A treatise of moral and intellectual virtues wherein their nature is fully explained and their usefulness proved, as being the best rules of life ... : with a preface shewing the vanity and deceitfulness of vice / by John Hartcliffe ...

Of the NATURE of ETHICKS .

THIS is the peculiar End and Usefulness of the Christian Religion , to establish real Virtue in the World : And in the Primitive Ages of Christianity , the Virtues of Charity , Meekness , Patience , and Humility , were esteemed the distinguishing Graces of the Gospel ; in that time the plain , the humble , and the downright Christian was never dispised as a mere Moralist . The first Preachers taught Men to purchase the Hopes of Salvation by living up to the severest and most exalted Doctrines of their Faith ; then to be reformed , was without any more ado to be regenerate .

THE Doctrine therefore of Ethicks contains the principal Part or End of Human Life ; An enquiry after the End of human Actions . which tho it is not to be had under the Sun , where nothing either good or bad hath any long Duration ; yet something we must aim at and lay hold on , in the due culture whereof we may place our greatest Ease and Happiness . This thing , whatever it is , must necessarily include these three Conditions .

First , IT must be agreeable and proper to Humane Nature ; for that we seek for , must be most excellent ; and what Excellency can be in that , whereof sensless and brute Creatures do partake equally with our selves ?

Secondly , IT must give us full Content ; for so long as we desire somewhat more , it is not possible , that the Heart should rest satisfied .

Thirdly , IT must be within our power to get it , if we please ; for what satisfaction or happiness can be in that from which we may be hindered , either in the attaining or continuing it ?

Moral Virtue hath all the Properties of Happiness . HE , who in his search for Happiness can find any thing wherein these Properties meet , should so highly value that Treasure , as to sell all to purchase the Field where it is . In the mean time , till something better be brought to light , we will be contented to take Moral Virtue into our consideration , and see whether these three Properties are to be found in her . But before we do this , it is fit we should consider some great Mistakes of the old Philosophers about this matter ; one was , That they would have their Chiefest Good in this Life ; another was , They would have it so in their own power , and within themselves , that neither God nor man should be able to hinder them of it . The difference between the Morality of the Academicks and Stoicks . Herein lay the fundamental Difference between the Morality of the Academicks and Stoicks . The course the Platonists took , was to purge their Minds of froward Humors , to moderate their Passions , to furnish themselves with Prudence , and then whatever happen'd , to govern themselves by the Laws of Wisdom and Moderation ; because when the Mind is endued with these Virtues , it is able to extract something beneficial to its own Interests , from the most malicious Accidents . The Stoicks foolishly thought , that we should be disquieted with perpetual Fears , if our Happiness were not wholly lodged within our own Breasts : Whereas a wise and good Man , that considers the uncertainty of things , will neither be so stupid , as to be surpriz'd with any Disaster , nor so silly , as to encrease it by a fruitless Anxiety , but will make the best of his Condition , by a discreet management of himself and his Actions .

NOW Aristotle , that great Master of Ethicks , in his inquisition after the Properties of Moral Virtue , first falls upon the consideration of Good , what it is , and defines it to be , That which all our Desires aim at ; and indeed , what can satisfie our Desires , but that which is good ; for even evil things , when they are sought after , appear unto us under the shew of good : Whence comes that common distinction of Bonum apparens & verum Bonum ; Bonum sensui & Bonum rationi . From this general description of what is good , he comes in particular to consider of Bonum Homini : And seeing there are many things which are indeed profitable and good for Man , he makes yet a more particular Enquiry , whether there be not some one thing , wherein every Man places the End of all his Desires .

'T IS true , that every Man proposeth to himself somewhat , which if he could once arrive at , he would think himself a happy Person . The Philosophers divided in their Opinions about the Chiefest Good . One seeketh Pleasure and Ease , as Aristippus and the Cyrenaicks did ; a second would have Indolence , or a freedom from all Trouble , which the Epicureans wished for ; another perhaps prefers a sort of Wisdom without Sense , like that of the Stoicks ; One fixes his Mind upon Wealth and Abundance ; another upon Honor and State ; and a third shall pursue with all his might some particular Course of Life , as a Trade , or any way of Business ; which if he could bring to any perfection , he supposes he should have his Desires fully answered . A multitude of Fancies there are of this kind , almost as many as there are Complexions amongst Men , wherein Mankind have been used to lodge their final Good , or the utmost scope of their Wishes . It will not therefore be amiss to enquire , what this is , and whether it be possible to find that matter out , which would be adequate to all our Desires .

And First , IT may well be doubted , since no Man was ever yet known to possess on Earth , that thing which could fully satisfie him .

Secondly , IF we suppose any Man to have had it , yet the very Anxiety and Fear of losing it , would abate much of the Pleasure he might take in the Enjoyment of it .

Thirdly , THE unavoidable expectation of Death were enough to draw off all our Inclinations after this World , since that after Death , Nature affords us no Prospect or Certainty of any thing , wherein we may place our last Ease and Contentment : So that the enquiry , What it is which would finally content us , is likely to prove no other , than that vain phantastical Labour which many Men to their utter ruine have taken in pursuit of the Philosopher's Stone .

NOTWITHSTANDING all this , we must find out something , which we may truly call our final Good : For that restless Desire after it , which is generally in all Men , cannot be to no purpose , since God and Nature never made any thing in vain , neither is it consistent with his Justice or Goodness to put any Creature upon a continual Rack ; the contrary to which were unavoidably true , if under the Sun there were nothing , which might answer this universal Appetite .

How Men have been mistaken about their chiefest good . BEFORE we affirm any thing concerning it , we must first determine , what it is not : For the Errors of Men have been so many , that we need be sure of what we do , lest we run into the same Mistakes . The principal Cheat of all , which hath misled most , is Pleasure ; by which I do not mean any gross and carnal Pleasure , of which Men are naturally ashamed , as being very fickle and soon at an end ; which will not suit with our last Hopes , that are eternal . For the Content received in Meats and Drinks , and the Consequences thereof , Iust and Wantonness , are so short lived , so full of Satiety and Sickness , that even Epicurus declared , the smallest Diet was the best ; and indeed he that is resolved to subdue his Body , must be sure to cut off all unnecessary Convoys of Meats and Drinks , and the Seige cannot last long . But as for that other more refin'd Pleasure , which consists in the Satisfaction of the Mind , and in the constant Approbation of Virtue ; this comes near the point , but fails of it , as being a Concomitant of it , but not the Thing it self .

Secondly , Riches cannot be the end of our Desires . MANY have chosen Riches and Abundance of all things for the End of their Desires ; but this will not hold , because the perpetual Care of preserving them , or the endless Fear of losing them , will not suffer them to bring any Happiness to us , which ought to be without Care of keeping , and without Fear of losing .

Thirdly , Our Happiness cannot be found in Honours . THE more polite and elegant sort of Men place their Felicity in Honours , but neither is it here to be found ; for Honour is not in him that bears , but in him that affords it ; as those are honour'd , who discharge the greatest weight of their Princes Affairs ; and we often see that those Men , which to day were most honour'd , and to morrow upon defiance of those that honour'd them , prove most contemptible , even for this reason , because Honor est in Honorante , non in Honorato . But our last and true Happiness must be found in our selves , and not in other Men.

Happiness is not found in the increase of Knowledg , Fourthly , SOME have thought themselves happy only for their great Skill in Letters , which they have gotten with unwearied pains ; the Authority of Aristotle hath driven them upon this Conceit , who according to his nice way of handling all things , hath divided Knowledg into contemplative and practical ; whereas Knowledg is but the outward dress and trimming as it were of a Man , and may be found in the most unhappy , and cannot therefore be true Felicity .

Nor in the Idea of Good , as Plato fancied . THERE are but two things remaining , in which some Men place their Happiness ; the first is the Idea of Good , a Fancy of Plato's ; for he , conceiving that there were in God certain Exemplaria , or Patterns of all things in full perfection , taught , that in the Contemplation of these our final Good consisted . Some Doctrines of this kind have been delivered in our Schools ; what else do the Scholastick Writers mean by their saying , that our last Happiness must be had in the visual Sight of God : But this must be after our Death , when we shall behold and kno● all things , according as they are in their most perfect State . But the Happiness we now enquire for , must be such , as may be enjoy'd in this Life : For it is altogether uncertain , whether any such Idea be or no ; and if there be , it doth not appear , which way the Contemplation of it hath an influence upon our Manners : So that these Ideas are not unlike King Ptolomie's Man in Lucian , who was one half perfectly black , and the other exceeding white ; so that part of the Platonick Theology , which relates to Practice , is very clear and intelligible , whilst that which is employ'd in Theory , is monstrously dark and obscure .

THERE were also those , who taught , That Virtue was that excellent thing , in which we should find our chiefest Good ; these Men came near , but fell short of the Truth : For Virtue is a Habit , and Habits are for Actions : Now it is confessed , that our chiefest Good is our ultimate End , and all things are for it , but its self for no other end . As for what Aristotle says , That a happy Man cannot be in a calamitous condition , he errs according to his Principles , by which he requires Riches and Health of Body to the making up his happy Man ; whereas let him be in his Person either healthful or diseased ; let him be for his Fortunes rich or poor , all is one ; for every Condition of Life is alike the Object of Virtue , and for that reason no stranger to Happiness .

HAVING sought after Felicity where it is not , it remains that we search for it where it is ; otherwise the most natural and most sincere of all our Desires would be false and unprofitable . Some define it to be summum Bonum ; others Bonum hominis maximè expetendum ; some that it's Bonum homini per se sufficiens ; that which is able alone to satisfie all our Desires . All this and much more is true , and yet we are never the wiser : For the Question still is , what wonderful thing this is , in which all these attributes are to be found . For in this case it happens as it doth with a wayfaring Man , who being asked , Whither he goes ? Should answer to one Man , That he went to his Journeys end ; to another , that he went thither where his Business lay ; to a third , that he was travelling to a place , whither when he came , he need go no farther : For all this is true , and yet he hath not told whither he is going ; had he reply'd , That he went to London , to Paris , or to Rome , he had satisfi'd the Enquirer . Some such thing befalls us here ; for to be the chiefest Good , the last End , to be the most perfect Good , and a thousand things besides we may be told , and yet our Journeys end not known at all . But without any more Circumlocutions , we may be positive , that our Happiness consists in Action , Our Happiness consists in those Actions that proceed from Virtue . and in that action alone , which proceeds from Virtue , and we may define it thus , Foelicitas est actio vitae secundum Virtutem ; for to lead our Lives according to Virtue , is in this Life the Supreme Good , and he that knows no more of Happiness than this , may rest contented , and enquire no farther . Aristotle seems to require a little more ; but some Men are so vain , that they know not when they have said enough .

THAT the leading our Life by the Rules of Virtue , is the only true Happiness , appears by this , that it hath all those Properties which are required to make true Happiness .

First , IT is in our power ; for we see frequent Advices used to bring Men to the Practice of Virtue , which were altogether vain , had they no power to become so ; for who ever advised a Man to an Impossibility ?

Secondly , IT is proper to Mankind ; for what do we behold in any other kind of Being , that can make us either easie or happy ? The rational Faculties , which are busied in moderating those Passions , that are common to us and Beasts , are in none but Man ; by the strength whereof we can master these Heats of the Mind , and make them submit to better Conduct .

Thirdly , THIS only affords us Quiet and Contentment . Had we all those glorious things which the Vulgar gaze at and admire ; let there be wanting only the inward testimony of a good Conscience , which Virtue only can give us , all these are as nothing , and but cold Comforts , and which is worst of all , they will at length fail . For Honour , Wealth , and Pleasure have Wings and fly away ; only the memory of a virtuous Life lasts for ever . The things of this World not sufficient to make us happy . The Excellency of all things in the World consists more in Opinion than Reality ; in Expectation much more than Enjoyment : Besides a great part of a Man's Lite is gone before he arrives at 'em ; and when his Senses are dim with Age , Pleasures are unsavory to the Palate . And if we consider these things singly and apart , they are of no weight at all ; and this is the Misfortune , no Man can enjoy them all together ; for how can any one think it a Felicity to have a strong Body without soundness of Mind ; to have his Granaries full and his Constitution crazy : What are Riches , unless Pleasures attend them ? Yet he that follows Pleasure , shall never get Riches : What profits it , to have a healthy Body and a weak Soul ? Yet the pampering the former , will surely bring feebleness upon the latter : What doth it signifie to multiply Notions , and enlarge our Knowledg of things , when he that encreases his Knowledg , encreases only his Sorrow : Nay the Glories of this World will disappoint a Man in that very matter , which they particularly promised him : For if you ask the Rich Man , whether his Wealth hath freed him from Care , or hath afforded him any Ease ; he will tell you , That the poor Man's Necessities are not so heavy , as his Troubles are by reason of his great Abundance , whereby his Spirits are broken instead of being supported . So Men in the highest Places of Honour , may believe themselves safe and enslaved to no Man's Will ; but it is quite otherwise , no Persons are so much concerned in the Humors of those below them and of those above them too , as they are . Thus transitory and vain is the Happiness of every voluptuous Man , he finds in the issue nothing but Vexation ; so that there is not half so much delight in the Fruitions of Luxury , as there is in the Denial of our Desires after it .

An honest Life is the most happy state . WHEREFORE setting aside Aristotle's Phrases , in plain Language , the result of all our Felicity amounts to no more than this , to live honestly : For the Word Honesty , tho S. Augustine could afford it no higher a place in the Life of a Christian , than to be a Tyrocinium Christiani , is indeed the chief Ingredient in a virtuous and good Disposition , and mingleth it self with every part of our Christian Life , whatsoever state it be , high or low : For whether it concern God or man , rich or poor , fortunate or miserable ; whether in publick or private , in a high Condition , or in a low and inferior Orb , to behave our selves becomingly , and as we ought , upon every occasion , is all summ'd up in the Word Honesty . Whatsoever the Philosophers have asserted concerning other things , Bona Fortunae , Bona Corporis , serves only to breed unnecessary Disputes : Therefore Lucian , that witty and sharp Sensor of the Philosophers , calls the Epicureans 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Followers of Plato 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Peripateticks 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; for according as they stood affected to Pleasure , Honor , and Wealth , so they pronounced of their Happiness : And Aristotle was so extremely taken with Wealth , that he made his Vice a part of his Philosophy , and entitles his Riches unto Happiness : But we have resolved upon better Grounds , not to venture our selves , where he , a great Master in Science , was shipwreckt ; neither will seek for Happiness where he could never find it in this World : But we must look for it in true Religion , the Knowledg of God , in the expectation of future Bliss , things which Aristotle never dreamt of : For all things upon Earth are little and narrow , short and scanty , but every thing in Religion is vast and infinite ; what can be more so , than to live always with God , and to have a perpetual Joy in a Man's Self . Here , The Excellency of Religion . as in a Glass , we behold the best and most desireable Objects ; her Revelations refresh and bear up our Spirits , because in them the Mind is at peace , and we may with the most ravishing delight , lay out our whole Thoughts upon Heavenly things , which as they are most remote , so they are too fine for the impressions of Sense . Here we have the most healing Remedies against all the Miseries of Human Life , a Relief for every Agony of the Mind , and a Comfort against every Danger : Whereas to be rich or honorable , to be wise or powerful , will not pacifie one troubled Thought , because they are only the Creatures of Fancy ; but the Principles of Religion sink deeper into our Reason , and acquaint it with the glad Tidings of a better Life hereafter . Religion useful in all conditions of life . In the Case of Religion therefore it is true , what Tully says of Phylosophy , It is useful in all Conditions , a Comfort in Prosperity , and a Refreshment in Adversity , the safest Guide to direct us in a prosperous state , and if we fall lower , the most faithful Friend to put us in hopes of Deliverance : Therefore it prescribes such Rules of Life , as will never fail , if they be carefully pursued , neither can a religious Man be ever disappointed in his Hopes , because they are as certain and true as the Decrees of God : For no Man ever sought the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof , but found it .

HENCE we may say of our Religion , that it is pregnant with Wisdom and Happiness ; it is admirably consonant to the Desires and Needs of Humane Nature ; it is agreeable to the Faculties of Men , infinitely serviceable to the Content and Tranquillity of the Mind ; it is such a thing , as every wise Man would chuse , as most becoming the Dignity of Rational Nature , and most conducive to his Happiness : It rids the Mind of irksom and vexatious Thoughts , exempts Men from the Troubles and Tumults of disquieting Passions ; it frees the Conscience of all sad Reflections ; is the greatest Art of Joy and Pleasure ; It makes us Godlike as well in the Happiness as in the Purity of our Lives ; In short , it hath in it all the excellent and amiable Qualities which can prevail upon the Reasons and Affections of Mankind .

HAVING then defined Happiness to be , the leading of our Lives according to Virtue , it remains in the second place , that we make enquiry , What Virtue is ? Which that we may the better do , we are to enquire , in what order and rank of things to find it . It being a Quality , it must be either an Habit , or a Passion , but a Passion it cannot be ; for Passions , such as Fear , Anger , Lust , and the like , are Natural ; but Vertue is gotten by Care and Study . Now it was never known , that any Man was born virtuous , but attain'd unto it by long Practice . Virtue therefore must be reckon'd amongst Habits ; for they only are contracted by Labor and Industry : Now Habits have something of relation ; we must therefore find out something , unto which this Virtue , which is a Habit , doth refer : To know this , we must understand , that there are some things in our Nature , which we call Affections , or Passions , or Perturbations ; if they gently move us , we call them Affections ; if more strongly , they are Passions ; if more boistrously , then we name 'em Perturbations : So that these are really one thing called by three Names , according to that degree of heat into which they put us .

