and Folly are the things to which generally speaking we owe our Temporal Prosperity or Adversity and consequently that those supposing the Ordinary assistance of God being in our Power these must be so too Secondly That we are assur'd of the Assistance of God even in these things as far as he shall see them truly subservient to our Good However because the perswasion of the Usefulness nay absolute Necessity of the favour of Fortune has taken such deep root in the Minds of Men that it wou'd be thought little less than a Contradiction to imagine that a Man can be Vnfortunate and Happy so that even Seneca himself has let fall one of the greatest Paradoxes a Stoic was ever guilty of such an Expression as this better becoming the mouth of a Peasant than a Philosopher Seneca de Vit. Beatâ Sed ei qui ad Virtutem tendit etiamsi multum processit opus est tamen aliquâ Fortunae Indulgâ—ntiâ adhuc inter humana Luctanti dum Nodum illum exolvit omne vinculum Mortale That not only Beginners but Proficients in Vertue till they have put off Mortality will stand in need of some Indulgence of Fortune and few Men find any belief with the World when they talk of the contempt of Wealth it being generally interpreted either the Laziness of an unactive and degenerous Mind or the Dissimulation of one who affects to be thought to defie Fortune while he doth secretly and inwardly repine and fret at the Neglect and Coldness she expresses towards him I will therefore bestow a little time on the Consideration of this Objection Fortune cannot prevent our Happiness What dost thou mean by Fortune If mere Chance then to envy the Lot of others or murmur at thine own is Folly if Providence then 't is Impiety for whatever goodness guided by unerring Wisdom doth must be so well done that it cannot be mended and whatever is merely in the Power of a blind giddy and inconstant humour which is the Notion by which Men choose to express Fortune can neither be prevented fix't nor regulated But what is it Secondly thou dost put in the power of Fortune the Understanding and Liberty of mens Minds Wisdom Temperance Industry Courage and in one word Vertue if not she has no Influence on thy Happiness she cannot prevent thy attainment of it nor bereave thee of it when attain'd If thou dost thou dost enlarge the Empire of Fortune too too far let her rule and insult over Soldiers Courtiers Lovers Factious Demagogues and Time-servers but not over Philosophers Let those who are her Minions be her Slaves Let her dispose of Money Lands Farms Commissions Benefices Honours Graces Fame nay if you will Crowns and Scepters too Vertue and Happiness and Souls are too precious Commodities to be the Sport and Traffic of Fortune Solomâ—â— observ'd long ago Wisdom crys out 〈◊〉 uttereth her voice in the streets Prov. 1. 〈◊〉 cries in the chief place of Concourse 〈◊〉 the openings of the Gates in the City she utters her words John 7. Our Saviour 〈◊〉 the great Day of the Feast cried saying If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink which is an Invitation of the same Nature with that in the Prophet Isaiah 55. Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money come ye buy and eat buy wine and milk without money and with out price This ever was and ever will be true a great Fortune is not necessary for the Attainment of Faith Hope or Charity And he that is endow'd with these can't be miserable you may learn the whole Systeme of Divine and Important Truths you may acquaint your self with all the Beauty and Enjoyments of Vertue at a very cheap rate and you may learn Temperance Fortitude Justice Modesty Constancy Patience Contempt of the World without the Assistance of much more Wealth than will serve â—o Feed and Cloath you and can'st â—hou not be content with these Possessions is not this a sort of Merchandize to be prefer'd before that of fine Gold I kow the greater part of â—hose who accuse their Fortune of their Misery do at least pretend that their Condition and Circumstances of life are so incommodious that they have not time to attend to the great Interest of the Soul or at least not with that Application which they should Alas thus not the mean only but almost all talk from the Porter to the Prince the Circumstances of one are too strait too narrow of another too full of Trouble because too full of State one complains that he is withdrawn from his great End by the many allurements sensual temptations to which his rank and quality in the World exposes him another that he is daily fretted and indisposed by the little cross Accidents and the rugged Conversation which he is necessarily oblig'd to bear with one complains of too much Business another of too little the hurry and multitude of things distracts the one Infidel Fears and Anxious Despondencies the other One complains that his Acquaintances and Friends are too numerous and intrench too far upon his precious hours another's querulous melancholy and peevish because he looks upon himself either for his meanness neglected or for his misfortune deserted and forsaken Company is burdensom to the one and Solitude to the other Thus all Conditions are full of Complaints from him that trudges on his clouted Shoo to him who can scarce mention the Manners or the Fortunes of the Multitude without some Expressions of contumely and disdain Thou Fool do'st thou not see that all these Complaints are Idle and Contradictions for shame correct the wantonness of thy humour and thou wilt soon correct thy Fortune learn to be Happy in every state and every place learn to enjoy thy self to know and value the Wealth that is in thine own Power I mean Wisdom and Goodness learn to assert the Soveraignty and Dignity of thy Soul methinks that if Philosophy could not Pride and Indignation might conquer Fortune 't is beneath the Dignity of a Soul that has but a grain of sense to make Chance and Winds and Waves the Arbitrary disposers of his Happiness or what 's worse to depend upon some Mushroom upstart which a chance-smile rais'd out of his Turff and Rottenness to a Condition to which his mean Soul is so unequal that he himself fears and wonders at his own height O how I hugg the memory of those honest Heathens who in a rugged Gown and homely Cottage bid defiance to Fortune and laugh't at those pains and hazards the Vanity and Pride of Men not their Misfortune drove 'em to Men may call this Pride or spite in them as the beggarly Rabble do's usually envy the Fortune which it doth despair of But there were a great many of these who laid by envied Greatness to enjoy this quiet thô generally-despicable meanness But let the Contempt of the World be what it
