in which no Defect or Blemish can be discerned perfect in the variety and Number of its Powers in the fitness and Measure of every power in the use and value of every Endowment A perfect Soul is that whereunto nothing can be added to please our Deâ—â—re As all its Objects are perfect so 〈◊〉 it self It is able to see all that is to be seen to love all that is Lovely to hate all that is Hateful to desire all that is Desirable to honour all that is Honorable to esteem all that can be valued to delight in all that is Delightful and to enjoy all that is Good and fit to be enjoyed If its Power did fall short of any one Object or of any one Perfection in any Object or of any Degree in any Perfection it would be imperfect it would not be the Master piece of Eternal Power PERFECT life is the full exertion of perfect power It implies two things Perfection of Vigour and perfection of intelligence an activity of life reaching through all Immensity to all Objects whatsoever and a freedome from all Dulness in apprehending An exquisite Tenderness of perception in feeling the least Object and a Sphere of activity that runs parallel with the Omnipresence of the Godhead For if any Soul lives so imperfectly as to see and know but some Objects or to love them remisly and less then they deserve its Life is imperfect because either it is remisse or if never so fervent confined PERFECT Fruition as it implieâ— the Perfection of all objects more nearly imports the intrinsick Perfection oâ— it s own Operations For if its Object be never so many and perfect in themselves a Blemish lies upon the Enjoyment if it does not reach unto all their Excellence If the Enjoyment of one Object be lost or one Degree of the enjoyment abated it is imperfect PERFECT Vertue may best be understood by a consideration of its Particulars Perfect Knowledg is a thorow compleat understanding of all that may be Known Perfect Righteousness is a full and adequate Esteem of all the value that is in Things It is a Kind of Spiritual Justice whereby we do Right to our selves and to all other Beings If we render to any Object less than it deserves we are not Just thereunto Perfect Wisdome is that whereby we chuse a most perfect end actualy pursue it by most perfect Means acquire and enjoy it in most perfect manner If we pitch upon an inferiour end our Wisdom is imperfect and so it is if we pursue it by feeble and inferior Means or neglect any one of those Advantages whereby we may attain it And the same may be said of all the Vertues NOW if all Objects be infinitely Glorious and all Worlds fit to be enjoyed if GOD has filled Heaven and earth and all the Spaces above the Heavens with innumerable pleasures if his infinite Wisdome Goodness and Power be fully Glorified in every Being and the Soul be created to enjoy all these in most perfect Manner we may well conclude with the Holy Apostle that we are the children of GOD and if Children then Heirs Heirs of GOD and joynt heirs with Christ if so be that we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together That our light Affliction that is but for a Moment worketh out for us a far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory That beholding as in a Glass the Glory of the Lord we shall at last be transformed into the same Image from Glory to Glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. For all his Works of which the Psalmist saith They are worthy to be had in remembrance and are sought out of all them that have pleasure therein are like a Mirror wherein his Glory appeareth as the face of the Sun doth in a clear fountain We may conclude further that Vertue by force of which we attain so great a Kingdome is infinitely better then Rubies all the Things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her So that with unspeakable comfort we may take Courage to go on not only in the study but the Practice of all kind of Vertues concerning which we are to treat in the ensuing Pages For as the Apostle Peter telleth us He hath given to us all things that pertain to Life and Godliness through the Knowledge of him that hath called us to Glory and virtue whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises that by these you might be Partakers of the Divine Nature having escaped the Corruption that is in the World through List. And besides this saith he giving all diligence adde to your Faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness Charity For so an Entrance shall be Ministred to you abundantly into 〈◊〉 everlasting Kingdome of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Which Kingdom being so Divine and Glorious as it is we have need to bow our Knees to the GOD and father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named that he would grant us according to the Riches of his Glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inward Man that Christ may dwell in our Hearts by Faith that we being rooted and grounded in Love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the Breadth and Length and Depth and Height and to know the love of Christ which passeth Knowledg that we may be filled with all the fulness of GOD. TO be Partaker of the Divine nature to be filled with all the Fulness of GOD to enter into his Kingdom and Glory to be transformed into his Image and made an Heir of GOD and a joynt Heir with Christ to live in Union and Communion with GOD and to be made a Temple of the Holy Ghost these are Divine and transcendent things that accompany our Souls in the Perfection of their Bliss and Happiness the Hope and Belief of all which is justified and made apparent by the explanation of the very nature of the Soul its Inclinations and Capacities the reality and greatness of those Vertues of which we are capable and all those objects which the Univers affordeth to our Contemplation CHAP. III. Of Vertue in General The Distribution of it into its several Kinds its Definition BEfore we come to treat of particular Vertues it is very fit that we speak something of VERTUE in General VERTUE is a comprehensive Word by explaining which we shall make the way more easy to the right Understanding of all those particular Vertues into which it is divided Forasmuch as the Nature of Vertue enters into knowledge Faith Hope Charity Prudence Courage Meekness Humility Temperance Justice Liberality c. Every one of these hath its essence opened in part by the explication of that which entreth its Nature which is VERTUE in General THE Predicament of
Vertue of a man they think seated in this They forget that Policy and Learning and Prudence and Gratitude and Fidelity and Temperance and Industry and compassion and Bounty and Affability and Courtesie and Modesty and Justice and Honesty are Vertues and that in every one of these there is something fitting a Man for the Benefit of the World Nay they have lost the Notion of Vertue and know not what it is Those things by which a man is made serviceable to himself and the World they think not to be Vertues but imagineâ— Chimeraes which they cannot see then deny they have any Existence A Man is capable of far more Glorious Qualities then one of them And his Courage it self may be raised to far higher Ends and purposes then Buffoons and Thrasonical Heroes can dream of IT is to be noted here that any one of those Things that are called Vertue being alone is not a Vertue It is so far from aiding and setting us forward in the Way to Happiness that oftentimes it proveth a Great and intollerable Mischief and is never safe but when it is corrected and guided by the rest of its Companions To stir no further then Courage alone What is Courage in a Thief or a Tyrant or a Traytor but like Zeal and Learning in a pernicious Heretick YOU may note further that Goodness is a principal Ingredient in the excellency of this Vertue tho it be distinct in its Nature from the Being of Courage A brave man will expose his Life in an Honest cause for the Benefit and preservation of others tho not for the Dammage or Destruction of any He will slight his own safety and despise his Repose to make himself a Saviour and a Benefactor A true Courage holdeth Vertuous Actions at such a Price that Death Imprisonment Famine Dishonour Poverty Shame Indignation all Allurements and Temptations are nothing compared to the Performance of Heroick