of their Favour and good Graces To say nothing in their Company tending to the Matter in controversie but to talk altogether of indifferent Things or at least such as we personally know to be true or are otherwise very well assur'd of If we touch upon the Dispute to say what may be for the Service of both and may tend to their reconciliation and better Understanding But by no means submitting to that vile practice of reporting idle Stories or groundless Surmises or aggravating things that have some Foundation or currying Favour by discommending or railing at the Adversary of Him with whom we converse For Matters here ought to be carry'd with such an even Hand that nothing should pass in Company with the one which we would not speak if the other were by nay that nothing should be said to the one which we would not say to the other in his Turn too allowing only for some little Alterations in the Forms and Manner of our Address which the different Circumstances of the Persons or the Relation or Authority we pretend to with them or some other accidental Consideration foreign to the Subject of the Quarrel it self may render seasonable and seem to require from us Justice the Second Cardinal Virtue CHAP. V. Of Justice in General JUSTICE consists in rendring to every one whatsoever of Right belongs to him What it is paying first to himself his Own Duty and then to others Theirs And according to this Definition it comprehends all manner of Duties and Offices which each particular Person can be any way oblig'd to Now these as I hinted before are of Two sorts according to the Objects of them which are Two The First terminate in a Man 's own Person the Second in other People All which in their utmost Latitude sall within the compass of that most extensive Command which hath express'd the Substance and Summ of all Justice in those very few but significant Words Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self For here it is very observable that the Duty to others is put in the Second place that the Love and Duty we owe to our selves is laid as the Ground-work upon which that to our Neighbour is superstructed and the Model by which it is to be proportion'd For as the old Hebrews and not They only but all the World use to say Charity begins at home The Beginning then and Foundation of all Justice is to be sought for within our selves Primitive and Original Justice and the most Ancient and Fundamental Right of all others is that Dominion which Reason hath over the Sensual part of us A Man must be able to command and govern himself before he can be qualify'd to exercise this Authority in demanding Subjection from others And this Government of one's Self consists in reserving to Reason the Power of bearing Sway and keeping the Appetites under reducing and restraining them to their just Measures and Degrees and bowing their stubborn Necks till they become flexible and obedient to Discipline The preserving our Souls in this Order and Posture is what we may call Primitive Original and Internal Justice the most genuine the brightest and infinitely most beautiful of any thing that goes by that Name This Sovereignty and Dominion of the Rational over that sensual and brutish part of the Soul which is the Source of all our Passions and by Them of all our Troubles and Disorders hath been by some Authors not unfitly resembl'd to a Rider managing his Horse keeping himself firm in the Saddle and the Rein constantly in his Hand by which he rules and turns the Beast under him at pleasure To give an exact and nice Account of that Justice Distinguished which goes abroad and is exercis'd in our Dealings with other People it is necessary to observe first of all that there are two sorts of it The One Natural Universal Generous and Brave Rational and Philosophical the Other in a great degree Artificial Particular Positive and Political contrived and cramp'd up according as the Exigencies of particular Countries and Constitutions would allow it a larger or have confin'd it to a narrower Compass The Former of these is much the more regular and uniform more firm and inflexible clearer and fairer of the Two But alas it is antiquated and obsolete capable of doing very little Service to the World as it now stands This occasion'd that Complaint * Veri Juris germanaeque Justitiae solidam expressam essigiem nullam tenemus umbris imaginibus utimur That the Substance and express Image of true Right and Justice was long since fled and gone and all we live by now is only some faint Shadows and imperfect Copies of that Original Representation taken from the Life it self These are like the first Sketches of a Night-piece but they are such as Mankind must be contented with since tho' the Darkness of their Condition need a stronger Light yet their present Infirmities cannot bear any thing so exquisitely bright This is what they say of Polycletus's Rule Inflexible Unalterable The other is more slack and limber and pliable it comes to and accommodates it self to the Necessities