OF WISDOM THREE BOOKS Written Originally in French BY THE Sieur de CHARRON With an Account of the AUTHOR Made English By GEORGE STANHOPE D. D. late Fellow of King's-College in Cambridge from the best Edition Corrected and enlarged by the Author a little before his Death LONDON Prinâ—ed for M. Gillyflower M. Bentley H. Bonwick J. Tonson W. Freeman T. Goodwin M. Wotton J. Walthoe S. Manship and R. Parker 1697. THE Sieur de CHARRON's Three Books of WISEDOM Made English London Printed for Mat Gillyflower M Bentley H. Bonwick J. Tonson W. Free man T. Goodwin M. Wotton J. Walthoe S. Manship and R. Parker TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAM Lord Dartmouth My Lord IT is now near Two Years since I was desired to employ some of my leisure Hours in considering this Book and putting it into a Condition of becoming somewhat more useful and acceptable than it may without any suspicion of Vanity be said the former Translation could pretend to be A little Time spent in the Perusal satisfy'd me that there was Matter in it not unworthy my Pains and such as it was great Pity Men should want the Knowledge of who understand not the Original And as unreasonable did it seem that others should be discouraged from enquiring into this Author by the Misfortunes which naturally attend even the best Undertakings of this Nature when Time and Improvements of Language have given another Turn to Writing and created a Disrelish for every thing which is not suitable to the Genius of the present Age. The greatest Difficulty which lay upon me was that of finding Opportunities in the midst of those more important Cares of my Profession which neither This nor any other Attempt or Consideration however commendable or beneficial in it self must prevail with me to neglect But here I found even my Duty assisting for That requiring part of my Attendance in a Place of somewhat more Retirement and Ease than where Your Lordship's Father was pleased to fix me I made use of those Advantages to this purpose and finished much the greatest part of the following Book in a way of Diversion as it were and unbending from severer Studies and a more Laborious Station The particular Liberty taken by this Author is a Qualification which the present Generation at least in our Parts of the World will certainly be fond of But it happened to have the same Effect upon Him sometimes which we are not much to wonder if we find very frequent in those of less Judgment and that is over-straining Points of Dispute by affecting to say all which either the Case will bear or which any other Person hath said before This gave Occasion for my interposing sometimes with an Advertisement and that I hope in such a manner as may not have injur'd the Author while it designs the Benefit and Security of my Reader One thing only I cannot forbear adding upon this Occasion that in the midst of all his Free-Thinking he constantly expresses a due and absolute Deference for Revelation and Divine Truths And This indeed was by no means the Effect of his Profession but of his Judgment for Your Lordship is too discerning not to know that as a little and superficial Knowledge in Physick makes Men Quacks so it is not the Abundance but the Defect of Reason and good Sense which makes them Infidels and Scepticks in Religion How little the Sieur de Charron suffer'd his Thoughts to be under the Bondage of any private Respects will be sufficiently evident to any considering Reader from sundry Instances Particularly from what he hath deliver'd upon the Subject of Government in his Third Book In which tho' some Moot Points may seem a little uncouth to Us of this Nation yet if we reflect upon the Constitution under which he liv'd we shall rather have occasion to wonder at his admitting so few reserv'd Cases than mentioning so many Besides that even those mention'd would be of no mighty ill Consequence if always confin'd to those Conditions and Occasions which He hath temper'd and restrain'd them with But passing from the Mysteries of State and pressing unusual Emergencies to the Ordinary Measures of a Publick Administration there is somewhat of an Air so full of Ingenuity and such regard had to the Great Ends for which Government was instituted as a very gentle Application would think an Encomium upon the English Constitution and a sort of Prophetick Satyr upon the late Oppressions of a People to whom he stood nearly related Upon the whole Matter My Lord I have Reason to hope This may prove not only a Book of Good Entertainment but Great Benefit to Persons who have the Capacity and will give themselves the Pains to consider it Were it not so I should not have thought it worth my Trouble and should yet much less have presumed to make an Offer of it to Your Lordship I can with good Confidence say that no Man is better qualified to be a Master of the Subject it treats of The particular and intimate Knowledge of Your Abilities which my being Honour'd with the Care of Your Lordship at the University gave me would bear me out in delivering more upon this Occasion than Your Modesty will permit And indeed the General Opinion of all that have the Honour of Your Lordships Acquaintance saves You that Decency and hath prevented me in this Point The Manly Sense and Wonderful Penetration which appear'd very early in You have given me many pleasing Reflections and I am sure are Foundation sufficient for making Your Lordship a Greater Ornament and Honour to Your Family than even that Nobility which You have by Descent But I must beg leave My Lord to put you in mind that besides Your Own Your Lordship hath a mighty Stock of Honour and Esteem to set out upon deriv'd from the Memory of a Father than whom Few if Any of his Condition are more universally loved and admir'd I say loved my Lord for This as a more rare so is it a more valuable Tribute than that of Honour to Persons of Quality and in Great Offices For where so much is paid to the Station we can make very little Judgment what is sincere and what is the Effect of Formality or Fear or Interest But in His Lordship's Case there was something so Distinguishing in all the Respects paid to Him as plainly shew'd a particular Regard to his Person and that the outward Testimonies were not Things of Course but that he had engag'd the very Hearts of Those who paid them I will not so far seem to distrust Your Lordship's Acceptance of this Address as to make the least Apology for it You will interpret it I doubt not as a Testimony of the Honour I have for You and a Desire to publish my having it to the World And Your Lordship will do me the Justice too to believe that were it in my Power to give any other Evidence of This than such an open Declaration nothing should
