherein he underwent a Generall Rebellion the Beasts lost their respects they all became Savage and violence or Art is required to the taming of some of them the Elements began to mutiny following their own inclinations they broke the peace which they had sworn unto in behalf of man whilst Innocent the Seasons grew unseasonable to hasten the death of man grown guilty the very heavens alter'd their Influences and losing their
mean expression of his truth and but a false beame of his beauty To know him perfectly we must raise our selves above his workmanship to conceive his greatnesse we must rather oppose it to the creature then cōpare it there with all but concupiscence is the Lively Image of sin we see all the Linaments of the father in the Daughters face and she doth nothing wherein a man may not discerne the motions of the father I know that all our punishments are the pictures of our sins and God would have our Chastizement to be the Image of our offences but to take it aright every punishment expresseth but one only quality of sin the Heat which accompanieth fears represents only it 's immoderate heat to us blindness discovers only it's Ignorance The palsie which takes from us the use of our members figures onely out unto us it 's incapabilty of doing good deafness declares only it's obstinacy unto us and death it self which is sins most rigorous punishment represents to us only the death of the soul and the losse of Grace But Concupiscence is a finisht picture which hath all the Colours and Linaments of sin she hath all its wicked Inclinations is Capable of all its Impressions accomplisheth all it's Designes and this unfortutunate Father can undertake nothing which his daughter is not ready to Execute But one only name not being sufficient to expresse all the wickednesse thereof the Fathers have been fain to invent divers names to decypher out unto us the different effects of a Cause which is as fruitfull as fatall Saint Augustine according to Saint Paul terms her the Law and Counsellor of sin Reason was mans Counsellor and in the state of innocency he undertooke nothing but by her advice when sin had weakned Reason and that the darknesse thereof had Clouded the the luster of it's Eternall light God gave him the written Law for a Counsellor and Ingraved those truths in Marble which he had formerly ingraven in his heart Great men formed no designe before they had Consulted with this visible Law and David with all his illuminations protests that the law of God was the best part of his Councell it was the morall Phylosophers wherin the learn'd vertue it was his Politicks and were he either to Conduct his subjects or to fight his enemies he learnt the knowledge both of peace and war in the mysteries of the Law but the sinner hath no other law then Concupiscence he is advised by one that is blind and unfaithfull he executes nothing without her orders he is brought to this extremity That his Counsellor is Pensioner to his Enemies Reasons self is a slave to this perfidious Officer she sees only through her eys and after having well debated a businesse she forsakes better advice to follow the pernicious Counsell of one that is blind who is absolutely the Devils Purchase and who holds Continuall Intelligence with sin When he is weary of perswading us he Chides us when we have received his advice he signifies his Commands unto us and having deceived us as a perfidious Counsellor he torments us as a merciless Tyrant Counsellours never work upon us but by their Reasons they never make use of violence to oblige us to receive their advice and they oftentimes foregoe their own opinions to receive ours if they think them better but Concupiscence is a furious Officer who makes use of Force when Perswasion will not prevail This Tyrant is more insuportable then those who formerly comanded in Greece whō the Orators of that Country have charg'd with so many just opprobries For these Enemies to mankind exercised their cruelty only upon the body and assubjected to their power only the leastpart of man Whosoever valued not theirown lives might make himself Master of theirs and who feared not death might deride their violence but this Tyrant whereof I speak exerciseth his fury upon the spirits he blots out the remembrance of all vertue from out his memory he darkens the understandingwith his mysts oppresseth the will by his violence and leaveth only a languishing liberty in the souls which he possesseth This Monster which had only the faces of men were not alwaies in the Company of their subjects their absence was a truce of servitude some private Closets were to be found where one might tast the sweet of liberty A man might meet with a freind before whom he might lay his heart open and though freindship had been banished from off the heart Compassion would have made it revive for his Consolation T was in these private Conferences that the death of Tyrants was Conspired the parties safety joyned to the desire of liberty caused the Conception of the designes and the desires of glory put it in execution But Concupiscence never parts from sinners this Tyrant keeps his Court in the midst of their wills he hath raised a throne in their hearts He finds so much of obedience and weaknesse in his slaves as he knows they cannot shake of the yoke of his Tyranny without forreign Ayd these publike plagues could not make themselves be beloved in their states though they left some shadows of Liberty they could not win their subjects Hearts there faults were always repaid with publike Hatred and the Necessity they had to make themselves feared was not the least punishment of their Injustice they grew weary of being the Horror of their people and if they could have made themselves be beloved they would have ceased making themselves feared but their subjects were so Incenst against them as to keep them in respect t was necessary to keep them in awe and since they could not purchase their love to resolve to merit their Hatred but though Concupiscence be the cruellest of all Tyrants yet hath she found the secret of making her self be beloved all her subjects reserues their Loyalty even in persecution they are pleased with the pains they undergoe Torments are not able to make them wish for liberty let them be neuer so ill dealt with all by their unjust Sovereign they never blame his cruelty And though they be the most unfortunate slaves of all the world they cease not to be the faithfullest lovers In fine to put an end to this discourse These Tyrants do not allways vex their subjects with angersome Commands all there decrees are not unjust their polluted mouthes have sometimes pronounced Oracles and the Graecian Phylosophers have registred their words who had bereft them of their liberty the Dionsii made laws which the Politicians reverenced their Ordinances were able to instruct legitimate Princes and they have uttered maximes which may serve us for instructions But all the commands made by Concupiscence are unjust all her orders are sin one cannot obey her without blame and to speak in Saint Augustines language a man cannot follow the motions of Concupiscence without contesting against the motions of grace nor can a man live at full liberty unlesse he