How Virtue moderates the Passions . NOW , that which holds the Bridle and governs their Motions ; which allays their Heat , if it be too violent ; raises them if they be too low ; which gives their just degree , sets bounds to their raging ; keeps 'em from Excess , if they prove too warm , and from Deficiency , if they be too tame . This is that which we usually call Virtue , and may be defin'd Moderatrix Passionum ; for this Definition sufficiently opens the Nature and Condition of it : But Aristotle would have us go a little more about the Bush , and takes more pains than needs . Now he will have Virtue to be Habitus 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 in mediocritate consistens ; by which word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 are excluded all those things which are done rashly and by chance , naturally by coaction or constraint , the meaning whereof may be understood by considering 1st , there is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Reason or Advice . 2ly 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , voluntas , or the Will. Now for want of proper Words to express the thing , we are often forced to confound the same Action in Men and in Beasts : For that which is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the beginning of action , in Men and in Beasts , in Beasts hath no proper word to express it , but we call it by that general Name of 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , and this in the action of Man is named 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 Altho the thing be one and the same in both ; yet many times the want of a Proper Name to express it by , doth breed some Confusion . The Philosopher tells us , That Men do many things , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , when they follow the Suggestions of Sense , and not the Dictates of Reason . S. Augustine plainly distinguishes them , when he saith , Voluntas est non nisi in bonis ; nam in malis flagitiosisque factis cupiditas propriè dicitur , non voluntas : The intellectual part is that , The intellectual part is the Spring of all rational Actions . from whence spring all rational Actions , and in the judgment ruling the Will lies all the blame or the good , that is praise-worthy in what we do . Whilst Beasts work and act with all suddenness , and without deliberation , Man works considerately and with advice ; in our Language we call this Free Will , in Latin liberum arbitrium , in Greek 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 As for that proud and insolent word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , it is not to be heard of in the Writings of Epictetus , or any modest Philosopher , but only among some Greek Divines ; and in them nothing more is meant by it , than that Power which Man hath over his Moral Actions : This is that Spirit of our Minds , as the Apostle terms it , which makes our Actions virtuous : For we are not moved as natural Agents are , but it is in our power to leave the things we do undone ; neither can there be any Choice , unless the thing which we take , be so in our power , that we might have refused it ; and we must take special care , that we distinguish between the Will and the Appetite ; the Object of the first is , whatsoever good we may be lead to by Reason ; the Object of the latter is , The Will and Appetite distinguished . whatsoever good may be desired by Sense : Now Affections , such as Joy , and Grief , Fear and Anger , being , as it were ; the sundry Modes of of Appetite , can neither be stirr'd by a thing indifferent , nor forbear being moved at the sight of some other things ; so that it is not altogether in our power so to moderate these Affections , as never to be moved by them ; but we may command the Actions that issue from the Disposition of the Will. And to our Wills only our Passions are subject ; not that it is in our power wholly , whether we will be angry or not , Passions are subject only to the Will . whether we will be moved by Lust or Fear , but only when they are up , and would hurry us into evil Actions , it is in our power to restrain their force , and to do 〈…〉 their command : For wherein we 〈…〉 hindred , there only are we free 〈…〉 whatsoever we may be hindered , there we have not this Liberty : So small a matter it is , called Free-will , that hath kindled so much Controversie , and raised so great a stir amongst Men.

AND here cometh in a third thing , which we are to observe , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , that is , Consultation ; wherein we see the necessity of having Free-will . For since in many important Cases of Human Life it doth not appear , what is to be done upon the sudden , it is necessary to take some time to advise and consult . Beasts , because they see upon the sudden what they have to do , have not this benefit of Advice , but as soon as ever they see what to avoid , and what to pursue , immediatly act accordingly : But with Man it is not so ; many things there are , which at first sight , seem fair and desireable that upon examination prove otherwise ; and many things are harsh , unpleasant , or dangerous at first sight , which upon tryal are fitted for our use , and therefore ought to be pursued .

HENCE it is , that our 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 or Inclination to act , must be frequently suspended , and not presently be set on work , but upon serious Consideration , what is most fit and convenient for us to do : And here comes in 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 or Election , which is as it were the Conclusion from the Premises .

WHATSOEVER therefore offers its self to us , is first 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . for some reason to be desired ; secondly 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , it must admit of Consultation ; and in the third place it must be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , fit upon good advice to be chosen . This is the just meaning of what Aristotle says of Virtue , that it is habitus 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 vel electivus .

The Art o●●i●ing w●●● consists much in the wel●●●dering 〈◊〉 Pa … . BEFORE we come to consider further of his Definition , wherein the very Form of Virtue doth consist , it will not be amiss to speak somewhat of the Passions of the Mind , in the due framing of which into order , the very Art , as it were , of living well doth consist .

NOW the mind of Man , from whence they come , hath two principal parts ; the one proper to Man ; the other common to Him and Beasts ; the first we call the Intellectual Part or Reason ; the second is Sense or sensual Appetite . Reason is the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 and Guide to Sense , whose Virtues are Prudence , Science , Art , and such like , which because they are not Moral but Intellectual Vertues , we shall not at present speak to : For Sense is our Subject , as being the proper Object and Matter of Moral Virtue . Which inferior part of the Soul is divided by Philosophers into concupiscible and irascible ; the former tends to that which is good and delightful ; the latter arms the Soul against whatsoever is disagreeable and difficult .

BETWIXT these two all the affections are divided and are chiefly employed in their Business : Concupiscence , Desire , Lust , Hunger , Thirst , Hatred , and others of the like Nature belong to that , which we call the concupiscible part : Pride , Contempt , Impatience , Anger , Fear , Boldness and the like generous and brave Passions , belong to what we say is the irascible part of the mind . Whatsoever it is that strikes the Soul , touches it to the quick , The Office of Moral Virtue is to govern the Passions . and moves it to Action or Passion , must needs proceed from one of these : wherefore to give these their just measure and proportion , to mould and temper 'em well , is the proper Office of Moral Virtue .

NOW all the Passions of the sensitive Soul are apt to offend in being either too much , or too little , and the prudent choice of just what is enough , is the chief work of Virtue . Which Mediocrity is call'd by those who love to talk learnedly or rather obscurely , Arithmetical and Geometrical : Arithmetical Mediocrity is that , which is equally distant from both extremes , is ever one and the same ; as the Mean between Two and Ten , is unalterably Six , which by Four exceeds Two , and by Four , fails of Ten : For if we add Four to Two it makes Six , but if we add Four to Six , it makes Ten. Geometrical Mediocrity is so placed betwixt the extremes , as the matter requires , to which it is refer'd ; therefore it is sometimes more , sometimes less , and not always the same : Such a medium , as the Taylor observes in making your Apparel , he requires not the same measure of Cloth for all , but only so much as is necessary for your Person : For the Physician , if Two Drams of Rhubarb will not serve for his Potion , What the Mediocrity is in which Virtue is ●aid to be placed . doth not forthwith infuse six or ten more , but he examines the Niture of the Disease , the Strength and Constitution of the Patient ; and accordingly he makes up his Dose . Such a kind of medium is Vertue , sometimes inclining to the less , sometimes to the more ; as it is in temperance ; where the Mediocrity is not still the same , but changes according to the variety of Persons : A Student , who is but of a thin body , or a sickly person eats not so much as a Day-Labourer , but eats in proportion to the ability of his Stomach ; the liberal man gives not always the same Alms ; the wealthy give more , men of meaner Estates less ; So the Widows two Mites were sufficient , because she gave according to her Condition ; the rich Pharisee gives perhaps a great deal more , and yet gives too little , because he bestows not his Charity according to the Jargeness of his Means : Hence it is , that Virtues are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , aim at the medium ; and hence it also comes to pass , that it is so difficult to find the true medium out ; for there are infinite ways to miss , or to shoot beside the Mark , but there is only one way to hitt it .

To do which one thing , a virtuous Man must have the perfect use of his Reason : Why Youth are not fit Hearers of Moral Philosophy upon this account some Philosophers have disputed , whether young Persons should hear or read their Lessons , and have determined , they should not : And Aristotle sets it down for a Maxim , that Youth are not fit Hearers of Moral Philosophy . For the fickleness of their Fancy , the unruliness of their Passions , the wild Sallies of their Affections , suffer 'em not to reap any benefit by virtuous Discipline or Education : But when Age hath somewhat cool'd the Heats of Passion ; when Wisdom and Experience hath cured all the Boylings of their Blood , and hath master'd every exorbitant Humour : Then is the proper time to cultivate the Soil , and sow the Seeds of Vertue .

HOWSOEVER it be with this part of Aristotle's Doctrin , yet by the method he prescribes , the Hearer of Moral Precepts must have such a share of Prudence , as may render him able to choose so much Passion , as is due unto the Action which he undertakes .

HOW this Choice can be made by Youth , unless they be first well disciplined , is more than Aristotle hath taught us : For making all Virtue to flow from Prudence ; he allotts no time to learn Wit , which must be wrought in us by chance or some good fortune : For Prudence being a solid and constant Habit , and all Habits being gotten by the repetition of frequent Acts , some space of time there must be in which these Acts , that produce our Habits , must be practised . Now whether Age or Youth be the fitter season to plant Virtue in the mind , let those make it a question who are ignorant , whether the Spring or Autumn be the better Seed-time .

SEEING that the sowing of this good Seed doth bring forth the best and the greatest Men ; those , who are most serviceable to God , and those that are most useful in the World : it will be worth our while to consider what that time of our Life is in which the Principles of Virtue ought to be imbibed : In order to a more close enquiry into this matter , we will first see , what the natural state of the youthful Age is ; secondly , we will prove it to be the best and most proper time to learn the great Art of living well .

First , A Character of the Youthful Age. YOUNG Men are violent in their Desires , and ever eager to execute them ; they have by natural Heat that disposition , which elder Ages have by Wine ; Youth being a kind of Natural Drunkenness ; they easily forsake , what they have much longed for , being very inconstant , and they love Honour or Success , more than Mony , as having not been yet in want ; they are good-natur'd , because they have not been acquainted with much malice , and they are credulous , because they have not yet been often deceived ; they are stout for that they have not yet been cast down by the Mifortunes of Human Life , and on all occasions are apt to err in the excess , rather than in the Defect , because they overdo every thing .

THIS being the natural State of our youthful Age , in the next place we will consider , whether this be the best time to learn Virtue in . Now , in my Opinion , to plant the Principles of Virtue in the first Age of our lives , is the same thing as to build a House upon a Rock : No Storms nor Winds shall shake it ; it being in Civil as it is in Natural Plantations ; where young tender trees , though subject to the injuries of the Air , and in danger even of their own flexibility , would yet little want any Underproppings , if they were at first well fastned in their Roots : 'T is true , at this time the mind is most in danger of being misled by Fancies , and of being disturbed by Passions , which are the various motions thereof towards Objects agreeable or disagreeable : But these and the Inclinations too which are only the more frequent exercise of the Passions , are all made obedient to sound Reason and most tenacious of the rules of Vertue , if they are received betimes .

FOR before the Vessel be seasoned with one kind of Liquor it is equally capable of all , Reasons , Why Youth is the fittest time to learn Virtue . and so the Wax is indifferent to any impression , before it is moulded and determined by a particular Seal : If the mind be rasa Tabula , as Aristotle would have it , then this White Paper may best be inriched with good Inscriptions , before it be soiled or blotted with evil : Or if there be any innate , connatural Notions , which the Platonists affirm , it is best then to awaken them , before evil Customs of Life deaden their vigor ; as it happens to the body from an Obstruction in the Nerves : For doubtless all Evil is a kind of Intellectual Opium , casts the Faculties of the mind ( as I may so say ) into a Moral Apoplexy ; and so according to the opinion of one Philosopher blots the White Paper ; according to another it is destructive of the very first principles in Nature : whereas he , who lays his Foundation upon the principles of Virtue , shall direct the course of his Life with that Uniformity , as will bear him up under all the Accidents , he can be exposed to ; he will be guided by such Rules , as he never needs Change ; but his whole Life will be blameless , his Actions well weigh'd , his Words discreet , his Thoughts regular , and in all things shall he live according to the utmost perfection Human Nature is capable of .

YOUTH being an Age fittest to learn not only the rudiments of divers Languages , but the most useful Knowledge both of God and of our selves ; because in Youth the Powers of the mind and the Strength of the body are alike vigorous , clear and active ; the Instrument is not as yet broken , nor out of tune ; the Organs are not yet disturbed ; the Understanding is not bribed with Error ; nor the Will as yet grown stubborn and stiff in bad Courses ; Prejudices are not strong enough to darken the Object , or the Faculty that is to apprehend them ; the Habits of Vice are as yet unlearned and unpractised ; the Memory is not at leisure to furnish its Store-house with vain Idea's ; it is neither choakt with Straw , nor stopt wth Mud ; the Impertinency of worldly business is not yet become a burden too heavy for the mind to bear .

BESIDES all Impressions made in the days of Youth are strong and deep , so that what is now well fix'd in the Soul , will not easily leave it : And if the principles of Virtue , like small and gentle Rain , be by degrees distilled on the growing Plant , the riper Age is like to bring forth a more plentiful harvest ; for Vertue only prescribes to a man a true and certain end to all his Endeavours , which is the Glory of God in the first place , then the doing as much Good as he can , to himself and others : This being the most high and noble End , the sooner one sets about it the better 't is ; for thereby we avoid all lowness of Spirit , confusion in our Actions , and all inconstancy in our Resolutions : And that Youth is best prepared for this work , is manifest , because it is an Age very inquisitive ; equally capable , and possibly inclined to Good , as Evil ; and many of those Sins , which owe both their Birth and Growth to the Senses , are not yet sit Temptations ; the Passions are not yet ready to catch fire at every spark ; the feign'd , but false Beauty of Vice is not alluring ; the Virgin Purity of the mind is not defloured , nor its native Modesty laid wast . But if this Age be not used to the severity of Labour , and the strict exercises of Virtue , sensual Pleasures will break in , and then is kindled that continual Combat , so much spoken of by Philosophers and Divines , between Sense and Reason , the Body and the Soul , Pleasure and Wisdom .

WHEN the Blood therefore is warm ; the Passions run high and are powerful , but Reason is weak ; when the Body , like an unruly Beast , is untame and unbroken ; when Reason and Judgment are , like the Morning Star , stifled and overcast with Vapours ; then it is proper to put on a Bitt and Bridle ; to keep strong Reins , and a steddy Hand : Then Youth is to be held in , from those Delusions , that hinder the true Understanding and real Notions of things ; from all ill Company and Writings , least they should be taken with the beautiful , but false colours , that are put upon vicious and bad manners .

FOR Young Men naturally think they can do , and may do every thing , as they list ; they are blind , therefore the more bold ; they are impotent , but yet presumptuous ; Fancy is now as active , as the Wind , but withal it is disorderly and tempestuous : Youth is not idle , and yet seldom well imployed ; it is restless and very impertinent : it being that part of our time , Youth is in the greatest danger of Temptations . wherein we are most exposed to the Snares of the Devil ; these are troubled Waters in which his Baits are seldom seen , and therefore they are the more greedily swallowed : Upon this account it concerns men much in their Youth to remember their Creator , because he only can protect them from their Enemies of all sorts : Their Clay is , as it were , but just formed into Human shape ; it is but as yet scarce dry from the Potter's hand : And as it is now in the best manner fitted for the Signatures of Virtue ; so it is most lyable to the Impressions of Sin and the Father of it : They are now as Tradesmen newly set up ; their Souls are well furnished with a common stock of Natural Principles , and their Bodies are adorn'd like the richest Shop , in which the Trade of Life and Happiness is to be driven : They should therefore be careful in a special manner , that they do not break at the first setting up , as unwary Merchants are wont to do ; for their rational Faculties , the choicest Goods of the mind , will wast and decay , if they are wrapt up in Idleness , and the Devil will gain Advantages over them : So that it behoves them to resist his Temptations at first ; to set the strongest Guard in the weakest place , and to double the security , where they expect the sharpest Assaults ; to oppose his Craft with Watchfulness ; his Subtilty with strict and unwearied diligence ; to study God's Service in the first place , and to do their actions the bestway : And since in every Age the same Faculties are employed , only the Objects changed , and the Actions of those Faculties are not many ; it must needs be that our whole Life is but the Reacting the same things over upon divers Subjects and occasions : in Infancy little quarrels with our Brethren and peevishness , are afterwards Angers , Hatreds , Envies , Prides , Jealousies ; and a sensibleness in Youth for a frivolous Play-thing is the same afterwards for Honour or Interest : If it be so , then He that begins early to love and fear God , will so increase in virtuous Deeds , which are consequent thereupon , that his Conversation will be in every respect as becomes the Gospel of Christ .

AND since a seasonable time is a circumstance requisite both to the Essence and Ornament of every Action : in that time therefore , in which the abilities of our Minds are fresh and lively ; those of the Body also vigorous and strong ; it is pity we should be idle and do nothing ; and yet more , that we should be active and do evil ; we must think it a very unjust , as well as unreasonable thing to spend the flower and fruit of our Age upon this ; when Vertue and Religion have only broken Intellectuals , dead Affections , a slippery Memory , and a tired Judgment , besides all other infirmities , that necessarily attend the ruin of Nature in old Age ; when men do every thing less earnestly , than is fit ; when they are of poor and mean Spirits , as having been humbled by the chances of Life ; when they have weak or no desires , The unfitness of old Age for the services of Vertue . and Hearts to execute nothing ; when they are full of murmuring and complaint , as ever thinking themselves not far from some evil or danger ; So that this is an Age too much a burden to its self , and to all about it , than to be able , to go through all the services of Vertue . For who can expect Grapes of Thorns , or Figs of Thistles ; the morose and froward time of our Life ; the Frost , Snow and Winter season being not for Fruit any more in the workings of Vertue , than it is in Nature : it being very difficult to begin the Christian Race , when that of Nature is almost finished , which good Fight is a hard warfare far old and decrepit Limbs .

NOW the Prudence of old Age consists in a deliberate knowledg of Men and Business , founded upon long experience ; but the Folly of it is the ignorance of Vertue and Religion , which at last will appear the only true and real Wisdom . Therefore the Moral Philosopher chastises the neglect and indiscretion of those Men , who then begin to live , when they are to die ; there being little support and less comfort in declining years , besides a sober reflection upon what we have done well ; and nothing can sweeten a sour and crabbed Age , but the calling to mind a good Life passed : For as Vertue and Goodness is the most excellent accomplishment of Youth ; so the innocency thereof is the joy and Crown of gray Hairs : which are then truly honourable , when they are found in the way of Righteousness .

WHEREFORE let us not deceive our own Souls , but with all our might follow the services of Vertue , as soon as we are able to distinguish between true and false , good and evil : Let weak and diseased Persons present themselves to their Prince and see , if they can persuade him to turn his Court into an Hospital , make up his Guards with Cripples , and be attended with nothing , but Age and Impotency : If the King will not do this , how can we expect that God should ; as if the business of Religion were to be done , when we are capable of doing nothing , as we should do ; and God were to be satisfied with those poor remainders of Strength and Spirit , which the hard services of Sin and the Devil have left us : No sure ; This is an undertaking far more noble and difficult , the work of Angels in Heaven and of the wisest Men upon Earth , and then is most acceptable , when it is the Employment of our first and best Age.

FROM what hath been said then , this Inference may be made ; that Youth must be taught to moderate their Passions , and not be left undisciplined , till Age and Experience have wrought it in them . And the way to learn Vertue is to watch over our Passions betimes , and to make choice of that degree , which befits us . For the actions before the Habit , and by which the Habit is created , differ not specie , but only in perfection from those , which follow the Habit ; and it is a general Law , which is laid upon all things , that are acquired by Study , to arise from Imperfection to Perfection , from Weakness to Strength .

WHICH Perfection consists in this , to demean our selves upon all occasions , prudently , wisely , and advisedly : insomuch that some Moralists have doubted , whether all Moral Vertues may not be summ'd up in one , namely Prudence , nullum numen abest , si sit Prudentia : Wherefore that multiplicity of Vertues , which is delivered by Aristotle , was only for our more easie learning the division of this one into sundry parts ; that so we might as it were eat by spoonfuls , where we cannot swallow at once the whole Mess . But before we treat of the Vertues in particular , it will benecessary to consider certain Rules and Observations , which Aristotle hath made , because they do not a little conduce to the practice of Vertue .