and polishes this rude Mass and forms it into Wisdom In short This is the true Learning all the rest a Man is capable of is mere Vanity in comparison at least it is in no degree necessary and in a much less degree useful For here we learn both to Live and to Die well and this is the whole we have to take Care of It teaches a generous and noble Integrity and Honest Prudence and well advised Probity such as raise a Man above little Ends and low Respects and put him upon Virtue from the more exalted and Divine Principles for the sake of its own Excellence and the Sense that this is what becomes him to do But alas This Second Help is almost as generally neglected or as ill used as the former For the generality of the World are so entirely taken up with worldly Wisdom that they give themselves little or no trouble about this which I am now mentioning Thus Nature and Industry must both do their parts in order to a Man's obtaining Wisdom He who hath been kindly dealt with by Nature and brings the Disposition to Wisdom with him in a convenient Temper of Brain will find good Actions and Manners flow very naturally from hence and feel himself advanc'd a great way without his own Pains And those Pains need not be very great where he is not so much obliged to conquer as to promote Nature and moves with speed and inclination towards the Prize he aims at But if the Temper on the other hand be amiss All will be difficult and strained Industry must then correct and supply oppose and subdue Nature as Socrates observed of himself that by infinite Pains and laborious Study of Philosophy he had at last got the better of a very ill Disposition In proportion to these two Helps there are on the other Hand two Hinderances or powerful Countermines which carry Men into Folly the one natural the other acquir'd The Former proceeds from the Distemper of the Brain whether that be Original or Accidental by this means it happens sometimes to be too soft or too moist or the Parts of which it consists are too heavy and gross from whence proceed Dulness of Apprehension Weakness of Judgment Dark and confused Notions of Things flat and low and little Thoughts such as we generally sind among the mean and illiterate sort of People Or else in the other Extreme It is too hot and dry which disposes the Person to be furious and bold extravagant and intractable in Vice These are the two Extremes like Fire and Water Mercury and Lead each of them improper for Wisdom which requires a strong and vigorous but at the same time a sixt and steady Mind and such as in the midst of all its Gallantry and Firmness may be manageable and yielding and modest This Second Desect however of the two seems the easier to be redrest the First is hardly curable The acquir'd Obstruction proceeds either from Want of all Instruction or from being Ill instructed which among other things consists very much in strong Prepossessions wherewith the Mind was early tinctur'd and so sinds it self captivated to them not able to get above these first Impressions nor to think freely and impartially Such Men we commonly say are Headstrong and touch'd in the Crown Whimsical and wedded to their own Opinions And if to that Obstinacy of Humour there happen to be added any degree of Learning This blows them up into Presumption and Arrogance puts Weapons into their Hand to defend their Prejudices finishes them in Folly and renders their Disease incapable of all Remedy Natural Defects and Acquired Prepossessions are indeed two very formidable Obstructions and if Learning do not as in truth it very seldom does cure them it adds to the Disease and renders them impregnable Which yet is by no means any Reflection upon Learning or Dishonour to it as some may be apt to imagine but rather a Commendation and to its Advantage Learning is without all Controversie a most excellent Weapon but not fit to be trusted in every Hand and he who knows not how to manage it will find more hurt than good from it For it makes sick and weak Minds giddy and conceited perfects and polishes Fools no less than it does those of good Capacities and Dispositions A weak and injudicious Man knows not how to use his Weapon on the contrary it weakens and over-powers Him He is opprest with it like a Stomach over-charged with more Meat than it can digest or an Arm that is benumb'd and born down by a Staff heavier than it can use The strong and sound Mind quite contrary plays with it dexterously shews a masterly Skill in the use of it turns it to Advantage perpetually forms his Judgment rectifies his Will pours in this Oil to make the Lamp of Nature burn stronger and brighter is the wiser and better for that very thing which makes the other but the more exquisite and more insupportable Fool. But all this while Learning is not accountable for those ill Consequences any more than Wine is guilty of all the Excesses committed by it or a good Medicine ill apply'd for the Patient's growing worse upon it Now against these conceited half-witted Fellows whom Nature hath disposed to Folly and their own Acquisitions have perfected in it I denounce formal War in my Book as looking upon them to be irreconcilable Enemies to Wisdom and the sittest Title I can find to distinguish them by is that of Pedants for which I have the Authority of several good Writers who have used the Word in this Signification It is confest that in its Original Language and proper Sense it is taken in a very good and commendable Meaning but in latter Times and other Languages the great Abuse and Corruption of Learning hath given occasion for the fixing a very ill and contemptible one upon it a vile sordid peevish stiff way that makes no other use of Learning but for Gain and Ostentation Arrogance and Presumption In short all That which makes Learning despicable and derided is signify'd by it And so this like Tyrant Sophister and the like is one of those Words which hath absolutely lost its first Signification and is now become a Mark of Reproach and Contempt It is very possible some Persons may be offended at my using this Term imagining that I design an Affront to those who make Learning their Business and Profession But they I hope will be satisfy'd with this ingenuous Declaration that I have not the least Intention of reflecting upon any Science or Condition of Men particularly not the Gown which I have the honour to wear and to be one of those who are called Men of Letters my self my meaning is only to charge a certain Quality of Mind a sort of Souls which I have been describing of mean and low Capacity but moderately provided by Nature and afterwards depraved by Art and Study Men prepossest and obstinate and sierce in
the same time to the Exercise of its Vegetative and Sensitive Powers as we see plainly by Instances of Persons who have been raised from the Dead to live here below But this would not infer a Necessity of the same things for living in another State For those Faculties whose Exercise supports this Life we now lead are not thereby proved of such Consequence that no other kind of Life could be supported or enjoyed without them It is in this Case with the Soul as with the Sun for the same Instance will be of Use to illustrate our Argument in this Branch also which continues the same in himself every whit as entire and unblemished not in any Degree enfeebled though his Lustre and Vital Influences be sometimes intercepted and obstructed When his Face is cover'd with a Total Eclipse we lose the cheerful Light and cherishing Heat but though no sensible Effects of him appear yet he is in his own Nature the same Powerful Principle and Glorious Creature still Having thus as I hope sufficiently evidenced the Unity of the Soul It s Origine in each Individual animated by it let us in the next Place proceed to observe from whence it is deriv'd and how it makes its Entry into the Body Concerning the Former of these Particulars great Disputes have been maintained by Philosophers and Divines of all Ages Concerning the Origine of the Humane and Intellectual Soul I mean for as to the Vegetative and Sensitive attributed to Plants and Beasts those by general Consent have been esteemed to consist intirely of Matter to be transferred with the Seminal Principles and accordingly subject to Corruption and Death So that the whole Controversy turns upon the single Point of the Humane Soul and concerning this the Four most Celebrated Opinions have been these which follow I omit the