effects of Concupiscence they divide man now become guilty and though they agree in the bereaving him of his liberty yet they share in the division of his person Voluptuousnesse or the love of pleasure resides in the senses and reigns in all the parts of the body which are capable of delight the soul engageth her self in the eyes and ears to tast the contentments which these two senses can wish for she renounceth spirituall delights to seek out such as are sensuall and as if she were now no longer a pure spirit she longs after nothing but bodily delights Necessity is no longer the rule of her desires she betakes her self no more to objects for that they are necessary but for that they are pleasing Temperance useth her utmost endeavour to withstand this irregularity she endeavours to passe by all voluptuousnesse without any stay and to make use of such remedies as Nature hath ordained for the cure of our maladies without the engagement of her affâ—ctions but Concupiscence overthrows all her designes and by the absolute power whereby she governs in the soul she solicits her to tast all the pleasures of our senses The soul being faln from her first greatnesse seems then to cease being spirituall that she may become Corporall that she partake no longer in the felicity of Angels and that she no longer pleased with any delights save such as are sensuall and impure This is the first contestation which those faithfull ones resent who will overcome Concupiscence and t is the frequentest piece of Art which the Devil makes use of to destroy men the souls alliance with the body favours his design and makes his on-sets more dangerous mens weakness facilitates their undoing and there are very few who are able to overcome an enemy which is pleasing to them If they were to chuse the Combat they would rather charge grief then pleasure and by their sighing under the burthen of their Irons one may easily judge that they are only slaves to pleasures because they want courage to despise it This Temptation is so much more dangerous then others as it is more naturall To vanquish it a man must have no more a body and changing condition with Angels hee must become a pure spirit but to boot with our loving this part of our selves the occasions of Combats are so frequent as we are oft in one and the same day both Conquerours and conquered the subjects of vain glory are not so common if we be blinded by our imaginarie greatnesse we are humbled by our reall miseries and we must have forgotten the shame of our birth if we glory in any thing during our life Though the desire of knowledge awakens our curiosity and that the very ignorance whereinto we are plunged obligeth us to seek out a diversion in the knowledge of worldly things yet the difficulties which accompanies Science makes us lose our longing after it We love rather to be kept in ignorance then to be freed therof by study we cannot resolve upon the getting of a fleece where the Pains exceeds the Glory and where the Reward equals not the Labour but Voluptuousnesse is as easie as delightfull it presents it self unsought for and is received without difficulty if we must fight for it t is when Jealousie or Ambition makes themselves of the Partie and that they Corrupt the sweetnesse of our delights by the vain-Glory of their designes and moreover Nature having mingled delight with all her remedies we must always stand upon our guard that we build not our felicity one things which she gives us only for our Consolation It is hard to discern whether we eat more out of Pleasure or necessity a man must be very moderate to seek for nothing more in sleep then the refreshing of the body and the repairing of our forces we must have already made many a Combat to effect nothing more in Marriage then the preservation of our Families thus do great Saints confess t is easier to bereave ones self of Pleasures then to regulate them and that there goes more of worth to moderate these pleasing Enemies then to stifle them t is easier to fast then to feed sparingly of dainty viands and the good use of riches is more rare then voluntary Poverty Mans mind is busied with Curiosity or the love of Novelty which is so much the more dangerous by how much it appears more lawfull knowledge which is not the least part of our Advantages takes the freedome to perswade us that there is nothing more Noble then Cognizance of Nature she thinks to offer up an acceptable sacrifice to God when she losing our senses from delight that she may engage in the search of Truth so fair a pretext serves for excuse to her Injustice and because knowledge is the souls Ornament she will have all things allowed thereunto no bounds being prescribed to her desires not laws unto her sury From the secrets of Nature she easily passeth to Impiety for she consults with the Stars that she may know what 's to come and if their Aspects or Conjunctions do not sufficiently instruct her she raiseth up Spirits treats with Devils and of an uselesse Science frames a dangerous superstition The Amphitheaters of past ages the Circi and the Arenae are the inventions of this desire of Novelty Dauncing and other Sports are not so much the occupations of the Idle as the diversions of the Curious t is the desire of seeing somewhat of new which draws us forth with multitudes into the fields and all these fashions which we invent are rather signes of our Curiosity then of our vanity This Passion is much more violent then that of voluptuousnesse for the latter is easily contenten and destroying her self by enjoying her own delights turns often to be her punishments but the other is never contented remedies imbitter her violence and the earth is not able to satisfie her with Novelties the Passion of the flesh extends it self only to pleasures as soon as an object ceaseth to be pleasing she scorns to pursue it and the voluptuous have this advantage as that they see all their desires confined with the limits of delights but the Curious mingle Pain with Pleasure and agree these two contraries together to entertain their restlesnesse they try poysons under pretence of composing Antidotes they dissect the dead under colour of curing those that live they teare up the bowels of the earth to learne secrets thereout and goe down to the depths of the Sea to know the wonders thereof There is nothing which may not be come at by the fury of so Irregular a Passion which hath nothing of equitable in her disorder save that she is the Eternall Punishment of those that love her Innocency and sin may have been the originall thereof Innocency because whilst in that condition man knew all that with justice he could wish for Sin because he would know more then he ought and that discovering his
not the fallacy of their maximes Ignorance is naturall to the understanding the wisest Phylosophers have complained that science was long life short and that we were surprized by death before we could be learned Aristotle compared the understanding to a Painters cloath which may indeed receive all manner of colours from the Painters hand but which not having any one ofit self cannot become a Picture without the Painters help Humane understanding may acquire knowledge but possesseth none and the difficulty that goes to the learning of it is a sufficient proofe that there goes somewhat more to it then bare remembrance Mans sin deserved punishment and for his desire of too much knowledge he was adjudged to remain ignorant for as a disorderly desire of greatnesse threw him head-long into misery and as his immoderate desire of living always made him die his unjust thirst after knowledge made him fall into blindnesse and ignorance We are born with this punishment Errour is an hereditary evill as well as sin and as all the sons of Adam are guilty they are all ignorant If we want Masters to teach us this evill grows with us and thinking to get more light we engage our selves in new darknesses T is the first piece of Art the Devill useth to undo us he blinds our understanding to corrupt our Will and throws us into errour that we may fall into sin we have two Enemies which set upon us at unawars the ignorance of things which we ought to do and the desire of what we ought to shun these two evils draw on two others for ignorance produceth errour and desire sorrow We spend our whole life in this Combat and very well knowing that we cannot utterly defeat these two powerfull Enemies we think our selves happy enough if we can but weaken them We expect the victory and Triumph in Heaven and knowing that we cannot be conquerors on earth we are there content with Combat Thus do the greattest Saints beg of God that he wil be their strength and light that as light he may dissipate their darknesse and as strength sustein their weaknesse a man must be as blind as proud to dispute these Truths and unlesse we will side with that proud Sect which would not acknowledge any fault in man that they might not be bound to correct it we must confesse that Ignorance and weaknesse are equally naturall to us the first is seen in all actions Nature Morality and Religion furnish us with as many proofs thereof as they give us Instructions For though Nature be not jealous of her works though she freely expose all her beauties to our eyes and that she discover unto us her rarest products who is he that knoweth all her secrets though the heavens be extended over our heads who knows whereof they be Composed though the Sun rise and set every day who knows his Influences and Motions though the earth bring forth her flowers under our feet and ripens her fruit before our eyes who knows what art it useth to give them their severall colours