and the Weaknesses of Mankind nay of the generality and That to be sure is the worst and most ignorant part This is a Leaden and a Lesbian Rule a Nose of Wax that bends into any Form and may be wrought into any Figure and indeed is bow'd and chang'd perpetually according to the different Exigencies and Circumstances of Time and Place and Person the Posture of Affairs and the variety of Accidents This in case of necessity and convenience dispenses with allows nay approves of several things which the other will not so much as connive at but must absolutely condemn and cannot admit upon any Consideration whatsoever This establishes some Vices and gives them not only the Countenance but sometimes the Sanction of a Law and rejects several Actions in themselves Innocent and Good as unlawful and not to be practis'd Natural Justice looks only at the Reason the Equity the Virtue the Decency and Fitness of the thing But Positive and Political Justice proceeds upon other sort of Considerations it hath a great I might almost say principal Regard to the Advantage the Convenience at least its main Aim and Business is to reconcile these two and make Profit and Probity go Hand in Hand and so mutually promote and assist each other Since therefore This is the only kind which the World is manag'd by and the Design of the present Treatise is to reform Men's Manners and to better them in such Points as are practicable we will confine our selves wholly to this latter sort For it must needs be to very little purpose to insist upon the Former of which there is nothing now but the Idea and bare Speculation left Now this Justice at present in common use Of Justice as now in use and that which is esteem'd the Judge and Standard
destroy Charity and common Sense is abominable and not to be endured And Men should by all means think themselves obliged to proceed with Equity and Candor to see and to acknowledge Goodness whereever it is to be found though in the worst and most mistaken Enemies and not to palliate or overlook much less to defend and applaud the Vices and Follies of our Friends and Followers but to lay aside all private Considerations and frankly to express our Detestation of these things let the persons guilty of them be who or what they will The contrary wicked practice for a very wicked one it is seems to proceed in great measure from want to considering and distinguishing aright what the Points in difference are and how far they extend For it is most certain that where the Controversy is no way concerned we ought to behave our selves with all manner of Indifference and pass fair and equitable Judgments as we would do supposing no Dispute or Disagreement at all And Resentments should never be carried beyond that particular Subject which provokes them nor Anger of all Passions suffered to grow general and unlimited And These are some of the many Evils which too great Eagerness and Intention of Mind naturally brings upon Men let the Matter we set our hearts so much upon be what it will for this Disposition is capable of Excess and liable to Inconveniences when fixed upon the very best Object and a Man may suffer by being too vehement and hot in the pursuit even of Goodness and Wisdom it self Now in order to moderate this Affectionate Earnestness and reduce the Mind to due Temper every Man ought to remember that the most important thing given us in charge by God and Nature that to which we have the strongest Obligations and consequently such as ought to be first satisfied is That Every Man should look well to his conduct This good management of our selves is the very business upon which we were sent into the World at first and are continued in it still And this Duty we do by no means discharge faithfully except the Peace and Tranquility and Liberty of our Minds be consulted and preserved And preserved these cannot be unless we make it our Principle and Rule to Lend our selves to a Friend but to Give our selves up to none but our selves to take business in hand but not to lay it to heart to bear it as a burden and be content with sustaining the weight of it upon our shoulders but not to incorporate and unite with it by making it inseparable and a part of our selves to bestow all possible Diligence but not to misplace and throw away our Affections upon it to fasten eagerly upon very few things and to stick to them only so as still to continue at our own pleasure This is the true the sovereign Remedy against all the Inconveniences and Uneasinesses formerly mentioned and this is not any such selfish or narrow-spirited advice as some may imagine It does not condemn or exclude any of those Duties or good Offices required from us it does not prejudice to the Publick our Friends or our Neighbours so far from That that it is most certain We are bound by all the Tyes of Honour and Religion to be courteous and kind assisting and serviceable to one another to comply with the Customs and Occasions of the World and apply our selves to the observance of the one and