Mention of any more which are almost lost in the Crowd because These have obtained so much more generally and gained greater Credit than the Rest The First of these is that Notion of the Stoicks embraced by Philo the Jew and after Him by the Manichees Priscillianists and others This maintains Reasonable Souls to be so many Extracts and genuine Productions of the Divine Spirit Partakers of the very same Nature and Substance with Almighty God himself who being said expresly to have breathed it into the Body these Persons have taken the Advantage of Moses's Words and fixed the sublimest Sense imaginable upon them He Breathed into him the Breath of Life by which they are not content to understand that the Soul of Man is a distinct Thing and of a different and more exalted Original than the Body a Spirit of greater Excellence than that which quickens any other Animal but they stretch it to a Communication of God's own Essence The Second was deriv'd from Aristotle receiv'd by Tertullian Apollinaris the Sect of the Luciferians and some other Christians and This asserts the Soul to be derived from our Parents as the Body is and in the same Manner and from the same Principles with that whence the Soul of Brutes and all that are confin'd to Sense and Vegetation only are generally believ'd to spring The Third is that of the Pythagoreans and Platonists entertained by most of the Rabbinical Philosophers and Jewish Doctors and after them by Origen and some other Christian Doctors too Which pretends that all Souls were created by God at the beginning of the World that they were then by Him commanded and made out of Nothing that they are reserv'd and deposited in some of the Heavenly Regions and afterwards as his Infinite Wisdom sees Occasion sent down hither into Bodies ready fitted for and disposed to entertain them Upon this Opinion was built another of Souls being well or ill dealt with here below and lodged in sound and healthful or else in feeble and sickly Bodies according to their Good or Ill Behaviour in a State and Region above antecedent to their being thus Incorporated with these Mortal and Fleshly Tabernacles How generally this Notion prevail'd we have a notable Hint from that great Master of Wisdom who gives this Account of his large improvements Wisd VIII 19 20. above the common Rate of Men I was a Witty Child and had a good Spirit yea rather being Good I came into a Body undefiled Thus intimating a Priority of Time as well as of Order and Dignity in the Soul and that its good Dispositions qualified it for a Body so disposed too The Fourth which hath met with the most general Approbation among Christians Especially holds that the Soul is created by God infus'd into a Body prepared duly for its Reception That it hath no Pre-existence in any separate State or former Vehicle but that its Creation and Infusion are both of the same Date These Four Opinions are all of them Affirmative There is yet a Fifth more modest and reserv'd than any of the former This undertakes not to determine Positively one way or other but is content Ingenuously to confess its own Ignorance and Uncertainty declares this a Matter of very abstruse Speculation a dark and deep Mystery which God hath not thought fit particularly to reveal and which Man by the Strength and Penetration of his own Reason can know but very little or nothing of Of this Opinion we find St. Augustine St. Gregory of Nice and some others But though they presume not so far as to give any definitive Sentence on any Side yet they plainly incline to think that of the Four Opinions here mention'd the Two latter carry a greater Appearance of Truth than the Two former But how The Entrance into the Body and when this Humane Soul for of the Brutal there is little or no Dispute nor is the present Enquiry concerned in it Whether This I say make its Entrance all at once or whether the Approaches are gradual and slow Whether it attain its just Essential Perfections in an Instant or whether it grow up to them by Time and Succession is another very great Question The More general Opinion which seems to have come from Aristotle is That the Vegetative and Sensitive Soul whose Essence is no other than Matter and Body is in the Principles of Generation that it descends lineally and is derived to us from the Substance of our Parents that This is finished and Perfected in Time and by Degrees and Nature acts in this Case a little like Art when That undertakes to form the Image of a Man where first the Out-Lines and rude Sketches are drawn then the Features specified yet These not of his whole Body at once but first the Painter finishes the Head then the Neck after that the Breast the Legs and so on till he have drawn the whole Length Thus the Vegetative and Sensitive Soul they tell you forms the Body in the Womb and when That is finished and made fit for the Reception of its new Inhabitant the Intellectual Soul comes from abroad and takes Possession
is the Bar where the Council and the Attorneys are plac'd and here is a world of Clutter and Bawling and Noise but nothing done for they can bring nothing to an Issue They make no Orders nor Awards pronounce no Sentences All Their Business is only to discuss Matters to plead the Cause and to lay it before the Judge This is a lively Picture of the Imagination which is a loud a blustering and a restless Faculty never lies still not even then when the Soul seems perfectly bound up in the profoundest Sleep but is eternally buzzing about the Brain like a boyling Pot and this can never six or come to a peremptory Resolution in any thing The Third and last Degree is that of the Notaries and Registers and Clerks where there is neither Noise nor Action It is no part of their Concern which way things go they are purely Passive and all they have to do is to make Entries of what passes in Court and to take Care that the Records be faithfully kept and ready to be produc'd upon occasion This gives us no ill Idea of the Memory and its Office The Action or Employment of the Soul is Knowledge or Understanding It s Operations and this is of Universal extent For the Mind is a House open to every Guest a Subject ready to receive any Impression As the Philosophers say the Primitive Matter is disposed to be moulded into any Forms or as a Looking-Glass receives and reflects all Faces so this Soul is capable of considering all things indifferently be they Visible or Invisible Universals or Particulars Objects of Sense or not the Understanding is in at All. But if we may be allow'd to argue from the vast and almost infinite Diversity of Opinions and the still growing Doubts upon this Matter it is acquainted with it self the least of any thing This Knowledge is but dim and indirect It is attained by Reflection only and the Knowledge of other things brought home and apply'd to it self By which it feels that it does understand and thence infers a Power and Capacity of this kind This seems to be the Method by which our Minds attain to the Knowledge of Themselves Almighty God who is the Sovereign Mind knows Himself first and all things else in Himself But Man who is the last and lowest of all the Intellectual World inverts that Order quite and discerns other things before he can come to any Knowledge of Himself for His Mind is in Contemplation of Other Objects like the Eye in a Looking-Glass which cannot work upon it self without the help of a Medium and sees nothing at Home while the Vision is continu'd in a streight Line but can do it by Reflection only But the great Difficulty to be enquir'd into upon this occasion The manner