Deeds He exceedeth all constraint and walketh in the Glorious Liberty of the Sons of GOD. THE last note which I shall offer to your Observation on this Occasion is this for the Illustration of the Reason and excellency of GODS Dispensations The Great End for which GOD was pleased not to seat us immediately in the Throne but to place us first in an estate of Trial was the Multiplication of our Vertues For had we been seated in the Glory of Heaven at the first there had no such Vertues as Patience and Courage and Fidelity been seen no Faith or Hope or Meekness no Temparance or Prudence or self Denial in the World Which Vertues are the very clothes and Habits of the Soul in Glory The Graces and Beauties of the Soul are founded in the exercise of them Actions pass not away but are fixed by the permanent Continuance of all Eternity and tho done never so long ago shall appear before the Eye of the Soul for ever in their places be the Glory of their Author the Lineaments and Colours of his Beauty seen by GOD and his holy Angels and Delightful to all that love and delight in worthy things Our Life upon Earth being so diversified like a Sphere of Beauty so variously adorned with all sorts of Excellent Actions shall wholly and at once be seen as an intire Object rarely and curiously wrought a Lively Mirror of the Nature of the Soul and all the Elements of which it is compounded all the Parts that conspire in its Symetry all the Qualities Operations and Perfections that contribute to its Glory shall afford wonder and pleasure to all Spectators While every Soul shall be concerned more in its Actions then in its Essence indeed its Essence how ever considerable is of little or no Value in Comparison of its Operations Every Vertue being the Natural Off-spring and production of the Soul in which its Vigor principally appeareth an effect discovering the Nature of the cause and the sole occasion of its shame or Glory For if the Essence of the Soul be all Power and its power exerted in its operation the Soul must needs enter into its Actions and consequently be affected with all that befalls its Operation All Acts are Immortal in their places being enbalmed as it were by Eternity till the Soul revive and be united to them Then shall it appear in its own Age and in eternity too in its last life enjoying the Benefit of its first And in that sence is that voice from Heaven to be understood which commanded the Divine to write Blessed are they that die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their Labours and their Works do follow them For the Glory of the place is nothing to us if we are not endued with those Glorious Habits which will make our Souls all Glorious within We must be Glorious and Illustrious our selves and appear in Actions that will Beautifie the Throne to which we are exalted THAT these Actions may be Great and Amiable manifold and Excellent is the desire of every soul the natural Wish and Expectation both of Reason it self and of self Love HOW Glorious the Counsel and Design of GOD is for the Archieving of this Great End for the making of all Vertues more compleat and Excellent and for the Heightening of their Beauty and Perfection we will exemplifie here in the Perfection of Courage For the Hieght and depth and Splendor of every Vertue is of great Concernment to the Perfection of the Soul since the Glory of its Life is seated in the Accomplishment of its essence in the Fruit it yeildeth in its Operations Take it in Verse made long ago upon this occasion For Man to Act as if his Soul did see The very Brightness of Eternity For Man to Act as if his Love did burn Above the Spheres even while its in its Urne For Man to Act even in the Wilderness As if he did those Sovereign Joys possess Which do at once confirm stir up enflame And perfect Angels having not the same It doth increase the Value of his Deeds In this a Man a Seraphim exceeds To Act on Obligations yet unknown To Act upon Rewards as yet unshewn To keep Commands whose Beauty 's yet unseen To cherish and retain a Zeal between Sleeping and Waking shews a constant care And that a deeper Love a Love so Rare That no Eye Service may with it compare The Angels who are faithful while they view His Glory know not what themselves would do Were they in our Estate A Dimmer Light Perhaps would make them erre as well as We And in the Coldness of a darker Night Forgetful and Lukewarm Themselves might be Our very Rust shall cover us with Gold Our Dust shall sprinkle while their Eyes behold The Glory Springing from a feeble State Where meer Belief doth if not conquer Fate Surmount and pass what it doth Antedate THE Beatifick Vision is so sweet and Strong a Light that it is impossible for any thing that Loves it self
Vertue By Vertue the Creation is made useful and the Universe delightful All the Works of GOD are crowned with their End by the Glory of Vertue For whatsoever is good and profitable for Men is made Sacred because it is delightful and well-pleasing to GOD Who being LOVE by Nature delighteth in his Creatures welfare There are two sorts of concurrent Actions necessary to Bliss Actions in GOD and Actions in Men nay and Actions too in all the Creatures The Sun must warm but it must not burn the Earth must bring forth but not swallow up the Air must cool without starving and the Sea moisten without drowning Meats must feed but not poyson Rain must fall but not oppress Thus in the inferiour Creatures you see Actions are of several kinds But these may be reduced to the Actions of GOD from whom they spring for he prepares all these Creatures for us And it is necessary to the felicity of his Sons that he should make all things healing and amiable not odious and destructive that he should Love and not Hate And the Actions of Men must concur aright with these of GOD and his Creatures They must not despise Blessings because they are given but esteem them not trample them under feet because they have the benefit of them but magnifie and extol them They too must Love and not Hate They must not kill and murther but serve and pleasure one another they must not scorn great and inestimable Gifts because they are common for so the Angels would lose all the happiness of Heaven If GOD should do the most great and glorious things that infinite Wisdom could devise if Men will resolve to be blind and perverse and sensless all will be in vain the most High and Sacred things will increase their Misery This may give you some little glimpse of the excellency of Vertue You may easily discern that my Design is to reconcile Men to GOD and make them fit to delight in him and that my last End is to celebrate his Praises in communion with the Angels Wherein I beg the Concurrence of the Reader for we can never praise him enough nor be fit enough to praise him No other man at least can make us so without our own willingness and endeavour to do it Above all pray to be sensible of the Excellency of the Creation for upon the due sense of its Excellency the life of Felicity wholly dependeth Pray to be sensible of the Excellency of Divine Laws and of all the Goodness which your Soul comprehendeth Covet a lively sense of all you know of the Excellency of GOD and of Eternal Love of your own Excellency and of the worth and value of all Objects whatsoever For to feel is as necessary as to see their Glory The Contents CHAP. I. OF the End for the sake of which Vertue is desired Chap. II. Of the Nature of Felicity its excellency and perfection Chap. III. Of Vertue in general The distribution of it into its several kinds It s definition Chap. IV. Of the Powers and Affections of the Soul What Vertues pertain to the estate of Innocency what to the estate of Grace what to the estate of Glory Chap. V. Of the necessity excellency and use of Knowledge Its depths and extents its Objects and its End Chap. VI. Of Love and Hatred The necessity and sweetness of Love It s general use and efficacy The several kinds of Love Of the power inclination and act of Love its extent and capacity Chap. VII What benefit GOD himself does receive by his eternal Love That when our Love is made compleat and perfect it will be like his and the benefit of it will be eternal Chap. VIII Of the excellency of Truth as it is the object and cause of Vertue The matter and form of Vertuous Actions