who knows by what secret vertue Nature changeth earth into gold and taking from it's impurity gives it that glittering Lustre which makes the finall ornament of all our workmanship Who can comprehend how the dew congeals into pearl how the water thickens into Chrystall and how becomming solid it continues still transparent who can give a reason for these naturall Miracles which we neglect only because they are too common who knows why straw being so Cold as that it preserves Ice in the midst of Summer is yet so hot as that it ripens fruit even in the midst of winter Doth not Amber and the Loadstone make all Phylosophers wild and these Miracles which come so neer our senses do they not confound our understanding we see all things that know nothing we have the use of the Elements but not the knowledge of them Whatsoever entertains our vanity accuseth us of blindnesse and whatsoever serves for diversion to our eyes or ears upbraids our understanding with Ignorance Morality confirms this truth as well as Nature doth for though she undertake to enlighten mans understanding and to rule his will though she boast to make man an Angell and to take from him all the feelings of the flesh and bloud doth she not lay open unto him his ignorance when she instructeth him and doth she not shew that he is blind in offering her self to be his Guide and Mistris t is true that he may glory that he himself hath formed her who teacheth him and to be his Mistresses Master since she hath no Maximes which are not the inventions of the understanding But this his vain glory is very is very ill grounded and Morality is a bad proofe of his sufficiency since she herself is so full of errours and doubts For what is that Truth which Phylosophers dispute not about into how many Sects have they divided themselves on what principles do they agree to establish their Maximes and what propositions have they put forth which they themselves have not crossed or gain-said hath not every one of them made unto themselves a differing Idea of Happinesse And this point which is the ground work of Morall Phylosophy hath it not been the rise of all their disputes Aristotle made it to consist in the knowledge of the Summum Bonum Seneca in the possession of Vertue and Epicurus in the enjoying of Delight But do not all sinners make a party in Morality and do not their Inclinations formas many several Sects do not the Ambitious place their felicity in Glory the Curious in Novelty the Avaritious in riches and the unchast in love If men cannot agree in their choise in the Summum Bonum how will they agree in the definition of Vertue this indeed is the rock of all Phylosophers and it seems that following their Inclinations rather then their judgments they would make vertues of all vices which they delighted in sins against Nature have not only been excused but even highly commended in their schools Socrates the Stoicks God and the only just man who all Phylosophers oppose to our greatest Saints did not he love Alcebiades the Praises which he giues him in Plato do they not tast of wantonnesse doth he not seem as if he made love to a Mistrâ— and the Panygericks which he makes of his good behaviour and beauty do they not afford us reason of suspition whether it were his body his mind that he was most in love withall Is not Pride and madnesse the soul of all the Stoicks vertue doe not they compare their wise men with their Iupiter do they not make a God of their Zeno and as oft as they put their Gods Masters together in ballance do not they prefer those who first formed their proud Phylosophy would not Epicurius make vertue a slave to voluptuousnesse and according to Seneca's one opinion is he not guilty of having endevoured to set
of the world grow weary of commanding they finde more content in a friend than in a slave and how brutish soever their nature be they are well content to have one to whom they may un-bosome themselves Tiberius loved Sejanus and had not this Favourite become his Rivall it may be he never had decreed his death Nero could not fence himselfe from friendship the sweetnesse of this vertue vanquisht that Monsters cruelty and whil'st he quencht the flames of Rome by the bloud of Christians he had some Confidents whom he called friends This Infidell Prince whose subjects were all slaves and in whose Empire the desire of liberty was a fault wanted not Favourites whom he loved he plays with those he ought to destroy he makes those the objects of his love who ought to be the objects of his fury a certain Captive had power over the Tyrant and under the assurance of friendship gave lawes to him who gave lawes to the greatest part of the world Though these reasons do mightily inhance the merit of Friendship yet must we conclude in Saint Austines Principles That the Friendship of Pagans is defective and doth not deserve the praises that are given it For if we take Aristotle for our Arbitratour friendship ought to be established upon selfe-love and to love his Neighbour well a man must love himselfe well He who prefers the pleasures of the body before those of the mind who hazards his honour to preserve his riches and who injures his conscience to encrease his reputation cannot be a good friend to others because he is his own Enemy and who wants vertue cannot have friendship Morall Philosophy with all her precepts cannot reforme a disorder which since the losse of originall righteousnesse makes up one part of our selves the unrighteousnesse thereof hath past into our nature and as we cannot without grace be upon good termes with our selfe neither can we without her be upon good termes with others We either give them too much or not enough we cannot keep that just measure which makes friendship reasonable we turne a vertue into a passion or to speak trulier we make an innocent action criminall and the same self-selfe-love which puts us on ill termes with our selves puts us upon the like with our Neighbours we love his errours whil'st we think to love his perfections we excuse his sins in stead of condemning them and we oft-times become guilty of his faults for having approved them Blosius confesseth he would have burnt Iupiters Temple if Gracchus had commanded him so to do he thought Justice ought to give place to friendship that his friend should be dearer to him than his God and that whatsoever he did through affection could not render him faulty It may be 't was for this cause that Aristotle blaming friendship whil'st he thought to praise her said that her perfection consisted in her excesse and that far differing from common vertues which do consist in mediocrity she was never more admirable than when most excessive That a man might give too much but not love too much that one might have too much courage but not too much love that a man might be too wise but not too loving yet this excesse is vitious and experience teacheth us that Common-wealths have no more dangerous Enemies than those who are ready to do or suffer any thing for their friends Therefore 't is that the same Philosopher prescribing bounds to friendship did publickly professe that truth was dearer to him than Plato that when he could not accord these two he forewent his friend to maintain his Mistresse Hence it is that Polititians calling in Religion to the succour of Morality have affirmed that affection ought to give way to Piety and that she ceased to be just when she prophaned altars Those notwithstanding that are of this opinion have not forborne to set a value upon faulty friendship and Antiquity doth hardly reverence any friends whose friendships hath not been prejudiciall either to the State or to Religion Pilades and Orestes were of intelligence onely to revenge themselves Theseus and Pirithoiis kept friendship onely to satisfie their unchaste desires Lentulus and Cethegus were faithfull to Catiline onely that they might be perfidious to their Countrey But what else could one expect than faults from those who had no piety what friendship could one hope from those who wanted the first of vertues how could they have bin faithfull to their friends since they were unfaithful to their Gods if they have loved any one even till death it hath been out of vain glory and if they loved them whil'st they were alive t' has been for Interest the sinner for the most part loves none but himselfe and though this irregulate love be both his fault and his punishment yet he therein findes his delight and