of it concerns the Manner of Operation and by what Method the Soul attains to the Knowledge of Things The most receiv'd Opinion is that deriv'd from Aristotle importing That the Mind understands and is instructed by the Senses That it is naturally and of it self a perfect Blank a clean White Paper and that whatever is written in it afterwards must be dictated by the Senses and cannot be convey'd thither any other way But first of all This is far from being Universally true for as was hinted before and the Point referred hither for a farther Disquisition there have been great Authorities of Philosophers that the first Seeds of all Sciences and Vertues and necessary Knowledge are originally sown in our Minds and grafted there by Nature so that Men may if they please live very comfortably and grow Rich out of their own Stock and provided they take but a little care to cultivate and cherish the kindly Beginnings the Harvest will not fail to be plentiful and abundantly to reward their Pains Again That Opinion seems highly injurious to God and Nature and taxes them with unreasonable Partiality For upon these Terms the Rational Soul is more sparingly dealt with and left in a much worse Condition than either the Vegetative or Sensitive or any other Creature whatsoever For all These as hath already been observ'd exercise their Functions readily and are sufficiently instructed by their own Native Endowments in all things necessary for their Purpose Thus Beasts apprehend several Things without Experience and the Discipline of Sense They make Inferences so far as their Case requires and conclude Universals from Particulars From the sight of One Man they know the Humane Shape wheresoever they see it again See Adv. upon Chap. XXIV they are forewarn'd to avoid Dangers even while invisible and to follow after That which is agreeable and beneficial to Themselves and their Young And wou'd it not be a Reproach or scandalous Blunder and Absurdity in Nature if this Noble this Divine Faculty shou'd have no Provision at all of its own but sent about a begging and depend for mere Necessaries upon so mean so frail Relief as what the Senses are able to give Once more How can we perceive that the Understanding shou'd go to School to the Senses and be taught by Them who are not able to teach themselves What precious Masters are these whose utmost Knowledge goes no deeper than barely the Accidents and Outsides of Things For as to the Natures Forms and real Essences of them they know nothing at all of the Matter And if This be the Case of Individual Substances much less are they capable of penetrating into Universals the dark and profound Mysteries of Nature and all those things which do not affect the Sense at all Besides If all Knowledge were deriv'd from the Senses the Consequence of this one would think shou'd be That They whose Senses are the quickest strongest and most discerning wou'd always be the Persons most conspicuous for Ingenuity and Learning and Skill in Reasoning But we frequently see it happen just contrary that such People are the dullest most stupid and most incapable of all others Nay some Persons have thought their Bodily Senses rather an Obstruction than any Advantage to their Improvement And upon that Account have wilfully depriv'd themselves of them that so the Soul might be more expedite and free and do her Business without Distraction when the Avocations and Disturbance of Sensible Objects were taken out of the way Now if this Matter be as I have represented it you will ask perhaps Why these things are not always perform'd by the Soul and why not by every Man alike What hinders that all should not be equally Wise and Knowing but especially why it shou'd lie dormant without being reduc'd into act Or if it do act how comes it to pass that its Operations are not always equal that it goes about its Duty feebly and performs its Functions much more lamely and imperfectly at one Season than at another This is the Case even of the Wisest and most Capable Persons and some are so miserably stupid that the Intellectual Soul seems never to
his Opinion incline to that Account or not would at least think himself well entertain'd upon this Subject by the perusal of our Learned and Ingeious Dr. Willis in the Sixth and Seventh Chapters of his Book De Animâ Brutorum Two things are fit to be added upon this Occasion with regard to what Monsieur Charron hath deliver'd concerning Instinct The first is That in regard we observe these Animals constantly going on in the same beaten Track and keeping ever close to one Method and even in those Instances which have the greatest Appearance of Comparison and Choice of Ten Thousand that make the same Experiment or go about the same thing not one varying from the common and received Way This seems to be some Governing Principle in Nature which gives a necessary Determination to them and very different from that Liberty and Consideration which hath scarce any more convincing and demonstrative Proof of the Will being absolutely unconstrain'd in Mankind than that Multiplicity of Opinions and strange Variety of Proceedings observable upon Occasions and Junctures in themselves extremely alike The Other Remark Proper upon this Occasion is that what our Author suggests here is no Consequence at all as if too much Honour were done to these Creatures and such a Happy and Unalterable Determination to what is Profitable and Proper for them were a Privilege more than Humane a nearer Approach to that unerring Wisdom and unchangeable Goodness of the Divine Nature than We our selves can boast of For there is so very wide a Difference between Liberty and Necessity of acting the One is so Glorious so truly Noble the Other so Mean so Slavish a Principle that no Comparison can be made between them The most Glorious most Beautiful most Useful Parts of the Material Creation are in this Respect infinitely beneath the meanest of the Sons of Men and all their other Advantages put together cannot deserve to be laid into the Balance against this Single Dignity of Free and Spontaneous Action And though the Excellency of the Divine Nature be indefectible and unalterable Goodness yet would not even This be an Excellence if it were not the Effect of perfect Liberty It is indeed Our Misfortune that our Understandings are imposed upon our Affections perverted and so the Choice we have the use of often determines us to the wrong Side and entangles us in Errour and Vice But These Defects and Temptations are so many Clogs and Bars upon our Freedom and therefore God who is above any Possibility of such false Determinations is still so much the more Free For Freedom does not consist in a Power of choosing Evil as well as Good which is a Power indeed that never was or can be strictly speaking but in being Self-moved and Self-acted so as to be the Disposer of one 's own Will without any Compulsion or necessary Determination from a foreign or external Principle and only acting as one is acted upon If then this Instinct in Brutes be a Matter of Force and Necessary Determination they are in no Degree the Better or more Commendable for it but under a fatal Constraint which is so far from resembling the Divine Perfection that it admits of no Virtue nor ought to be esteemed any Excellence but the direct Contrary Fourthly Let us observe what mighty Difference there is between the Perceptions of Brutes and those of Men so great that in them we find no Footsteps of any but such as are Material and Single Objects and what this Author advances as Collections and Inferences from thence are