Sufferings of Confessors and Martyrs or the Doctrine of Mortification any prejudice to this Assertion for neither Affliction nor Mortification are inconsistent with the true Happiness of Man that Affliction is not the Example of those very Martyrs and Confessors triumphing over it do's sufficiently evince that Mortification is not is unanimously confess'd by the Suffrages of such as were conducted by the Light of Nature and of such too as were entirely devoted to the Pleasures of this life and that upon undeniable Grounds Having thus remov'd this first Objection against the Possibility of attaining Happiness by vindicating Scripture from Requiring any thing injurious to the Happiness of this life or asserting any thing that may damp or discourage our hopes of it it is now high time to proceed to the second thing I propos'd that is SECT II. TO make good the Truth of this Assertion That Happiness may be attain'd by plain and obvious Proofs And here that I may not be mistaken The Happiness of this life granted Imperfect I think 't is fit that I should tell the Reader that I do not promise him a Heaven upon Earth that I do not promise him the Happiness of Angels but of Men and that I do not understand Happiness in this Proposition of that which is every way perfect and absolute to which fancy it self can add nothing but of that which is like our Nature incomplete and imperfect speaking Comparatively and yet truly great and excellent in it self too Seneca doth somewhere describe his Happy man much after this manner He is one who despises all those things which are subject to Change who accounts nothing good or bad but Vertue or Vice who is not pufft up by prosperous Events nor cast down by Adverse ones one whose great Pleasure is to despise Pleasure one above either Desire or Fear content with the Riches which are the true and proper possession of Vertue and coveting nothing more such a one he thinks cannot choose but be Happy And I think so too and I fear a great deal Happier than any man on Earth can ever be this is a gay Dream but well-suiting that Philosophy which requires the Tranquillity and Steadiness or Constancy of God to be joyn'd with the frailty of Man a Composition of things infinitely more incompatible than that of an Immortal Soul and Mortal Body can be fancy'd to be for my part I am content to call a Building beautiful thô there be something in it which doth not answer the Test of the strictest Art or at least of the most accurate fancy I am content to call it Day thô flitting Clouds and Showers do now and then a little obscure the Light so can I not choose but call him Righteous who is sincere thô not perfect whose life is generally speaking bright and exemplary thô not utterly void of spots and blemishes whose motion is a progress towards Vertue thô it be sometimes retarded nay sometimes interrupted and so am I content to think him a Happy man not who is utterly exempt from all disturbances in Mind or Body not who lives in constant Extasie but him whose Pleasures are more and greater than his Troubles whose Hopes are more and greater than his Fears one whose Enjoyments thô they do not transport do satisfie him one whose Serenity and Calm of mind though it may suffer Interruptions suffer but few and slight ones I will intreat the Reader to admit of this Notion of Happiness here till we gradually advance to a clear and full discovery of it Now as we are not to lay aside any advice of being Vertuous because we cannot arrive at the height and constancy of holy Angels so neither are we to cast off all thoughts of Happiness because we cannot equal theirs for if we are Happy in such a degree as the Imperfection of our Nature and this Inferiour state will permit if we can free our selves from those Miseries which do involve the foolish and vicious part of Mankind if we can possess our selves of those humble and modest joys that Humane Nature is here capable of it will be worth all the time and travail we can spend upon the Design and that we may advance thus far the following Considerations will The possibility c. prov'd I think render it more than probable Because some are happier than others 1. It cannot be deny'd but that some Men are more Happy or at least less Miserable than others who will deny Titus to have been infinitely more Happy than Nero Titus whose Government of the Roman People was not more mild and gentle than the impartial Reflexions of his Conscience upon himself and actions Sueton. in vitâ Titi. if we credit Suetonius in his Relation of his Death Nero that guilty Wretch whose Conscience was no less a Plague to him than he to Rome Who prefers not the Character of Mitio in the Comedian before that of Demea Terent. Mitio whose smooth and kind as well as prudent Behaviour rendred him easie and amiable to his Family and Relations and made the Fortune of his whole life flow calmly and gently to the End Demea whose four suspicious and severe Behaviour did exasperate and ruffle the minds of all that related to him and did disturb and muddy that stream of his affairs which would have otherwise run smooth and clear who will compare the pleasant Retirements the modest Contentments the regular virtuous Enjoyments of Atticus with the turbulent popularity of Gracchus or the fatal Luxuries of Catiline or the proud Cruelties of Sylla and Marius what then Shall we attribute no share of Happiness or Misery to the Vertues or the Vices of the one or other or no part of their Vertues or Vices to themselves but to I know not what fatal and irresistible Causes If we assert the former with frontless Confidence we contradict unquestionable Matters of Fact if the latter we rob the Vertuous of that merit which rendred 'em belov'd in their Lives and ever since has preserv'd their Memories Sacred and Honourable and we acquit those from all blame or guilt which the Laws of their own Countrey and the Common sense o◠Mankind have ever condemn'd and detested What gross and monstrous absurdities are these shall we now after the Improvement of so many Ages for we pretend to grow more Wise and Learned daily dispute whether Vice or Vertue be the better guide of Humane Actions or the more service able to Humane Life Shall Sloth and Luxury be thought to conduce as much to the prosperity and decency o◠our Lives as Industry and frugal Temperance Shall Ambition Pride and Choler be now judg'd as instrumental to promote or preserve the Peace and repose of our Minds and States as Modesty Meekness and Charity or if this be too daring a defiance to Sense and Experience shall we contend that the slothful and luxurious the unjust and cruel c. are as blameless and