his glory nothing can divert him from his own Interest when he thinks to free himselfe from himselfe he fasteneth himselfe closer to himselfe and if he love his friends 't is that he may love himselfe in more places than one and in more persons if he part with his heart 't is that he may receive it back again with the like of others his love is but usury wherein he hazards little to gain much 't is an invention of self-love which seeks to satisfie it selfe in others 't is a trick of humane pride which makes man abase himselfe onely that he may grow the greater which adviseth him to engage his liberty onely that he may bereave others of theirs and which makes him make friends onely that he may have slaves or such as love him What glorious name soever one attributes to friendship she hath no other designes than these when she is led on by self-love and whatsoever language the Infidels have held these have been their onely motives when they have lost either life or liberty for their friends if they were silent amidst tortures and if the cruelty thereof could not compell them to discover their associates 't was either for that they valued friendship more than life or that they thought treachery worse than death if they would not out-live their friends 't was to free themselves from sorrow and solitarinesse and if for their delivery they exposed themselves to Tyrants 't was for that their words bound them to it and that they thought they should be no losers in an occasion wherein though with losse of life they won honour And to say truth Aristotle hath well observed that he who dyes for his friend loves himself better then his friend and that in an Action which seems to violate Nature he doth nothing which self-love may not advise him to since that by suffering death he labours after glory and that by erecting a sacrifice unto his love he buildes a Trophy to his Memory The example of Damon and Pythias may confirm this Truth They had been brought up in Pythagoras his school the conformity of
lie often and who think themselves happy enough if they can but perswade the Auditours to believe part of what they say An Antithesis is not so bold as an Hyperbole though more affected all it 's cunning is but a continuall play or Maigame it opposeth the subjects which it treats of 〈◊〉 because it knows not how to enlarge them it hopâ—s always because it can neither run nor walk softly it leanes upon all it meets withall because it cannot sustain it selfe and 't is seldome ingenious save onely for it's sterility sake In fine that may be said of all figures which Seneca saies of an Hyperbole they lead us to truth by falshood they cousen us to please us and to instruct us do seduce us If this cunning be blamelesse I know no couzenage which may not admit of excuse men will kill men to make them live will put out their eyes to clear their sight and will throw them into slavery to set them at liberty There have been some who would have had painting inhibited because it abuseth the senses and because by the rules of the Opticks it extends open Countries the end whereof we cannot arrive unto sinks valleys so as we cannot discover their bottome and raiseth up Mountains to the height whereof we cannot attain But eloquence being more deceitfull deserves a greater punishment and she should as well be forbidden comming within the barand Pulpit as painting was forbidden the Court of Arropagus Since she heightens mean things enlargeth what hath no substance and to make her power be admired makes Faustina a Lucretia Tiberius an Augustus and Fredigonda a Clotilda It must then be confest that eloquence is the workman-ship of sin that men have sought out these figures onely to disguise falshood and they began not to be eloquent till they began to be sinfull Innocencie would not peradventure have spoken this language and if we meet with some such like Oratory somtimes in the holy Scripture I imagine it is that the Scripture may accommodate it selfe to our custome and to imitate the goodnesse of God who puts on our passions when he will treat with us If truth complain of Rhetorick reason hath as much cause so to do and who shall consider what ill offices she hath received from her will finde that she should never implore her aid for though this Sovereign be not always at peace within her Territories and that her Subjects do somtimes despise her authority Eloquence is not sincere enough to re-invest her in her power and it oft-times falls out that whil'st she thinks to stifle disorder she augments it For Reason hath nothing to fear in her Empire but the errour of her understanding the obstinacy of the will the revolt of passions and the unfaithfulnesse of the senses let her prevent these disorders and she may be sure to raign peaceably For what concernes the understanding it needs no Rhetorick to perswade it itcareth not for ornaments truth is as pleasing to it in the mouth of a Philosopher as of an Oratour the lesse truth is expatiated the more force doth the understanding finde in her and the lesse she hath of Art the more doth it reverence her power As for the will it is so free as nothing can force it grace alone hath power to ravish 〈◊〉 and only God can sway it without using violence The passions must be calm'd by dexterity he is a wise Pilot who can saile long upon their Sea without suffering shipwrack And as for the senses they must be won by fair means and they must be loosened from objects to be submitted to reason Eloquence boasts that in this point she hath great advantage over Philosophers the Cadence of her periods smooths the senses she imitates musick and makes use of the voice of Oratours to inchant the ears the gesture of their bodies their studied actions and all those graces which accompany Pronunciation steal away the heart by the eyes and work wonders upon the will Figures raise passions draw tears encourageth Auditours to choler and put weapons into their hands to revenge themselves of their Enemies But I finde that all the means which Eloquence attempts are extreamly dangerous and that the remedies which she applies are worse than the malady which she would cure For thinking to flatter the senses she engageth them in voluptuousnesse whil'st she would divert them from she accustometh them to delight and though her designe be innocent yet ceaseth it not to produce ill effects For as oft as a pleasing Oratour defends an ill cause and that he imployes all his good parts in favour of injustice the senses which seek onely after content suffer themselves to be borne away by his cunning and making interressed reports to the understanding they engage it in their revolt Thus is a pleasing falshood better entertained than truth and vertue is lesse valued than vice if she appeare more austere Eloquence is not more fortunate in taming passions then in charming senses for though she be acquainted with the secret of kindling and allaying choller of setting love and hatred on fire of abusing hope and sweetning despair yet hath she this of misfortune that as she laies one passion asleep she awakens another and be it for want of dexterity or for her diffidence of her own strength she never sets upon vengeance unlesse she be assisted by ambition she meddles not with love without exciting hatred and quels not hope without raising fear Thus she hurts us to cure us and her remedies are worse than our diseases She imitates those bad Physicians who debauch the stomack to refresh the bowels and who undo one part to preserve another for not weighing the danger she oft-times awakens cruelty in a Tyrant to encourage him against an Enemy she excites ambition in a Conquerour to incline him to clemency and hazards a whole Kingdome to save a guilty person Men blamea Prince who to revenge himselfe of his Subjects puts weapons into the Rebels hands and and who under colour of stifling a commencing sedition strengthens a party which justles out his Authority yet this is the order observed by Eloquence in her Orations and expearience teacheth us that to overcome a passon which opposeth her designes she will not fear to awaken another which will entrench upon the publique Liberty Cicero flatters Cesars vain glory to obtain Marcellus his pardon he propounds glory to him to divert him from rigour yet sees not that to extinguish the fire of his choller he kindles the life of his ambition which was to set his Countrey on fire Who will not then confesse that eloquence is an enemy to reason that she dis-joynts an Empire in stead of setling it and that she addes to the number of passions under pretence of apeasing them Her other designes are not more just and she deals not more mildly with liberty than with reason for though she always vaunt to take her side and to