FIRST , Lest we should flatter our selves in thinking , that we have attained unto Vertue , before indeed we have ; we must learn to distinguish between the doing of what is Good and the doing it well ; betwixt bonum agere & benè agere : For in all kinds of Vertue , we may do that for good , which proves at the last an evil Action through the defect of some Circumstance .

Secondly , THAT we may not only do that , The circumstances requisite to every virtuous Action . which is good , but do it well ; we must consider , that a multitude of Circumstances attend every virtuous Action that we do ; the first thing to be known is , who it is , that doth the Action ; for every thing becomes not every Man : as for Example , when in the Council of Sparta , a wicked Person had given good Advice , the Senators took care , that a Man of better Credit should give the same , lest the Council , which was good and wise , might be suspected , and have ill success , through the bad Character of him , who gave it : So in receiving Courtesies , we must take heed , we receive not every thing of every Man in every place ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; For it is a disgrace to be obliged by an unworthy Giver ; And Abraham would accept no gift from the King of Sodom , that he might not say , I have made Abraham rich : again , we must consider , what it is , that is done ; For as Circumstances require , so Actions are censured either for good or bad ; We are bound also to consider , where an Action is done ; For all Actions are not in all places alike : These three considerations are very well expressed in the Advice , which Q. Cicero gave to his Brother Marcus , when He sued for the Consulship ; For He exhorts him thus to think , Novus sum , Consulatum peto , Roma est ; in the words Novus sum is signified the Person , who made the Suit ; for an Upstart was to bear himself otherwise in his Petition , than vir Patricius , an ancient Nobleman : in Consulatum peto is implyed the second Circumstance , what it was He sued for , the supreme place of Government in the Commonwealth ; and Roma est shews the Place , where his Suit lay , not in ulubrae a petty Market Town , but in that Chief City of the Empire .

MANY other Circumstances there are , by which our Actions are to be managed : the chief whereof are contained in that known Verse , Quis , quid , ubi , quibus auxiliis , cur , quomodo , quando . He , that can carefully observe all these Circumstances , and shall do what they require ; that Man only shall discreetly discharge every part of Virtue , and behave himself according to to the best Reason : What Reason is . For by Reason we mean nothing but the Mind of Man making use of the wisest and most prudential Methods , to guide it self in all its Actions ; and therefore it is not confined to any sort of Maxims and Principles in Philosophy , but it extends it self to any knowledg that may be gained by Prudence , Experience and Observation .

Thirdly , HAVING already asserted , that Virtue is lodged in the middle between two Extremes , which are both Vices , and both its Adversaries , we do now say , that the two Extremes , are not for the most part alike repugnant to it ; but the one approaches nearer , than the other : As for instance , profuseness , one extreme of Liberality , doth much more partake of that Virtue , and comes nearer it , than the other extreme , which is Avarice ; for this reason Men usually pity the Prodigal , but abominate and hate the Covetous . In this case therefore our Rule must be , to decline that Extreme , which is the more hateful , and lean rather to that other , which is more friendly and like the Virtue , which we design to practise : But we must carry our selves so circumspectly , that we do not fall into the Crime censur'd by the Poet , Dum vitant Stulti vitia in contraria currunt .

Fourthly , WE can do nothing well or virtuously , unless we diligently look into and try our own natural Inclinations ; What our natural inclinations are , and how they are to be governed . which are nearer to us , than all things else , and yet nothing is farther off from our Acquaintance ; we must examine all the windings and Labyrinths of our whole Frame , and see , by what Pullies and Wheels all the operations of our Minds are performed ; so that we may follow her workings from the first impressions of Sense , then of the Imagination and Judgment into the Principles both of Natural and Supernatural Motions : Then we may , as in a Glass , perceive , how the Soul arbitrates in the Understanding upon the several reports of Sense and all the varieties of Imagination ; how pliant the Will is to her Dictates , and obeys her , as a Queen doth her King , who both acknowledges a Subjection and yet retains a Majesty ; How the Passions move at her Command , like a well governed Army , not for Fighting , but for Rank and Order ; from which regular composure of the Faculties , all moving in their due Place , each striking in its proper Time , there arises a Complacency upon the whole Soul , infinitely beyond all other pleasures .

BUT there is no Man , that hath his Faculties so equally balanc'd , or his Affections so justly poised , as that he doth not incline to one of the extremes of Virtue more , than to the other : Whosoever then would walk in the middle path of a good life , must take particular care to avoid that Rock , upon which he is most apt to fall .

FOR when a Person skilful in Physiognomy was asked to give his judgment upon the natural temper of Socrates , Socrates his great Mastery over himself . and had declared him to be prone to Lust and Sensuality ; the Company about him grew angry , and young Alcibiades brake out into a Laughter : But Socrates replied , that the Opinion of the Man was right ; for such indeed he confessed he was by Nature , but by assiduous care and pains he had corrected those Inclinations . So much the more industrious ought we to be in watching over our own natural Dispositions , not only because we slide very fast and easily into Vice , where we find our selves strongly inclined to it ; but because we are apt to offend on the other Hand , and pronounce our selves virtuous , when there is little or no cause so to do .

HENCE it is , that many Men , as Nazianzen observes , attribute that unto Grace , Some things ascribed to Grace , which are due to Nature . which is indeed due to Nature ; For a man , who by his natural disposition is Phlegmatick and Cold , soon flatters himself with an Opinion of Chastity ; whereas in truth his Constitution doth not minister to him such lustful Heats , as are found in others of a more Sanguine Complexion : where the flame of Lust or Anger breaketh out , and other potent Allurements to evil make their Assaults , there is the trial of Virtue ; For what commendation is it to stand upright and unshaken , where no Resistance is made : In fair and calm Weather an ordinary Pilot may steer the Ship ; but he acts the part of a skilful Mariner , who can govern the Helm and hold his Course , when the Seas work , the Winds are high , and the Tempest strong . So it is with Virtue in Human Life ; She must rule all those Passions that raise so many Tumults in our Veins , and then she is most glorious , when she prevails , where the Temptations are most powerful ; these Victories are not to be gotten by the Starts and Sallies of the Mind , but by a resolute and constant Habit : For it deserves much more praise to lead an unblameable life by our own study and labour , than to be so by our natural Condition . Wherefore upon discovery of our selves , where we find Passion strongest and most apt to be inflamed , there is the greatest occasion for the exercise of Virtue , to subdue its outrage and to make it an Instrument of doing well . Lastly , There is one Rule or rather Counsel more , given by Aristotle , and it is this ; That in all the Negotiations of Life we take heed especially , how we do admit , as Counsellours , our Pleasure or our Pain : For Pleasures sollicit only unto Vice , and Pains deter us from Virtue : The danger of Pleasure . the former we ought to be as suspicious of , as the Trojans were of Helena , when they saw , how handsom she was ; they presently began to think it better to send her home , than suffer their Country to be destroyed for her sake : No less hazard do we run in yielding to Pleasures ; which for the most part begin in Folly , grow up in trouble , and conclude in shame : For when we step out of the way of Virtue ; if we aim at Mirth , that will presently end in Grief ; if Ambition , then we are killed with Affronts ; if it be Lust , then it wounds us with the loss of our good name : In short , Pleasures of all kinds wear the disguise of Beauty and Loveliness ; like the Harlot in the Proverbs , they entice with wanton Kisses ; as she decks her Bed with the covering of Tapestry and perfumes her House ; but all this while 't is the Road to Hell , and leads to the Chambers of Death : so whorish and impudent is the face of pleasure ; it makes use of loose Gestures , smooth and Amorous Addresses to draw in the unwary Sinner ; all this while she is but a painted Snake , which is no sooner taken into the Bosom , but the fatal sting appears ; it strikes and wounds with an everlasting Venom , and besides the deadly gashes it makes in the Consciences of Men , it infects all the present Joys of humane Life . In the right Government therefore of our Actions it behoves us not to stoop for such golden Apples , that are cast in the way to hinder our work : That great Sophist Leontinus Georgias arrived in good health to an hundred and eight Years of Age , and being asked , What Cordial that was , which had preserved him in health to so great an Age ? answered , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , quod nihil unquam voluptatis gratiâ fecerat : So great a preserver of Life and Health , and of all the good things consequent thereupon is abstinence from Pleasures , from the Excesses of Eating and Drinking : for He that eats too much , dozes away his Life , turns his over-charged Body into a Statue of Earth , and seems to live in a continual Lethargy ; He , who drinks to Excess , drenches his Brains in unwholsom Clouds of moisture , and washes away the principles of common Reason and Discretion : He , that is lacivious , is punish'd for it with noisom Distempers , and the peace of his Mind is quite destroyed by mad and ungovernable desires .

HITHERTO we have discoursed of such matters , as concern all Virtues in General , it remains , that we explain the Nature of them in particular . The Ancients were wont to divide Virtues into Cardinal or Principal , and Virtues less principal : The Cardinal Virtues they accounted to be four , Prudence , Fortitude , Temperance , and Justice ; because , as they thought , all others of an inferiour Order , as Magnanimity , Magnificence , Liberality , &c. were reducible unto these Four .

BUT we need not tie our selves up to the strict Rules of Method , because it is not of any moment upon what peculiar Virtue we discourse first : We will therefore follow Aristotle , and begin with

FORTITUDE .

HARDINESS becomes Virtue , and it shews it self then most illustrious , when it atchieves difficult Things : Fortitude despises Dangers and Death . Now no Virtue pretends to this more than Fortitude ; which incites us to undergo all manner of dangers and Death it self for our Liberty , our Country or Religion , Therefore we give it the name of Virtue , as Aeneas doth in that Instruction to his Son Ascanius Disce puer virtutem ex me verum ●e laborem , Fortunam ex aliis . Tho perhaps it is no Passion , because a Man may have it , who doth nothing ; neither is it an Habit , because he may be born with Courage ; it must then be a power of the Soul , placed chiefly in the sensitive Appetite , because it depends much upon the Heats of Blood , and is common to all Creatures : A Courage may be sometimes Mechanical . But Tully tells us , Fortitudo est viri propria virtus ; it most properly belongs to and becomes a Man best ; wherefore by the Greeks it is called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Which Courage ( to convince you , how much it is purely Mechanical ) may proceed in some measure from the temper of Air , may be form'd by Discipline , and acquired by Use , or infused by Opinion ; But that which is more natural , and so more National in some Countries , than in others , seems to arise from the heat or strength of Spirits about the Heart , which may a great deal depend upon the measure and the substance of the Food Men are used to : This made a Physician once say , He would make any Man a Coward with six weeks Dieting ; For this Reason , the English having their Bellies full of Beef ; have been esteemed most fit for any bold and desperate Action : This also may be a reason , why the Gentry in all places of the World , are braver than the Peasantry , whose Hearts are depressed not only by Slavery , but short and heartless Food , the effect of their poverty : This is a Cause , why the Yeomanry of England are generally Stouter than in other Countries , because by the Constitution of the Kingdom they live easier as to Rents and Taxes ; by the plenty thereof they fare better , than those of their Rank in any other Nation : Their Chief , and indeed constant Food being of Flesh ; And among all Creatures , both Birds and Beasts , we shall still find those , that feed upon Flesh , to be the fierce and the bold ; and on the contrary the fearful and faint-hearted to feed upon Grass , and upon Plants . Thus the veins of Courage seem to run like veins of Good Earth in a Country : And some People are so far from having a firm and constant Valour in them , that I can compare them to nothing better , than the Scare-Crows , Children make of straw , wherewith they stuff empty Cloaths , they look like Men , but they have no 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , no true fortitude in them .

Secondly , THE Actions of this Virtue are most splendid and great : therefore they were always ascribed to the Demy-gods by the Ancients ; and Moses attributes Fortitude to God himself , when he saith , Jehovah is a God of War , and commonly stileth him the Lord of Hosts . Now all Virtues are to be defined by those Objects , about which they are conversant , Fortitude defined . and by the Actions which they perform : By which Rule we may define Fortitude to be that Virtue , which teacheth us to moderate our Fears and our Confidence ; at what time and place to encounter Dangers and Difficulties ; when and where to decline and avoid them ; especially if there be any fear or hazard of Death , according to the Doctrine of Aristotle , of all things the most terrible and ghastly . The Courage therefore of a valiant and wise Man is chiefly seen in running the Risque of War , and all the mischiefs , that follow upon it , for his Countrey , for his Religion , for his Liberty : As for all matters of less importance , it is as eminent a part of Fortitude , to fear Death and fly Dangers as it is to undertake and engage them . The Extremes opposed to this Virtue on one hand are Rashness , Fury , and the like ; on the other side are opposite timorousness and want of Spirit . When he describes the Object of this Virtue , Aristotle mistakes himself many ways ; in overvaluing some things , as Life and Liberty ; which are of no price in comparison with the fear of God , or the Care of Religion , which he either did not regard , or knew nothing of it . As for Life , the Stoicks have delivered better Precepts concerning it , when they tell us , non est magna res vivere , and consequently , non est magna res mori ; tho , in regard of Death , so great a provision is to be made against it , as they believed , so many Circumstances of Insensibility and hardiness of Mind are urged , and all its Forces are mustered together , that they seem to have consented with Aristotle in making Death to be the most dreadful thing imaginable .

FOR if common Honesty and Integrity be valued , as it ought to be , Honesty and Integrity the most valuable things . the meanest part of it , is more precious , than all the possessions of this World , and will much overballance the Torments of Death ; and rather than we should suffer the least part of our Integrity to fall to the ground , we ought to venture upon all Perils whatsoever . And it is worth our observing , that there is no passion in the mind of Man so weak , but it masters the fear of Death ; Revenge triumphs over it ; Love slights it ; Honour aspires after it ; Grief flies to it ; Nay pity the tenderest of them all , provoked many of Otho's Followers to die in compassion to their Emperour , who had slain himself ; and Seneca adds , mori velle , non tantum Fortis , aut miser , sed etiam fastidiosus potest , A Man would die , tho he were neither Valiant , nor miserable , only upon a weariness to do the same thing , so oft over and over . But then it is easiest to leave this World , when we have such expectations of a happier State , as the Christian Faith gives us ; they , who are strangers to these hopes , fear Death , as Children are afraid to go in the dark ; and as that natural Fear in Children , is increased with Tales , so is the other with the Conceits of philosophers .

Secondly , THE Peripatetick extols Liberty as the Object of Fortitude : This hath been very much cryed up by the Ethnick Wisemen , and likewise by mistake among some Christians , such as the Gnosticks in the Apostles times , who were so far from being Valiant in the maintenance of their Faith , that they pleaded their Christian Liberty on the behalf of their cowardly Revolts from it in the time of Persecution : And some Errours of another kind about Liberty , have been the cause of Wars and Murders , of Bloudshed and Rebellions , as much as any other thing whatsoever . Saint Paul , who certainly understood the Nature , and the price of Liberty much better , than Aristotle , left us this Rule ; Art Thou called a Slave ( for so I rather render the word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ) care not for it ; that thing which Men contend for so hotly , He doth not think it worth regarding : so far was the Apostle from esteeming it at that rate , as that under pretence thereof Wars might be raised , Robberies and all manner of Villanies committed , and all to preserve that , which no Man ever knew , what is is , and no Man ever yet had it : For if by this word we mean , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the licentious power of doing what we list , it is neither possible for Men living in Society to have it , neither if it were possible , were it either safe or fit . For a Meteor therefore of the Brain , a Fiction , and a thing of naught to raise such stirs in the World , to spill so much Bloud , and to hazard so many Souls , must needs be an horrible attempt , and whosoever they be that do it , The true Object of Fortitude Danger . their Judgment sleeps not . Without any farther Debate then , we do assert , that the true Object of Fortitude is Danger , and it is the duty of a Valiant Man , who must be a good Man , to behave himself without terrour ; yet so that he be sensible , it behoves him sometimes to fear ; For to be altogether without Fear , is rather to be furious and mad , than valiant ; and to be fool-hardy , or needlesly to precipitate our selves upon Dangers , is the grossest Folly that may be ; and no Vice is more to be dreaded , or gives plainer signs of a very corrupt Heart , than the want of this Fear , when there is just occasion for it : And no other end ought a Man to propose to himself , than common Honesty and right Reason , neither ought he to fear any thing but Turpitude and Dishonesty .

NOW because there are sundry things , which abuse us , and carry a shew of Fortitude , yet have not the true reason of it ; we will see what they are : The first is called by Aristotle , Politick or legal Fortitude , when Men for fear of the Law , and the punishments of it , or for hope of Reward , from the desire of Honour , or to avoid Disgrace , put on a seeming Fortitude : whereas real Valour doth brave and great things ex officio , as I may so say , out of Conscience only that it is our duty so to act , and not out of fear of any Command or Injunction : To this Notion may be applied that famous Story of the Athenians , How the Valour of the Spartans was tried . who desiring much to discover the true reason of the stoutness of the Spartans , sent a Wise and Sagacious Gentleman to them , under the Guise of an Ambassadour , but in truth to spy out the Spartan Discipline , and make report of it at his return : Being thus dispatched , He made very close Remarks upon their Customs and Manners ; And when he came back , at a full Assembly of the People and Senate met together , He caused to be brought before them , Halters , Whips , Gibbets , Racks , and other Engines of Torture ; thereby intimating , that the Fear of these made the Spartans Valiant , and not any regard they had for Right , Virtue , or Conscience .

TO this we may add very pertinently some other Reasons , that move Men to perform desperate Acts rather than Valiant . A Man may do desperate Actions , and not be Valiant . So a Soldier in Lucullus his Army , who had lost his Purse , and being called to Fight , behaved himself bravely , and got the day against the Enemy ; but being taken notice of by his Captain , as a stout Fellow , and commanded to do a piece of Service , in which he must needs run some evident danger ▪ he desired to be excused , and said , eat , qui Zonam perdidit ; He had found his Purse , and meant to sleep in a whole Skin : Another of this way of Life , being sickly , expressed much Courage in daring and adventuring upon any hard Enterprize : His Captain in Compassion to his infirmities commits him to the Physician ; and by this means being restored to perfect Health , he is no longer the man he was , but bore back when Danger was seen , saying , he now knew , that Life was sweet , which before he did not esteem so . More instances might be given of men , whose Profession is the Exercise of Courage , but these may suffice to shew , that the Fortitude which we call Politick , comes short of the true Valour , which we account a Virtue .