enabling noâ— only to confront but to despise Evil and to be Happy in despight of 'em these are Advantages so incomparablâ— great and good that no Evils can be ballanced against 'em and 't is Evidenâ—â— that no Writings no not of the Stoics themselves were ever more stuffed with boasting and daring accounts of the Nature of Man than those of the Epicureans And thus from all put together whether we consult the Nature and state of the World and Man testimony of Revelation or Reason the Suffrages of the good humour'd and grateful part of Mankind or the Confessions of the Voluptuous and Atheistical 't is Evident that Good do's outweigh Evil in the Design of God or Nature But have I not my self in the beginning of this Treatise presented the Reader with a large Catalogue of Evils Yes But not of God's Creation but our own for the Truth of the whole is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Not things themselves but the Shades and Fantasms wanton superstitious effeminate or froward Minds do raise about 'em disturb the quiet and repose of Man So then if we our selves do not multiply the Number of our Evils our share of Good in life may be much greater than our share of Evil and if we be not accessory to our own Misery we may be Happy Unless Secondly 2. The Efficacy of Evil not greater than that of Good Evil hath so much of Venom and Malignity in it that a little Evil contributes more to our Misery than a great deal of Good can to our Happiness We may here judge of the force and energy of Good and Evil either by that Influence they generally have or that they ought to have upon the state of Mankind if we consider what Impressions they ought to make upon Men the question will come to a speedy and a Happy Issue for then we must either reckon nothing an Evil but a Moral one that is Sin and Vice or at least we must acknowledge that the Venom and Malignity of other Evils is not comparable to that of Moral ones This latter opinion is an unquestionable Truth for who wilâ— not make a wide difference between a Misfortune and a Crime between an Affliction and a Punishment between those Inconveniences Trouble and Pain which we suffer as guilty Criminals and those we suffer as unfortunate Innocents or afflicted Hero's or Saints for notwithstanding the Evils or Pains should be in the matter of 'em the same yet there is a vast difference in the Suffering the one makes Man much more miserable than the other for our Misfortunes should only reach the Body not the Mind But when we suffer for our Crimes the whole Man suffers the Soul as well as Body Misfortunes when the Storm is o'repast leave no deform'd Ruines no Wounds nor Scars behind 'em but our Crimes leave stains and guilt behind which haunt the Mind with perpetual horrour From this Distinction of the Nature and Effect of Evils we may infer this Comfortable Conclusion That nothing can make man wholly truly miserable but himself Nothing can oppress him by the weight of Moral Evils but his own Choice for nothing can compel or necessitate him to be wicked the stroaks the wounds of natural Evils so I will call all the rest distinct from moral and owing their Being to the Revolutions of time and Chance and Nature c. are faint and slight the Mind of Man ought not to suffer it self to be too deeply and sensibly affected by them it is the work of Reason and Religion to fortifie the Mind against the Impressions of these Evils and truly that Mind that is furnish't with true Notions of things with a rational and solid Faith with steady and well-grounded hopes may bear the impetuous shock of all these Waves and Storms calm and unmov'd Nay I may boldly affirm not only that Vertue checks and controuls these Evils blunts their Edge and abates their force but what is more that their natural strength their own proper force is weak and contemptible unless our own Vices be combin'd and confederated with 'em against us Our Pride must aid our Enemy to render his affront provoking Our Covetousness and Ambition must assist Fortune to render its Contempt or Hatred of us destructive to the Tranquillity of our state Falshood under a disguise of Friendship could never have abus'd our Confidence by betraying our Infirmities or forsaking us in Affliction had not our own folly and self-conceit first betray'd us exposing us a naked prey to Flattery and Treachery The Coldness or Neglect of great Men could never wound us the hollow deceitful Professions of those above us could never fool or fret us did not the fondness of our own desires betray us first into vain Presumption and a flattering Credulity The Storm that snatcheth away a Relation or a Friend could never overthrow me if I stood upon my own Bottom if I were not guilty of one of the greatest weaknesses of placing my Happiness in any thing out of my own Power and so making my self dependent upon another mans fancy or fortune Finally Death it self must derive its terrors from the mournful Solemnities we dress it in from the darkness and horrours of our deluded Imaginations or else it would prove but a contemptible Bugbear a very inconsiderable Evil or none at All. Thus 't is Evident that if we distinguish Evils into Natural and Moral we shall have little reason to think the Influence of Evil so Malignant and Deadly since 't is in our own Power to avoid moral Evils and natural ones strike but half way they wound not the Soul that is arm'd and guarded with Reason and Religion But now If with the Stoics we should admit of no other sort of Evil but what is Moral if we should allow the name of Good to nothing but Vertue or of Evil to nothing but Vice then we must look upon Temporal and External Misfortunes as Inconveniences and Disadvantages only they may make us less Happy but they cannot make us miserable And truly if we should here suppose or take for granted that there were another life or that the pleasure of Vertue triumphing over Calamities and Afflictions were considerably great this opinion cannot imply so great an Absurdity as some would fasten upon it or be a mere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Idle Contention of words since I cannot tell with what Consonancy to Truth or Propriety of Speech we can call those troubles or hardships Evils which directly tend to procure for us an infinite Good a Pleasure which doth abundantly outweigh our Sufferings I ' think 't is now sufficiently Evident that natural Evils are not of that mighty Efficacy deadly Venomous quality that it should be thought that a little Evil doth more effectually contribute to our Misery than a great deal of Good can to our Happiness 't is apparent how slight the Impressions are which they ought to make upon us It will now be time to