fine earth is the place of desert and heaven the abode of recompence God hath reserved unto himself the care of dispensing glory to those that serve him 't is he who will make the Saints Panygericks and who will crown their vertues let us not intrench upon his rights let us give all glory to him since he is the fountain thereof and let us confesse that man would never have been ambitious if he had always continued innocent The third Discourse That greatnesse is attended by flavery and vanity THough sin hath corrupted mans nature though it have bereft him of those glorious advantages which made him walk hand in hand with Angels and hath reduced him to a condition wherein he is equally grieved with shame and misery yet hath it not been able to blot out of his soul the memory of his greatnesse For though the world be a place of banishment though all Creatures war against him and that the seasons are become irregular onely to make him suffer he notwithstanding seeks for Paradice upon the earth and amidst all his mischiefs he continues a desire of happinesse Though ignorance be the punishment of his sin though his blindnesse continue all his life time and that the darknesse which clouds his understanding suffers him not to discern between vice vertues yet he thirsts after truth he seeks her amidst falshood and oft-times fights to find her out though since the losse of his innocency he be become slave to his passions and that to obey such insolent Masters he be enforced to forego his liberty he ceaseth not to love command and to pretend to the Empire of the whole world he endevours to recover by injustice what he hath lost by Vanity and not able to come by royalty he with open face aspires to Tyranny The Devil who cannot efface his desires which are as the remainder of innocency is content to corrupt them and to propose unto him false objects to divert him from true ones To say truth man takes no longer pleasure in any thing save in criminall delights the inclination which he hath for the Summum Bonum serves onely to keep the further from it and for not taking his aim aright he strays from his end whilest he thinks to draw neer it the love which he bears to knowledge is but a meer curiosity he loves truth like a whore not like a legitimate wife he seeks her out onely to passe away his time as oft as she blames his disorders he turns his love into hatred and becomes her persecutor whose servant he was His passion for Sovereignty is not more lawfull though he desire a Good which he hath possessed 't is upon such conditions as make his desire unjust He wisheth for an independant Crown whith may hold of no body he will be absolute in his estate and since he is become the Devils slave he will be no longer Gods subject his ambition will not suffer him to acknowledge his legitimate Sovereign and his basenesse forceth him to tolerate a Tyrant he would think he should injure his liberty should he assubject it to the will of his Creator and thinks not that he wrongs his nobility when he submits himself to an usurper he feeds himself with vain authority and false greatnesse he thinks himself not forced because he follows his own inclinations and because his Master keeps him tied up with Chains of Gold he cannot think he is a slave This errour slides the easilyer into the souls of Kings for that seeing so many subjects obey them they cannot perswade themselves that servitude can meet with so many marks of liberty These crowned heads can hardly believe that their will which is the living law of their Empire is made a Captive that they who are their subjects destiny should hold of an invisible Tyrant and that they who passe for the Gods of the world should be the Devils slaves the submission which they finde in their Dominions makes them believe they are absolute the blinde respect which is rendred to their degree makes them forget the miseries of their birth flattery insinuates her selfe easily into them unlesse they be armed with reason to withstand her and these pleasing falshoods banish away truth In so high a pitch of fortune where nothing is wanting to compleat the felicity of their senses their soule is weakned and being charmed by false praises they believe what they desire They imagine that death dares not assaile a Monarch which the world stands in awe of and whom fortune reverenceth They make a God-head of their greatnesse they despise such honours as are not divine and though sicknesses which advertise them of their weaknesse assure them of their deaths they hope for an un-exampled miracle and perswade themselves that immortality is a favour wherewith heaven will honour their merit The guards which watch about their Palaces might easily cure them of this errour did not flattery which makes them as stupid as insolent bereave them both of their judgement and modesty the conspiracies which are made against their persons the parties which are packt in their Territories the cunning which is used to corrupt their subjects loyalty are reasons good enough to abate their pride and to destroy that foolish confidence which feeds their vanity But without going so far for remedies for their evils their onely greatnesse is able to cure them when if they would consider the condition whereinto sin hath reduced Monarchs they would confesse that the power which waites upon them is but weak and dangerous full of anxiety and mixt with servitude Though God will suffer us to share with him in his perfections though he permit that our vertues be a shadow of his divine attributes that our condition be such as we may imitate them and though a man be not rationall unlesse he endeavour to expresse in his soule an image of divinity yet amongst that number of perfections which we adore in God some seem to be advantagious to us other some prejudiciall It is lawfull for all men to aspire to holinesse and let us give what ever reins we please to this passion it can never be criminall Every one may safely imitate mercy when according to Gods example our benefits extend unto the good and to the evill to Turks and Christians and when without making any distinction of persons we do equally oblige the innocent and the faulty a vertue is not to be blamed which hath God for it's example in the religion which we professe a man cannot have too much charity the perfection whereof consists in excesse and he who is most charitable is undoubtedly the most perfect Christian. But there are some other attributes in God which one nor can nor ought to imitate save with an humble reservednesse it is dangerous to wish for knowledge and as our first father lost himselfe onely out of a desire of being too knowing the desire thereof is oft-times sinfull
Masters and rather Tutours than Sovereigns they are Pilots which ought to avoid storms Chieftains which ought to fight Suns which ought to dissipate darknesse and dispence abroad heat and light they are Fathers which ought to govern their Kingdoms as their Families and their subjects as their children whatsoever exceeds this power leans towards injustice and all Princes who mind more their own renown then their peoples good deserve rather the name of Conquerors then Sovereigns good Kings serve those over whom they command they do not mount their thrones so much to cause fear as to purchase love and if they will perform their duties they must not reign over their subjects out of an ambitious desire of commanding over them but out of a charitable desire of being advantagious to them If they have any other motive for what they do they fall into another sort of servitude and becomming Tyrants to their people they become slaves to their passions for as just men are free amidst fetters wicked men are slaves though on throns and these who are so famously faulty have as many Masters which command them as they possesse passions Thus greatnesse be it lawfull or unlawfull is always waited on by servitude and the greatest Monarchies of the world cannot shun the losse of their liberty whether the end of their labours be the good of their Territories or their own renown It is true that their conditions are as different as their designs for