A second Mock-Fortitude is that , which is gained by much experience , and may be named experiential Fortitude : And this Fable may explain to us what experience is ; it is of one , who pretended to have been miraculously cured of Blindness , wherewith he was born , by St. Alban , or some other Saint at the Town of St. Albans ; and that the Duke of Gloucester being there , to be satisfied of the truth of the Miracle , asked the man , What Colour is this ? who by answering it was green , discovered himself and was punished for a Counterfeit ; for though , by his sight newly received , he might distinguish between green and red , and all other Colours as well as any one else ; yet he could not possibly know at first which of them was called green or red , or by any other Name : by this we may understand , there be two kinds of Knowledge whereof the one is nothing else but Sense ; the other is called Science or the Knowledge of the Truth of Propositions and how things are called : Both of these sorts are but experience . Now this experien●● in a valiant Man , makes him ready and apt to lay hold of any occasion , that shall provoke him to fight ; whereas men that are not experienced are commonly fearful ; or if they are by chance daring and bold , Experience necessary in a valiant man . they are for the most part unfortunate , by reason of their Mistake in Time and Place , and other Circumstances , which well-experienc'd men do know : Wherefore of Fortitude upon Experience and Education the Switzers are a pregnant example , who being trained up to the practices of War , have made it a Trade of Life ; they are every man's Money , and let the Cause be what it will , good or bad , it is no part of their Care , so their Wages be duly paid them ; such men are commonly fit for service , but being Mercenaries they many times fail , and change their parties upon change of Hire : like the Gladiators of old Rome , they make no Conscience where they fight , but sight they will , only because necessity or hire exacts it of them .

A third kind of Seeming Courage , is that , which arises from Anger : Now Courage in a large signification , is the absence of Fear in the presence of any Evil whatsoever ; but in a strict and more common meaning it 〈◊〉 contempt of Wounds and Death , when they oppose a Man in the way to his End ; therefore Anger or sudden Courage is nothing but the Appetite or Desire of overcoming present Opposition : But it being , as I have called it , a sudden Passion , it is wont to incite men and cast them improvidently upon dangers : there goes a common Saying , and it passeth for Aristotles , That , Ira est fortitudinis Cos : But it is more likely , that he , who knew so well the use of good Reason would not commit the sharpening of Fortitude ; to so harsh an Instrument ; but rather do by Fortitude , when it needs sharpening , as Barbers do by their Rasors , pour Oyl upon the Stone : For Reason is alone able to beget in us a true Fortitude , though Anger and Fury never interpose .

A Fourth kind of seeming Courage is valour upon Hope ; when we undertake great matters upon Expectation of Victory , Honour , Glory , or such like Vanities ; for Hope is nothing but the Expectation of Good , as Fear is the Expectation of Evil ; there are Causes alternately working in the mind , some that make us expect Good ; and some that make us expect Evil ; if the former prevail then the whole Passion is Hope , if the latter , then the whole is Fear : Now Hope is the greatest Cheat to , and Abuser or Men ; for in this are founded all the vain , though specious Attempts , which men have cast themselves upon ; whether it be of the Arena , where the Gladiators sported themselves in the most bloody and cruel Exercises , for no other end but only Hope of Conquest , or whether it be any other gallant Madness and Vain-Glory , such as reading of Romances may produce in pusilanimous men , as it did in Don Quixotte .

UNTO the same order of things we may add all those famous Madnesses and Furies so much sung of , and celebrated by Prose-Writers and Poets , I mean the Olympian , Nemaean , Pythian and Isthmaean Games ; wherein the choicest and fairest young men tryed their utmost Strength to no purpose : For it is so noted , whosoever won the Victory in the Olympian Games , were for ever after good for nothing : All the Sun and Dust they so patiently endured , was only for a Crown of Bays ; that they might not enter their Towns by the Gates or Common Passages but be carried home upon mens Shoulders : Were it worth our while to consider these things , it would strike us into an Amazement , to see , what Honour hath ever been done to mere Trifles , to things utterly of no use , and that for so many Hundred Years space , from Thirty Years or thereabouts before the Building of Rome , until almost the expiration of that Empire , with a general Applause and Concourse of almost the whole World : Upon this have we grounded all our books and monuments of Learning , which concern our Epochaes and Dates of time , The Olympian Games great Follies . as it were to bear Witness against our selves , how vain we are by making and framing our memorials by those things , that were the greatest Follies , that ever were .

BUT this may represent to us the Nature of Mankind ; and shew us by what springs they are moved ; how the little hopes of empty Honour or Profit will drive 'em into the most hazardous Attempts ; Honour and Profit drive men upon the greatest Hazards . how easily they swallow the most bitter Pills , when they are gilt over ; how ambitiously they hunt after the Troubles of greatness , and basely adore the fine and gawdy nothings of this Life .

ONE kind of false Fortitude still remains , and that is Courage upon ignorance , when through want of Experience and Knowledg we rush unadvisedly upon the Swords point , and walk upon the very edge of a Precipice : For that of Thucydides is most certain , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Ignorance and Unexperience makes men bold and foolhardy , but good Advice is naturally slow-placed : Thus it is commonly observed , that your fresh-water Soldiers go to the Battel , as chearfully as if they went to a Wedding , but as soon as they see their own Blood , their Hearts fail them . Something allied is this Valour upon Ignorance with that upon Hope ; for therefore do men run upon Danger , because they have a Hope to speed well , and come off without Harm: For as soon as the Danger , which they knew not , begins to appear in its own Colours their Constancy leaves them , and none more readily run away : The Men of Argos waging Warr with the Sicyonians , and beating them often it happened that the Syconians entertained the Spartans for help who coming into the Field , in Habit and Furniture like the Syconians , whilst they were undiscovered , the People of Argos fought stoutly , as against their accustomed Enemies , but as soon as they percieved they were Spartans , without more adoe , they fled .

MANY more things might be said by way of farther opening the Nature of Fortitude , but we will shut up all with this one Conclusion , that it is not Hope , nor Anger , The Lawfulness of the Cause warrants men to be valiant . nor Reward , nor any thing else , but only the consideration of the Goodness and Lawfulness of the Cause , that warrants men to be valiant : else Thieves and Robbers might be accounted so , whose Courage is like Zeal and Learning in a Heretick , wholly bent upon doing Mischief ; else rash and unadvised Persons , and such as palliate their Lust under the name of Love , and every one that is carried on by the strength and violence of any Passion whatsoever , may be esteemed men or true Courage and Fortitude : Nam impetu quodam & instinctu currere ad Mortem , commune cum multis , deliberare verò & causas ejus expendere , utque suaserit Ratio , vitae mortisque consilium suscipere vel ponere , ingentis animi est . * * For it is a common thing with many to run headlong to Death , through a certain instinct and violence of Nature ; but it is the part of a wi●e & great Soul to deliberate well and weigh the Cau●es of it ; then as Reason shall perswade to take up or lay down the Intent either of Life or Deat● .

YET after all if we look into a Christian man as he is proposed to us in the Gospel , we may justly wonder , to what purpose God hath planted in us this Faculty and Passion of Courage ; since the Characters of a Christian are Patience , Christianity not opposite to Military Discipline . Humility and Gentleness , which Virtues are to possess the Room of Anger and Resentment , that stirs up Fortitude ; why else are we to obey the Precepts of suffering Wrong rather than go to Law ; of yielding the Coat to him who would take the Cloak ? But there are two Cases among Christians , wherein Bloodshed is allowed ; first , in case of Justice , when a Malefactor dyes for his Crime ; secondly , in case of publick War and defence of our Country or our selves ; for the Christian Religion is no Enemy to it : Therefore John the Baptist instead of advising the Soldier to lay aside his Weapons as unlawful , instructs him rather in his Calling , not to wrong any place by Pillage , nor to mutiny in dislike of his Pay : These being the two principal Vices of a Soldier , which the Preacher of Repentance would have him avoid .

TO shut up this point ; we must not be too prodigal of Life , nor trifle it away upon every Occasion ; but we must freely expose it , when we truly know upon what Occasion to spare , or upon what to spend it : a violent Lust , an ungovernable Rage , heightned by Provocation , or enflamed by the Spirit of Wine , may so furnish out a Hector , to a Duel , and prompt him on to dye , as a Fool dieth : But the Foundation of great and Heroical performances , the just and rational , the considerate and sedate , the constant , Christian Principles the best Foundation of couragious performances . perpetual and uniform Contempt of Death in all the Shapes thereof , is only derived from the Christian Principle ; this inspires Passive Valour , and furnishes invincible Martyrs for the Stake ; this excites Active Courage and fits out undaunted Soldiers , and Generals for the Field : For hereby we know where , and when and in what Cases to offer our selves to dye , which is a thing of greater Skill , than many of them suppose , who are most forward to do it : bruitishly to run upon , and hasten unto death , is a thing that many can do , as we see Beasts oftentimes rush upon the Spears of such as pursue them : But wisely to look into , and weigh every Occasion ; and as Judgment and true Discretion shall direct , so to entertain a Resolution either of Life or Death , this is true and real Fortitude .

Of TEMPERANCE .

IN the Catalogue of Virtues we have given the highest Seat to Fortitude according to Truth , peradventure we might Truth peradventure we might have given the precedency to Temperance , as being the Ground and Foundation , or as the Greeks call her , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Storehouse of all Virtues . In outward Shew and Glory Fortitude outshines the rest ; But that which enables and prepares us for all Moral Good , Temperance prepares us for all Moral Good . is in reality Temperance ; upon this , as upon a sure Basis , the whole Building of of a good Life is erected ; therefore it is very properly called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as being that , which preserves our Wits entire , and all whatsoever fits us for prudent or regular Actions .

First , BY the way , we are to understand , that Temperance and Continence , which is a part of it , is by Moralists taken in a larger signification : When a man hath been an old Offender , hath by long Custom grown familiar with wicked Practices ; insomuch that he hath lost , as it were , all sense of Sinning , or is such a man , as Divines say , is hardened ; for Hardness of Heart , and being given over to a reprobate Sense , in Divinity , is the same with this Senselesness or Loss of feeling in Sin , we call such a one intemperate , let his Vice be what it will . So the Man that is but a young Offender , he that sins indeed but with scruple and Reluctancy , him we call incontinent , let his Fault be what it will . In Liberality , he that gives , but sore against his Will , we call an incontinent Giver ; but such a one , as lasheth out , and without any sense or reason is unmeasureably prodigal , we say , he gives intemperately .

THIS we note , that we may understand the Language of Moralists ; otherwise Temperance is a peculiar Virtue , and hath its own peculiar Object : Temperance therefore is that Virtue , which teacheth us to keep a moderation in Meats and Drinks , which we call Abstinence and Sobriety , contrary to which are Gluttony and Drunkenness : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; Socrates being asked from what things we should chiefly abstain ; answered from all filthy and unlawful Pleasures : there is a moderation therefore to be used in that delight , men take in the continuance of their Species , which we call Chastity ; whose contrary is Luxury . All this we comprehend under the name of Temperance , which is in truth nothing else , but the Government of our Touch and Taste .

NOW since every Virtue is conversant in the moderation of two Extremes ; of the one of these we cannot doubt , it is so common , and so often met with ; For who knows not Gluttony , and Drunkenness ; they seek no sculking Holes , but tho they are the most filthy and spotted Crimes , yet every day they dare appear in the face of the Sun . But of the other Extreme we have no Name ; it being a thing so seldom seen for a Man to offend in the too sparing use of Meat and Drinks ; For few there are , that love to give themselves away through refusal of Meats and Drinks ; or to do , as that young Man did , of whom Ficinus speaks , who languishing of an unknown Distemper , and being at length told by a skilful Person , that there was no Remedy for him but Marriage , made choice rather to die , than to use the Antidote ; whence it comes to pass , that when we meet wtih such a Person , we know not what to call him ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Stock , or a senseless Man , one that hath lost his Wits , or some such Name , we give Him , who offends this way ; He that is guilty of the Excess , is said to be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Abstinence the best Cure of Lust . unrestrained and let loose to all Debauchery : For those , that transgress in being tempted by Lust , there is no better Cure , than Abstinence ; For it is a certain Rule , sine Cerere & Baccho friget Venus ; give to the Body so much , as Nature requires , it will leave no matter for Superfluity .

FOR , suppose the Palat be entertained with all the dainties of the most witty and Artificial Luxury ; yet can we taste them , but by the measures of a Man , and when we have satisfied those slender desires , all that remains becomes as tasteless to us , as Dirt and Gravel : so that whatever is eaten or drank above what a man can rellish , turns into Surfeits , loathing and uneasiness : For so long as he is confined to this short Span , and hath but the wonted necessities of a Man , which are so soon and so easily provided for ; he should be as well pleased with the common supplies of God's Providence , as with the richest Banquets : For he , who is not content with Natures cheap and easie provisions , runs a thousand Risques to get a needless Abundance , and to possess more than is requisite to make him happy . For him therefore , whose Errour consists in excessive use of Meats and Drinks , the Ancient Monks have prescribed a Cure in this Verse , Praeproperè , lautè , nimis , ardenter , studiosè .

First , Preproperè , Make not too much haste to your Diet , but expect the time and hour fit to eat .

Secondly , Lautè , Let not your Table be loaded with costly Dishes , but let your Food be plain and ordinary .

Thirdly , Nimis , Not too much ; for even dainty Dishes touched but sparingly , may well pass for sober Eating , but Bread and Water taken in Excess may be called Gluttony .

Fourthly , Ardenter , Not overhastily ; for swallowing your Meals by gobbets makes hard digestion , and may bring Surfeits ; therefore the Teeth were given and contrived to mince and grind your Meat small , so as to ease the labour of Concoction .

Fifthly , Studiosè , The danger of provoking the Appetite too much , after it is well satisfied . Be not curious in making high and luscious Sauces , which provoke the languishing Appetite , and create a new Stomach , after it hath been well satisfied , which is very destructive of Health ; but to rise from Table with an Appetite not fully allayed , above all things conduces to soundness of Body and long Life . For if the Stomach be stretched beyond its natural Tone and true extent , it will require to be filled , but will never digest , what it receives : Whereas He , that lives temperately , needs not study the wholesomness of this Meat , nor the pleasantness of that Sauce ; the punctilio's of Air , Heat , Cold , Exercise or Lodging ; Nor is he critical in Cookery , but takes thankfully what God is pleased to give him .

BUT against all this , that hath hitherto been alledged , two bad Customs are kept up and maintained . THE first is Solemn and chargeable Feasting . THE second is immoderate Lust .

Feasting an Enemy to 〈◊〉〈◊〉 FEASTING by long Usage and the Customs of living loosely hath gained so highly against all Rules of Temperance , that on Sacred and Civil Occasions it cannot now be omitted , nor reflected upon without giving offence to the greatest part of Mankind : For if we look through all the solemn Acts , which pass in the World , whether they be Civil Meetings , Congratulations , or friendly Entertainments ; whether it be sadness or mourning at Funerals , or jollity at Marriages ; whether it be the Celebration of Commencements in the University , the Sacred Installation of Bishops , or the Innaguration into publick Offices , the principal part of all the Pomp and Business is the Feast . Indeed in Civil and Temporal matters this loosness might be tolerated ; but in honour of the Saints , that the name of the Action should be termed a Feast , is very improper : So that Castruccio Castracano being gently reproved by some of his Friends for his frequent Feasting and Entertainments , had cause enough for Apology , when he answered , If Feasting were not a good thing , men would not so much honour God and the Saints with it ; But much better Counsel is given by St. Hierom , if we could take it , when he tells us , Stultum est nimiâ saturitate honorare velle Martyrem , quem constat Deo placuisse jejuniis : it is a foolish thing for men to think , they honour a Martyr by feasting on his Festival , who in his life-time pleased God chiefly by his fastings . Unto all these holy Gormondizings Sacrifice it self may seem to have given the first occasion ; For what is a Sacrifice , if we truly describe it , but a merry Meeting , and what was in old time more Celebrated , more extolled for Honour unto the Gods , than the Caenae Pontifi●ae ; and such were the Lupercalia , the Eleusinian Mysteries ; the Feasts of Bacchus , Flora , & Venus ; all which were but so many Festivals of Lust and Debauchery , in which the Votaries imagined their Deities were pleased ; as the Salvage and bloody Sacrifices , to Saturn , Bellona , Moloch , Baal peor , and all the other 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 of the ancient Paganism , supposed the Divine Being to take pleasure in the miseries and tortures of his Creatures .

Drunkenness the most filthy Vice . AND to this Day Intemperance by publick Approbation hath gain'd upon all sorts of men : Drunkenness is by every one declaimed against , and not without reason ; For there are Vices , as Montaigne observes , wherein there is a mixture of Knowledg , Diligence , Valour , Prudence , Dexterity and Cunning ; but this is altogether Brutish and earthly , and the dullest Nation in Europe is that , where it is most in Fashion : But this Defence may be made for this dull Nation , as He is pleased to call it ; that when Wine to hot Brains is like Oil to Fire , and makes the Spirits by too much lightness evaporate into Smoak and perfect , aiery imaginations , or by too much Heat to break out into Frenzies ; yet this very Wine may improve the Abilities of cold Complexions , may be necessary to rouze sleepy thoughts , and perhaps to animate the spirits of the Heart , as well as enliven those of the Brain : Therefore the old Germans seemed to have some reason in their Custom , not to execute any great resolutions , which had not been twice debated , and agreed to at several Assemblies , one in the Afternoon , and t'other in the Morning ; because they thought , their Counsels might want Vigour , when they were sober , as well as Caution , when they had drank .

BUT Drunkenness must be reckon'd a Vice , Drunkenness hath a very ill influence on the Mind . that hath a very ill influence upon the Soul ; the worst condition of Man being that , wherein he loses the knowledg and government of himself : Notwithstanding this Gluttony is a Vice far more , frequent and dangerous ; Gluttony is also a dangerous fault . For had Meats that intoxicating property which Drinks have , how many of our grave and serious Persons , as they would be thought , should we find hardly able to pass the Streets ! For Gluttony being the more secret and retired Vice , is generally practised with more security , but with no less guilt . In this Case therefore it will be of use to us to consult the most excellent Grotius , and to hearken to his Censure of this Sin , who says , assidua convivia , etiamsi absit ebrietas , culpâ tamen non carent , that daily Banquettings , tho no man be drunk in the Company , yet are very blameable .

The Abuse of Natural Lust is the most pleasing part of Intemperance . THE second and most hazardous , tho the most pleasing part of Intemperance is the gross abuse of natural Lust : It is somewhat difficult to extend the pleasure of Drinking beyond Thirst , and to fashion in our Imaginations an Appetite artificial and against Nature : whereas the most regular and most perfect Mind hath but too much to do to keep it self untainted from the follies of natural Lust , from being overthrown by its own weakness on this side . For it is unavoidably planted in our Nature , made up with our Constitution , it is fomented and put into a flame upon every small occasion , and by every spark of a Temptation ; it breaks out many times with that violence , that it is a great part of our strength and wit , which serves to restrain it : The Providence of God hath kindled that fire in our Veins , as neither Precepts of Virtue , Rules of Temperance , recess from all Opportunities , strength of Youth , and scarcely the weakness of old Age can prevail to extinguish it .