had elsewhere express'd for the Philosophers or Excellent Men among the Gentils which is the more to be wondred at since he so frequently acknowledges himself to have been first enflam'd with the Holy Love of true Philosophy by reading a Piece of Tully but were the matter to be carried by Votes I do not question but I could produce Testimonies in favour of those Men of such whose Antiquity Learning and Piety might more than Ballance the Authority of St. Austin 't is true their Faith differ'd much from that of a Christian and no Man I think in his Wits could expect it otherwise for how vast is the Distance between the Light of Nature and that of Revelation but if we look upon those Motives and Principles to Vertue by which they were acted they were such as a Christian need not blush at or be asham'd of they look't upon it not only as the Perfection of Humane Nature the Bond and Support of Society the Delight the Guide and Comfort of every particular Man's life but also as the Image of God that which did render us like him and therefore acceptable to him as the only thing that could unite Man to God that could raise Man above the bodily Pollutions of sensuality that could enable him to outbrave the fears of Fortune and of Death as that which could fit him for the Conversation of Heaven And lastly they look't upon it as the gift of God 'T is true together with all this you 'l say they were Idolaters I do not question but they did often partake in the Pollution of the Idolatrous multitude But if we regard the Idolatry of their Religion and compare it with that of the Heathen Multitude there was a vast difference between both and that in these three Points the Object the Acts of Worship and the Effects of it As to the Object the Philosophers 't is true did Worship Spirits but good ones the Multitude did worship Devils how contradictory are those Characters which the sensual infatuated Multitude bestow'd upon their Idols and those by which the Philosophers describe the Nature of their Gods or their Genii Lust and Cruelty make up the one Purity Goodness and Charity the other This needs no proof 't is Evident from almost all the Writings of ancient Philosophy that are extant yet I think it cannot seem superfluous to produce one Testimony containing an Account of the Nature of their Genii or Guardian Angels by which it will be easie to conclude what Notion they had of those Superiour Spirits whom they suppos'd to dwell always in Heaven in the presence of the Supreme God and whom thô they call'd 'em Gods they thought infinitely inferiour to that one God their Creator and ours But yet much Superiour as well in the Excellency of their Nature as Dignity of their place to those Angels which they look't upon as the Messengers and Ministers of God to Man and as the Guardians of Man and the Interpreters or Conveyers of his Requests to God These are thus describ'd by Apuleius Apuleius de Deo Socratis p. 68. Hic quem Dico prorsus Custos singularis praefectus Domesticus speculator proprius Curator intimus Cognitor assiduus Observator individuus Arbiter inseparabilis testis malorum improbator bonorum probator si ritè animadvertatur sedulò cognoscatur religiosè colatur ita ut à Socrate justitiâ Innocentiâcultus est in Rebus incertis prospector dubiis praemonitor periculosis tutator egenis opitulator qui tibi quaeat tum in Somniis tum in Signis tum etiam fortassè corâ—m câ—m usus postulat mala averruncare bona prosperare humilia sublimare nutantia fulcire obscura clarare secunda regere adversa corrigere The substance of all which is This our truly Guardian Angel our immediate Superintendent the Domestic spy of all our Actions the Conscious witness of our Desires and Thoughts the Approver and Encourager of our Vertue and the Hater and Discourager of our Vice if he be heedfully minded by us rightly known and religiously worship'd with Righteousness and Innocence as he was by Socrates will be our Council in doubtful our Guard in hazardous Affairs c. But all this while they were Idolaters admit it if they were damn'd for this Idolatry Good God! what will become of that great part of the Christian Church whose Practice at this Day is infinitely more inexcusable than theirs was because God has publickly declar'd that he has appointed one Mediator through whom he wills us to approach him there was then Room for the Plea of Humility but now a pretence of Humility what can it be in Reality but wanton fondness or Presumptuous wilfulness Thus widely did the vertuous and understanding part of Mankind differ in the Object of their Worship from the sensual and stupid Herd and since the manner of Worship is naturally derived from the Notions men entertain of that Being which is the Object of it it could not be otherwise but that they must differ as widely in the Essential parts of Worship as they did in the Objects of it Hence it was that while the People offer'd to their Gods their Lusts and Passions and sacrific'd to 'em in Uncleanness or Cruelty the Philosophers thought that nothing could be so welcom a Sacrifice to Their's as the Imitation of their Purity and Goodness holy Affections and good Works From both these differences there follow'd a Third Consisting in the different Effects which the Religion of the one and the other did produce the Idolatry of the one as Wickedness always will utterly estrang'd them more and more from the true God the Idolatry of th' other for so I 'le call it to avoid dispute seem'd to unite them more and more to him since they look't upon the Spirits they worshipp'd not only as the Creatures but most lively Images of the true God and acknowledg'd that all good Gifts proceeded from him thô they receiv'd 'em by the Ministry and Mediation of Angels and that Vertue which they look't upon as the only grateful Worship of God did exalt their Minds and by rendring 'em more like him must needs render 'em more near to him Thus they talk't whether thus they liv'd or no is not very material to my present purpose for after all thô their lives shou'd not have come up to their Philosophy these their Discourses could not choose but be some way serviceable to Mankind being a manifest reproof to the stupid Idolatry to the bruitish and barbarous Worship which then prevailed in the World These Doctrines could not but manifestly tend to convince the World of the Being and Nature of the Supream God they could not but tend to restore the Law of Nature to its just Authority and present the corrupt and degenerous World with a natural that is lovely Idea of Vertue and give 'em a just sense of the Obligation they lay under and of the Sanctions by which God establish't that Law which