not improbably assign'd by Others to the Force of Imagination or the Strength of Memory or to those Natural Impressions which commonly go by the Name of Instinct To the latter of These we find very Learned Men attributing that uniform Process of Birds and Bees and Ants in their Nutrition Generation Production and the like To the Former that which Charron terms deducing an Universal from a Singular and knowing by the having seen one Man how to Distinguish the Humane Form in any or all Individuals of the same Species But supposing we should allow that this proceeds from a distinguishing Faculty and not meerly from the refreshing and awaking an Image that lay dormant in the Memory 'till revived by this fresh Object yet what Proportion can even thus much bear to all those Abstracted Idea's by which Men distinguish the Natures and Properties of Things If a Brute from the Sight of a Man could collect so much as should serve to discriminate all other Men from Creatures of a Different Species yet what is This in Comparison of that Penetration which examines into the Abstruse Causes and essential Differences of Things and informs it self distinctly wherein that very Character of our Nature which we call Humanity consists And what account can there be given of any universal or abstracted Idea's in Beasts of any of those which we properly call Reasonable Actions For as to these seeming Demurrs and little Comparisons which we find instanced in here and in other Places it is usual to observe as much in Children so little and Naturals so wretchedly Stupid as that there are but very Faint if any Glimpses at all of Understanding in them I know indeed S. 1. Monsieur Charron hath provided a Reply to this Argument by saying That we cannot have any competent Knowledge of Their Internal Operations But though we do not see all the hidden Movements of their Souls nor can distinctly say whether they are feeble Reasoners or Stupendous Machines yet we may be very confident they cannot dive into the Causes and abstracted Idea's of Things because there do not appear the least Foot-steps or any of those Noble Effects of such Knowledge which Mankind have in all Ages been conspicuous for For to these abstracted Notions it is that all the amazing Inventions and Improvements of Arts and Sciences but especially the Wonders of Mechanism and Motion by Numbers and Proportions Duly adjusted owe their Birth and daily Growth And since in the Distinction and Perception of Concrete Bodies where Sensation is chiefly concern'd the Brutes are acknowledged to equal if not exceed Us in Accuracy it is not to be conceived that They who excel in a Faculty which is commensurate to a Sensitive Soul should be able to give No Marks at all of their being endued with a Capacity of entertaining and feeding upon those Ideas which are the Peculiar Prerogatives and Glories of a Rational one Much more might be added upon this Occasion with Regard both to the Objects themselves and the particular Manner of Conception and the infinite Disparities of the Humane Intellect and that Faculty which is affected in Brutes But it is Prejudice sufficient against them that so many very Wise and Inquisitive Persons have found Cause to do even something more than doubt whether Brutes be better than a sort of Divine Clock-Work and have any manner of Sense or Perception at all This at
was a despicable thing because it was the Effect of Cowardice and Laziness so the Doing Well where it is without the expence of Trouble and Hazard is look'd upon by these persons as too vulgar and cheap a thing but the attempting and going through with it in despight of Hazards and Troublesome Oppositions and where these attack us in great number and labour hard to obstruct and deter us from our Duty This is the Commendation of a Good and a Virtuous Person indeed * Difficilia quae pulchra 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato Whatever is excellent is Difficult was we know the usual Saying of the Noblest Philosopher But to deal plainly and speak the Truth of the matter the Difficulty of obtaining any thing does by no means alter the nature or add to the real and intrinsick value of the thing it self nor is it as I have taken occasion formerly to observe any just and warrantable Cause for raising it in our Esteem Nay it is beyond all Controversy certain on the other side that Natural Excellencies are much more desirable and better than those that are studied and acquired That it is much more Brave and Great and Divine to act by the motions and spontaneous Perfections of Nature than with the most exquisite Dexterity and nicest Improvements of Art in an easy free equal and uniform manner than with laborious Efforts uncertainly and with Doubt and Danger and Perplexity of Thought It is in the former of these two Senses that we term Almighty God Good His Excellencies are his Nature Essential to him and if They could cease he must cease to Be. And therefore to call not Him only but even the Blessed Angels and the Spirits of Just Men made perfect Virtuous is a Diminution and Disparagement to them Theirs is properly Goodness too but Virtue is a Title too low for the Happiness of unsinning Perfection a State of Indefectibility and above the reach of all Temptation 'T is true indeed in the Condition we now live where Dangers surround and threaten and Frailties betray us perpetually Virtue makes somewhat of noise and clutter and is forced to act with some Vehemence and this gives it the Preference before Smooth and Still Goodness For the generality of people always measure the Excellence of a Thing by the Shew and the Difficulty and admire that most which costs dearest but this is a false method of judging and we are not much to wonder if They are wrong here who indeed are generally so in all their Estimations of Men and Things For these great Swelling Performances that look so big and seem to be all zeal and fire are not subsantial nor to the purpose They are no part of true Honesty nor the Products of that fix'd Principle we are speaking of but rather intemperate Heats and Feverish Fits very different from that Wisdom we are now in quest of which is healthful and moderate gentle and calm equal and uniform Thus much may suffice to be said of Honesty or Sincerity in general For as to the several parts of it and the particular Duties resulting from thence they will come under our Consideration in the Third Book and particularly when we shall treat of the Virtue of Justice And here I find my self under an Obligation of discharging my Promise Of Grace in the necessary Addition of what follows in this Paragraph To silence if it be possible the unjust Malice and disadvantagious Character cast upon me by some who find fault with my as they think them Extravagant Commendations of Nature as if This were able to do every thing and no other Assistances were required To these persons it might suffice to reply that by Nature I understand as was observed before the God of Nature and the Dictates of Eternal Reason written and engraved in every Heart by His Almighty Hand I might also alledge that the Subject of this Book is only Natural and Human and that the Author is not obliged by his Design to concern himself with any Virtues properly Divine or the Advantages above the power of Nature to confer But waving all this I readily acknowledge that to render the Virtue and Integrity I have been describing compleat and give it all the Perfections it is capable of one thing more is necessary The Grace of God I mean which must animate and invigorate this Goodness and