WERE all the Offences of mankind amassed and heaped up together , at least two thirds of them were accountable upon that score : submission to the Will of God hath bounded our thoughts , and confined them within the limits of Humility ; else we might justly expostulate and contest with the Divine Providence , which hath been pleased to subject mankind to so perpetual , to so importunate , so vexatious a trouble , and punish them afterwards for transgressing .

IT was a favourable and merry Conceit of a Cardinal of Rome , that there was no Law beneath the Girdle ; but both he and we to our cost shall find it otherwise : yet notwithstanding all this so madly hath mankind been affected , that even the finest Wits and most commendable for Eloquence , most abounding with Precepts of Morality and Policy , and all Elegancy of Literature , have laboured to give entertainment to , nay to improve this troublesom Guest . There hath for some hundred Years passed a sort of Writings , which we call Romances , the subject whereof is the strange Adventures , many Dangers , Fights , and wonderful Atchievements , which Knights Errants have undergone in pursuit of their Mistresses ; which Books are the greatest fomenters of Folly , Lust , and Idleness , that have appeared upon the Stage of Human madness . Romances the great fomenters of Lust . The Ancients ( for this is no new Device ) have prosecuted this part of obscene Story under the name of Fabulae Milesiae ; and lest perchance it might have fallen to the ground , some that have born the Christian Name , have made themselves Panders to publick Lust , and by no meaner Authors , than Christian Bishops , have continued the course of these Speculative Lusts . The first that opened the way to this Wickedness was Heliodorus , whom in our time the famous Author of the Arcadia hath fully imitated , nay for Wit and Elegancy hath not much failed , if he hath not fully equalled him : For this reason some Moralists resolve , that young Persons must not be suffered to look into lascivious Books , and some pieces of Poetry ; because tho they are fittest to learn Virtue by the Precepts of Morality ; yet they are most apt by the Arts made use of in these Discourses to be drawn into Vice , being set forth in the most charming postures , and in the most taking colours .

THE idle Monks have spent their time in furnishing the World with abundance of this Trash in all Languages ; I forbear to mention any , because I would not serve as an Index to others to make enquiry : I wish , the Authors of these Books had all acted like him , who made Amadis de Gaul , for he gave order at his death , that his Books should be burnt , as being conscious of the mischief they had done : upon which our Brittish Martial hath left this Distich , Si meruit poenas , quod flammam accendat amoris , Mergi , non uri debuit iste Liber . Howsoever it had been , whether by Burning or Drowning these Works had been abolish'd , it is not of much moment , so the World had been fairly rid of them : What hath been said of Cavaliero Marini , who at his death left all his Bones to be Glyster-pipes , that there were more things to be praised , and more to be condemned in his Works , than in any whatsoever ; That may be affirmed of many of these Milesian Impurities ; for smart Wit , smooth Elegancy , pleasant Conceits , and much fair Discourse , have served , as Salt for this insipid Stuff , the better to excuse , and draw it on : And where we meet with polite Language and quaint Inventions without one good moral Saying , those compositions are wholly unprofitable ; and besides their uncleanness is many times so foul and shameless , that no modest Person can look into them ; whence we may conclude , that Feasting and Romances have been the two main Props , which have supported Gluttony and Lust the two principal parts of Intemperance .

THE last of which doth this mischief in the life of Man , that it is sometimes like a Syren , tempting with amorous Addresses ; sometimes like a Fury , turbulent and ungovernable ; for many lustful persons are so impatient of any Bridle , that they seem to think their Girdles and Garters to be Bonds and Shackles to them ; The contempt of Marriage most pernicious to Society . But among all the Evils which the indulging of Lust doth bring forth , the despising of Marriage is the most pernicious to Human Society : for certainly Wife and Children are , as my Lord Bacon observes , a kind of Discipline of Humanity .

WE might inlarge our selves far more amply , should we speak of all those things which by publick warrant plead for the sin of Lust under the soft and specious Name of Love ; which Passion , when once it can take Men off from their serious Affairs and Actions of Life , it troubleth their Fortunes , and makes them that they can no ways be true to their own ends . Something should be said concerning the abuse of Musick and Dancing to the same purpose : Musick abused . For excepting the practice of the former in our Devotions and religious Assemblies , most other uses thereof are merely to be a Bawd to Lust . For if we look upon the Subjects of those Lessons , that are taught in the ordinary Education of Youth in this Art , we shall find , that there is scarce any Argument expressed , but what plainly tends to the spoiling their Manners ; for either the Person boasts himself in the good success of his Love , or lamentably bewails the Coyness of his Mistress , or is profuse in the praises of her Beauty , which none commonly sees but himself , Love being the Architect of Beauty , or he runs out in description of the Symmetry of her parts , or despairs of ever enjoying his Wishes ; These and the like Fancies full of languishing and flattery , are the usual entertainments in the practice of Musick .

AS for Dancing , Dancing very Ancient . the Antiquity of it may make us think it a branch of the Law of Nature ; which every Nation both Civil and Barbarous have expressed their mirth by , whereof so much may be safely learned , as may give a good and graceful motion to the Body . But the use now made of it , since it is become a difficult Study , serves only to chaff the Blood , and to set the Mind upon such pleasures , as will corrupt the very Being and Essence of all Moral Virtues .

SHOULD we prosecute farther this and the other like publick provocations unto Lust , it would appear unto most Men nothing else , but affected Stoicism : However ere we take leave of the Virtue of Temperance , it will not be amiss to speak something concerning the moderate use of Sleep . Somne quies rerum , placidissime somne Deorum .

IF then it be so sweet , it must belong to our Sense ; it were improper to attribute it to the Touch or Taste ; for no Man could ever tell us of what Taste it is , yet certainly it belongs to all the Senses . For in the definition thereof we say it is ligatio sensuum externorum , a binding of the outward Senses by reason of the ascent of vapours from the Stomack or otherwise , by which the passages from the Heart or the Brain are obstructed , and cannot give a supply of Spirits to the outward Senses : as for the inward Senses of the Mind they suffer not by Sleep , which is the privation of the Act of Sense , the Power remaining , which is evident in the case of Dreams , when the Brain is as it were benumm'd , and having not its motion in every part alike , its Thoughts appear like the Stars between the flying Clouds , not in the order , which a Man would chuse to observe them , but as the uncertain flight of broken Clouds permits .

NOW the Natural end of Sleep is the refreshing of our strength when it is exhausted ; we therefore usually say , that it is Sleep , The end of Sleep . which to make one part of our lives profitable , makes the other unprofitable ; wherefore our King Alfred divided the whole 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 into three parts , eight hours he allotted for Study and Business , eight for Eating and Recreations , and as many for Sleep : So that moderate Sleep takes up one third part of our life : which moderation of Sleep can appertain to no other Virtue , than to that , which is the Moderator of all sensual Pleasures , Temperance : And we have great reason to follow moderation in this Matter ; For as nothing doth restore us more to our selves , when we faint and are weary , than Sleep soberly taken , so nothing doth more stupifie , than its Excess : For this cause Nirembergius a witty Jesuit is angry with Sleep , and shews such a multitude of inconveniences that Sleep bringeth upon us ; that had not Sleep the good Fortune to have befallen Adam in his Innocency , he would have gone near to have done as much for Sleep , as St. Augustine had done for Natural Lust , and made it a second part of Original Sin .

THEREFORE for the moderating this Virtue , the best Counsel I can give is that of Hypocrates , Labor , Cibus , Somnus , Venus , omnia mediocria ; the words as they stand in place , so they are in order of Nature ; Labour , to procure Appetite , Meat , to satisfie it , Sleep , to help Digestion , and Venus , to ease the Body of Superfluities .

ALL that we have said , not only of Temperance , but of Fortitude , is briefly summ'd up by Epictetus in these two words , Sustine & Abstine ; These virtues are absolutely necessary , all the rest are so but upon occasion , and for the most part are rather the beautifyings , or the outward Ornaments of a virtuous Life .

Of LIBERALITY .

FOLLOWING Aristotles's Method , the next Virtue we are to Discourse of , is Liberality , whose two Extreams are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , that is , Avarice ; The Definition thereof is drawn from the Object about which it is conversant , that is Money : for Liberality is that decent meane , which we are to use in giving or receiving , in spending , or laying up of Riches : by which we understand not only That , which ordinarily bears the name of Money , but all whatsoever may be purchased or had for Money , in what kind soever , as Lands , Houses , and Cloaths . In all these whoso desires more than is for necessity or for conveniency , offends against the Commands of this Virtue : The Humour or Passion , which this Virtue moderates , is Love of Money , Liberality moderates the love of Money . a strange and unreasonable Passion , as being fix'd upon a matter , which of its self is of no use , save only that Men have agreed , that Money shall be the common measure of all things that are useful : And this Love of Money spoils all Liberality , as may be proved by several instances , which Theophrastus hath set down in his Character of 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; which is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; to which , He says , Liberality is directly opposite , and is defined to be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . a Virtue easie and ready to lay out its Money upon all good and Lawful occasions ; when the want of Liberality makes Men stingy , that they grudg to be at the necessary Expences of Life .

Parsimony commended· INDEED there is a sort of Parsimony , which we call a Virtue , as it is in the people of Holland , who are so industrious , that they are able to furnish infinite Luxury , which they never practice , and are so sparing , that they Traffick all the Year in pleasures , which they never taste : Thus they are rich and happy in a voluntary Poverty , whilst others are poor and wretched in their real Wealth ; as all are , who have that 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 or littleness of Mind ; which Theophrastus observes to be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , and this sordid Parsimony is admirably described by Juvenal in his Fourtenth Satyr , Sunt quaedam vitiorum elementa ; his protinus illos Imbuit , & cogit minimas ediscere sordes .

The use of Money a very beneficial Invention . NOW , They who first ordained the use of Money , which some ascribe to Abrahams's Father , were the Authors of a most useful Invention : For since Bartering , or change of Ware for Ware cannot be without much inconvenience , a fairer or more commodious way could not be provided to furnish our selves with all necessaries not only for Life , but for good Deeds , than Money ; which consisting of Gold and Silver , things hard to be come by , not without tedious , and perilous Voyages to Peru and Mexico , and being also of easie carriage , is most adapted for Transportation , and daily use in Merchandize . Notwithstanding this , such a strange , unnatural passion hath possessed the minds of Men , that it hath taken off our Affection and Love for other things , and fix'd it upon Money , which is only the means to procure all other things : Avarice or the love of Money the most unnatural Passion . This Passion hath begotten the most deformed Monster among the brood of Vices , which is Avarice ; for the Creature , it once bewitches , as the Poet tells us , Astat prolato jejunus venditor auro . The Husbandman ready himself to starve will sell his Corn for Gold , and the Beggar , let him have but some small piece of Coin , sicco concoquit ore famem , will be content to shiver in his Rags , endure the biting of his Hunger rather , than lay out his Penny for a piece of Bread : A Humour this , as it is most unaccountable , so it is most dangerous . For whereas Vices are of two sorts : some are intermittent , and take us as it were by Fits , as Gluttony , Lust Drunkenness , Anger and the like ;

THESE by affording us some lucid Intervals , There are two sorts of Vices . give us leave to bethink our selves of what we have done , and by this means produce Repentance : But there are others without any intermission , and keep us as it were in a continual Fit ; such are Ambition , Malice , and that which we now speak of , Love of Money , or Covetousness ; these never allow us time to reflect , but continually press upon us , and leave no room for a sober or a relenting Thought : For it hath been scarce ever heard of , that any malicious , ambitious , or covetous Person did ever return by repentance , but died in his sin . That which by abuse we commonly call Love , and which hath been the cause of much mischief , hath found at length somewhat to qualifie its too great warmth , either Time or Business : But nothing can stop the violent workings of this Humour ; Business encreaseth it , as being that , which is chiefly occasion'd by this Amor sceleratus habendi : Old Age doth not diminish it ; For we see , that it is almost the property of old Men , to doat upon their Wealth , as knowing how easie 't is to lose , and hard to get : And it hath been observed , that many Persons have been hardly brought to make their Wills , because they could not well brook these words , I give ; which words are in a manner the very Essence and Form of Liberality .

WE have therefore great reason to be especially watchful over our Minds , A covetous Temper is to be avoided above all things . that they do not sink into a niggardly or covetous temper ; not that He is of that temper , who spends less , than He hath coming in , nor He who can thrive by Prices , upon which the lazy and expensive cannot live ; But He is to be condemned for it , who breaks out into Fraud , Rapine , and Oppression for the sake of multiplying his Heaps ; who with constant assiduity and application of mind pursues the quest of Riches , and never thinks of being liberal to any one ; yet a little to comfort and encourage the covetous Person , we are to understand , that the virtue of Liberality is as well seen in receiving as in giving ; according as it is designed to be a Virtue moderating our Receipts , as well as our Gifts ; And He , who is not careful of his layings up , as well as of his Expences , shall quickly find , that his Liberality will have an end .

MANY Reasons are brought by Aristotle to prove , what needs not , that Liberality is seen more in giving , than in receiving : But we must know , that the Receiving , which so much commends the Liberal Person , consists not in the receiving of Benefits from those , that can give them ; For this is indeed but a kind of Baseness , but in the honest improving of our Stock , of our Thrift and all our opportunities of lawful Gain , of our Revenues , good Husbandry , and Merchandize . For this is the most proper foundation of all Liberality to make the best use of all just means of gaining , that so we may have ability of expending upon convenient and necessary occasions , either of rewarding such Persons , as deserve well , or of relieving the Necessitous .

THERE is a Virtue , which we call Frugality , whose peculiar praise consisteth , in saving Charges , How Liberality and Frugality are one . and in laying up : The truth is , Liberality and Frugality are but one Virtue ; for without frugality Liberality is but profuseness , and without Liberality frugality is but Avarice ; onely this difference there is , that Liberality is seen in giving , Frugality in saving , and both these do concur to make up the Virtue , we now speak of : By the way we must observe , that Frugality sometimes signifies all Virtues : according to which acceptation we speak , when we say , Hominem frugi omnia rectè facere : and esse frugi , was in Tully's opinion a Virtue becoming a King .

HITHERTO we have spoken of those parts , which constitute the very Essence of Liberality ; it now remains , that we consider some material Circumstances , which are principally to be observed in Giving .

First , THE End , why we give , The end of Giving . and This should be nothing else , but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , pulchrum & honestum ; whatsoever is just , honest , and Creditable : Whence we may infer that those Men are not to be accounted Liberal , who give for Ostentation , or to gain Fame and Glory ; nor those who bribe Judges and Advocates , that Justice may be perverted , nor those , who aim at High Honours and Places of greatest Power , as Tiberius Gracchus and Julius Caesar did , who abused these great Virtues dandi , sublevandi , ignoscendi , as the Historian relates , that He might by any means secure to himself the Supreme Dominion ; nor those who raise a Profit from their Benefits , and put them out as it were to Use and turn their Liberality into a kind of Traffick ; nor those , who give to be rid of the importunity of Suitors , who by their boldness endeavour to extort Alms from timorous and easie-natur'd Men ; Who are liberal Persons . But those only merit the Character of Liberal Persons , who are ready to reward the Virtuous , and relieve the Necessitous ; Seeing we are to temper our Beneficence by sundry Circumstances , in the first place as to Persons , we may thus make our Liberality a part of Justice , by giving every Man , what is fit , an what is due : And here come in all virtuous Persons ; all industrious , indigent , and poor Labourers ; all our decayed Kinsfolk , and all our well deserving Friends ; In short , all that need us of what desert soever they be : we are to reject the craving and unsatisfied , who are angry , if a drop of Charity fall besides their private Fleece ; the dissolute and riotous , who are sober perhaps and frugal , till they have earned a Sum to debauch withal ; the Wanderours and Spyes , who dare not lead their unwarrantable lives in any fixed abode ; the Irreligious and Profane , who never use the Name of Christ , but when they ask an Alms with it : Tho all these are to be passed by , and are not to be taken notice of by the Liberal Man ; yet He is not with-held from doing good to all others within the verge of his Power ; therefore his Bounty is not stinted to his own Family or Friends , to those of his own Sect or Humour ; but He is liberal to those who have done evil to him , and may be presumed ready to do more .

Secondly , WE are to consider the time , The time in which we are to give . we are to give in , that we prolong not our Gift , nor torment the Receiver with expectation ; For this cause our Liberality towards others must have respect to the Seasons of great Sickness and greet Losses , to the scarceness both of Work and of Provisions : Therefore when a sober Young Man is sinking at the beginning of his Trade , we must lay hold of that opportunity to help him : If another be under an Arrest , we are by this Virtue engaged to deliver him in time ; For so we may save him from perpetual Chains .

Thirdly , THE Circumstance of place must not be neglected ; For sometimes we bestow Benefits in Honour of those , to whom we give them , and these must be done publickly ; Sometimes they are given for the relief of Necessities , and these must be dispersed with all possible privacy : For many modest Men would willingly receive , but are ashamed to ask : Therefore the Man who is discreetly liberal , is very sparing toward those , who perpetually haunt the publick Streets and Avenues to Churches : but He looks for the needy actually in their miseries , or in their labour ; there He conceiveth , He hath a fit place offered for the depositing his Alms.

We must not be too profuse , nor too sparing . Fourthly , WE are to consider , how much we are to give , that we be not too profuse , that we be not too sparing : This we may call due Measure and proportion , whereby our Liberal Deeds are fitted to the needs of the Receiver , and to the abilities of the Giver .

TOUCHING the needs of the Receiver , Liberality doth not always limit it self to mere Necessity ; but in Persons , whose Fortunes are by loss and accident declining , it hath respect to Decency , considering how great the fall is from Riches to Poverty ; And in Men , who cannot support life , but with the continual sweat of their Brows , it pitieth the heaviness of their Yoke and contributes somewhat towards the ease of Humane Nature .

TOUCHING the ability of the Giver ; This Duty doth not require of all Men the same proportion , some may afford a twentieth , and others a thirtieth part : For before we go about any Charitable Work , we should consider the quantity of what we possess ; how much is required for the supporting us in the condition of our Birth , our Place , our Office , our Family , and for the discharge of our Obligations ; for whose Fortunes are intangled , an hundredth part for Liberality may be over measure . But S. Augustine says Regnum coelorum tantùm valet , quantùm habueris ; every man's Faculties is the price of the Kingdom of Heaven ; the same we may say , in all cases , of this Virtue of Liberality ; it is valued at the price of what we have , not at what we have not ; so that out of much , we are to give much ; out of little to give proportionably ; for no man is too poor to be liberal . Nay he , who gives out of a little , in the Opinion both of God and good Men , is far more acceptable than he who gives much out of a greater store : we read , when a great and wealthy Gentleman had presented himself to the Oracle with a pompous and costly Sacrifice ; he would needs know how grateful this was to God ; and he received no other Answer but this , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . How was I pleased with that poor Handful of the most excellent Hermioneus !