he writ in the Minds of Men who sees not now that God by raising up such Men and by assisting 'em with a Spirit of Wisdom and a Spirit of Courage which the Constancy of a great many of 'em in Suffering for these Truths and the Lustre and Beauty of their Writings in those dark Times do abundantly testifie was an undoubted proof of God's Goodness to the Gentiles and of his Concern for their true Interest and Happiness why should not this Light which God lent the then-wandring benighted part of Mankind be as kindly interpreted by Man as it was design'd by God why shou'd not the Philosophers of the Gentiles be look't upon as Priests and Prophets well enough suited to the Oeconomy of the Law of Nature very excellent use have Christians even the most Learned and Pious made of 'em and surely they ought to have prov'd as much more beneficial to the World they lived in as they were then more necessary I think I have by this time said enough not only to extinguish in any Man all superstitious Fears and unworthy Apprehensions of the Divine Majesty but also to enkindle in him a grateful Love of God and chearful hopes of true Happiness by establishing this perswasion upon unshaken foundations That God is a Good and gracious God That he is always ready to further and assist every Man in his Endeavours after Happiness But now let not that Doctrine be perverted to the betraying of us into sloth which was design'd to inspire the Mind with a fresh vigour to quicken and confirm us in an Industrious pursuit after our true Happiness for we must remember that God is not only good and gracious but also Holy too I shall not insist long on this Point 2 Holiness of God because I think 't is already prov'd Holiness being as necessarily imply'd in Perfection as Love or Goodness I know some have talk't as if God were a mere Arbitrary Being as if his Laws were not the Image or Expression of his Nature but merely the positive Precepts of an Arbitrary Will If any Man can be so senseless as to believe that the most perfect Being can love or hate without any Reason for 't or that all the Laws and Actions of God shall be Consonant to the Strictest Rules of Justice and Goodness and all this by Chance for mere Arbitrary Motion is blind and unguided such a one seems to me as uncapable as he is unworthy of Instruction I can as soon believe Lightning and Thunder Wind and Storm a God as believe him to be a mere Arbitrary Being The Heathens believ'd a God Proteus that could turn himself into all shapes but these Men believe what is infinitely more absurd a God not of various and uncertain shapes only but also of an unfixt uncertain indetermin'd Nature for the Will must always be agreeable and consonant to the Nature of that Being whose Will it is thus Liberty and Indetermination of Will in Man proceeds from some contrariety in the Principles which Constitute him unsteady Judgment produces unsteady Will and bruitish Nature bruitish Will or Inclination If we consult the Scriptures nothing is more Evident than the Sanctity of the Divine Nature we are there exhorted to walk in the Light because God is light and to be holy because he is holy which Holiness doth not regard the Declaration of his Will but his Nature this being given as a Motive to oblige us to walk according to his Righteous Precepts because this alone is that which can please a Righteous God this alone is that which can make us like and dear to him From this Attribute of God that is Holiness we may plainly infer First That we are not to expect any Assistance from him but then when that which we Enterprize is just and lawful and we our selves are not wanting to our selves for 't is inconsistent with the Holiness of God to make his Providence the Refuge of Laziness or Impiety 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plutarch de Superstitione 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God is the Hope of Vertue not the Excuse of Sloth and Cowardize 'T is a rational and well-weighed Prayer which Josephus puts into the Mouth of Moses standing on the Shore of the Red Sea inaccessible Rocks and Mountains deny'd the Israelites passage one way the numerous Host of the Egyptians had fill'd all other's only before them was the Red Sea whose Waves threatned as certain and more dreadful a Destruction as the Sword of the Egyptians there was no Weapon for Fight no Provision for a Camp no place for Flight In this Case Moses Prayes thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Lord thou knowest that no Contrivance Industry nor force of ours can here avail us 't is in thee alone to find out a way to the Rescue of this People who by thy Command and under thy Conduct have left Egypt despairing of all other ways we fly to thee alone for succour Lord let it come speedily give us a Clear Proof of thy Divine Omnipotence and Faithfulness we are in great straights great to us but slight and inconsiderable to thee The Sea is thine that stops our Progress the Mountains that shut us up are thine thou can'st divide this Sea or turn its Waves into firm Land and make us find a safe passage through the devouring Deep or if thou think'st fit thou can'st make us march in Triumph aloft through the open Sky This was a Noble Faith this was indeed an Expectation almost as wonderful as the success it met with But then it was no less rational than successful their Condition was capable of no Deliverance but a miraculous one and it was their Obedience to the Divine Commands had reduc'd 'em to this Condition This is a safe Rule to guide our Faith and Relyance by in all our Distresses and Difficulties we must have recourse unto God for these are the times wherein Humane infirmity requires the Support and Comfort of Divine Assistance The utmost Strength and Perfection of Vertue is too weak to bear the shock and brunt of Calamity alone Max. Tyr. Disser 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it must be reinforc'd by Power from above But then these Difficulties must be such to which our Vice has not betray'd us and our own Courage and Industry must be as vigorous as our Prayers for in vain do we beg new supplies of Strength if we use not what we enjoy'd before Divine Bounty doth never supersede Man's Industry fruitful Showers and enlivening Rayes do not prevent but second the Labours of the Husbandman God observes the same Method in the Production of a nobler sort of fruit Wisdom and Vertue the Soul as well as the Field of the Sluggard shall be o'rerun with Weeds there only shall the Divine fruit of Philosophy and Happiness grow where Religious Discipline Tills the Ground and wakeful Study sows the seeds of thriving Truths among the furrows Accordingly if we consider the lives and
