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A45744 A treatise of moral and intellectual virtues wherein their nature is fully explained and their usefulness proved, as being the best rules of life ... : with a preface shewing the vanity and deceitfulness of vice / by John Hartcliffe ... Hartcliffe, John, 1651-1712. 1691 (1691) Wing H971; ESTC R475 208,685 468

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encourage us to the practice of it for we are prompted to it by a kind of natural Instinct we are led to the knowledge of it by Reason by the general vote of Mankind and by the most powerful and prevailing Passions of Human Nature Hope Fear and Shame And to take away all excuse of ignorance from us by an express Revelation from himself so that whenever we omit our Duty or do any thing contrary to it we offend against all these and incur the heavy sentence pronounced by our Saviour that Light is come into the World and men love darkness rather than Light for he that doth evil acts against the Convictions of his own Mind and the Light that shines in his own Soul Thirdly PIETY towards God Righteousness Justice and Charity towards Men are more pleasing to God and more valuable that if we should offer to him all the Beasts of the Forest or the Cattle upon a thousand Hills for to the strict observance of these Duties we are directed and obliged by our very Nature and the most Sacred Law which God hath written upon our Hearts and that we might have no pretence to take us off from them God hath freed us in the Gospel from those many Observances and burdensom Ceremonies wherewith the Religion of the Jews was incumbred that we might better mind Moral Duties and live in the practice of them Fourthly WE see in the last place what is the best way to appease the wrath of God and to reconcile our selves to him God seems oftentimes to have a Controversie with us as with his People of old and at such times we are apt to ask as they did wherewith shall we come before the Lord and bow our selves before the most high God! And we are apt to think as they did that the next way to please him is by external Worship and Devotion which may be good and necessary but these are not the things that God doth mainly require of us it is true Prayers hearing the Word of God and receiving the Sacraments are to be performed but these are but means to a further End and serve to engage us to the practice of the great and essential Duties of Christianity and to promote the Virtues of a good Life There doth appear in many Men a great deal of external Devotion but their Lives and Manners are generally very corrupt and the weighty things of the Law are neglected as Justice Righteousness and Mercy so that we may take up the complaint of the Royal Psalmist help Lord for the Righteous man ceaseth and the faithful fail and till we return to our antient Virtue and Integrity of Life we have reason to think and fear that God will continue to have a Controversie with us notwithstanding all our Zeal and Noise about his Religion which must prevail with us to do Justly to love Mercy and to walk humbly with our God otherwise it will seem to have less power and efficacy than Natural Agents have But if we are truly religious there is an imperceptible spring that guides all our Motions in the Path of Virtue for we cannot see at what passage the good Thought entred neither can we perceive how the good Spirit infuses a Pious desire Thus it is in Nature we see the Sun shine and can feel his warmth but we discern not how he enters into the Bowels of the Earth how his little Atoms steal into the secret Pores of Plants how he impregnates Nature with new Life nay we feel not how our own Spirits move how they start and flie as quick as we think from one end of our Nerves to the other so undiscernable and so puissant is the working of God's Grace in the change of our Minds into an heavenly Temper in imprinting upon our Souls the fair and lovely Notions of Goodness and Truth in laying in our Minds the Seeds of a blessed Immortality whereby the Soul will be gradually exalted to the utmost Perfection in all the Parts and Faculties thereof By Grace and Virtue the Mind is sitted for an everlasting State of Happiness that is the Understanding will be raised to the utmost Capacity and that Capacity completely filled the Will will be perfected with absolute and indefective Holiness with exact Conformity to the Will of God and perfect liberty from all servitude of Sin it shall be troubled with no doubtful choice but with its radical and fundamental Freedom shall fully imbrace the greatest good The Affections shall be all set right by an unalterable Regulation and in that regularity shall receive absolute satisfaction To this internal Perfection will be added a condition proportionably Happy consisting in an entire freedom from all Pain Misery Labour and Want an impossibility of sinning and offending God an Hereditary Possession of all good with an unspeakable complacency and joy slowing from it FINIS BOOKS Printed for and Sold by Charles Harper at the Flower-de-Luce over against S. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet DOctor Willis's Practise of Physick being the whole Works of that Renowned and Famous Physician Rendred into English Second Edit with Fourty Copper Plates Fol. The Historical and Miscellaneous Tracts of the Reverend and Learned Peter Heylyn D. D Now Collected into one Vol. And An Account of the Life of the Author never before Publieshd Fol. The Religion of Protestants a safe Way to Salvation with a Discourse of the Apostolcal Institution of Episcopacy By W. Chillingworth M. A. To which in this Edit is added shewing the Reason why he left Popery Fol. The History of Queen Elizabeth By W. Cawbden King at Arms. Fourth Edition Fol. The Second and Third Parts of the VVorks of Mr. Abraham Cowley The Second containing what was VVritten and Published by himself in his younger Years Now Reprinted together Sixth Edition The Third Part containing his Six Books of Plants never before Published in English viz. The First and Second of Herbs The Third and Fourth of Flowers The Fifth and Sixth of Trees Now made English by several Hands with necessary Tables to both Parts and divers Poems in Praise of the Author Fol. An Impartial Collection of the great Affairs of State from the beginning of the Scotch Rebellion in the year 1639 to the Murther of King Charles the First Fol. in 2 Vol. Dugdales Monasticon Anglicanum Fol. The History of the Life Reign and Death of Edward II. King of England and Lord of Ireland Fol. The Laws of Jamaica Fol. Dr. Willis's practical Part of Physick 80 Bishop Vshers Power of the Prince and the Obedience required of the Subject with a large Preface by Bishop Sanderson 80 Some Animadversions upon a Book Intituled The Theory of the Earth By Herbert Lord Bishop of Hereford 80 Law Books The Lord Cokes Reports in English Fol. Judg Crook's Reports in 3 Vol. the Third Edit with References to all the late Reports Fol. The Lord Coke's Commentary on Littleton Fol. His Commentary on Magna Charta Fol. His Pleas of the Crown of the Third Part of the Institutes Fol. His Jurisdiction of Courts or Fourth Part o● the Institutes His Eleven Reports in French Fol. Bulstrode's Reports with new References Fol. Leonard's Reports in Four Parts with new References I The Year-Books in 10. Vol. the last Edit with new No and Tables to them all Fol. The Reports of the Lord Keeper Littleton in the time of King Charles I. Fol. The Reports of the learned Judge Sir Henry Hobart the Fourth Edition corrected and amended Fol. Reports in the Court of King's Bench at Westminster from the 12th to the 30th Year of King Charles II. by Jos Keble of Grays-Inn Esq in 3. Vol. Fol. Kelway's Reports with new References to all the late Reports Fol. Reports of several especial Cases in the Court of Common Pleas by S. Carter of the Inner Temple Esq Fol. An Assistance to Justices of the Peace for the easier Performance of their Duty the First Part containing the particular Clauses of all such Statutes from Magna Charta untill the 1st of King James II. that do any ways concern a Justice of Peace in the other Part the whole Office of a Justice of Peace is methodically digested with the most approved Presidents under ptoper Heads to which is now added a Table for the ready finding out the Presidents never before Printed by Jos Keble of Grays-Inn Esq An exact Abridgement of the Records in the Tower of London being of great Use for all that are concerned in Parliamentary Affairs and Professors of the Laws of this Realm collected by Sir Robert Cotton Knight and Baronet Fol. An exact Abridgment of all the Statutes in form and use from the Beginning of Magna Charta begun by Edmond Wingate of Grays-Inn Esq and since continued und their proper Titles Alphabetically by J. Washington oft Middle Temple Esq to the Year 1689. In this Impressio● many Hundreds of false References are corrected with gre●● Exactness and Care
among some Greek Divines and in them nothing more is meant by it than that Power which Man hath over his Moral Actions This is that Spirit of our Minds as the Apostle terms it which makes our Actions virtuous For we are not moved as natural Agents are but it is in our power to leave the things we do undone neither can there be any Choice unless the thing which we take be so in our power that we might have refused it and we must take special care that we distinguish between the Will and the Appetite the Object of the first is whatsoever good we may be lead to by Reason the Object of the latter is The Will and Appetite distinguished whatsoever good may be desired by Sense Now Affections such as Joy and Grief Fear and Anger being as it were the sundry Modes of of Appetite can neither be stirr'd by a thing indifferent nor forbear being moved at the sight of some other things so that it is not altogether in our power so to moderate these Affections as never to be moved by them but we may command the Actions that issue from the Disposition of the Will And to our Wills only our Passions are subject not that it is in our power wholly whether we will be angry or not Passions are subject only to the Will whether we will be moved by Lust or Fear but only when they are up and would hurry us into evil Actions it is in our power to restrain their force and to do 〈…〉 their command For wherein we 〈…〉 hindred there only are we free 〈…〉 whatsoever we may