Now this was a poor man who approaching the Oracle to Worship , offered nothing else but a small piece of Leaven and Salt . Thus the Devil , where he did bear the Person of a God , knew very well how to act his Part ; for in the Judgment of our Saviour , who best understood how to value things , the poor Widows Mite amounted to more than all the Offerings of the wealthy .

The Quality of the Gift must be considered . Fifthly , WE must consider the quality of the Benefit we bestow ; how well it befits the Receiver : For this Reason we are to give Cloaths to the naked , Food to the Hungry , Books to the uninstructed , and Physick to the sick : The same good Principle will find out Workhouses for the poor , which is a double Charity ; for at the same time diligence is encouraged , and a supply is administred . Wherefore it is a great part of Prudence to afford suitable Supplies to the necessities of Mankind , and not to cry out , the Lord help them only , when Bread is wanting .

IT was a King , who being asked a Penny by a Beggar , answered him that a Penny was too little for a King to give ; and the poor Petitioner then asking him a Talent , the King replyed , that a Talent was too much for a Beggar to ask : Thus he basely escaped the bestowing a Gift . Yet thus much by this we learn , that our Benefits must befit the Receiver : For if a Mad-man ask a Sword , we must deny him ; and if a Person in want ask Relief , we must give it , because our Gifts must be always beneficial to such , as receive them .

Lastly , WE mmst take great care , with what mind we give , and above all we must be sure , that we do it with a chearful Heart : For to give with difficulty and backwardness , is as it were to put Gravel into the Bread we distribute , and howsoever necessity forces the poor man to swallow it , yet it loses all pleasure in the Eating .

ABOVE all things it principally concerns liberal men , to consider warily from whom they do receive , and whence or from what means they give ; For it is a like Theft to receive unlawfully , as unlawfully to give ; which is very aptly expressed in that Proverbial Saying , were there no Receivers there would be no Thieves . In the Civil Wars of Rome , managed by Sylla and Marius , according to the manner of Thievish War , the Conqueror by Proclamation gave away the Houses and Possessions of such as were vanquished : But ( which was very remarkable ) there was not one to be found , who would make an advantage of these Gifts , but all with one consent tanquàm à sacris abstained and held their Hands , neither would they receive or touch any thing , that belonged to others , as if they had been things consecrated to the service of the Gods .

WHERE shall some Chistians appear when these Actions of the Common People of Rome shall come to be examined ; when without Scruple they take all things to be good purchase , which either their Malice or their Avarice tempt them to receive : This one Example shall put to shame and confusion all those , who have taken occasion by War or Oppression , by purloining and seizing upon the Possessions of the adverse Party , to relieve their Beggary and base condition ; the very Donations of Sylla and Caesar are censured by those that report them for rapacious and unjust , tho made under pretence of War ; and doubtless , what is not lawful to give , is not lawful to be received .

Many other Circumstances are to be observed in Giving ; As ,

First , IN Giving we must be careful not to give of the meanest , or refuse of what we have , but of the better Sort , and such as may be useful : For he that gives of the worst , and reserves the best , hath more regard of himself , than of him to whom he gives ; whereas a man truly liberal regards not himself so much as he doth him to whom he is beneficial . For the manner of God's Bounty to us should shew us the way , how we should be bountiful to others ; for God daily loads us with his Benefits ; He perpetually crowns us with Loving-kindness and tender Mercies : Now the return we are to make for all these Favours , for our Health , for our Reason , for all the Accommodations of our Bodies , is only to help our poor Neighbour with a little Gold or Silver .

Secondly , NOT the Greatness of the Benefit , but the Ability of the Glver is that which commends the Gift ; as in the Case of the Rich Man's Offering and the Poor Widow's in the Gospel ; the former gave out of his abundance , which was not in the least diminished by it ; the latter gave all , and that with a willing Mind , which did enhance the value of her Gift much above that of the Rich Man .

Thirdly , 'T IS observable that such Persons , who easily , as by Gift or by Inheritance attain to what they have , seem to be more liberal , than such , who by their Labor and Industry have compassed their Wealth : For the first of these never tryed what Poverty was , never knew the price of a Penny ; and hence it comes to pass , that they so easily part with it ; whereas those , who hardly gain with great and continual Labour , what they have , are commonly more tenacious , because things gotten with the Sweat of the Brow are held most pretious , and consequently are not so readily given away : This makes the Trader frugal in ordering his Mony and Expences ; this makes him so cautious in Buying and Selling , whereby his Mind is inur'd to a great piece of Wisdom , to esteem and compare one thing with another , to judg and value not only things necessary for the present , but all others also ; for the Grounds and Principles of Judgment and Discretion are the same , though the Subjects , whereupon they are exercised are diverse : This doth also make him orderly and temperate in his Dyet , careful of his Health and Life ; while the Gentleman is thought less cautious and prodigal of all these ; he eats greedily and spends his Mony lavishly , he suffers himself to be over-reach'd and thinks he is generous , when he is fool'd by the meanest and unworthiest of the People , impudent Pedlars , or flattering Hosts . But it is quite otherwise , where Men have and make use of the parts God hath given them ; they are liberal , but it is with Discretion , and they are frugal , but without the least suspicion of Avarice .

WHEREFORE now we should consider a little the Nature of these two Vices , that are opposite to Liberality , Prodigality and Covetousness . The Nature of which Vices is sufficiently discovered , by that , which we have said of the Virtue , Liberality , only this remark should be made , that the Object of Liberality being twofold , giving and receiving , the opposite Vices have parted these two betwixt them ; the one being conversant in immoderate Giving , the other in immoderate saving or taking : If we compare these Vices so as to discover which is the worst , Avarice is more unprofitable , and worse than Prodigality . and of the blackest dye , we must conclude , that Avarice doth far go beyond Prodigality in unprofitableness and mischief : For all the time the covetous man lives , he is but like a Heap of Dung , which doth no good at all whilst it lies together ; by Death indeed his Wealth is spread abroad into many hands , and so it falls out to relieve the necessities , and to supply those , who , out of a vertuous Intention , are well disposed to do good to others : This may be the Reason why the Prodigalare pityed and bemoaned but the Covetous are never thought on without Detestation and Hatred : For other vitious Inclinations combat Reason , and often baffle it , but seldom can so far vanquish it , as that a Man doth applaud himself in his Miscarriages ; but the covetous Humour seizeth on our Reason it self , and seateth it self therein , inducing it to countenance and abett , what is done amiss : The voluptuous Man is swayed by the violence of his Appetite ; but the Covetous are seduced by the dictates of their Judgments ; therefore they hoard all , and will not be perswaded to part with any thing , because they esteem Riches the best thing in the World , and then they judg themselves most wise , when they are most base .

These are especially of two kinds .

THE First are those who fail only in giving , for whom no man is indeed the worse ; yet withal , such they are as for whom no man is the better ; they are in appearance exactly just and punctual in their Dealing , and will precisely give every man his own ; but withal they will require their own again with the utmost Rigour , without abating the least point : These men , as the World goes , pass amongst many for just , upright and honest persons ; yet to express the badness of their Crime , we call them by sundry evil Names , sometimes 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Parsimonious , or 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 Tenacious , to whose Fingers their Money is as it were glued and nailed , sometimes they are called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Sordid , who for a small gain will undergo any base Office ; or they are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Cumini Sectores , who , that they may seem to do no injustice , will divide a Hair or the smallest things with you .

BUT if we would please God and act vertuously , we must demean our selves as Job did , Job 29.11 , &c. deliver the poor that cry , and not grind his face ; help the fatherless and the Widow , not exact the utmost farthing , they owe ; Thus the good Publican recommended himself to our Saviour ; Luke 19.8 , 9. Behold , Lord , Half of my goods I give to the poor ; Hence He was proclaimed a Son of Abraham , and Salvation came to his House . So near to the Heart of Piety doth the Holy Scripture lay the practice of Liberality and Bounty ; For no Men can be said to be pious , unless they be well reported of for good Works ; unless they have brought up Children , and lodged Strangers ; unless they have relieved the afflicted and have diligently followed every good Deed.

Secondly , THERE is a second sort of Covetous Men , who offend not only in not giving , Vsurers and Gamesters censur'd . but in excessive taking , be it right or wrong ; They will take that , which belongs to other men without any respect to common Justice ; Such as these are Vsurers , and all that make gain of sordid and illiberal Arts , keepers of the Stews , and Gaming-Houses : Such as enrich themselves , and care not how they impoverish others , like that Lord , who would make his Hedg go strait ; Such as undo whole Towns , and rob Churches ; for whom the Name of Covetous Persons is too gentle and mean , we ought rather to call them impious , unjust , and wicked ; for whom no ill Character is bad enough : Of all these great and Enormous Vices Avarice is the ground , and therefore not without cause did the Apostle call it the Root of all Evil. From whence Oppression , Rapine , Injustice and all the most virious humours do arise , that are the Diseases , and predominant mischiefs of the Mind ; And the practices of covetous Persons to sober and good Men can seem no better , than that of the Devil , who goes about seeking , whom he may deceive and devour .

Of MAGNIFICENCE .

MAGNIFICENCE is but an Appendix to Liberality ; For the Man , who by Fortitude hath banished all Faint-heartedness and Fear , who by Temperance hath subdued Debauchery , and by Liberality hath delivered himself from Avarice , the very sink of Evil , He is so well qualified for a regular and good Life ; that the rest of the Virtues might rather have served for Train and Attendance , than have required any distinct Discourse to be made of them .

BUT since we have tied our selves to Aristotle's Order , We must be content to follow his steps , and treat of Virtues in such a Method , as he hath set down .

MAGNIFICENCE then in the strictest Sense of the Word , is a Virtue , that teaches us how to observe a Decorum in the managing of great and costly Expences . So that Magnificence goeth beyond the ability of an ordinary Person ; Whether we consider the means by which it worketh , or the Works themselves , which it doth produce .

AS to the means by which it worketh , it is great store of Wealth and Income ; which if a virtuous Man hath , He will act according to his Character ; Building of Colleges a work of Magnificence . that is , He will do all the good He can in the most splendid manner ; Perhaps He will build Colleges for the breeding up of Youth in all kinds of Learning ; And as it is pleasant to see Sets of our own planting to grow and flourish ; so it is a Work much more glorious , thus to build up Men , and from small beginnings to see great numbers of Youth shoot up to Eminent Stations both in Church and State .

HAD it not been for these Magnificent Donations , those Goths and Vandals , Enthusiasts of all Denominations , would have long since brought ruin upon all the Methods of sound Reasoning ; which have been kept up and encouraged by these Charitable Foundations : For when Julian's Decree shut the Primitive Christians out of their Schools , they thought it a Persecution more fatal to the Church , than the open Cruelty of Decius or Dioclesian .

Hospitals another work of Magnificence . Secondly , HE will erect Hospitals for the Poor and Maimed ; Now this sort of Magnificence doth very much serve the Publick Interest ; for those who do these things for the sake of their own private Fancies , and not for the common Good , are Magnificent , as some of the Church of Rome are Charitable , when they erect Sanctuaries , for wilful and Capital Malefactors , to fly to ; when they found such Monasteries , as are the Nurseries of a blind Devotion : But to be vertuously Magnificent , is with daily Provisions to feed the Hungry , not the superstitious , to entertain those that are unfit for Labour , not loitering Wanderers or Pilgrims .

Thirdly , THE Man , who deserves praise for his Magnificence , takes care to provide those Houses , in which the most notorious Offenders may either be corrected or secured ; that those , who are not so far gone , in Wickedness , as to be past Remedy , may be called back again and amended by just and necessary Chastisement ; that those who have broken through all the Fences of Law , may be taken out of Human Society , which they would otherwise destroy and bring into Confusion .

HAPPY the miserable , The go … of Mankind promoted by this Virtue . who partake of these Works of Magnificence ; more happy they , who lay out their Money and Revenues for the publick benefit of Mankind ; to instruct the ignorant in Schools , to heal the diseased in Hospitals , to lash the back of the Sinner in Bridewells , and to cure the unsound mind in Bethlem's .

NOW the Works of Magnificence , whether they be publick , or whether they be private , they are to be performed with all Pomp and State ; They are especially seen in Feasts and Entertainments either of our Friends , or of Men of the highest Quality ; or else in building stately Houses , Castles , Churches and Theatres : That Man , who knows how in the most seemly fashion to manage these Undertakings , is truly Magnificent .

The Errours of such as are Magnificent . BUT here the Magnificent Person is very prone to run into a very ill Extreme ; Having great things much in his thoughts , his mind is apt to fly too high , out of the reach of Prudence ; then He falls to the building of Oblelikes , Colossus's , and Pyramids : This Distemper swell'd the Heads of many in old time , who spent great Sums upon magnificent Piles , vast and sumptuous Statues , great and mighty Vanities : For Solomon , the best Judg of these things , hath passed this Sentence upon them , that they are all so ; The Judgment of Solomon upon these … ngs . For Eccl. 2. After He had made great Works , planted Vineyards , and had built stately Houses ; made Pools of Water for the Trees , that bring forth Fruit ; got large and numerous herds of great and small Cattle ; had gathered mighty heaps of Silver and Gold , and filled his Treasury therewith : upon a review of all the works his Hands had wrought , and upon all the pains He had taken , He concludes with the truest judgment , that ever was pronounced upon the World , that all was Vanity . Whereupon it may be supposed , my Lord Bacon made this wise Observation , that Truth is a a naked and open Day-light , which doth not shew the Masks and Triumphs of the World half so stately as Candle-lights do ; and no man doubts , that if there were taken out of men's minds , vain Opinions , flattering Hopes , false valuations of Things , and the imaginations of Grandeur ; but it would leave the minds of many , who make a great Figure , poor shrivel'd things , full of melancholy and indisposition , and unpleasing to themselves .

BUT there is a way to lay up our Treasure in Heaven ; The deeds of Charity entitle us to Heaven . to be magnificent on Earth and great in Heaven ; then this Blessedness must be gotten by doing such remarkable deeds of Charity as I have mentioned ; and if we do so , our Names shall endure for ever , when Mausoleum's are buried and Pyramids are mouldred into dust . It is Aristotle's Notion in his Epistle to Philip , that the acts of Beneficence have something in them equal to God , and the whole life of mankind was comprised in conferring and returning Benefits : 'T is true , there have been some morose Spirits , such as Chrysippus and Seneca , who have made plausible Harangues against Glory , but in the very doing this they have appeared to aim at it : Whereas it is the spur to good Works , if it be made use of by one who hath passed through the Temple of Virtue , to that of Honour ; And a man may with as much reason argue against Eating and Drinking , as endeavour to banish the love of Glory , that arises from the Works of Magnificence : unless this did rouze the Souls of men , perhaps a barbarous Sloth , or a brutish stupidity would soon overspread the World ; no care would be taken to promote or sustain the Seats of ingenuous Arts , or the Tribunals of State : This carries Men upon the noblest and most Heroick Attempts , and Human Nature without it would be a sluggish and unactive thing .

IT was the Thirst after Glory , together with some private Ambition , that incited the Egyptian Kings , to be at so vast charge in the building the Pyramids , and the Egyptians of lower Quality spared for no cost to cut out Caves or Dormitories in the Lybian Deserts , which by the Christians are now adays called the Mummies : and all this was undertaken for the sake of an Opinion amongst them , that so long as the Body endured , so long the Soul continued with it , not as animating it , but as unwilling to leave her former Habitation : Why should not the same Thirst for the Glory of the Christian Religion move us to do such Works as may shine before Men , and glorifie our Father , which is in Heaven ?

IT is not empty Fame , that we must seek for ; it is not with Wind that we must fill our selves ; We want a more solid Substance to repair us ; A man pinched with Hunger would be very unwise to seek rather to provide himself of a gay Dress , than a good Meal ; We are to look after that , whereof we have most need , and that is Virtue ; When this is acquired , then the outward Ornaments of Magnificence may be made use of : Epicurus his opinion of Magnificence . Which were so despised by Epicurus , that He made this one of the Precepts of his Sect , Conceal thy Life ; He would not have his Disciples in any sort to govern their Actions by the common Reputation or vulgar Applause : But Horace was of another Opinion , who says , Paulùm Sepultae distat inertiae Calata virtus — Concealed Virtue differs not much from dead Sloth ; which if it were absolutely true , then a man would be no further concerned to keep his Mind in order , which is the true Seat of Virtue , than as the actions of it are to be seen by others : whereas Glory is but the shadow of true Virtue ; For , — Repulsae nescia sordidae Intaminatis fulget honoribus ; Nec sumit aut ponit secures , Arbitrio popularis aurae . Virtue , that never can be repulsed or trodden down , shines forth with untainted Honours ; for it neither takes , nor lays down its Dignities at the pleasure either of Ambition or Popularity .

OF all Virtues This of Magnificence is the most Courtly , the other of Liberality is rather for the Countrey ; So that every Magnificent Person is Liberal , but every Liberal Person is not Magnificent . The Philosopher gives us many Notes , by which we may know a Magnificent Person .

First , THAT all our Acts of this kind be directed to some right or profitable End ; that the publick good may be thereby advanced ; The Soldier must not go to the Wars for the sake of Spoil and Rapine , but to defend his Country ; The Merchant must not adventure his Life and Fortune for the sake of Lucre so much , as that He may maintain his Family comfortably , and be enabled to help the distressed ; The Scholar must not bend his Studies so much after Speculative , as useful Knowledge ; The Politician must not covet so greedily the Titles of Honour , as the satisfaction of an Innocent Mind .

Secondly , THAT they be not done in Ostentation , or to get Acclamations ; Magnificent Acts must not be done in Ostentation . For no Wise man would depend upon the Voice of the Rabble for his Happiness , the Mother of Inconstancy , Injustice , and Ignorance ; For if we follow the Reports and Applauses of the Vulgar ; We shall be always wavering , because we forsake Virtue , and take Fortune to be our Guide . P. Aemilius therefore acted wisely in his Expedition of Macedonia , when he charged the People in his absence to make not the least mention of his Actions ; For praise indeed belongs to Virtue , but we are apt to be too fond of it , which Persius hath hit upon , if I can construe him right , Laudari haud metuam ; neque enim mihi cornea fibra est , Sed recti finemque extremumque esse recuso Euge tuum , & bellè . — My Heart is not so horny , but that I am sensible of Commendation and love it ; yet I must deny this to be the only End of doing well , to hear others say , O worthy Man ! O noble Act !

Thirdly , WE must do such Acts of Magnificence , as 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , or common Honesty requires , and that with a good and willing mind , without any 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , or sordid looking into every Account , which betrays a covetous and a sneaking humour .

FOR the two Extremes of this Virtue are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , or rather 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a vain , foolish , and unprofitable profusion of Extravagant Expences ; Examples whereof may be brought both from private and publick Persons ; as for instance , the Megarenses in their Tragedies , would have the entrance into their Theatre covered with Purple and costly Cloath ; So Alexander the Great rewarded a strong Drinker with a Talent of Gold , that is , with 125 Pounds weight in Gold .