That their form is infinitely more excellent than their matter and the Heathen Morality infinitely defective and short of the Christian. Chap. IX Wisdom is seated in the Will it attaineth best of all possible Ends by the best of all possible Means Chap. X. Of Righteousness how Wisdom Justice and right Reason are shut up in its Nature What God doth and what we acquire by the exercise of this Vertue Chap. XI Of Goodness natural moral and divine its Nature described The benefits and Works of Goodness Chap. XII Of Holiness Its nature violence and pleasure It s beauty consisteth in the infinite love of Righteousness and Perfection Chap. XIII Of Justice in general and particular The great good it doth in Empires and Kingdoms a token of the more retired good it doth in the Soul It s several kinds That Gods punitive Justice springs from his Goodness Chap. XIV Of Mercy The indelible stain and guilt of Sin Of the Kingdom which God recovered by Mercy The transcendent nature of that duty with its effects and benefits Chap. XV. Of Faith The faculty of Believing implanted in the Soul Of Nature its Objects are The necessity of Faith Its end its use and excellency It is the Mother and fountain of all the Vertues Chap. XVI Of Hope It s foundation its distinction from Faith its extents and dimensions its life and vigour its several kinds its sweetness and excellency Chap. XVII Of Repentance It s original its nature it is a purgative Vertue its necessity its excellencies The measure of that sorrow which is due to Sin is intollerable to Sence confessed by Reason and dispensed with by Mercy Chap. XVIII Of Charity towards God It sanctifieth Repentance makes it a Vertue and turns it to a part of our true Felicity Our Love to all other objects is to begin and end in God Our Love of God hath an excellency in it that makes it worthy to be desired by his eternal Majesty He is the only supream and perfect Friend by Loving we enjoy him Chap. XIX Charity to our Neighbour most natural and easie in the estate of Innocency Adams Love to Eve and his Children a great exemplar of our Love to all the World The sweetness of Loving The benefits of being Beloved To love all the World and to be beloved by all the World is perfect security and felicity Were the Law fulfilled all the World would be turned into Heaven Chap. XX. Of Prudence It s foundation is Charity its end tranquility and prosperity on Earth its office to reconcile Duty and Convenience and to make Vertue subservient to Temporal welfare Of Prudence in Religion Friendship and Empire The end of Prudence is perfect Charity Chap. XXI Encouragements to Courage It s Nature cause and end It s greatness and renown Its ornaments and Companions Its objects circumstances effects and disadvantages how Difficulties increase its vertue Its Victories and Triumphs How subservient it is to Blessedness and Glory Chap. XXII Of Temperance in matters of Art as Musick Dancing Painting Cookery Physick c. In the works of Nature Eating drinking sports and recreations In occasions of passion in our lives
Quality contains within it either Natural Dispositions or Habits Habits may be either Vertuous or Vicious Virtuous Habits are either Theological Intellectual Moral or Divine And these are branched into so many Kinds of Vertue as followeth THE Theological Vertues are generally divided into Three Faith Hope and Charity which are called Theological because they have GOD for their Principal Object and are in a peculiar manner taught by his Word among the Mysteries of Religion To which we may add Repentance forasmuch as this Virtue tho it be occasioned by sin is chiefly taught by the Word of GOD and respects GOD as its Principal Object For which reason we shall account the Theological Virtues to be four Faith Hope Charity and Repentance to which if we making them more we may add Obedience Devotion Godliness THE Intellectual Vertues are generally reckoned to be five Intelligence Wisdome Science Prudence Art Which forasmuch as the Distinction between them is over-nice and curious at least too obscure for vulgar Apprehensions we shall reduce them perhaps to a fewer number INTELLIGENCE is the Knowledg of Principles Science the Knowledg of Conclusions Wisdom that knowledg which results from the Union of both Prudence and Art have been more darkly explained The Objects of Wisdom are alwayes Stable Prudence is that knowledge by which we guide our selves in Thorny and uncertain Affairs Art is that Habit by which we are assisted in composing Tracts and Systems rather then in regulating our Lives and more frequently appears in Fiddling and Dancing then in noble Deeds were it not useful in Teachers for the Instruction of others we should scarce reckon it in the number of Vertues ALL these are called Intellectual Vertues because they are Seated in the Understanding and chiefly exercised in Contemplation The Vertues that are brought down into action are called Practical and at other times Moral Because they help us in perfecting our Manners as they relate to our Conversation with Men. THE Moral Vertues are either Principal or less Principal The Principal are four Prudence Justice Temperance and Fortitude Which because they are the Hinges upon which our whole Lives do turn are called * Cardinal and are commonly known by the name of The four Cardinal Vertues They are called Principal not onely because they are the chief of all Moral Virtues but because they enter into every Vertue as the four Elements of which it is compounded THE less Principal Vertues are Magnificence and Liberality Modesty and Magnanimity Gentleness of behaviour Affability Courtesie Truth and Urbanitie all these are called less Principal not because they are indifferent or may be accounted useless for then they would not be Vertues but because tho their Practice be of extraordinary Importance in their places they are more remote and less Avail in the Way to Felicity and are more confined in their Operations DIVINE Vertues which we put instead of the Heathenish Heroical are such as have not only GOD for their Object and End but their Pattern and Example They are Vertues which are seen in his eternal Life by Practicing which we also are changed into the same Image and are made partakers of the Di Knowledge and Truth in the Sublimest Height we confess to be Three but we shall Chiefly insist upon Goodness and Righteousness and Holiness All which will appear in Divine Love in more peculiar manner to be handled BESIDES all these there are some Vertues which may more properly be called Christian because they are no where Else taught but in the Christian Religion are founded on the Love of Christ and the only Vertues distinguishing a Christian from the rest of the World of which sort are Love to Enemies Meekness and Humility ALL these Virtues are shut up under one common Head because they meet in one common Nature which bears the name of Vertue The Essence of which being well understood will conduce much to the clear Knowledge of every one in particular VERTUE in General is that habit of Soul by force of which we attain our Happiness Or if you please it is a Right and well order'd Habit of mind which Facilitates the Soul in all its operations in order to its Blessedness These Terms are to be unfolded 1. VERTUE is a Habit All Habits are either Acquired or Infused By calling it a Habit we distinguish it from a Natural Disposition or Power of the Soul For a Natural disposition is an inbred Inclination which attended our Birth and began with our beings not chosen by our Wills nor acquired by Industrie These Dispositions because they do not flow from our Choise and industry cannot be accounted Virtues T is true indeed that vertuous Habits are sometimes infused in a Miraculous Manner but then they are rather called Graces then Vertues and are ours only as they are Consented to by our Wills not ours by choise and acquisition but only by Improvement and exercise Tho they agree with Virtues in their Matter and their end yet they differ in their Original and form For as all Humane Actions flow from the Will and the Understanding so do all Vertues when they are rightly understood whereas we are Passive in the reception of these and they flow immediately from Heaven AND it is far more conducive to our Felicity that we should conquer