Probity shew it in all its lustre give the finishing stroke refine and exalt it from a mere Moral to a Christian Virtue This renders it accepted at the Throne of Heaven approved of God capable of an Eternal Recompence and so crowns it both with Perfection here and a Reward hereafter It is not easy to find Apposite Resemblances for Things which cannot present themselves to us by any sensible Ideas But if you will pardon the meanness of the Comparison I should almost venture to compare the Probity here insisted on to a Skilful Master who touches the Keys of an Organ with absolute Accuracy and Art but all to no purpose the Instrument is dumb till the Wind express the Excellence of his Hand by giving Sound to the Instrument and making that Melody which all his Mastery in playing was not able to do without it Thus Moral Virtue is but a sort of Speculative Perfection till the Grace of God inspire and enable us to put it in Practice and produce the Fruits of it Now This is a Blessing which does not consist in refined Thought nice Notions and long or learned Discourses it is not to be acquired by Rule or the methods of Human Industry and Art nor can we attain to it by our own Labour and Toil the utmost we can do is to prepare and endeavour to qualify our selves duly for the receiving it for after All Receive it we must It is a Gift that comes down from on high and the very Name of Grace is designed to represent to us the Good Will of the Donor and that the Gift is entirely free Our part is to ask to seek to implore it with all imaginable Humility and the most fervent Desires we are capable of To prostrate our selves before the Throne of Grace and with the utmost Contention of Heart and Voice to say Vouchsafe O my God in thy Infinite Goodness to look down with an Eye of Mercy and Pity upon thy poor Servant Accept and grant my Desires assist my weak Endeavours and crown those good Inclinations which are originally derived from Thee The Law by which I stand obliged the Light by which I am instructed in my Duty are of thy Ordering thou hast stamped our Nature with these Impressions of Good and Evil and shined in our hearts by thy Precepts O give Success to thy own Institution and finish the work thou hast begun that so the Glory and the Fruit may redound to the Planters use and thou may'st be first and last in all my Actions and Designs my Thoughts and my Desires Water me abundantly
Service and Homage is paid to the Divine Majesty by so doing To give these a better Countenance and greater Authority in the World some of them really produce and others pretend Revelations Visions Prophesies Miracles Prodigies Holy Mysteries and eminent Examples of Saints Persons exemplary for their Piety or Sufferings or Doctrine and these Allegations whether true or false speak the General and Natural Sense of Mankind to agree in the expectations of Revelation from Heaven and that Miracles are proper Attestations of them Each hath a particular Scheme of its own which distinguishes the Receivers of it from Those of different Perswasions and imposes certain Articles of Faith and Forms of Discipline Some as Terms of Communion and Marks of Distinction and Others as necessary to be believ'd in order to Salvation All of them have at first been weak and low and little regarded but from those slender Beginnings have by degrees gained ground upon the People been insinuated received applauded and at last entirely submitted to by vast Multitudes spread far and wide and established themselves as if Opinions ran like contagious Diseases and all that came within the Air of them were sure to catch the Infection And yet some of these owe all their Authority to Fictions and Tricks insomuch that even the absurdest and most sensless of all Errors have been embraced with as great Reverence and Devotion and maintained with as much Stiffness and as Positive a Confidence as the very Truth it self All of them do likewise agree in their Notions of Appeasing God and teach unanimously that Prayers and Offerings Promises and Vows Days of Extraordinary Humiliation and Thanksgiving are proper methods to incline his Ear and obtain his Favour and good Acceptance for our Persons and our Requests All believe that the Principal and most pleasing Service we can pay to God the most powerful means o averting his Indignation reconciling our selves and becoming agreeable to him is by giving one's self some torment and trouble by laying heavy Burdens upon our selves and cutting out a great deal of work the more difficult and contrary to our inclination the better and more meritorious For what other account but this can we give of those infinite Profess'd Austerities enjoin'd to particular Orders the abundance of Fraternities and Societies of Men which in all Religions throughout the World the Mahometan as well as Christian are devoted to sundry peculiar Exercises full of Severity and Discipline of Poverty and Pain and Corporal Sufferings even so far in some of them as to scourge and wound and mangle their own Persons These are observed to be more numerous and differently instituted in False Religions than the True And All this from a strong persuasion that they merit by this Discipline and voluntary Cruelty and are in proportion so much better Men than Others as they afflict and torment themselves more than They. An Imagination which still prevails and such as human Nature is never like to get quit of for we see every day fresh Instances and new Inventions of this kind and what industry Men use to be more ingenious and exquisite in contriving new sorts of mortification and punishment See the Notes Now all this I say can be accounted for no other way than by assigning it to an Opinion that God takes delight and is wonderfully pleased with the Sufferings and Calamities of his Creatures An Imagination which to those who think Sacrifices to have been of human Invention seems to have been the Ground of all that way of Worship which before the Christian Religion made its Appearance in the world was universally practised Thus harmless Beasts were butchered every where and their Blood spilt and poured out upon Altars as a valuable Present to the Divinity and thus too in some places so prodigious was the Infatuation of Mankind poor little innocent Children were barbarously tortured and murdered and Grown Persons sometimes Malefactors and sometimes Men of eminent Virtue and clear Reputation were offered in Sacrifice and this was the usual Worship of almost all Nations and looked upon as one of the most solemn and most acceptable Acts of Devotion Thus the Old Getae in Scythia are said among other instances of Adoration and Honour paid to their God Zamolxis to dispatch a Man to him once in five years to consult and supplicate him in all things necessary for them And because the Ceremony requires that this Advocate of theirs should dye in an instant and the manner of exposing him to death which is the being pierced through with three Javelins is somewhat doubtful in the Execution therefore it often happens that several are thus dispatched before any one wounds himself in a part so mortal as to expire immediately and only He that does so is esteemed a Favourite of their God and proper for that purpose but all the rest who dye slowly are to be rejected as unfit for this Sacrifice Thus did the Persians worship their Gods as that single fact of Amestris the Mother of Xerxes testifies who in agreement to the Principles of Religion then prevailing in that Country did as an Offering of Thanks for her own long and prosperous Life bury fourteen young