THE other Extreme is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , which signifies an indecent Parsimony in great Works , whereby the State and Grace of them is eclipsed ; Now an instance of Magnificence , and of this sort of sparing we have in that Story of the Athenians and of Phidias the famous Statuary ; the Athenians resolving to erect a magnificent Statue to Minerva , consulted with Phidias concerning the matter , of which it was to be framed , whether of Marble or Ivory : Phidias making choice of Marble , and adding his Reasons , that it was more lasting and would retain its splendour a great while longer ; His Masters heard him with patience ; but as soon as He began to tell them , it would also be Cheaper , they commanded him to hold his peace , as supposing the least mention of Thrift in this case to be unseasonable : Here was Magnificence in the Athenians , but in Phidias poorness of Mind , that might become a private man , but not so publick a Work .

THUS the Expences of Solomon and Justinian are Patterns of Magnificence ; The folly of profuseness . But when we see Licinus a Barber in Martial giving orders to have a Stately Tomb of Marble built for him at his Death , we laugh at the ridiculous Man for his profuseness : For Parsimony though in private men it goes for a laudable Virtue , yet in the exercise of Magnificence it will hardly find any place : For how much the more honourable and wealthy any Man is , he is obliged to be bountiful and to give with the greater generosity and largeness of Heart ; it is expected , that He should be of a more free and ingenuous Spirit , than others , without any tincture of a narrow Soul , or of baseness ; but He is still casting about in his thoughts , how to find the most fitting Objects for the most extended Bounty : such a Bounty as may redound to the general benefit and good of mankind , in opposition to all those little selfish Designs , which vile Persons are addicted to : in opposition also to Prodigality , which hath this peculiar Folly belonging to it , that it takes care to destroy it self .

Of MAGNANIMITY .

WE come now to handle that which is the chiefest Virtue , the height and perfection of all the rest , for so in truth is Magnanimity , if we consider it aright , and not as Aristotle hath described it : There is a Virtue in Christians , whereby they adorn their Profession , which our Philosopher either knew not , or he thought it not worth his notice : For Humility , Humility the greatest Virtue of Christians . which is indeed the greatest part of Magnanimity , is so scurvily treated by him , as that it finds no place among the Virtues : none of the Philosophers could discern its Excellency ; because they were a proud and self-conceited Generation , and most of their Controversies arose from their overvaluing their own Opinions .

NOW this pure , humble , undefiled Disposition of Mind , by Nature we cannot pretend to , because of the original Corruption of Nature ; but by the Grace of God in the Gospel , we may attain it , and it is the chief design of the Gospel to direct us in the way to it . Although this Humility did generally pass among the Philosophers in the worst sense , for a poor spirited , pusilanimous Virtue ; yet it hath always had an extraordinary Preeminence , not only in Religion , but in the Judgment of all truly wise Men , and in all the best practice of civil Life : For even in this World , the dark , The crafty men fail more in their Designs than the honest . reserved , crafty men have fail'd of their Designs more than the plain , upright and honest men ; because the crafty man has many Parts to play , many Minds to put on , many Faces to shift ; so that it is almost impossible for him so to act all , as not to be discovered in some , and then he will be suspected in all ; whereas the honest , lowly-minded man has but one part to perform , which is his own , and that far more easie for him to do , because he always Acts according to the plainness and simplicity of Nature .

THIS Advantage comes by Humility in this life ; but in relation to the other state no Virtue is of greater use and benefit ; for nothing shews a nearer resemblance to the divine Nature , than a mind that is humble and undefiled ; nothing manifests a greater Conformity to the divine Laws , than a life of Humility and Lowliness ; nothing expresses that true and generous Disdain , which all true Christians have or should have of these earthly , transitory things ; nothing declares a more magnanimous Confidence in the divine Providence : nothing a more submissive Resignation to the divine Will ; nothing a more stedfast and assured Hope of future Happiness ; nothing can keep us safer from dangerous Mistakes in all matters of our eternal concernment : For the humble and candid mind , of which a right Measure may soonest be taken , is best prepared to take a right Measure of spiritual things ; that meek and sincere Disposition , which least of all deceivs others , is least of all capable of being deceived itself , in the ways of everlasting Salvation : Have not more bold , venturous , artificial Wits fallen into Errors , than they who have been content with the steddy , constant , and firm motion of meek and humble Christians ? For whilst those presume all on themselves , they trust to the most fallible Guide ; whilst these wholly suspect themselves , and implore most the Grace of God , they never fail of a certain Assistance and Direction : And what has been generally the success of both ? The humble , teachable Temper of the one has produc'd many real Saints , the proud , presumptuous , subtle Spirit of the other has prov'd a fruitful Soil for the Production of Hereticks and Atheists .

WE must therefore be humble , we shall not else succeed in our Hopes of , a better Life ; and if we reflect on the most polite Customs and Manners of this State we are in , nothing is truly graceful , that is overmixed or unnaturally forced ; no word we speak , no Phrase we use ; no Gesture , no Tone of Voice , that is overartificial , but it presently offends ; nothing in Beauty , in Action , in Motion can please , that is affectedly laboured and over adorn'd ; nothing has so much reverence in human Conversation , as true Humility , manly Plainness , gentle Easiness , undissembled Sincerity .

Two Christian Virtues unknown to the Philosophers . FOR there are two things , which , in Nature or in Reason , seem to be of no Account ; yet among Christian Virtues they challenge the supreme place ; one is our behaviour towards our Enemies , that we love them , and do them all the kindness we can , notwithstanding they do us all the Wrong and Injury they are able : The other is our manner of Deportment in coveting Honours , and secular Greatness , in the desire whereof Aristotle placeth his Magnanimity ; but a greater than Aristotle hath placed Humility , which consists in the contempt of these big Vanities , and hath cashier'd them all under the Pride of Life .

FOR true Humility is the greatest Magnanimity , and Aristotle himself hath by chance confessed as much ; when in few words he describes a magnanimous man to be him , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to whom nothing appears great ; than which there could not be given a better Definition of an humble man : For as Stoutness of mind very welll agrees with Meekness , and therefore Moses , who was indeed a Person of the most undaunted Courage , is said in Scripture to be the meekest Man upon Earth ; so when we have examined all Parties and tryed their Mettal , we shall find , that the most humble are really the most magnanimous ; and to be transported with the love of Honour , Greatness , or the like Follies , tho Aristotle stood by and frown'd at us , we must call it Baseness of mind or Pusilanimity ; since to submit to that which we ought to contemn , can deserve no better a Title , no softer a Name .

BUT that we may throughly understand this Point , we will explain the Virtue of Magnanimity according to Aristotle's Principles ; and first he takes it for a Supposition , That Greatness is the Object of Magnanimity , and therefore he defines a magnanimous man to be a Person that thinks himself worthy of the greatest things , and is indeed so : For he who bears himself as worthy of great things , but is indeed not so , is a Fool , and one in whom Virtue hath no place .

THE two Vices which are opposite to this Virtue are on the one hand 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Fastus animi ; on the other Pusilanimity , or as Ben. Johnson wittily expressed it , whose Soul dwells in an Ally ; who peradventure deserves well and knows it not , but with patience submits himself to men of inferior Worth , and is near akin to the humble man ; he hath a great resemblance of him , though he may not be really so .

SINCE we have made the Object of Magnanimity to be greatness ; thence it follows , That , that which is the greatest and most valuable thing , is the chiefest Care of the magnanimous Person : Now the greatest thing amongst men is Honour ; that Honour is so esteem'd , is evident from our attributing it to God : For the greatest Service we can do unto God is to honour him : Again , that which is most desired by men of fair and free Condition , by men of Place and Dignity , is undoubtedly the greatest good ; but we see Honour by men of this kind to be most earnestly courted : Hence it comes to pass , that to men of highest merit , Honour highly valued among men . nothing is more welcome than Titles of Honour ; such is that of a Duke , when he receives the Ring of Principality , like that of Pharaoh to Joseph , of Ahasuerus to Haman , of Alexander to Perdiccas ; such is that of an Earl , who had antiently the Government of a Province ; so for Viscounts and Barons , who are less than the two former in largness of Territory , and in nearness to Sovereignty . Such is also the Title of Knights , who in the Northern parts of Europe were of the noble Rank , and were in their Youth armed as Martial Knights for the service of their Country ; neither among the old Germans did any one bear Arms until he was honored with a Spear and Target in their State-Assemblys .

THESE Titles seem to be merely great and pompous names , and such as Princes can afford at the cheapest rate ; yet these are those goodly things which best please brave-spirited men , and in these the Glory of a magnanimous man is especially conspicuous .

BUT since Honour is a thing subject unto Fortune , since it comes and goes as it pleaseth that blind Guide , we must search for some more lasting Greatness , whereon to fix our Magnanimous man , The Magnanimous seek after what is most Praise-worthy in every Virtue . and that is no less than the choicest , best and fairest piece of all the Virtues ; look therefore what is the principal part , what is the supreme Excellency , what is most Praise-worthy in every Virtue , this is the Proper Object of Magnanimity : And that Verse in Homer , Tully was so much in love withal , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . That is , in all things to carry away the Bell , and to go beyond all other men , is the proper Passion of the Magnanimous . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as Pindar saith , to garble the Virtues , and cull out the prime parts of them , this is that , which makes up the great Virtue we speak of : For he , who yields to any the least Vice , who is so low-spirited and silly as to swallow its Baits , abates so much of Magnanimity .

Let us then , as Aristotle does , trace the man through some particulars in his Behaviour and Carriage :

First , IN all Fortunes good or bad he carries himself with singular Equanimity , neither puff'd up with Pride in Prosperity , nor broken or dejected with adverse Fortune ; sperat infestis , metuit secundis alteram sortem bene preparatum pectus ; he hath a mind so well prepared against all the Changes of this Life , that Adversity never puts him out of hope ; nor Prosperity makes him think , that He cannot fall ; By this means let the passions of men be never so fretful , He is never moved by them ; Let the turns of the World be never so sudden and wonderful , his magnanimity withstands their Force , which in this instance is the most splendid and glorious part of Fortitude .

Secondly , IN encountring Dangers , He is not 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as it were in love with the Danger ; like your Bravoes or Hectors , as we call them , that are easily hired to undertake a Quarrel : Such are in all States with great care to be suppressed , Vain-glory condemned . because qui suam vitam contempsit Dominus est alienae , having desperately contemned his own , He makes himself Lord of the Lives of others . These are the Men , who aspire after a vain and false Glory ; therefore in their Words always you will find Ostentation and Insolency in their Actions ; Where as the glory of the Magnanimous is ever just and well grounded ; Hence it is , that they never go about any thing , but what they have power sufficient to bring to pass ; They fly not to Fallacies or Tricks ; are not prone to Anger , nor to Boasting : They are never irresolute in their proceedings , because they are above those Difficulties , that make deliberations hard ; neither will they be at Enmity with Inferiours , nor laugh at the infirmites of other men from any sense of Ability in themselves .

Thirdly , HE is no medler in Alehouse Quarrels , nor in any inferiour Petts among Vulgar Persons ; Whenever He is engaged , it is in such a War , as may bring in the Issue Praise and Honour ; Such as upon which Justice and Equity attends ; There He hath par animo periculum , encounters a danger equal to his mind ; He puts no great value upon his own life , but is very well contented to lay it down , when it may be for his Countreys service or for his own Honour . And in all his Adventures He hath an Eye upon the good and conveniency of of that Party , whose Cause He undertakes , notwithstanding for the present his Fame and Credit do a little suffer : Thus Fabius Maximus refused to fight with Hannibal , till He was sure of his Advantage , notwithstanding the false and ill Reports which his Rivals did endeavour to spread of him ; non ponebat enim rumores ante salutem ; and in this matter did this Illustrious Commander behave himself with true Magnanimity : Quite contrary to this Action was that of Callicratidas the famous Lacedaemonian Captain , who being advised in a Council of War to avoid engaging the Athenian Fleet , did notwithstanding run the hazard of fighting and so lost the Day ; for which he gave only this Reason , That the Lacedaemonians were able to provide another Navy , if they lost this , but if He should fly , his Honour could in no wise be redeemed ; Thus a Punctilio of Honour cast his Country into distress , and had well near ruined it .

THOSE , who would be thought the only Heroes , put a great value upon these Punctilio's , in defense whereof they are moved by very violent passions ; but as soon as the storm is over , they slacken insensibly of themselves , if not to the lowest degree , at least so as to be no more the same persons : Insomuch that upon every triffle they shall be provoked to Wrath , and by as little a matter be cooled again ; therefore we can never make a right judgment of a Man , unless we pry into his common Actions and surprize him in his every-day Habit : Philosophical disquisitions do not so well unfold to us the Mysteries of Human Nature , as our own Remarks would do upon the daily Conversation of Men ; For their lives do seldom or never correspond with Speculative Doctrines : If therefore I behold a Man in the management of his Actions to demean himself steddily , and never to stop at any Impediment , that stands in his way to a good End ; He is the Magnanimous Man , whom we enquire after . Some pains must be taken to bring the mind to so constant a Resolution ; But when once it is confirmed , nothing shall discompose , nothing shall shake it : The best season for the exercise of Magnanimity . Therefore the best Season for the exercise of Magnanimity , is in the time of hardship and Affliction ; when , as a Tree planted in Winter , it will thrive better , than in the warmth , or in the midst of those Delights , that are tasted in the Ages of Peace and Plenty : Nay , when Affairs are drawn to the very dregs of Malice , a Man fortified with this Virtue , will look upon all its Stings , as unpoisonous , though they are sharp ; whatever severe Conflicts we may have with the thoughts of Death , the Feast of a good Conscience , and the Wall of a judicious Constancy will fence us against them : This is the greatest glory of a Christian to subdue the Burdens of Life , while we are deprived of health , liberty , power , safety , or Estate ; by the Virtue of Magnanimity all this may be done , which is the greatest honour of our Lives , and the best improvement of our Deaths : We must acknowledg , it is not easie to contend with the many dangers , losses , disappointments , and troubles we meet withal in this Life ; yet this Heroick greatness of Spirit will so patiently sustain them all , that they will afford much sweetness at the last , and bring a Crown at the end of the Race .

IF we consider further , The Magnanimous Man abhors Malice . what this Virtue is in common Conversation , it will also appear in that kind very useful .

First , BECAUSE the Magnanimous man in his behaviour with others carries his love and his hatred openly and in his hand ; For the causes of either of them being justifiable , he cares not , who sees them ; his Love He will not conceal , because his Friend may not suspect , that he hath any aversation to him ; neither will he hide his Hatred or dislike , because the Soul thereby may be stained with the most venomous malice , as the Diseases , that proceed from Stoppings , are the most mischievous to the Body .

He hates Dissimulat●●n . Secondly , HE is no Dissembler , he carries his Heart in his Tongue , and boldly speaks the truth , when a just occasion demands it , but always with discretion ; For men's Ears are tender , and can hardly endure them , that are wont mordaci radere vero ; therefore my Lord Bacon says , It asketh a strong Wit , and a strong Heart , to know when to tell Truth , and to do it ; So that they are the weaker sort of Politicians , who are the great Dissemblers . But if a Man hath that piercing Judgment , which the Virtue we now treat of , will produce , He will discern , what things are to be laid open ; what are to be kept secret , and what are to be shewed at half-lights , to whom and when ; These are the Arts of State , as Tacitus calls them , and these are the Arts of Life : But Nakedness is uncomly , as well in the Mind , as in the Body , and it addeth no small reverence to men's Manners and Actions , if they be not altogether open : especially the discovery of a man's self , by the tracts and lines of his Countenance , is a great betraying , because his Face is frequently more taken notice of and believed , than his Words : In short , the magnanimous Man will never act the Hypocrite , because it is a Vice , that rises either from natural falseness or fearfulness , whereby a man is deprived of one of the most principal Instruments for Action , which is Trust and Belief .

Thirdly , HE is not apt to wonder at every thing ; For what can such a one admire at , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to whom nothing appears great ? Neither is He apt to remember Injuries , nor is he inclined to Revenge , but thinks , to give , and to forgive , donare & condonare , are the best and the worthiest things in the World : Therefore Solomon saith ; It is the glory of a Man to pass by an Offence ; For He is but even with his Enemy , when he takes his Revenge on him ; but in passing the injury over or in pardoning it , He is Superiour to him : And those Men are base and crafty Cowards , who are like the Arrow , that flies in the Dark ; But the brave-spirited Man , who deals above-board with mankind , delights not so much in punishing the Party , that hath wronged him , as in making him repent .

Fourthly , HE abhors that secret Spight , which we see to be in most men , whereby they make the good Names of others the subject of their Table-talk , misreport their Actions , and aggravate their mistakes ; or if they speak well , they will be sure to spoil it with some reservation ; He is not querulous . Neither is He 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , querulous , or apt to complain ; but makes that of Otho the Emperour his especial Character , de nemine queri : For all humorous and peevish Persons go astray out of the plain way of the Reason of mankind . But our virtuous Man is ever well satisfied with the government of Providence ; therefore his thoughts are at rest ; and whilst others are very free in their Jeers and ill Censures , He takes a wiser course to suppress rather a piece of Wit or a foolish Passion , than do the least hurt by venting it : Nay , there is so exact an order in his Life , that the very motions of his Body are decent and regular , not too swift , nor too slow , his Speech not too loud nor too soft : For the smallest things in this kind of Person , are well worth our Observation .

ONE of the Extremes of Magnanimity is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , for which we have no Name either in Latin or English , unless we list to call it Pride : which is a foolish humour , some men have ; who being of mean worth , have neither sense nor power , yet will boast after the Spanish fashion , as if they could do the greatest things ; like that Gentleman in Rome by name Senecio , whose fancy it was to have all things Great , great Servants to wait on him , great Plate to be served in , a great Woman for his Concubine , Affectation of Grandeur is ridiculous . great outlandish Figs for his Diet , and would always speak great Words ; for which Whimsey he got the Name of Senecio Grandio : This Man is a lively Emblem of the Vice , we now treat of , a fantastical Affectation of Grandeur : which is a swelling of the Mind , that holds nothing , but corrupt and putrid matter ; which , if it be not let out , will infect the most hale Constitution , and the soundest temper of mind .

AS for that other Extreme Pusillanimity , I shall not say much of it nor run it down , as the Philosophers do , for fear I should put any the least slur upon the most Excellent Virtue among Christians , Humility .