practice of Excellent Men none were ever so much Favourites of Heaven that its Gifts grew up in 'em like Corn and Wine in the Golden Age without Culture or Dressing Inspiration it self did not exempt Man from the Necessity of Industry but oblige him to a greater Thus under the Old Testament a Prophetic life was a life of greater strictness and retirement than that of others and in the New not to mention the Watchings the Fastings the Retirements the Prayers of our Lord and Master that account of himself which St. Paul gives us will inform us not only what his life was but what it was expected the life of every one should be that shar'd with him in the Ministry and Dignity of an Apostle But in all things approving our selves as the Ministers of God in much Patience in Afflictions in Necessities in Distresses in Labours 2 Cor. 6. in Watchings By Pureness by Knowledge Amongst the Heathens whatever Perfection and Excellency they attributed to Humane Nature whatever they attributed to an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Contexture and frame of Nature more than Common whatever lastly they attributed to the favour the Extraordinary favour of God yet did they always judge a strict life and indefatigable Industry necessary to the acquiring of true Philosophy and Happiness their Pythagoras so dear to their Gods that it seem'd to be a doubt among'st 'em whether he were not himself a God incarnate not content to have been the Scholar first of Pherecydes Syrus and afterwards of Hermodamas travail'd first into Egypt and afterwards to Babylon and I know not whither pursuing Wisdom and Happiness with great Industry and as great Abstinence Socrates however inspir'd by his Genius did yet learn Musick of Connus Poetry of Evenus Agriculture of Ischomachus Geometry of Theodorus c. And to all this he added the Religious Discipline of Mortification even to a voluntary Poverty what should I multiply Instances there is not a Man amongst the Gentiles remarkable for Wisdom or Vertue that is not as remarkable for that Travail and Self-denyal by which he purchas'd both I add Self-denyal Industry alone being not judg'd sufficient for Secondly 'T is easie in the next place to infer from the Sanctity of God that they who expect his Assistance shou'd endeavour to be Good and Holy 't is Vertue that constitutes a Man a Subject of the Heavenly Kingdom and a Favourite of God and therefore 't is this that gives him the best Claim to his Protection and Patronage Vice is a state of Rebellion and Defiance against God and he that has put off his Allegiance cannot expect rationally the Benefits of that Government which he refuses to be under 'T is true the Infinite Goodness and Clemency of God which is not easily vanquish't by Man's Ingratitude may pursue such a Man with repeated overtures tenders of Grace and Pardon and may leave him in the possession of common Benefits such as Health Plenty Friends c. but God will never confer upon him the most Excellent Gifts the marks of his especial Presence and particular Favour he will withdraw from him the aids of his Spirit and leave him to himself a blind indigent and forlorn Creature Wisd 1. The Holy Spirit of Discipline will fly Deceit and will not abide when unrighteousness comes in Which is nothing more than what the Heathen by the Light of Nature did affirm concerning his Genius Max. Tyr. Dissert â—6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wicked Souls have no good Angels sojourning with 'em or presiding over them Our Souls like Temples must be prepar'd and consecrated to him if we would have God dwell in them Righteousness and Holiness are the only things that Charm and Captivate God nothing else can invite him to dwell with Man this very Reason Maximus Tyrius assigns for the Residence and abode of a Demon with Socrates after so extraordinary a manner Idem ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dost thou wonder that a Prophetic Spirit should dwell with Socrates so intimately united so friendly so inseparable that he seem'd only not mixt and become one with his own mind with Socrates whose Purity of Body Charity and Goodness of Soul strictness of Conversation depth of Judgment Melody and perswasiveness of Speech Religion towards God and Integrity towards Man rendred him worthy of such a Guest such a Friend From all which 't is Evident Thirdly What different Rates we are to set upon the different Gifts of God James â— Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down frâ—m above but every Gift is not equally Good equally Perfect being neither equally necessary nor profitable Wealth Power Friends Relations Health Strength Beauty Wit Discretion Vertue are all good but not all equal their value is different and therefore the Degrees of our Importunity and of our Faith or Reliance upon God must be proportion'd accordingly a confident Faith and an almost impatient Zeal doth well become us when we seek the Kingdom of Heaven and the Righteousness thereof when we seek of God the Divine gifts of Wisdom and Vertue but an humble Modesty and a most profound Submission is the Ornament and Beauty of those who are Petitioners for inferior temporal Blessings for God has promis'd the former to all that earnestly sue for them peremptorily and without any Tacit Reservations but his promises of the latter do always imply this Condition If they shall be for our Good for the Perfections of the Mind are Moral and Immutable Beauties but those of the Body and all the gaudy things of Fortune are like the fading Beauties of a Flower the heat scorches it the cold nips it every little chance cracks the stalk and the hand of a Child will serve to crop it Nothing therefore is more acceptable to God than the modesty of our Petitions for these good things and the fervency of them for the other nothing more delightful to him unless the granting of them the things therefore that we are to beg of God not only with the greatest Importunity but also in the first place are those which Maximus Tyrius thought the subject of Socrates his Prayers Max. Tyr. Dissert 30. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what were these a vertuous Mind a quiet State an unblameable Life and a chearful Death full of good Hopes These were the matter of his requests not Wealth or Honour or Popularity or Power or Soveraignty This at once brings to my thought another Objection rais'd against the possibility of attaining Happiness and instructs me how to answer it A Second thing which Men charge Obj. 2 with the guilt of their Ruine is Fortune I might pass over this Point slightly because Afflictions will come more properly to be consider'd in the Third Volume where I treat of Indolence and because I have already clear'd two great Truths which are of themselves abundantly sufficient to baffle and defeat this trifling Objection Namely First That Vertue and Vice Wisdom