Persons of Quality alive Branches of the Noblest Families in the whole Kingdom So likewise did the ancient Gauls and Carthaginians among whom young Children were Sacrificed to Saturn and that with so remorsless a Zeal that even the Fathers and Mothers used to be present and assisting at the Ceremony Thus the Lacedemonians sought to ingratiate themselves with their Goddess Diana by scourging their young Men in Complaisance to her nay doing it with such Rigor that they expired under it for the Sacrifice of Iphigenia shews that she was worshipped with human Blood The Instance of the two Decij proves that the Remans were possest with the same Imagination too which gave occasion for this Reflection in one of their Writers * Quae fuit tanta iniquitas Deorum ut placati Pop. Rom. non possint nisi tales viri occidissent What strange Provocation could make the Gods so extremely hard and severe that there was no way of reconciling them to the People of Rome unless the Atonement were made by the blood of such gallant Men Thus the Mahometans who slash and cut their Faces their Breasts and other amembers to recommend themselves to their Prophet and the people in our new Discoveries of the East and West-Indies and at Themistitan where they cement the Images of their Gods with Children's Blood Now what Madness what Stupidity is this to suppose that Inhuman Actions can ever gain upon the Divine Nature that the Goodness of God is requited or decently acknowledged by our own Sufferings or that Barbarity can be a proper Method of satisfying his angry Justice As if Justice could thirst after human Blood or feast it self upon the Innocent lives that are spilt with infinite torture and the most exquisite pain †Ut sic
Grace at the bottom but by the Figure and all the outward appearances they make they very much resemble the Persons mentioned before who are so immoderately zealous for Religion that they have little or no concern for any thing besides marvellously satisfied with Themselves and merciless Censurers of all the World besides And these are the Men that make all manner of Probity and Good Actions to be a consequent and attendant upon Religion wholly to depend upon and entirely to be devoted to it and so they acknowledge no such thing as Principles of Natural Justice or Probity of Mind and otherwise than they are derived from and moved by the Springs of Considerations purely Religious Now the Matter is far otherwise for Religion is not only after it in Time but more limited and particular in its Extent This is a distinct Virtue and not the Comprehension and Sum of all Virtues and as the Instances of Pharisees and Hypecrites here prove may subsist without Them or that general good Disposition of Mind which we call Probity And so again may They be independent of Religion as the Examples of Philosophers and good Moral Heathens who we cannot say had ever any Religion properly so called shew on the other hand This is also according to the common Schemes of Theology a Moral Virtue a Branch of Justice which we know is one of the Four Cardinal Virtues and teaches us to give to All their Due according to their Quality and respective Claims Now God being Supreme the Maker and Master of the Universe we are bound to pay him the most profound Honour the most humble Obedience the most punctual and diligent Service This now is properly Religion and consequently it is a division under the General Topick of Justice Again These Persons as they mistake the Nature so do they likewise invert the Order of things for they make Religion antecedent to Probity But how can this be since as the Apostle says Faith cometh by Hearing and Hearing by the Word of God how I say can That which is the Effect of Revelation and Instruction be the Cause of a Thing originally rooted in Nature born with us and inseparable from us For such is that Law and Light of God kindled in every Man's Breast and interwoven with the Constitution of the whole Species This therefore is plainly disturbing the true Order of these matters and turning them out of all method They would have a Man Virtuous and entirely Good merely for the Prospect of Heaven to allure or the Terrors of Hell to affright and awe him into his Duty But methinks those Expressions carry a very ill sound and speak a mean and vulgar Virtue ' If the Fear of the Divine Vengeance and Everlasting Damnation did not restrain me I would do thus or thus O pitiful cowardly Wretch what Sense what Notion hast thou of thy Duty what Inclinations dost thou cherish all this while what Motives dost thou act upon what Thanks dost thou deserve for all that is done upon such constraint and against thy own Will Thou art not wicked because thou darest not be so for fear of the Rod. Now I would have thee so perfect as not to want the Courage but the Inclination to do amiss I would have thee so resolutely good as not to commit the least Evil though thou wer 't sure never to be chidden never to be called to an account for it Thou playest the part of a Good Man that thou may'st be thanked and rewarded for thy pains I would have thee be really so without any prospect of hire or gain nay though none but thy self should ever be conscious of thy Virtue I would have thee so because the Laws and Dictates of Nature and Reason direct and Command thee to be so For Nature and Reason in this case are but another word for God and These Principles and That Light and the Original Distinctions of Good and Evil are his Will and his Laws issued in a different manner Because the Order and Good Government of the World whereof thou art a part require this at thy hands because thou canst not consent to be otherwise without acting against thy self in contradiction to thy Being to thy Interest to the End of thy Creation And when thou hast thus satisfied thy duty and acted upon these motives never be solicitous for the Event but persevere in Virtue in despight of any Sufferings or Dangers that may threaten thee When I urge This as the best Principle of doing well I do not wholly disallow all others nor utterly condemn that Probity required and cherished by the external motives of Recompence and Punishment as if These were unlawful to be proceeded upon Doubtless they have their Use and Efficacy are very proper for the reducing of Ill Men who must be treated in a more slavish and mercenary way and the Foundations thus laid at first come frequently to noble Improvements But still I call this a poorer and meaner Principle and would have my Wise Man aspire to something sublimer and more worthy his Character For This requires a brighter stronger and more generous Probity than the Common sort of Mankind may be allowed to take up with And even Divines have generally represented such a Piety as Servile Imperfect accommodated to the weaker and more ignorant and fitter for Babes and Beginners than for Strong and Masterly Christians This farther is very certain that the Probity wholly depending upon a Spirit of Zeal and Religion and having no regard to the Principles of Natural Light besides that it must needs be accidental and unequal in its Operations and want that Evenness and Constancy which was there largely shewn to be one of its Properties I add that This is a very dangerous Principle and does frequently pruduce horrid and scandalous effects for it makes all the Rules of Common Honesty subservient to Zeal for Religion and opens a Door for all those execrable Villanies which the dear-bought experience of all Ages hath too sensibly convinced us are capable of being committed under the fair Shew and Colour of Piety And These are really so dreadful and detestable that we have reason to question whether any other occasion or pretence in the World have done more mischief than those false but specious professions of Religion The Cause and Honour of God is indeed the Greatest the Noblest and most worthy our Zeal and if it were not all this in its own nature the abuse of it could never be so fatal as it is For Brave and Valuable things only are subjects for Hypocrisy and what is little and despicable as the right use of it does no great good so the perverting it to wrong purposes can do no mighty harm It is not therefore any Disparagement to Religion but the confess'd Excellency of it above any other Subject whatsoever that the Corruption and false Pretences of it are so pernicious Were it less good the abuse of it must have been