Difficulties in the attainment of Vertue study chuse desire pursue and labour after it acquire it finally by our own Care and Industry with Gods Blessing upon it then that we should be Dead and Idle while virtue is given us in our Sleep For which cause GOD ordered our state and Condition so that by our own Labour we should seek after it that we might be as well pleasing in his Eys and as Honorable and Admirable in the Acquisition of vertue as in the Exercise and Practice of it And for these reasons GOD does not so often infuse it and is more desirous that we should by many repeated Actions of our own attain it GOD does sometimes upon the General Sloth of mankind inspire it raising up some persons thereby to be like salt among corrupted men least all should putrifie and perish Yet is there little reason why he should delight in that way without some such uncouth and Ungrateful necessity to compell him thereunto FOR any man to expect that GOD should break the General Order and Course of Nature to make him Vertuous without his own Endeavours is to Tempt GOD by a presumptuous Carelesseness and by a Slothful abuse of his Faculties to fulfil the parable of the unprofitable Servant THE Powers of the Soul are not vertues themselves but when they are clothed with vertuous Operations they are transformed into Vertues For Powers are in the Soul just as Limbs and Members in the Body which may indifferently be applied to Vertues and Vices alike be busied and exercised in either AS the Members are capable of Various Motions either comely or Deformed and are one thing when they are
impossible that he by determining their Wills should make them the Authors of Righteous Actions which of all things in the World he most desired There is as much Difference between a Willing Act of the Soul it self and an Action forced on the Will determined by another as there is between a man that is dragged to the Altar whether he will or no and the man that comes with all his Heart with musick and Dancing to offer sacrifice There is Joy and Honour and Love in the one fear and constraint and shame in the other That GOD should not be able to deserve our Love unless he himself made us to Love him by violence is the Greatest Dishonour to him in the World Nor is it any Glory or Reputation for us who are such sorry Stewards that we cannot be entrusted with a little Liberty but we must needs abuse it GOD adventured the possibility of sinning into our hands which he infinitely hated that he might have the Possibility of Righteous Actions which he infinitely Loved Being a voluntary and free Agent he did without any Constraint Love and desire all that was most high and Supreamly Excellent of all Objects that are possible to be thought on his own Essence which is a Righteous Act is the Best and the Righteous Acts of Saints and Angels are the Highest and Best next that which Creatures could perform The very utmost Excellence of the most noble Created Beings consisted in Actions of piety freely wrought which GOD so Loved that for their sake alone he made Angels and Souls and all Worlds These Righteous Actions he so Loved that for their sake he prepared infinite Rewards and Punishments All the Business of his Laws and Obligations are these Righteous Actions That we might do these in a Righteous Manner he placed us in a mean Estate of Liberty and Tryal not like that of Liberty in Heaven where the Object will determine our Wills by its Amiableness but in the Liberty of Eden where we had absolute Power to do as we pleased and might determine our Wills our selves infinitely desiring and Delighting in the Righteous use of it hating and avoiding by infinite Cautions and Provisions all the unjust Actions that could spring from it If we Love Righteous Actions as he does and are holy as he is holy in all manner of Wisdome and Righteousness then shall we delight in all Righteous Actions as he doth shall Love Vertue and Wisdome as he doth and prefer the Works of Piety and Holiness above all the Miracles Crowns and Scepters in the World every Righteous and Holy Deed will be as pleasing to us as it is to him all Angels and Men will be as so many Trees of Righteousness bearing the fruit of Good Works on which we shall feast in Communion with GOD Or if our Righteous Souls be vexed as Lots Soul in Sodom was in seeing and hearing the unlawful Deeds of the wicked they shall be recreated and revived with the sight of GODS most Righteous Judgments and with the Beauty of his holy Ways by which he rectifies the Malignity of the Wicked overcomes the evil of their Deeds and turnes all the vices of men into his own Glory and ours in the Kingdome of Heaven The Delights of Wisdome and Righteousness and Holiness are suitable to their Nature as those of Goodness are to the nature of Goodness Which no man can enjoy but he that is qualified for them by the Principles of Goodness and Holiness implanted in his Nature For as he that has no Eys wanteth all the Pleasures of sight so he that has no Knowledge wanteth all the pleasures of Knowledge he that is void of Holiness is void of the Sence which Holiness inspires and he that is without Goodness must needs be without the Pleasures of Goodness for he cannot delight in the Goodness of GOD towards other Creatures To be Good to be Holy to be Righteous is freely to delight in Excellent Actions which unless we do of our own Accord no External Power whatsoever can make us Good or Holy or Righteous because no force of External Power can make us free whatever it is that invades our Liberty destroys it GOD therefore may be infinitely Holy and infinitely desire our Righteous Actions tho he doth not intermeddle with our Liberty but leaves us to our selves having no Reserve but his Justice to punish our ofences CHAP. XIII Of Justice in General and Particulars The Great Good it doth its Empires and Kingdoms a Token of the more retired Good it doth in the Soul It s several Kinds That GODS Punitive Justice Springs from his Goodness THO following the common Course of Moralists in our Distribution of Vertues we have seated Justice among the Cardinal Moral yet upon second Thoughts we find reason to reduce it to the number of Divine Vertues because upon a more neer and particular Inspection we find it to be one of the Perfections of GOD and under that notion shall discover its Excellence far more compleatly then if we did contemplate its Nature as it is limited and bounded among the Actions of Men. THE Universal Justice of Angels and Men regards all Moral Actions and Vertues whatever It is that Vertue by which we yield Obedience to all righteous and Holy Laws upon the Account of the Obligations that lye upon us for the Publick Welfare of the whole World Because we Love to do that which is Right and desire the fruition of Eternal Rewards There is much Wisdome and Goodness as well as Courage and Prudence necessary to the Exercise of this Vertue and as much need of Temperance in it as any For he that will be thus just must of necessity be Heroical in despising all Pleasure and Allurements that may soften his Spirit all fears and dangers that may discourage and divert him all inferior Obligations and Concernes that may intangle and ensnare him he must trample under foot all his Relations and friends and particular Affections so far as they incline him to partiality and sloth he must be endued with Great Wisdome to discern his End great Constancy to pursue it great Prudence to see into Temptations and Impediments and to lay hold on all Advantages and Means that may be improved he must have a Great Activity and Vigor in using them a Lively sence of his Obligations a transcendent Love to GOD and felicity a mighty Patience and Long-suffering because his Enemies are many his Condition low his Mark afar off his Business manifold his Life tho short in it self yet long to him his undertaking Weighty and his nature corrupted THEY otherwise define Justice to be that Vertue by which we render unto all their Due Which is of large Extent if the Apostles Commentary comes in for Explication For this Cause pay you Tribute also for they are GODS Ministers attending continually on this very thing Render therefore to all their Dues Tribute to whom Tribute is Due Custom to whom Custom Fear to