the Supply of the other as our Circumstances will permit and in order hereunto every man is obliged to contribute to the Common Good and conscientiously to perform all those Duties and mutual Offices which any way concern him as a Member of the Body Politick and may conduce to the Benefit of Human Society * Qui sibi amious est hunc omnibus seito esse amicum He that is a Friend to himself is a Friend to all Mankind for the Love and Care of one's self is so far from engrossing and confining all we can do to our own single persons that it implies and puts us upon the being as universally beneficial and dissusing our Powers as far and wide as we can But still I must insist upon it that the most generous Inclinations and Endeavours of this kind ought to be tempered with Moderation and Prudence and no Man is publick-spirited as he should be unless he be discreet withal and That in these Two respects particularly First Not to apply or lay himself out upon every occasion that offers indifferently but first to sit down and consider well the Justice the Reasonableness and the Necessity of the thing whether it will answer his design and be worth his pains And if this were done a world of trouble might be spared Then Secondly That even those occasions which have the best Title to his Application may be followed without Violence and Vexation of Mind A Man should contract his Desires and bring them within as small a Compass as he can The Little he does desire should be pursued with Temper and be desired moderately His application should be free from Anxiety and Distraction And in any the most Important Matters that we undertake we may be allowed to employ our Hands our Feet our Tongue the Attention of our Thoughts the Sweat of our Brows all proper means in order to the effecting them nay to spend our Blood and hazard our Lives if the occasion require it but still all this is to be done with a Reserve calmly and considerately without Passion and Torment without Fretfulness and Impatience A Man must always preserve the Government and Command of himself the Health of his Body the Soundness of his Mind the Tranquility and Ease of both so far as is possible For Success does by no means depend upon Heat and Forwardness and an Impetuous Eagerness of the Will but is much oftner and better attained without it and the Cooler our proceedings are the greater Expectations we may entertain from them It is a vulgar and a very gross Mistake that no Affair is undertaken heartily and to purpose without a great deal of Noise and Hurry and Bustle For as I have already shewed these only disorder and perplex the Cause put Men beside their Byass and are so many fresh Obstructions How common a thing is it to observe vast numbers of Men who venture their persons in the Wars and are in daily hourly peril of their Lives without any anxious Concern at all they march up to the Cannon's mouth when their Post requires it and push on to Action and yet neither the Hazard nor the Loss of the Battels they fight ever breaks them one Night's rest They consider This is their Duty and upon that Consideration they discharge it chearfully And yet at the same time that you see the Camp and the Field so easy and void of Care a Splenetick Politician who never had the Courage to look Danger in the Face shall sit you at home and teaze and afflict
the Bearer and Breeder up of Human Society and all States and Politick Constitutions are maintain'd and preserv'd by virtue of her Influence None but Tyrants and Monsters are jealous of or have a dislike to it not but that even They adore this Virtue in their Hearts and have a secret Esteem for it but because they themselves cannot come within the Verge and Benefit of it therefore they bid it open Defiance Love is powerful enough of it self to keep the World in order without the Addition of any other Helps And were it suffer'd to have free Course and operate every where with its utmost Vigour the necessity of all Laws would be quite superseded For Laws were only a Resuge taken in to help at a dead List and as the best Remedy that cou'd then be found to supply the Defect and Decays of Love and the very End and Aim of these is to bring Men by Authority and Compulsion to do That almost whether they will or no which they ought to have done freely and out of Inclination upon a Principle of Kindness But still Laws fall far short of This in Point of Efficacy and Extent For These can only take cognizance of Overt-Acts and pretend not to restrain or make Provision against any other Whereas Love goes to the Bottom regulates the Heart as well as the Tongue and the Hands purifies the Will and directs its Operations thus sweetning the very Spring whence all our Actions flow Upon this Account Aristotle seems to have said That Wise and Good Lawgivers have a greater regard to Love than to Justice And because in this wretched Degeneracy of Mankind both the One and the Other of these are but too often slighted and defeated therefore a Third Remedy hath been thought