some find their own welfare to consist in that of their subjects and others find their losse in that of their state the one acquires honour by dispising it others lose it by seeking after it the one establisheth his authority by foregoing it and the other destroy it whilst they would establish it but they all learn by experience that since the sin of Adam there is no liberty without servitude nor Greatnesse without dependency The fourth Discourse That the birth and cruelty of War derives from sin WAr is of as long a standing in the world as sin this daughter was born together with her Father and contrary to the laws of Nature she punisheth him that begot her for as soon as man was fallen from innocency and that originall righteousnesse which composed the differences of the soul and body had forsaken him these two parties declare war against one another the slave rebel'd against his Sovereign and became a rebell himself to punish his Sovereigns rebellion hee undertook to reduce reason under his laws and to submit the inclinations of the understanding to the motions of Concupiscence This intestine war caused forreign discords when man became once divided in his person divisions arose in his state and at the same time that his soul and body gave over their good intelligence all his subjects revolted every element set upon him to revenge it self and the conspiracy was so generall as this unfortunate Sovereign saw not any one part of his state wherein he had not enemies to fight withall and rebels to subdue Before that Heaven afforded him some means to reduce them to their duties he suffered unexpressible misery and to draw an Idea of his disaster we must set forth a man exposed to the rigour of the air without cloaths one persecuted by the elements who had no house one starved with hunger who could not cultivate the earth one fought withall by his passions who had no vertues to discover them one composed of disagreeing parts who had no power to rereconcile them such a one was Adam when he was driven out of the earthly Paradise all his subjects became his enemies every element to offend him grew unruly the seasons mingled themselves disorderly to punish him and beasts which were not as then wild changed their Nature to persecute him This unfortunate Sovereign was fain to arm himself in his own defence necessity taught him to cut out cloaths to save himself from the cold to build Cabins wherein he might keep dry notwithstanding the injuriousnesse of the weather to plough the earth to overcome her sterility to make arrows or spread nets to take birds and tame savage beasts he taught the horse to manage and forced the noblest of creatures to endure the bit and spur he brought oxen under the yoake forced buls to change their fury into friendship and to forego the forrest to live in pastures he wisely mixed art with force and that he might lessen the number of his enemies he endevoured to divide them he made use of those that he had reclaimed against those which did resist him and by an admirable address he chased stags with horses pursued wolves with dogs and flew at partridges with Faulcons and Goss haulks Thus did this Sovereign beat back force by violence and reduced his subjects to their duty by the aid of necessity This war was just because necessary selfe preservation was his excuse and if the beasts were not too blame in setting upon a man who had revolted against God man was not unjust in defending himself against those subjects which would have oppressed him Nature taught him that he might commit murther without committing sin and that in the state of sin he might slay the innocent to feed himself This permission did notwithstanding inspire cruelty insensibly into him by killing beasts he learnt to kill men these his first Trials made him Master of his art so as passing through all the degrees of injustice after having committed murther he committed parricide For when he saw that the death of one man had drawn upon him the hatred of all those that belonged unto him he sought for some to side with him he engaged all his friends in his quarrell then did men forge weapons to undo themselves they who had only pursued their subjects pursued those that were like themselves And arrows which were only dipt in the bloud of beasts were stained with mans bloud the Chieftaines of parties chose out pitcht fields to end their differences they encouraged their souldiers to the combate they made them hope for the spoil of the enemy and perswaded them that revenge and murther were glorious actions This cruell opinion spread it selfe over the whole world the trade of war grew honourable and the name of murtherer was changed into that of souldier ambition increasing with time every one thought that greatnesse consisted in injustice that he who had committed most murthers was most couragious and that he who had overcome most Nations plundered most Towns and over-run most Provinces was the most famous Conquerour When once this errour grew to be a maxime all disorderly unquiet spirits entrencht upon their neighbours every Prince would enlarge his bounds men began to place right in might to confound usurpation with possession and to think that every thing belonged to him that could make himselfe Master thereof War was made upon forreign Nations no other pretext but ambition was sought for and all
body Nature which hath made him so vast hath made him so dull that he needs another fish to guide him he would fall foul upon the sands did not his faithfull Officer keep him aloofe from the shore and this inanimated Rock would bruise himself against the earth did not this guide advertise him of his danger to recompence his guide for so good an office he lends him his throat for a place of retreat and this living gulf serves for a Sanctuary to this faithfull guide The Dolphin is the Sovereign of the Sea he carries the Ensignes of his power in the noblest part of his body and Nature which hath given him dexterity to command hath placed a Crown upon his head to put a difference between him and his subjects he naturally loves man and as if he knew that he likewise were a Sovereign he helps him at the sea who commands upon earth he is delighted with musick though he be dumb he is not deafe and the love he bears to musick hath made him oft-times assist Musicians in shipwrack The earth is no lesse peopled then is the sea this fruitfull mother is never weary of bringing forth children nor of nourishing them all the parts thereof are fertill Desarts which produce Monsters produce food likewise to nourish them Forrests serve for retreats to wilde beasts the fields receive such as are necessary for mans entertainment and Towns afford shelter to such as we have reclaimed made tame either for our service or pastime every species is preserved by multiplying it selfe Nature repaires the havock made by death And notwithstanding the cruelty which men use towards those harmlesse beasts their number is not diminished Excesse in feasting cannot drain either the earth or sea these two Elements abound more in fruitfulnesse then we do in gluttonies and notwithstanding any debauches made yet at any time in any Countrey the fields were never depopulated Though man be the Sovereign of all the world he is much more absolute in the earth than either in the water or aire He rules over fishes and birds only by art and since they dwell in Elements which are not conformable to his nature he must use violence upon himself before he can fight against them He gets oâ— shipboard trusts himself to the perfidiousnesse of the sea to surprize fish He cannot come up to birds because of their swiftnesse his minde could never yet raise his earthly body to pursue them in the aire He sends bullets where he himself cannot go and putting division between these innocent creatures either by industry or deceit he makes the Gerfaulcon flie at the Heron. But he can do what he will with beasts he sets upon the fiercest of them in their Forts their dens nor thickets cannot defend them from his violence He reclaimes some to make use of them he strips others to clothe himselfe and cuts the throats of others to feed on This absolute power impedes not the beasts from having Sovereigns amongst themselves The Lion hath won this honour by his strength and courage all other beasts bear him respect at his roaring all his subjects tremble nor are Kings more re-doubted in their Kingdomes then is this