example not to fear because he has overcome the World we may safely sing O Death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy Victory And challenge all the powers of Heaven Earth and Hell to the combat Which for one single person to do against all the Creation is the most Glorious Spectacle which the universe affords Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ shall Tribulation or Distress or Persecution or Famine or Nakedness or Peril or Sword as it is writen for thy sake we are Killed all the day long we are accounted as Sheep to the slaughter Nay in all these things me are nore then Conquerors through him that loved us For I am perswaded that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor Height nor Depth nor any other Creature shall be able to separate us from the Love of GOD which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. A REMARK To be Couragious is the Easiest thing in the World when we consider the certain success which Courage founded on Goodness must needs attain For he that makes his Fortitude subservient onely to the excess of his Love has all the Powers of Heaven and earth on his side and the Powers of Hell that are already subdued are the only foes that are to be vanquished by him To dare to be Good is the Office of true and Religious valour And he that makes it his Business to oblige all the world he whose design it is to be delightful to all mankind has nothing to overcome but their error bitterness which by meekness and Kindness and Prudence and liberality will easily be accomplished For they all love themselves and cannot chuse but desire those that are kind and Serviceable to them and must so far forth as they love themselves honor delight in their Benefactors So that Courage thus guided by Prudence to the works of Charity and goodness must surely be safe and prosperous on earth its Admirableness and its Beauty being a powerful Charm an Invincible Armour CHAP. XXII Of Temperance in Matters of Art as Musick Dancing Painting Cookery Physick c. In the works of Nature Eating Drinking Sports and Recreations In occasions of Passion in our Lives and Conversations It s exercise in Self-denial Measure Mixture and Proportion Its effects and atchievments PRUDENCE giveth Counsel what Measure and Proportion ought to be held in our Actions Fortitude inspires Boldness and Strength to undertake and set upon the Work but it is Temperance doth execute what both of them design For Temperance is that Vertue whereby the actions of Prudence and Power are moderated when they come to be exerted IT is the Opinion of some that as Patience respects Afflictions so Temperance is wholy taken up in moderating our Pleasures and hath no employment but in the midst of Prosperities But since there are certain bounds which Fear and Sorrow ought not to exceed Temperance hath its work in the midst of Calamities and being needful to moderate all our Passions hath a wider sphere to move in than Prosperity alone its Province is more large and comprehensive including all estates and conditions of Life whatsoever OTHERS there are that admit of its use in all Conditions but confine it to one particular employment even that of enlarging or bounding the Measure of every Operation but in real truth it has another Office and that more deep perhaps and more important than the former For Actions are of two kinds either Mixt or Simple Where the work is single and but one it is exprest in nothing else but the Measure of the Action that it be neither too short nor too long too remiss nor too violent too slow nor too quick too great nor too little But where many things are mixt and meet together in the Action as they generally do in all the affairs of our Lives there its business is to consider what and how many things are to enter the Composition and to make their Proportion just and convenient As in preparing Medicines the skill whereby we know what is to be put in and what left out is of one kind and that of discerning how much of every Ingredient will serve the turn of another The skill of Mingling is like the vertue of Prudence but the actual tempering of all together exhibits the vertue of Temperance to the Life because it reduces the Skill to its operation It s End is the beauty and success of our Endeavours OF what use and value Temperance is in our Lives and Conversations we may guess by its necessity force and efficacy on all Occasions THE fit mixture and proportion of the four Elements in all Bodies is that upon which their Nature Form and Perfection dependeth Too much of the Fire too much of the Water too much of the Air too much of the Earth are pernicious and destructive There is an infinite wisdom exprest in the Mixture and Proportion in every Creature BEAUTY and Health Agility Repose and Strength depend upon the due Temperament of Humane Bodies The four Humors of Choler Melancholy Flegm and Blood are generally known But there are many other Juyces talkt of besides by the discreet and accurate mixture of which the Body of a Man or Beast is perfected Some great inconvenience alwaies follows the excess or defect of these Disorder and Disproportion go hand in hand and are attended by Sickness and Death it self IN matters of Art the force of Temperance is undeniable It relateth not only to our Meats and Drinks but to all our Behaviours Passions and Desires All Musick Sawces Feasts Delights and Pleasures Games Dancing Arts consist in govern'd Measures Much more do Words and Passions of the Mind In Temperance their sacred Beauty find A Musician might rash his finger over all his strings in a moment but Melody is an effect of Judgment and Order It springs from a variety of Notes to which Skill giveth Time and Place in their Union A Painter may daub his Table all over in an instant but a Picture is made by a regulated Hand and by variety of Colours A Cook may put a Tun of Sugar or Pepper or Salt in his Dishes but Delicates are made by Mixture and Proportion There is a Temperance also in the Gesture of the Body the Air of the Face the carriage of the Eye the Smile the Motion of the Feet and Hands and by the Harmony of these is the best Beauty in the World either much commended or disgraced A Clown and a Courtier are known by their Postures A Dancer might run into Extreams but his Art is seen in the measure of his Paces and adorned with a variety of sweet and suitable Behaviours A Physician may kill a man with the best Ingredients but good Medicines are those wherein every Simple hath its proper Dose and every Composition a fit admixture of good Ingredients A Poem an Oration a Play a Sermon may be too tedious
or too dull or too feeble and impertinent but all its faults are avoided by a fit Temperance of Words and Materials Temperance every where yields the Pleasure And Excess is as destructive as Defect in any Accomplishment whatsoever Vertue being seated in the Golden Mean It is by an Artificial limiting of Power that every Thing is made as it ought to be Compleat and Perfect All kind of Excellence in every sort of Operation springs from Temperance A curious Picture a melodious Song a delicious Harmony by little invisible motions of the Pen or Pencil or by Ductures scarce perceivable in the throat or fingers finisheth the Work where Art is the only power of performing WE know that upon Mens Actions far more does depend than upon Dancing and Painting their Wisdom and Vertue their Honour Life and Happiness And therefore more Care ought to be exhibited in the Actions of which their Conversation is made up and accomplished In their Meats and Drinks and Recreations it is apparent that without Temperance there can be no Success or Order The best Wine in the World makes him that is lavish in the use of it a Sot The most wholsom and delicious Meat upon Earth by excess in eating may turn to a Surfeit If Sports and Recreations take up all a mans Time his Life is unprofitable their End is lost and their Nature changed for instead of recruiting they consume ones Strength and instead of sitting a Man for it devour his Calling AN exact hand over all our Passions and a diligent Eye to extravagant Actions tend much to our Welfare Repose and Honour Loose and impertinent Laughter excessive Cost in Apparel a Lascivious wandering of the Eyes an ungoverned Boldness which turns into Impudence an extremity of Fear which degenerates into