admires and applauds nor is this all it awakens our Natural Inclinations and Invites us to gratifie 'em nay it enrages Natural Appetite by giving it Security and Confidence and by working upon the Fancy and Imagination for the Sin is always wonderfully set off that is prevailing and fashionable I will now pass on to the Second sort of Instances wherein we may behold the Strength and Power of Faith in its Victory over all Temptations which sensual Pleasure can present us Numerous are the Instances of this kind which I might produce among the Heathens where we may find a sense of the Dignity of Humane Nature of the Decency and Honour of Vertue and a perswasion of the Necessity of Purity in order to a future state atchieving most manifest Victories over all Carnal and Sensual Lusts but I will confine my self to two in this Chapter The first is that of Moses and this is a very full and Comprehensive one His Station being so near the Crown of Egypt presented him at once with all that the World can entertain sensual Man with There was Pleasure the Snare of the Soft There was Power and Wealth the Temptations of the Ambitious Mind falsly call'd great and there was Honour the airy Bait of vain unballasted Minds These each of 'em single and Stone have like Saul and David slain their Thousands and ten Thousands and yet that it may appear that their overthrow is to be imputed to their own Negligence and Folly behold here Moses triumphing by Faith over all these i. e. over all the strengths and forces of sensual Pleasures joyn'd and united together when he was come to years he refus'd to be called the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter and so deserted a Station wherein nothing was bigger than his present Enjoyments if he had pleas'd unless his future Hopes which is the utmost Felicity of a state of sensuality And what is more yet what was it he did quit all this for what was it that he did choose in Exchange was his Soul too little to fill the great place he left No Moses his Courage was great as any thing but his Meekness and Humility was that height too open and too busie for sensual Enjoyments and so he retir'd like Tiberius to Capria that he might indulge himself with more security and freedom and fewer Interruptions No he chang'd Pleasure for Affliction Treasure for Reproach the Court of Egypt for the Desart of Midian he chose rather to suffer Affliction with the People of God than to enjoy the Pleasures of Sin for a season Esteeming the Reproach of Christ greater Riches than the Treasures of Egypt This was all the great work of Faith his Mind was betimes possessed with a just Notion of and awful Reverence for the God of his Fathers the God of Heaven and Earth and therefore beyond the Wants and Dangers of the Desart he discover'd the Peace and Plenty of a Canaan and beyond both the Glories of Eternity and therefore reasonably concluded that it was more eligible to be the Son of God than of Pharaoh's Daughter to be the Heir of Heaven than of the Crown of Egypt all this is intimated Verse 26. for he had respect to the Recompence of the Reward I will add but one Instance more to that of Moses and indeed there can be but one Instance added that is greater which is that of Abraham offering up Isaac In the former we have seen Faith triumphing over superfluous and unnecessary Pleasures in this we shall see it triumphing over the Natural and inseparable Appetites of Man What might not Abraham if he had been under the Power of any Principle but that of Faith have objected against this Command of God what shall I sacrifice my Son my only Son This is a Sacrifice might become Baal or Moloch but how unsuitable to the Nature of that God I worship Nor is this less repugnant to his Veracity than his Goodness Shall I sacrifice the Son of the Promise is it for this I have forsook my Home my Countrey my Birthright and follow'd God through Inhospitable Desarts and more Inhospitable Nations are all my Expectations of a numerous and glorious Posterity come to this at last Thus might Abraham have argued but having a firm belief of the Power Goodness and Faithfulness of God he wou'd not go about to prescribe his Wisdom Methods or to limit his Omnipotence by unbelieving Fancies or derogatory Conceptions concerning it but firmly believing that he could do whatever he pleased that he wou'd do whatever he proms'd he that had received the promises offer'd up his only begotten Son of whom it was said That in Isaac thy Seed shall be called accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the Dead from whence also he received him in a Figure We have seen Men vanquishing all the Pleasures that the World can present us with and consequently all those Inclinations and Appetites by which we are carried towards ' em Faith in these Men encountred and defeated whatever strength and force can be suppos'd either in Fancy or Imagination or in sensual Appetite or in Natural Affection The Conclusion deducible from hence is That there is no desire of worldly Pleasure in Man so vehement but that it may be conquer'd and consequently that we cannot be necessarily betray'd into Sin by any inbred Inclination of this kind there is but one Natural Principle more from whence we can imagine any Necessity of sinning to arise which is an Aversion to all Pain or Trouble there are therefore Temptations suited to this Principle in us such as deter us from our Duty either by the sense of present or the fear of impending Evil And it is thought to be the highest and difficultest trial of Vertue to surmount these Temptations i. e. to be vertuous when Virtue is immediately attended or visibly threatned with great Evils And yet behold Thirdly In this Chapter numerous Instances of as great Constancy in suffering Pain as we have seen before of Continence in Rejecting Pleasure Vers 35 36 37. Others were tortur'd not accepting Deliverance that they might obtain a better Resurrection And others had trial of Cruel Mockings and Scourgings yea moreover of Bonds and Imprisonment they were ston'd they were sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the Sword they wandred about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented See here Faith triumphing over all those things that are the Dread and Terrour of Humane Nature Reproach Imprisonment Banishment Death Death in all its most affrightful Shapes Death in all its variety of Torments nay many Deaths in the lingring Torments they were frequently put to how strong how firm is this frail weak Nature when supported by a Divine Faith All these expected a Happy Resurrection they saw beyond these Midnight-Clouds the Dawnings of Eternity and unspeakable Comforts ready to swallow up and extinguish the memory of their Sufferings and in this Confidence they out-brav'd all sorts