Stones and Brands in rattling Vollies fly And all the Rustick Arms that Fury can supply If then some Grave and Pious Man appear They hush their Noise and lend a listning Ear He sooths with sober Words their angry Mood And quenches their innate Desire of Blood Mr. Dryden The greatest thing this World can shew is Authority This is the Image of the Divine Power a Messenger and Deputy from Heaven If this Deputation as to Men be Sovereign and immediately under God we call it Majesty if it be subordinate to any Human Power we then call it in a more peculiar and restrained Sense of the word Authority And this is supported upon two Bases Admiration and Fear both which must go together and jointly contribute to the keeping it up Now this Majesty and Authority is principally and properly in the Person of the Supreme Governor the Prince and Lawgiver and in him it lives and moves and acts in its utmost Vigor The next Degree of it is when lodged in his Commands Orders and Decrees that is in the Law which is a Prince's Master-piece and the Noblest Copy of that Incommunicable Majesty whereof himself is the Original And by this Law it is that Fools are reduced from Evil informed in Good governed and led to know and do what is convenient for their own and necessary for the Publick Interest Thus you see in short of what Weight and Efficacy Authority and Laws are to the World how necessary and how beneficial to the present Circumstances and the greatest part of Mankind This Authority is stated fix'd and agreed upon but there is Another Custom which comes nearest of any up to it commonly called Custom a very Powerful but withal a very Positive and Imperious Mistress This Power is all gained by Encroachment and Usurpation by Treachery and Force it get footing by Inches and steals in upon the World insensibly The Beginnings of it are small and imperceptible gentle and humble and frequently owing to Men's Tameness or Neglect their Laziness and Yielding the Influenc of Example and the Blindness of Inconsideration but when it hath once taken Root and is fix'd by Time it puts on a stern domineering Look issues out its Orders plays the Tyrant and will be observed It is to no purpose then to argue for Liberty and Right no Man is suffered to speak to move to look in contradiction to such an Establishment It stops your Mouth with Possession and Precedent which indeed are its proper and only Pleas of Title grows great and more eminent the farther it goes and like Rivers enlarges its Name and Channel by rowling insomuch that even when the Mischiefs and Inconvenience of its still prevailing are manifest yet is it not safe to reduce it to its first Infant-State and Men are oftentimes better advised in suffering under it than in attempting to disuse or reverse it If now we compare these Two together it will be found Law and Custom compared that Law and Custom establish their Authority by very different Methods Custom creeps upon us by little and little by length of Time by gentle and acceptable Means by the Favour and general Consent or at least with the Approbation of the Majority and its Beginning Growth Establishment are all from the People The Law admits none of these flow Proceedings it is Born at once and in full Perfection comes to Vigor and Maturity in a Moment it marches out with Authority and Power and receives its Efficacy from the Supreme Commander it depends not always upon the good liking of the Subjects but is frequently full sore against their Wills and yet prevails and takes place though burdensome and ungrateful to them This last Consideration is the Reason why Some have compared Law to a Tyrant and Custom to a King Again Custom though otherwise never so engaging yet never proposes Rewards or Penalties But the Law propounds both and to be sure threatens Penalties upon the Disobedient at least Yet notwithstanding these Differences the matter is so order'd that these Two are frequently capable either of strengthning and mutually assisting or of destroying and overthrowing each other For Cudestroying and overthrowing each other For Custom though in strictness it be only upon Sufferance yet when countenanc'd and publickly allowed by the Prince will be still more firm and secure and the Law likewise gets ground upon the People and stands the faster by means of Possession and long Usage On the Contrary Custom will be quashed by a Law prohibiting the Continuance of it and a Law will go down the stream and be lost to all the purposes and effects of it if a contrary Custom be connived at Thus I say they may interfere to the Prejudice of each other but usually they go hand in hand and are in reality almost the same thing considered under different respects The wiser and more discerning Men considering That as a Law which the Ignorant and Vulgar who have little Notions of a Legislative Power or its Sanctions observe purely as a thing Customary and because it hath been in use without attending how it came to be so The strange Variety of Laws and Customs which have obtained in the World Different and odd Customs and the Extravagance of some of them is really prodigious It is scarce possible to think of any Imagination so whimsical and odd but some Country or other hath received it as a Custom or established it by a Law I will give my self the trouble of instancing in several upon this occasion to convince Those who perhaps cannot easily suffer themselves to be persuaded how much Truth there is in this Observation And here not to instance in Religion which in the Idolatrous and less civiliz'd Countries especially hath had grosser Deceits more abominable Absurdities and more amazing Variety of these than any other Subject whatsoever yet because it does not fall so directly within the Compass of our present Argument I shall pas it over at present and confine my self to the Head of Civil Commerce in which alone Customs properly so called are used to take place and where the Matter being exceeding obvious to every Understanding it is so much the more astonishing that Men should be carried into such Extravagances Now Those which I think most remarkable and sit to be mentioned are such as follow The Reputing it an Instance of Affection and Duty when Parents live to a certain term of Years for their Children to Kill and to Eat them In Inns and other Publick Houses of Accommodation instead of discharging the Reckoning with Money to lend their Wives and Daughters to the Host for Payment The having Wives in common The setting up Publick Stews for Young Men The esteeming it honurable for Women to be Common and wearing Tufts of Fringe at their Garments by way of Boast and Glory to signify the Number of their Gallants The suffering Single Women to abandon themselves to all manner of Filthiness and