Baseness a Morose and sour Disposition Anxiety and needless Care immodest and violent strivings after Things we too eagerly desire inordinate Love too keen and bitter Resentments a fierce and raging Anger a blockish Stupidity a predominant Humour of Melancholy too much Sloth and too much Activity too much Talk and too much Silence all these are diligently to be ordered and avoided for upon the right Temperament of these we are made Acceptable and Amiable and being so are full of Authority and can do within the compass of Vertue and Reason all that we desire among our Friends and Companions for our own good or the benefit of others And by this means also we shall be admitted to the society and friendship of Great men where a Nod or a Word is able to prevail more than the strength of Oxen and Horses among the dregs of the People But for lack of tempering these Ingredients aright and as we ought we become odious and insupportable lose all Esteem and Interest are rejected and trampled under feet as vicious and deformed HERE you may observe that all the qualities and dispositions in Nature are ingredients and materials in our Lives and Conversations and for the most part it is their Excess or Defect that makes the miscarriage when we erre in the Measure There is a certain mixture of Gravity and Chearfulness Remisness and Severity Fear and Boldness Anger and Complacency Kindness and Displeasure Care and Carelesness Activity and Idleness Joy and Sorrow Forwardness and Reservedness nay of Envy Pride and Revenge in every Mans life as well as of Selfishness and flowing Courtesie Plainness and Policy at least the grounds of these things which are neither Vertues nor Vices in themselves yet make Conversation transcendently Vertuous when they are wisely tempered and united together I do not look upon Ambition and Avarice nay nor upon Envy and Revenge as things that are evil in their root and fountain If they be Temperance has a strange vertue in its Nature for as Chymists make Antidotes of Poysons so doth this vertue turn the Matter of all these into a Quintessential perfection Nay Selfishness and Pride it self escape not its influence A little touch of something like Pride is seated in the true sence of a mans own Greatness without which his Humility and Modesty would be contemptible Vertues In all baseness of Mind there is a kind of folly and Cowardice apparent and more veneration follows an humble Man that is sensible of his Excellency An aiery Humor without something of the Melancholy to ballast it a little would be light and trifling And a melancholy Humor without something of Air and Jovialness in it too sour and disobliging Anger without Softness is like untemper'd Steel brittle and destructive and a plyant Humor without some degree of stiffness too near to Flattery and Servility Anger is the matter and fuel of Courage and its appearance afar off puts a Majesty into Meekness that makes it redoubted A sorrowful Humor neatly allayed with a mixture of sweetness begets a tenderness and compassion in the Spectator that turns into a deeper and more serious Love A little Selfishness puts our Companions in mind of our own Interest and makes them perceive that we understand it which adds a lustre to our Self-denial and renders our Liberality more safe and precious Plainness without Policy is downright Simplicity and Policy without Plainness void of Honesty The one makes us Crafty and renders us suspected the other exposes us and makes us Ridiculous but both united are venerable and prudent By the appearance of Revenge in its shady Possibility a man that never does other than Actually forgive does oblige for what is past yet threaten and discourage from the like Offences All these are the Subjects of Temperance A little spice of Jealousie and Emulation are advantagious in the midst of our Security and Resignation They give a relish to our Confidence in and Prelation of others and make our Security and Civility taste of our Love to the Person we prefer and of our Love to Vertue There is not one Humor nor Inclination nor Passion nor Power in the Soul that may not be admitted to act its part when directed by Temperance NOR is it unlawful to alter the Natural Complexion by Care and Study I know very well that the Complexion of the Body can hardly be changed by the strongest Physick and that Choler and Phlegm and abundance of Blood will where they are have their Natural Course without any remedy But the Humors of the Soul are more tractable things they are all subject to the Will in their operations and though they incline yet they cannot act but by consent and permission I know furthermore that Custom and Habit is a Second Nature what was difficult at first becomes at last as easie in its Exercise as if it were innate and that the Soul of a Vertuous man does in process of time act by a new Disposition I know further that all vertuous Operations are free and voluntary and that the office of Vertue is to correct and amend an Evil Nature Let no man therefore be disgusted because a Made-up man is
Artificial and not Natural for when the Conversation is sincerely guided to a good End the more free and voluntary it is it is the more Noble the more Industry and Desire a man expresses in attaining all these measures and perfections they are the more Vertuous and the Probity of his Will is to be the more accepted For Vertues are not effects of Nature but Choice Which how free soever it may appear is as stable as the Sun when founded on Eternal principles it secures any Friend in the good and amiable Qualities he desires in his Beloved as much as Nature it self could do though they depend upon the Will which is capable of changing every moment This of Temperance in the Government of our Humors I shall add but one Note more and that is That a wise man discards the Predominancy of all Humors and will not yield himself up to the Empire of any for he is to live the life of Reason not of Humor Nor will he have any Humor of his own but what he can put off and on as he sees occasion He will cleave eternally to the Rules of Vertue but will comply in his Humor so far as to make his conversation sweet and agreeable to every Temper Religion and Charity as well as Courtesie and Civility prompt to this and where these concur with his Reason and favour his Interest he may well do what S. Paul taught him become all things to all men that he might gain some And this encouragement he hath A man by sacrificing his own may comply with the satisfaction of all the World and find his own far more great and honourable and sweet and amiable in the End far more high and blessed in the Love and Esteem he shall obtain thereby than if he had gratified his first inclination without any respect to the Prelation of others It will bring him to the fruition of Pleasures far greater than those he despised TEMPERANGE in the full composition and use of Vertues is far more sublime and more immediately approacheth the end of Vertue than any Temperance in Meats and Drinks It is resident nearer the Throne of Felicity and seateth us by her You may see its Task as it is prescribed in Prudence But for Example sake we will instance it in Meekness which of all the Vertues is the most weak and naked A meek Spirit receiveth its Temper its encouragement strength and facility from the union and concurrence of all the Vertues Knowledg is its light and Love the principle of its life and motion Wisdom guideth it to the highest End Righteousness is a great incentive thereunto while it teacheth us to esteem the favour of God and the excellency of those Souls whose value maketh us tender of their Repose and prone to honour them with a due esteem as well as to desire their peace and salvation Holiness maketh us to delight in our Duty Goodness inclines us to sacrifice our own to the welfare of others Mercy leads us to pity their Infirmities and more to compassionate their Misery than to be provoked with their Distemper Justice makes us to pay our Saviours Love and Merits what we owe unto him All these establish the habit of Meekness in our Souls Fortitude does several waies conspire thereunto for it makes us to adventure upon any Trouble that we can fall into thereby and puts a lustre upon us in the act of Meekness Patience habituates the Soul to Afflictions