of but That still less effectual in its Operations and less valuable in it self than either of the Former which is Force of Arms than which nothing can be more directly contrary to that first Principle of Love And thus you have a short Scheme laid before you of Politick Institutions and Government and by what Steps they grew or rather indeed fell and sunk down into that Condition we now see them in But still the first and single Principle of Amity is worth All incomparably above all the rest as indeed it usually happens in other Cases that the Second and Subsidiary Remedies never come up to the First and Principal for These are the Effects of Choice and taken for their own Sakes but Those the last Shifts of necessitated Men who in their Extremity lay hold on any thing that comes next and must be content to take what they can get There is it must be confest Distinguish'd as to Caulis great Ambiguity in this Term of Love and many Distinctions have accordingly been made which were but needful to give Us a true Idea of the Variety of Passions proceeding from it The Ancients were wont to divide it into Four sorts Natural Social Hospitable and Venereal But this Division so far as I can apprehend does not do the Business and therefore we will try another Method and distinguish it these Three following ways First with regard to the Causes that create it and They are Four Nature Virtue Profit and Pleasure and these sometimes advance all together in a Body sometimes Two or Three of them and very often One of them appears single But of all these Virtue is the noblest Cause and the most powerful for This is pure and refin'd and hath it's Residence in the Heart the Seat of Love it self Nature runs in the Blood Profit lies in the Purse and Pleasure is consin'd to some particular Part and works but upon the Senses of the Body except at a distance and by Reflection only Accordingly Virtue is more free and open and pure and firm in its Affection for all the other Causes when destitute of this are sordid and mean fickle and of short Continuance He that loves upon the Account of Virtue can never be weary because there are always fresh Charms to attract and entertain him and if such a Friendship happen to break off he hath no reason to complain because the Breach could not have been if all that was worth his Love had not fail'd He that Loves for Profit if a Breach happen there is full of immoderate Complaints but exposed to very just Reproach for having spared no Pains and yet gaining nothing by all his Trouble He that Loves for Pleasure when the Satisfaction ceases the Passion ceases too and he takes leave of the Object without murmuring or complaint The Second Distinction relates to the Parties concern'd in this Affection The Persons and of These there are Three sorts remarkable One proceeds in a direct Line between Superioural as between Parents and Children Uncles and Nephews or Legal and Political as between a Prince and his Subjects a Lord and his Vassals a Master and his Servants a Turor and his Pupil a Prelate or Preacher or Magistrate and the People under his Care Now if one would speak properly and go to the Nicety of the thing This is not true Love by reason of the Distance and great Disparity between the Circumstances of the Parties which hinders that Easiness and Privacy that Familiarity and entire Communication which is the Principal Fruit and Consequence of Love as also upon the Account of that Obligation there â—es upon them which leaves such Persons very little at their own Disposal in this Matter and so takes off from that Freedom supposed in this Virtue making the Affection rather an Effect of Duty and Necessity than of Choice And in consideration of This it is that we call it by other Names more suitable to those Engagements Thus Inferiours we say owe Honour and Respect and Obedience to those above them and Superiours owe Care and Protection and Vigilance and kind Condescension to those beneath them The Second sort of Love with regard to the Parties proceeds in a Collateral Line and This is between such as are either almost or altogether Equals This again is Twofold either Natural or Voluntary The Natural first as between Brothers Sisters Cousins and the like which is more properly call'd Love than the Former because there is less Disparity in their Condition and so more room for Familiarity and free Converse But then here is an Obligation from Nature too and that such a one as loosens or slackens that Knot in one respect which it ties and binds us by in another For many Quarrels and Misunderstandings commonly arise between these Relations upon the Account of Portion Inheritance and that variety of Business and Interests wherein they are mutually concern'd Besides that very frequently there wants that Similitude and exact Agreement of Humours and Inclinations which is the very Life and Essence of true and entire Affection I must confess he is an ill Man or a Fool but he is my Brother or my Relation are Complaints exceeding common