kinds of Pleasure we pursue than in the different degrees of our Inclination to it we are all equally allur'd and drawn yet not by the same but several Objects so that if Lust prevail in one Ambition as much prevails in another and Covetousness in a third and in others Intemperance or Sloth So that the difficulty of Vertue seems much the same to all the Sons of Adam the strength of Temptation consisting especially in our weakness not in the Excellency of the Object we are taken with but in our Inclination to it hence is it as Difficult for one Man to overcome his Covetousness as to another to o'recome his Lust and restless toilsom Ambition is as luscious and taking with some tempers as lazy and delicious Luxury with others if this were well-weighed it would make us more mild and gentle in our Censure of others and not so soft and easie in excusing our selves 'T is further worth our observing here that every Man's Vertue derives some tincture from his Constitution and Temper so that generally speaking 't is not difficult to guess a Man's Natural Constitution by the Complexion of his Religion however Vertue ceases not to be Vertue nor will that slight Allay of the natural Constitution extinguish its Vigour and Merit thô it behooves every Man to keep a strict and jealous guard upon his Inclinations for Nature soon revives even after it has been some time Buried and to labour most after that Perfection which does most contradict and oppose the particular Vice of his Constitution for it will be otherwise morally impossible to gain a Conquest over it and as impossible to gain a Rational Peace and Security without this Conquest A Second thing which is supposed in the Objection to incapacitate Man for Happiness is an unteachable stupidity consisting in a slow Conception and treacherous Memory 'T is true indeed the Heathen Philosophers did require in their Scholars the Knowledg of many abstruse and difficult Matters as antecedently necessary to Vertue and Happiness Skill in Mathematicks fitted a Man for the Platonic Philosophy and the Knowledge of Natural things was the Foundation on which the Epicuraean pretended his Divine Happiness and Vertue was to be built and Seneca reckons the unthinking Croud amongst the Beasts that Perish all of 'em did with one consent require three things to Compleat a Vertuous and Happy Man Nature Education or Instruction and Custom To the First they attributed the Disposition to Vertue To the Second the Beginning To the Third the Easiness and Constancy and to all three together the Perfection of it And hence it is that they did distinguish between Perfect and Imperfect between Political or Social and Philosophical Vertue and did not deem every Nature Capable of that Vertue which was Perfect and Philosophical But our blessed Lord and Master the Author of the Christian Philosophy requires no such qualifications in those who will be his Disciples All that he requires is an humble and an honest Mind freed from proud Prejudices possess'd with a sincere Love of the Truth and a sincere Resolution of obeying it accordingly St. Paul observes that such were most wrought upon by the Preaching of the Gospel 1 Cor. 1. Ye see your Calling Brethren how that not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty And base things of the world and things that are despis'd has God chosen Nor will any one imagine that Acute and Eminent parts are Necessary to render a Man capable of Being a Christian who shall consider the Brevity and Plainness of the Christian Faith and Law doth it require a deep and penetrating Judgment or a firm and tenacious Memory to enable us to understand or remember that plain and short Summary of Christian Practice The Grace of God teacheth us to deny all ungodliness and wordly Lusts Titus 2. and live Righteously Soberly and Godlily in this present world or that as brief and perspicuous Abridgment of the Christian Faith * John 17. This is life Eternal to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent or that excellent Abridgment of both by St. Paul * Acts 20. Repentance towards God and Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ 'T is true all things are now ravell'd and entangled and the Faith and Vertue of Christianity is not half so conspicuous amongst Christians as their Theological Wars Tumults and Factions But this is owing to Man not to the Gospel to the Pride and Superstition of the one not to the Obscurity of the other Nor may any one here with any shew of Reason object That thô the substance of the Christian Faith and Practice is clear yet the Reasons of both are not so for who can ever imagine such a Stupidity of Nature as can disable any one to understand the Proofs by which the Scripture establishes the great Fundamental Article of our Faith That Jesus is the Christ the Messias or Mediator between God and Man or what Stupidity of Nature can render it an impossible Task to us to comprehend the two Fundamental Reasons of Evangelical Righteousness namely the Subserviency of it to the Happiness of this and of another Life and the Holiness of the God we Worship I do not write this as if I mean't hereby to represent Industry in search of Divine Truths as Superfluous and un-necessary but to assure all of how mean Capacities soever of the success of it I am not Ignorant how much some applaud themselves on the account of acquir'd Knowledge of doubtful or abstruse things how much others value themselves on a peculiar sort of Politicks remote enough indeed from Vertue and others on Accomplishments as remote from Reason as the others Politicks from Vertue and how much all of 'em do despise the dulness of those who cannot and the simplicity of those who strive not to equal 'em in these Attainments But all this doth not beget in me the least Scruple or Suspition of the Truth I have before asserted I know that our Duty is plain and that the Path of Duty is the most direct and Compendious one to the Happiness of this life and of another for I know that nothing is so taking with God as an humble Faith Devout Pure Peaceable and Charitable Religion As to worldly Happiness I know that a Man 's own Vertue supported by God's Spirit and guided by his Truth is the safest and the plainest Guide he can follow in Dark and Tempestuous times true Policy consists not in that Address or subtilty of Spirit which furnishes a Man at all times with plausible Shifts but in that Integrity and Vertue that needs none and the Beauty and Life of Conversation consists not in Artificial Faces Phantastick Dresses Mechanick Motions Shrugs and Cringes