noble Animall in Forrests Thus all things in the world are wisely ordered every Element acknowledgeth it's Sovereign every species hath it's laws and had not man disordered this great Republique all the parts thereof would yet enjoy peace and tranquility Yet they agree in what is requisite for the worlds preservation though their inclinations be contrary they keep fair quarter in their quarrels do not forgoe all sense of love when they exercise their hatred Fire agrees with water to compose all bodies and aire mingles it self with earth to give life and breath to all creatures Every Element useth force upon it's inclinations to agree with it's Enemy In birds the earth becomes light in beasts the aire waxeth heavy in fishes fire grows cold and water hardens in rocks if at any time they fall foul 't is always out of some good designe and divine providence by which they are governed gives them not freedom to wage war save for her glory and our advantage The obedience which they owe to God exceeds their own aversions and the Commandements which he gave them when he made them of nothing keeps them yet within their duties they do not make use of their advantages which one of them hath over the other and knowing very well that the worlds welfare depends on their agreements they appease their hatred to cause it 's quiet The fire invirons all the other Elements without consuming them it is content to burn such exhalations as come near it and to set such Comets on fire as do presage alteration in States or the death of Kings The aire doth inclose all sensible creatures the humidity thereof doth temper the fires heat and the earths drinesse Waters make no advantage of the scituation which Nature hath given it though it be liquid and raised above the earth it doth not passe his bounds the word of God gives it it's limits he who raised it up retains it and he teacheth us by this miracle that there needs no more to drown the world then to leave the sea at liberty The earth hath it's foundations laid upon the ayr this Element wherewith it is environed supports it The worlds Basis hath no other stay then the weight thereof that which ought to beat it down susteins it and it keeps equally distant from all the parts of heauen onely because it is the heaviest of all bodies But that which astonisheth all Philosophers and fils the wisest pates in the world with admiration is to see that the world which is but a point should be the center of the Universe and that all Creatures labour onely to adorn or to inrich it The heavens roul incessantly about this hillock of sand to beautifie the fields thereof The Sun inlightens it and cherisheth it with his beams this glorious constellation hath no other care then to make it fertill and if he be in perpetuall motion 't is that he may adorn it with flowers load it with fruits and enrich it with metals the Air forms no clouds nor rain save onely to water it And whole nature is busied in nothing but how she may oblige the least part of the Universe 'T is truth the earth doth thankfully acknowledge all these favours for as she owes all her productions to the Suns favourable aspect she in token of thankfullnesse thrusts all her fruits up towards him opens all her flowers when he riseth shuts them up when he sets and as if she were onely adorned to please him she hides all her beauties when he keeps far from her Though all these considerations make the worlds beauty sufficiently appear that it's creation is the most considerable part of it's excellency And he who knows not what means God used to produce it
in joyning them together he confounds their qualities in uniting their minds but when he grows irrationall he brings his punishment along with him and that he may punish those whom he hath ingaged in an unlawfull affection he permits them to communicate their defaults and forbids them to communicate their advantages Thus man cannot love the creatures unlesse losing the priviledges which nature hath given him he renounce his Greatnesse in loving his Slaves and as the Scripture sayes he become abominable in worshipping of Idols From this just punishment another doth derive which is not much lesse rigorous for Divine Justice which cannot let a fault passe unpunisht permits that men find their punishment in their love and that the object which ought to cause their good fortune cause their torment for though love boast of allaying pains and of making the wildest things that are loving yet doth he attribute unto himself a power which onely belongs to charity his deeds are not answerable to his words and when lovers abused by his promises have ingaged themselves on his side they find by experience that that which ought to cause their happpinesse is the originall of their punishment And that they cannot love the creature without becoming miserable There goes more care to the preserving of riches then to the getting of them t is more painfull to be rich then to become rich and that metall which seems to be the reward of the avaritious mans labour is onely the increase and the redoubling thereof he hath past the seas to find them out he hath dug into the bowels of the earth to seek for them he hath ingaged his freedome to become Master thereof yet is the keeping of them more vexatious then the acquiring he is more troubled in hiding them then in heaping of them together and he confesseth that riches threaten more mischief to him then poverty doth he runs more hazard in his own house then on the sea he fears Partners more then Pirats and is not so terrified with Tempests as with Suits at law The ambitious man findes his punishment in glory and honour this vain Idoll which occasioned his desires occasioneth his complaints he repents his having courted so ungratefull a Mistresse and knowing that she hath nothing wherewithall to reward those that serve her but wind and smoak he never esteems himself more unfortunate then when most honoured Thus it fares with whatsoever else we love Divine Justice doth minglegall with honey in them to wean us from them makes use of our delights to increase our annoyes the house which we have built for our diversion wil prove our anxiety yea even though it suit in all things with our desire 't wil cease to give content when it ceaseth to be new we will wonder that not having changed aspect it shall have lost what was pleasing in it and that contrary to our expectation it should become our punishment when it ought to be our delight Those pictures which we send for out of the warehouses of Italy which we have bought at so dear a rate which we have with such impatiency looked for and been so well pleased when they came cease to ravish our senses when they are once seated in the places appropriated for them they lose their value together with their novelty it must be the admi ration of those that never saw them that must make us esteem them and we must look upon them through other mens eyes if we will value them they serve us onely to incense us against a servant who hath not been carefull enough of them or to make us curse time which hath effaced their colours The pain which all these things cause in us and the undervaluation we have of them is not able to make us forbear loving them we are fastned to them without our knowledge we love them whilst we think not on it and because we forego the further desire of them when we are once possest thereof we think we cease to be kin thereunto An avaritious man who sees his cofers full who receives his rents duly every quarter and who never knew what belonged to being bankrout or unfortunate cannot believe that he loveth his riches so excessively the sorrow he feels by their losses must make him know the contentment he had in their possession he must judge of his ingagement by his grief love is better known by privation then by enjoyment and the irregularity of affection is not better discerned then by the absence of the object which did entertain it We are not troubled with the u losse of what we were not pleased with the possession we judge of the excesse of our love by the like of our sorrow and we are never so sensible of the love we bear to perishable things as by the sorrow we conceive for their losse we are sensible of our captivity after being set at liberty we consider the weight of our Irons when we are freed from them and we know we were miserable when we think our selves to be most happie To find a remedy for these evils Saint