be hindered there we have not this Liberty So small a matter it is called Free-will that hath kindled so much Controversie and raised so great a stir amongst Men. AND here cometh in a third thing which we are to observe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Consultation wherein we see the necessity of having Free-will For since in many important Cases of Human Life it doth not appear what is to be done upon the sudden it is necessary to take some time to advise and consult Beasts because they see upon the sudden what they have to do have not this benefit of Advice but as soon as ever they see what to avoid and what to pursue immediatly act accordingly But with Man it is not so many things there are which at first sight seem fair and desireable that upon examination prove otherwise and many things are harsh unpleasant or dangerous at first sight which upon tryal are fitted for our use and therefore ought to be pursued HENCE it is that our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Inclination to act must be frequently suspended and not presently be set on work but upon serious Consideration what is most fit and convenient for us to do And here comes in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Election which is as it were the Conclusion from the Premises WHATSOEVER therefore offers its self to us is first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for some reason to be desired secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it must admit of Consultation and in the third place it must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fit upon good advice to be chosen This is the just meaning of what Aristotle says of Virtue that it is habitus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vel electivus The Art o●●i●ing w●●● consists much in the wel●●●dering 〈◊〉 Pa … BEFORE we come to consider further of his Definition wherein the very Form of Virtue doth consist it will not be amiss to speak somewhat of the Passions of the Mind in the due framing of which into order the very Art as it were of living well doth consist NOW the mind of Man from whence they come hath two principal parts the one proper to Man the other common to Him and Beasts the first we call the Intellectual Part or Reason the second is Sense or sensual Appetite Reason is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Guide to Sense whose Virtues are Prudence Science Art and such like which because they are not Moral but Intellectual Vertues we shall not at present speak to For Sense is our Subject as being the proper Object and Matter of Moral Virtue Which inferior part of the Soul is divided by Philosophers into concupiscible and irascible the former tends to that which is good and delightful the latter arms the Soul against whatsoever is disagreeable and difficult BETWIXT these two all the affections are divided and are chiefly employed in their Business Concupiscence Desire Lust Hunger Thirst Hatred and others of the like Nature belong to that which we call the concupiscible part Pride Contempt Impatience Anger Fear Boldness and the like generous and brave Passions belong to what we say is the irascible part of the mind Whatsoever it is that strikes the Soul touches it to the quick The Office of Moral Virtue is to govern the Passions and moves it to Action or Passion must needs proceed from one of these wherefore to give these their just measure and proportion to mould and temper 'em well is the proper Office of Moral Virtue NOW all the Passions of the sensitive Soul are apt to offend in being either too much or too little and the prudent choice of just what is enough is the chief work of Virtue Which Mediocrity is call'd by those who love to talk learnedly or rather obscurely Arithmetical and Geometrical Arithmetical Mediocrity is that which is equally distant from both extremes is ever one and the same as the Mean between Two and Ten is unalterably Six which by Four exceeds Two and by Four fails of Ten For if we add Four to Two it makes Six but if we add Four to Six it makes Ten. Geometrical Mediocrity is so placed betwixt the extremes as the matter requires to which it is refer'd therefore it is sometimes more sometimes less and not always the same Such a medium as the Taylor observes in making your Apparel he requires not the same measure of Cloth for all but only so much as is necessary for your Person For the Physician if Two Drams of Rhubarb will not serve for his Potion What the Mediocrity is in which Virtue is ●aid to be placed doth not forthwith infuse six or ten more but he examines the Niture of the Disease the Strength and Constitution of the Patient and accordingly he makes up his Dose Such a kind of medium is Vertue sometimes inclining to the less sometimes to the more as it is in temperance where the Mediocrity is not still the same but changes according to the variety of Persons A Student who is but of a thin body or a sickly person eats not so much as a Day-Labourer but eats in proportion to the ability of his Stomach the liberal man gives not always the same Alms the wealthy give more men of meaner Estates less So the Widows two Mites were sufficient because she gave according to her Condition