and makes our sence of Injuries easie Repentance minds us of other employments than Anger and Revenge even a contrite Sorrow for our own Offences Humility gives us a sence of our own Unworthiness and a willingness to be yet more low than our Enemies can make us It inclines us also to confess that we have deserved far worse and more bitter Evils and to despise our selves which when we truly do no Injuries or Wrongs can move us Faith carries us up to higher Enjoyments Hope hath respect to the promised Reward Our Love towards GOD enflames us with Desire to please him Charity to our Neighbour is prone to forgive him Prudence teacheth us to expect no Figs from Thorns nor better entertainment from Briars and Brambles but rather to right our selves by improving their Wrongs and to turn their Vices into our Vertues Magnanimity despiseth the Courtship of Worms and scorneth to place its rest and felicity in Trifles Liberality is industrious to find out occasions of Obliging and Conquering Contentment is fed by higher Delights and beautifies our Meekness with a chearful Behaviour Magnificence carries us to the most high and illustrious Deeds and by very great and expensive Methods to multiply favours and benefits on our Beloved for all are our Beloved whether Friends or Enemies Temperance it self takes off the stupidity and sluggishness of our Meekness puts activity and vigour into it that it may not be a Sleepish but Heroick Vertue nay adorns secures and perfects it by the Addition and Exercise of all these and by giving to every other Vertue its Form and Perfection makes them more fit and able to aid and assist us here It moderates our Passions and puts a better dose of Life into our Consideration If there be any other Virtue it is not so remote but that it may lend us its helping hand and be subservient to the perfection of our Love and Meekness Which however simple it may appear in Solitude is very strong and irresistable amazing as far from Contempt as the Sun is from Darkness when it is animated with Courage and made illustrious by Love enriched with Liberality and made bright by Knowledg guided by Wisdom to the highest End and by Prudence to well-known and advantagious tho inferiour Purposes When the Soul appeareth neither foolish nor Cowardly nor base nor soft but High and Magnanimous in its Operation Meekness is redoubted IN the Throne of Glory all the acts of Faith and Hope and Repentance shall be for ever perfected or swallowed up in fruition The fruit of all occasional and transient Vertues shall remain the Divine Vertues shall be so firmly united that in their Act and Exercise they shall be one for ever By Knowledg we shall see all that the light of Heaven and Eternity can reveal By Love we shall embrace all that is amiable before GOD and his holy Angels By Wisdom we shall use the most glorious Means for the attainment and enjoyment of the highest End which is GOD in all his Joys and Treasures in the use of those Means we must actually enjoy all Blessedness and Glory Righteousness and Holiness and Goodness and Charity shall with all the rest be the Lineaments and Colours of the Mind the Graces and Beauties of the blessed Soul They shall shine upon its face and it self shall be glorious in the perfection of their Beauty as GOD is It s Goodness shall make it a fountain of Delights to all the other Creatures It shall be all Humility yet all
Enjoyment Amazed at its own Nothingness and Vileness yet ravished with wonder and the height of its Felicity For the lower it is in its own Eyes the more Great doth the Goodness of GOD appear and the more transcendently Sweet is its Adoration and Satisfaction By its Gratitude it sacrifices it self Eternally to the Deity and taketh more pleasure in his Glory than its own It is all Godliness and Contentment All these Vertues are exercised together in the state of Glory not so much by our own Temperance as by the Infusion of his most Heavenly Grace who fills us with his own Fulness and Perfection by way of Reward and causing us to enter into his Eternal Rest maketh us to cease from our own Works as he also did from his by inspiring us with his own Wisdom Life and Strength and actuating all our Powers by his own for ever That we by vertue of his Grace infused may live in the Image of his Eternal Moderation and attain that extremity of Bliss and Glory which he hath exceeding his Almighty Power by an exquisite and mysterious Temperance in all his Operations Divinely attained CHAP. XXIII Of Temperance in GOD. How the Moderation of Almighty Power guided in its Works by Wisdom perfecteth the Creation How it hath raised his own Glory and our Felicity beyond all that Simple Power could effect by its Infiniteness IF Moderation hath such happy effects in Men where the Strength is small the Wisdom little the Matter base the Occasion low as in divers Instances it is manifest it hath how glorious must this Vertue be where the Power is Almighty the Wisdom Infinite the Subject-Matter Perfect the End and the Occasion most Divine and Glorious IT would seem a strange Paradox to say That Almighty Power could not exist without Infinite Wisdom but it is infinitely true For the Wisdom and Power of GOD are one No Blind Power can be Almighty because it cannot do all that is Excellent That Power would without Wisdom be Blind is as evident as the Sun the want of that being as great an impediment to its Operations as the lack of Eyes is to a Man upon Earth which so Eclipseth and darkneth his Power that he cannot perform those excellent Works to which Light is necessary There is no Blind Power in GOD and therefore no Power distinct from his Understanding By his Wisdom he made the Heavens by his Understanding be established the Earth By his knowledge the Depths are broken up and the Clouds drop down the Dew Wisdom is the Tree of Life which beareth all the fruits of Immortality and Honour Inartificial Violence will never carry it There is a Mark to be hit and that is in every thing what is most fair and eligible It may be miss'd as much by shooting over it as by falling short of it Naked Power cannot tell what to propose as its Aim and Object Only that which is able to contrive is able to effect its Desire in the Work it conceiveth most fit and excellent for its Power to perform IT is a stranger Paradox yet That Power limited is Greater and more Effectual than Power let loose for this importeth that Power is more infinite when bounded than Power in its utmost liberty But that which solveth the Riddle and removeth the Inconvenience is our Assurance of this That GOD can do nothing but what is Wise and that his Wisdom therefore is all his Power And of this it followeth That nothing is possible with GOD but what is infinitely Excellent for to do any thing less than the Best is unwise and being so is contrary to the Nature of Wisdom which is his Power THE Will of GOD is his Wisdom By the meer Motion of his Will he Created all things and therefore it is his Power his Power and his Wisdom meet in his Will and are both the same By his Word he made the Worlds and his Eternal Word is his Eternal Wisdom ALL this I speak because it is the Office of Wisdom to propose the most excellent End and to pursue it by the most efficacious Means And because the Wisdom of GOD will be found one with his Eternal Moderation THE utmost End of all that is aimed at is indeed illimited It is the Best and Greatest Thing that infinite and Eternal Wisdom could conceive but being out of all measure High and Excellent it includeth innumerable Varieties that are shut up in bounds for their greater Perfection Whereupon it followeth that GOD hath attained a more excellent Effect than if he had made any one Thing singly infinite HIS Love being Infinite and Eternal in sacrificing it self in all its Works for its Objects welfare became an infinite and eternal Act Which was not contented unless in all its Works it added Art unto Power and exerted its Wisdom in all its Productions Had it made one Infinite some are of Opinion it had exceeded it self at least done all that was possible both for it self and for its Object and that one Infinite being so Created must be its only Object For more than Infinite what can be We are apt to think that nothing can be beside But to shew that GOD is infinitely more than