Augustine teacheth us that we must make use of the creatures without loving them and we must be very carefull lest whilst we touch them with our hands they corrupt our hearts He will have us to look upon them as slaves which ought to obey us not command us he will have us to love them as they are the pictures of God and as Lovers love their Mistresses pictures he will have us to esteem of them as the favours of our God and that considering his beauty in his images and his goodnesse in what representeth him we should neither love the one nor the other but meerly for his sake Did I not doubt lest men might think me too severe I would add that all these precautions were not sufficient and that the Son of God not content to have taught us that perishable things cannot beloved without danger he would tell us that they may be despised without vain glory for although his Commandements do onely forbid us any excesse in the use thereof his counsels do permit us to wean our selves from them and all christian vertues are so many holy pieces of cunning which teach us how to set by the creatures Fasting inâ—erdicts us the use of meats it raiseth man to the condition of Angels by cutting of such things as are necessary for the preservation of life it contents it self with bread and water nay there have been some Penitentiaries and Anchorets who have passed over whole weeks without eating any thing lest whilst they would feed their naturall heat they might increase the heat of their concupiscence Poverty is a generall foregoing of all worldly things those who make greatest profession thereof live in the world as in a desart whatsoever self-love judgeth necessary seems useles or superfluous to them the arts are not troubled with dressing nor with nourishing them they
and the Antipodes would passe for a fable had not these faithfull guides brought our Pylots thither This good turn would be rare did not mans fury abuse it but we make them serve our avarice or our ambition by their means we seek out new dangers and new enemies we load our ships with souldiers to pillage strange countries we commit our life to the infidelity of the sea and the lightnesse of the wind we indevour to overcome tempests which astonish nature we run upon death without hope of a grave and we seek out a doubtfull war upon such conditions as would seem unjust to those who would undertake an assured victory what blind madnesse doth possesse us wherefore do we raise troops to carry them through rocks and tempests wherefore do we trouble the Seas quiet for our unjust designes are there not hazards enough on the earth but that we must seek for new ones in another Element whether do we complain of Fortunes favours or of natures goodnesse is the former too faithfull or the latter too indulgent are our bodies so strong or our health so certain that we must go seek for sicknesses and dangers amongst the waves do we desire to assaile the destinies in the midst of their Empire to declare war against them then where their power doth most evidently appear is not death terrible enough on Land but that we must provoke it on the Sea shall we not finde it soon enough in a house without seeking for it in a ship and is not our life short enough but that we must make it yet shorter by the accidents which are subject to those who saile upon the Ocean must not a man have lost his reason to expose himselfe voluntarily to dangers unnecessitated to fight with men without any cause and conquer Countries without justice wilde beasts war not one upon another untill enforced by hunger or provoked by injuries and we who take our name from humanity are profuse in shedding of humane bloud we come aboard frail vessels we trust our safety to the fury of Tempests and wish for fair windes to carry us into forreign Countries where we must either because of death or die our selves We think not any one part of the world a Theater large enough for our ambition Every one will have his madnesse manifest and that it have as many witnesses as it hath made men miserable Thus the King of Persia entered Greece which he could not overcome though he covered it all over with Souldiers Thus would Alexander passe over unknown seas carry his forces to the utmost parts of the earth and after he had overcome so many Kings vanquish Nature her selfe Thus did Crassus strive to enrich himselfe at the cost of the Parthians and would enter the large desarts which border upon their State he despised the Tribunes who opposed his voyage he laughed at the Tempests which shattered some of his ships the Thunders which fore-told his bad successe could not stay him and not withstanding that both God and man were offended with him he would go whether his avarice called him and seek out the death which destiny had prepared for him Had not Nature been more favourable unto us if she had caused the windes to cease and if to hinder the execution of so many unjust designs she had forced all Conquerours to keep peacefully within their own dominions should not we be much beholden to her if interdicting us to enter on the sea we should have nothing but our own misfortunes to fear and undergo and if the winds made us not dread those unknown waves which bring war servitude and death to the Countries whereon they coast we are not the more secure for the distance of places there is no enemy how far off so ever he be who may not surprize us as oft as the winds blow we have cause to fear lest they bring either enemies or Tyrants upon us The Tempests which they raise are the least evils which they threaten us withall Shipwracks which fear makes appear so terrible unto us are but the first tryals they expose us to those dangers when they carry us to war and the evill which wait for us on the shores whither they conduct us are more vexatious then those which assail us at full sea Thus are all things in the world armed against us Every Element is become an executioner since we are become male factours Nature is plentifull in punishments and all the pieces whereof she is composed are so many faithfull Ministers which serve God in taking revenge upon his rebels The ninth Discourse That Monsters and Poysons are the workmanship of Sinne. DIvine Providence knows so well how to husband the defects of creatures as most men take them for perfections and we gather such advantage from our misfortunes by it's guidance as we should be unfortunate if we had not been so Death which is sins severest punishment is so precious in it's hands as it seemeth rather a favour then displeasure and a reward then a chastizement Sicknesses are cause of so much good unto us by bereaving us of our health as it were to be wished that most men should fall sick and that pain might make them out of love with their bodies to make them be the like with the earth the injuries of the Elements are of such use to the faithfull as they ought rather to be praised then complained of by them when they with patience suffer all the pains which sin hath occasioned they may make a happy use thereof to destroy sin and a sweet smelling Sacrifice to Gods Justice Hence it is that Philosophers who know what advantage we draw from our mis-fortunes perswade themselves that Nature is not corrupted and account her disorders advantages they term death a law more necessary then rigorous they call sicknesse the souls salve the tryall of vertue and the exercise of patience they call poverty a dis-ingagement from uselesse things a nearer cut to vertue a help to argue with more freedom they term the persecution of the Elements an innocent war which causeth the worlds peace a hatred which conduceth to a perfect friendship or an excellent picture of musick whose harmony is composed of the differences of voices and contrariety of tones By the same reason they justifie the disorders of nature and call Monsters irregularities which heighten her other works they plead in the behalf of poysons and make them passe for remedies whose use we are yet ignorant of In effect Monsters seem to serve for ornament to the world that they contribute to the beauty thereof that they constitute that admirable variety wherein consists honest mens most innocent delight that they are in the world what shadows are in Pictures and that not to excuse them they are handsome faults and pleasing debaucheries This wise Mother hath her serious businesses and her serious diversions she sports her self after having laboured and to recreate