what we conceive while we think him infinite and that we infinitely wrong him while we limit his Essence to one single Infinity Who is every way Infinite in Himself in all his Works in all his Waies in all his Counsels in every one of his Perfections He hath made every thing either Infinite or better than so For by variety of Effects he hath attained an End in the Beauty and Correspondence of all his Productions far more Amiable and Divine than any one Effect is capable of being All Things by a kind of Temperance are made and ordered in Number Weight and Measure so that they give and receive a Beauty and Perfection every thing to and from all the residue of inestimable value in relation to the Goodness and Love of their Creator I doubt not but GOD would his Wisdom have permitted such a thing could have made an infinite Object For whereever GOD is he is able to Act and his Omnipresence is infinite Wisdom and Power which filling Infinity is able to exert it self beyond all the bounds of Space in an infinite Manner all at once If it so do it cannot rest in a less Attainment than one that answers the measure of its Operation if it did that Attainment would be infinitely defective For infinite Wisdom could certainly conceive one infinitely Better But this I will aver that GOD hath wrought abundantly more than if he had made any one single Effect of his Power infinite He hath wrought a Work that pleaseth him infinitely Better and so will it please us when we are Wise as he is HAD he made any one single Infinite it must be either Corporeal or Spiritual Be it either there is room enough in his Understanding and Omnipresence to receive it Empty
and Eternal Reason The similitude of which Reason being the Essence of the Soul all these things fall out for our glory and satisfaction also NOW if GOD himself acquired all his Joyes by Temperance and the glory of his Kingdom is wholly founded in his Moderation We may hope that our Moderation and Temperance in its place may accomplish Wonders and lead us to the fruition of his by certain steps and degrees like those that are observed in the Womb towards Manhood and in the School of our Childhood towards perfect Learning TOO much Rain or too much Drought will produce a Famine the Earth is made fertile by a seasonable mixture of Heat and Moisture Excess of Power may overwhelm but moderation is that which perfecteth and blesseth the Creation ALMIGHTY Power is carried far beyond it self or really is made Almighty by vertue of that Temperance wherein Eternal Wisdom is eternally Glorified IF any thing be wanting to the full demonstration of the perfection of GODS Kingdom it is the consideration of his Delay for we are apt to think he might have made it Eternally before he did But to this no other Answer is necessary though many might be made then that all Things were from all Eternity before his Eyes and he saw the fittest Moments wherein to produce them and judged it fit in his Wisdom first to fill Eternity with his deliberations and Counsels and then to beautifie Time with the execution of his Decrees For were there no more to be said but this his Empire is eternal because all Possibilities nay and all Impossibilities are subject to his Will But if it be confessed that Eternity is an everlasting Moment infinite in duration but permanent in all its parts all Things past present and to come are at once before him and eternally together Which is the true Reason why Eternity is a standing Object before the Eye of the Soul and all its parts being full of Beauty and Perfection for ever to be enjoyed IF any man be disposed to cavil further and to urge that GOD might at the very first have placed Angels and Men in the state of Glory the Reply is at hand that GOD very well understandeth the beauty of Proportion that Harmony and Symmetry springs from a variety of excellent Things in several places fitly answering to and perfecting each other that the state of Trial and the state of Glory are so mysterious in their Relation that neither without the other could be absolutely perfect Innumerable Beauties would be lost and many transcendent Vertues and Perfections be abolished with the estate of Trial if that had been laid aside the continual appearance and effect of which is to enrich and beautifie the Kingdom of GOD everlastingly That GOD loveth Man far more than if he had placed him in the Throne at first and designeth more Glory and Perfection for him than in that dispensation he could have been capable of all which springeth from the Restraint of his Power in some occasions that it might more fully be exerted in the perfection of the whole and of all things that were possible to be made might end in the Supream and most absolutely Blessed Therefore upon the whole Matter we may conclude with solomon Happy is the man that findeth Wisdom and the man that getteth Understanding For the Merchandize of it is better than the Merchandize of Silver and the Gain thereof than of fine Gold She is more precious than Rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared with her Length of Daies is in her right hand and in her left hand Riches and Honour Her Waies are waies of Pleasantness and all her Paths are Peace She is a Tree of Life to them that lay hold upon her and happy is every one that retaineth her The LORD by Wisdom hath founded the Earth by Understanding hath he established the Heavens My Son let not them depart from thine Eyes Keep sound Wisdom and Discretion Wisdom is the principal Thing therefore get Wisdom and with all thy Getting get Understanding For the same Wisdom which created the World is the only Light wherein it is enjoyed CHAP. XXIV Of Patience It s Original How GOD was the first Patient Person in the World The Nature and the Glory and the blessed Effects of his Eternal Patience The Reason and Design of all Calamities Of Patience in Martyrdom The extraordinary Reward of ordinary Patience in its meanest obscurity PATIENCE is a Vertue of the Third estate it belongs not to the estate of Innocence because in it there was no Affliction nor to the estate of Misery because in it there is no Vertue but to the estate of Grace it appertains because it is an estate of Reconciliation and an estate of Trial wherein Affliction and Vertue meet together In the estate of Glory there is no Patience THIS is one of those distastful Vertues which GOD never intended It received its bitterness from Sin its life and beauty from GOD's Mercy If we dislike this Vertue we may thank our selves for we made GOD first to endure it And if all things are rightly weighed no Creature is equal to GOD in Sufferings We made it necessary for the Eternal GOD-HEAD to be Incarnate and to suffer all the Incommodities of Life and the bitter Torments of a bloody Death that he might bear the Penance of our Sins and deliver us from eternal Perdition THE Corporeal Sufferings of our Saviour are not comparable to the Afflictions of his Spirit Nor are there any Sufferings or Losses so great as those we cast upon the GOD-HEAD He infinitely hateth Sin more than Death and had rather be Crucified a thousand times over than that one Transgression should be brought into the World Nothing is so quick and tender as Love nothing so lively and sensible in resenting No loss is comparable to that of Souls nor any one so deeply concerned in the loss as GOD Almighty No Calamity more peircing than to see the Glory of his Works made Vain to be bereaved of his Desire and frustrated of his End in the whole Creation He had rather we should give him the Blood of Dragons or the cruel Venom of Asps to drink than that we should pollute our selves or his Kingdom with a Sin Nay it were better if without a Sin it could be done that the whole World should be annihilated than a Sin committed For the World might be Created again with ease and all that is in it be repaired with a word but a Sin once committed can never be undone it will appear in its place throughout all Eternity Yet is so odious and so infinitely opposite to the Holiness of GOD that no Gall or Wormwood is comparable thereunto To see his Beloved blasted his Love despised and his Son rebellious to see the most amiable Law in the World broken his Kingdom laid waste and his Image defaced to see all his Labour marred and spoiled his Benefits slighted