HONOURS in Aristotle's Opinion are the proper Object of Magnanimity ; Now Honours are of two sorts ; greater Honours , which belong to the Magnanimous , and lesser , the managing whereof belongs to a Virtue , for which he could find no Name ; but some petty Virtue or other must be sought for , whose duty it is to moderate our desires after smaller Honours : Had Aristotle throughly considered the nature of this Virtue , Men of Virtue bring Credit to the Offices , they are in . he would have found as much Power in it for the managing of petty honours , as of greater ; For when the Thebans , to put an Affront upon Epaminondas , that renowned Captain , had chosen him into a mean and base Office ; It behoves me , saith he , that I so execute the duty of this Place , that I may leave it one of the most honourable Posts in the Commonwealth , and He was as good as his Word , It is not in the power of any Man to put himself into what Sphere of Authority he pleases , but wheresoever He is employed , it is in his power so to behave himself therein , as to add Credit to it , and so by the Virtue of the Mind to make the managing of smaller Honours a part of Magnanimity : For Men of large Capacities and wise Thoughts bring a Reputation to whatsoever Place they bear ; And when a Person of mean account had presented Artaxerxes with an Apple of extraordinary bigness , the King gave him this Commendation , Certainly , this Man , were He well employed , of a little City would make a great one .

ONE of the Vices opposite to this Virtue is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; Ambition , which is an Humour , that maketh men active and stirring , but very troublesom and uneasie to all about them ; 't is true , to forbid a Soldier the use of it , is to pull off his Spurs ; but if it gets into the ruling Seat , it can never keep things steady ; having not that Ballast of temperate and sober Wisdom , without which the Ship of the State will roul too much , and be in danger often of oversetting , because the Counsel , that is to direct it , is too hasty and precipitate .

BUT our virtuous Man hath no other Ambition , but to prevail in great and good Things ; He seeks to be Eminent only amongst worthy Men ; whereby He doth good to the Publick ; But He , who plots to be the only Figure amongst Ciphers , is the decay of an whole Age : Whereas Honour hath three things in it : 1. The Advantage-ground to do good ; 2. The Approach to Kings ; 3. The Raising of a Man 's own Fortunes : He , that hath the best of these intentions , when He aspireth , is an Honest Man , and one , whom we may call Magnanimous .

ANOTHER Vice opposite to this Virtue is called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Contempt of Honour , which may very well pass for a fault with them , who think contemptu Famae contemni virtutes , that in the contempt of Fame Virtue it self is slighted ; as if it were not worth the while to be vertuous , unless it were to get praise ; whereas Praise coming for the most part from the People , rather follows vain Persons , Praise doth not always accompany Virtue . than vertuous , because the People perceive not at all the most excellent Virtues , but are led rather by shews : Therefore my Lord Verulam hath compared Fame to a River , which beareth up things light and swoln , but drowns things weighty and solid . Wherefore Men , who have true Virtue , can be content to do well , without an eye to Praise or Honour , rectique facti non ex populi sermone mercedem , fed ex Facto petunt ; When they do a good deed , they do not seek their reward from the speech of the People , but from the merit of the Fact it self : For among all the pleasures , that were found out by wise and considering men among the Heathen , none are said to be greater , than those , that did commonly spring from the practice of Moral Virtue ; Now , if we will believe their Histories , were there any sorer griefs , than those , that did arise from the practice of Vice : And which is yet more considerable , the better and the wiser any man is said to be , the more earnest desires and hopes hath he after such a state of Happiness , as Virtue only can produce ; Neither is there any record of the most obstinately wicked , who with their utmost endeavours have applyed themselves to the suppressing the Notions of Goodness , The notions of Goodness most agreeable to the Mind . that they could so wholly stiffle them , but that they would be continually rising in their minds : which is a manifest proof , that they have in them a natural congruity to the Soul , never to be rooted out ; so powerful , so unconquerable are the impressions of Virtue .

Of MEEKNESS or gentleness of SPIRIT .

FROM the consideration of such Virtues , as give the greatest lustre , shew , and State to Mens Lives , we come to treat of those , which in common Conversation make Men dear , and welcome to one another ; in the Van whereof is Meekness or gentleness of Spirit , as being one of the first and chiefest of them .

BY this Virtue we are taught to moderate our Anger , and all peevish , sullen , and fieree Humours , or whatever else is contained in the irascible part of our Souls ; For there is in us by Nature a Heat , which if we do not diligently watch and keep under , willl spoil all our Conversation , undermine the peace of our Lives , make us injurious and unsufferable to our Brethren .

Anger let loose , is Fury . THIS Heat we call Anger ; which becomes Fury , when it is unbridled and let loose ; and if we neglect it , or suffer it to prevail , it ends in Madness .

First , IT is sudden , and fires us , ere we be aware ; Hence it is , that we find so few Men satis tutos adversus iram subitam , well enough guarded against the assaults of sudden Anger , and to seek to extinguish all the sparks thereof utterly , is but a bravery of the Stoicks .

Secondly , IT is violent , and gives no way to Consultation ; Hence arises the Question in the Schools , Whether of the two , Anger or Lust , is more easily withstood ? Might we have some Tiresias , some Man well experienced in them both , He would doubtless give his vote for Anger : For Shame and Company always repress Lust , and make men for the practice of it to sly into Corners , and strive as much as may be , to be unseen : But sudden Anger reveres or stands in awe of no Man , lays hold of every thing for a Weapon , and what lies in it , doth harm to the utmost : Therefore Claudius the Emperour , for that he was conscious to himself of his being subject both irae & iracundiae , that is , both to sudden Wrath , and Wrath continued , excused himself for both these by publick Proclamation , and made a solemn promise , that one of them should be short and harmless ; and the other should never be unjust , 't is well , if he kept his Word ; and how useful must that Virtue be , which enables us thus to act ; by which we have power to moderate our Anger .

THIS is Meekness , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as the Greeks ; Mansuetudo , as the Latins call her ; The two Extremes whereof are ; on the defect 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to be free from Anger ; which indeed , unless Reason be very strong , is a great weakness , but Agapetus tells Justinian the Emperour , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , He , who is never moved with Anger , is commonly contemned : The other Extreme in the Excess , is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Vice , which as frequent as it is , hath not yet found an English Name ; the Greeks , who abound in Names , call it 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Bitterness , and 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , asperity of Mind .

Anger defined . ANGER therefore , which is the Object of Meekness , may be thus defined , it is a desire to be revenged on such as contemn us : For let us pretend what we will , it is Contempt , that moves us to Anger ; and could we separate or sequester all other things which usually provoke us to be angry from Contempt , we should scarce ever be moved ; when a stone falls by chance , and reaches us , either we are not concerned at all , or if we be , we make our selves ridiculous , as when the Dog bites the Stick , that hits him ; but when it is thrown at us by a Person meaning to do us some mischief , we are stirred up to Anger , not because of the harm it does , but because of the contempt , with which it is done .

NOW the heaviest thing , and of which Men are most impatient , is Scorn ; For Man by Nature is a proud Creature , thinks others of little worth in comparison with himself , and is apt easily to conceive himself slighted ; But there is an Art of bearing Contempt , Crossings , Contumelies , all kind of injuries and Affronts , which if we could once learn , there would be little use of the passion of Anger ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , saith a prudent Man in Plutarch , You know not how to suffer Wrong , but I do .

NOW the speediest and most successful Way to learn with quietness to pass by Wrongs , is to neglect Contempt , which gives them their Edg ; But because the great Master of Ethicks will have it so , We must learn how to be angry by Weight and Measure , sometimes more , sometimes less , according as our occasions call . Saint Augustine had a Conceit , that if Adam had not faln , his passion of Lust would have been so absolutely under his command , that He might have raised or allayed it at his Will ; some such Conceit surely ran in Aristotle's mind , when He would have us put our Anger as it were into a Scale , and so encrease and abate it at our pleasure ; whereas if the powers of our Reason were strong , we should do all things in good order , though we had no such Passion at all , as Anger ; ; For there is never any necessary occasion for being angry ; or if there be , it is because of a perverse and peevish Humour , that reigns in mankind ; which would usurp upon us , unless we do exert an earnest Passion to oppose it : Wherefore in Human Life it is not amiss to put on a Disguise and act a Fit of Anger , when we are not really moved ; that we may defend our selves against all Invaders of our Right , and that we may wrest it out of the hands of such , as otherwise would never yield it to us .

Fasting no Remedy against Anger . 'T IS true , an abstemious Diet , and a just restraint of our Appetites do make an easie Conquest of many other Passions , but Anger is a Devil , which no Fasting can cast out ; the warmth whereof is rather augmented and blown sooner into a Flame by thinness of Diet : For we have a Question in Natural Philsophy , cur qui jejunant , sitiunt magis ; to which this answer is made , That by Fasting our internal Heat is encreased ; Now our Thirst and our Anger arising from Heat , as this encreases , they must do so likewise : No wonder then if Aristotle found himself at a loss , in giving Rules for preventing , moderating , and ending of Anger . Whereas such Rules , as teach us to govern other Passions , we must apply to this of Anger .

With whom we may , and with whom we may not be Angry . AS first , The causes of our Anger must not be slight and easie , but just and of some importance ; either the Service of God , or the violation of the Laws of our Country , the wronging of our Parents and Family , the taking away our good Name ; these or the like occasions may move us to Anger and justifie it .

Secondly , WE must consider the Person , with whom we are angry ; For we may not lawfully be angry with God or our Parents , with our Masters , Friends or Companions , with those that teach and admonish us , or with those in eminent Place , that are to govern us : Whenever such unjustifiable Anger seizes us , its motions are so violent , that they shake the very principles of Religion , and will not permit us to do any thing , that is Christian-like or manly : But if we are guided by the Rules of true Reason and peaceable Wisdom , we shall be angry with none but wicked men ; then our Anger will be called Zeal , and that with Virtue and Understanding .

ONE thing by the way it may not be impertinent to give warning of , that we be angry especially in such cases , as concern us , and in which we have power to pardon or forgive .

NOW it being unlawful for any Man to judg in his own Case , but He must betake himself to those , who are appointed for that end , Persons in Authority , to whom it belongs to avenge Wrongs , do often affect the reputation of Clemency by pardoning injuries done to others , who call upon them for Justice . But this is a foul mistake and very prejudicial to Equity ; For Magistrates are in This like private men ; They are then merciful , when they forgive Injuries against ; themselves : when they do the like in ministring Justice for other men , it may be some inconsiderate pity , but mercy it cannot be .

What the temper of our Anger must be . Thirdly , THE third thing to be considered is the Temper of our Anger ; how far , and how much we are to allow to our selves in the case of Anger ; we may not let loose the Reins , but keep it within due bounds , and not be difficult in forgiving such as have offended us , considering our own manifold infirmities ; This is the Way to vanquish all the Sratagems and Conflicts of Malice ; But whoso does any thing in the first kindlings of Anger , He is soon misled into the most desperate precipices of Action ; To remove this Evil , We must suffer our Passion to take vent and cool it self ; For to fly out into the heedless Adventures of Revenge and Outrage at the first instant as it were , hath prejudiced otherwise very good Men ; When Theodofius therefore , a Prince of the highest Virtue and merit , had much overshot himself upon sudden Wrath , Saint Ambrose advised him ever after that to rehearse the Alphabet , before He suffered himself to proceed in his Choler ; that He might gain time thereby to weigh the reasons of his Wrath , and so might have an opportunity to prevent the breaking out of so dangerous a Fire .

Fourthly , What time our Wrath may continue . A fourth thing to be considered is the time of our Wrath ; How long we should suffer it to depend ; For long Anger grows sour , and is easily turned to Hatred , which of all Vices hath in it the most Venom and filthiness : For if Charity be the principal of all Virtues ; then certainly , Malice is the principal of all Vices , as being most contrary to Charity ; The Master of the Sentences had a Conceit , that Charity was the very Essence of the Holy Ghost , and that He really dwelt in our Hearts , when this gift of Charity was infused into us ; I verily suppose He was deceived , but he said enough to make us believe , that Malice is that great Sin against the Holy Ghost , which at no time shall find Remission .

ABOVE all things therefore we must be wary , how we suffer our Anger by long retaining it to degenerate into the most pernicious Sin of Malice : For Moroseness , a pettish Humour , or whatever perversness there is in our Natures , are nothing but the Ways and steps unto Malice , a Vice , by so much the more to be avoided , because it is one of those Sins , of which Men seldom or never repent them ; as it is in the case of Avarice and Ambition , which after they have taken root , are seldom or never removed by Repentance . The Apostle therefore to cure the mischief , which may come of long preserving our Anger , confines it to one day ; Let not the Sun ( faith he ) go down upon your Wrath ; And the Scripture exhorts us all to possess our Souls in patience ; as if He , who is out of patience , was out of the possession of his own mind , and acted , as the Bees do , animasque in vulnere ponunt .

MANY other Particulars there are in common life , We must not be froward in Company . in which we are to watch over our Anger ; as for Example , When we are disposed to harmless Mirth , if we are froward , the whole Entertainment is spoiled ; so bitter Words break to pieces the love and kindness of good Conversation ; besides Anger makes a man unfit for Society , because it will force him to reveal Secrets , and fits thereof destroy the Methods of all sorts of Business ; above all things it must not be indulged by Magistrates , For mediocritatem in puniendo nunquam servabit , qui iratus ad poenam procedit ; that man will never keep to a due temper in inflicting punishment , who proceeds in an angry Mood to it : But in case of notorious Crimes they must not be too slow to Anger , lest they seem to connive at them ; neither must any of us fall too hastily into passion , before we understand the cause throughly .

SOME of these Rules perhaps might have been spared ; For so we do that , which becomes us , and as Reason doth direct , it matters not , tho we never be in a Passion ; for usually when it hath raised our Blood to a greater Fermentation , than ordinary , we forget our selves , and do more harm , than good , according as it is written in St. James 1.20 . The wrath of man worketh not the Righteousness of God : Neither is there any passion , that so much transports men from their right judgments , as Anger ; so thought Plutarch , whose Opinion hath ever been taken for just and true , especially where he judges of human Actions ; But Aristotle says , it serves for Arms to Virtue ; yet they , who contradict him , say , it is a new kind of Weapon ; for our Hands guide not that , but that guides our Hands .

AS for 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a total Freedom from all Anger , the less may be spoken , because it is a fault seldom to be found among men , and no inconvenience follows upon it , if the Party , in whom it is , understands himself , and is ready to do , what Reason doth suggest to him . For the Philosopher observes , that the Man , who is not angry , is not 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , not apt to Revenge ; therefore if this 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 be a Fault , Revenge forbidden all Christ●●●● it must be favourably censured , because it keeps men from Revenge , which unto us , that are Christians , is a grievous sin , and utterly forbidden : But mankind must take it for an undeniable Truth , that all peevish and morose Humours or whatsoever looks that Way , above all other things do render them unfit for Friendship and good Conversation : For so long as a man continues in these Moods , He hath somewhat of a Savage Beast , and is unqualified for Society ; whose Picture is drawn by Ovid in these lines : Ora tument irâ , nigrescunt sanguine venae , Lumina Gorgonio saeviùs igne micant . And these Humours rise by degrees and Ferment in the Mind , much after that manner , as Virgil hath described , lib. 7. the steam of a boyling Cauldron , — Magno veluti cum flamma sonore Virgea suggeritur costis undantis aheni , Exultantque aestu latices , furit intus aquai , Fumidus , atque altè spumis exuberat amnis , Vir. l. 7. Nec jam se capit unda , volat vapor ater ad auras . So that we must be at some pains to moderate and temper this Flame , Pettish Humours are the fuel of Anger . and this cannot be effected , unless we withdraw the Fuel , that is administred to it by froward and pettish Humours ; For this Passion , kept within due limits , and governed discreetly , is like the natural heat of the Blood , which gives life and motion to every limb of the Body ; But if we suffer it to burst out into Rage , it is then like that very Blood , set on fire by a Surfeit , and labouring under the Paroxysms of a Feaver : Thus the same thing in its just temper brings us Health , and when its motions are immoderate , produces Sickness and Death .

NOW Meekness doth not only deliver us from the Excesses of Anger , Meekness the only way to Peace . but doth shew us the means , whereby we may enjoy a peaceable life in the midst of all the Changes and storms in Human Affairs : Which at first looks strange , when every man seems to be engaged in some Faction or other ; When Animosity and ill Will do bear down all before them : For there is in most persons a certain intemperance of Passions , that renders them very obnoxious to fall into these Vices ; Which passions are chiefly the desire of Honour , the desire of Riches , or the desire of Revenge ; If a Man considers , how the publick or the particular concerns of the World are carried on , He will see , it is done by setting of handles to these Distempers in mankind ; by which they are directed and led like Puppets on a Stage , by unseen Wires ; so that their motions are not from themselves , but are managed by others , that either wisely or craftily propose Objects to these unruly passions ; then they begin to think that they need not run the long Race of Virtue , to attain Honour ; nor the tedious application of themselves to some Calling , to make them Rich , nor the regular motion of a judicial Process , to avenge their Injuries : Nay , such is the Enchantment , that ariseth from these intemperances of the mind , that without any solicitation from abroad , they drive men headlong that Way , they think the shortest , to satisfie themselves : But such is the Constitution of a meek or a moderate Man , that none of these Distempers dwell in it ; therefore He is proof against all their temptations ; to this end He avoids such things , as may procure Envy or Emulation against him ; Envy being an affection , that hath vehement Wishes ; and whereas there is an occasion given of moving other Affections but now and then , this of Envy is the most continual and the most importunate ; it keeps no Holy day , but is ever at work upon some or other ; and all the while it is the vilest Affection , and the most proper Attribute of the Devil ; to fly the Poison of this most depraved Vice , the Man of that good temper , we are describing , is never covetous of great Offices , affects not Grandeur or Popularity , is frugal in his Entertainments and manner of living , is ready to help not only his Friends , but He is a Benefactor to Human Nature , whenever He sees it in distress .

HIS Wisdom is such , that his domestick Affairs are never out of order ; and his Goodness is such , that He rather will forgive injuries , than prosecute the Wrong-doers ; by this means He secures his own safety in publick dangers ; for by reason of his gentle behaviour He gets but few Enemies ; and if He have any , such is his Carriage , as that He either melts them into Friends , or doth so abate their Animosity , as that they never attempt to hurt him .

●●n are ●●●lish in ●●inking ●●●m●●lves a … e the … ch of Enemies . NOW it is the common Folly and mistake of Men , great in Place , Power , and Wealth , to think themselves above the reach of Adversaries ; therefore they care not , whom they disoblige by Insolence and Scorn : Whereas it is a certain truth in the course of the World , that there is no Man , tho never so mean , but once in seven Years will have an opportunity to do the greatest Man much good or much harm ; as it is in the Fable of the Lion and the Mouse , who for sparing this contemptible Creature , was afterwards delivered by it from the Net , that entangled him , when his greatness and his strength could not ●o it .

NOW a Mild and Gentle disposition toward mankind is a pleasant as well as a useful thing , and is as easily exercised , as Roughness and ill Nature ; and when a man can make a Friend upon as easie Terms , as He can make an Enemy , He is imprudent , if He do not the latter ; for a mean Friend may be able sometimes to do a great kindness , and a little Enemy may have an opportunity to do a considerable mischief .

MEEKNESS therefore arises from the noblest disposition of mind , that can be ; Meekness is the noblest disposition of Mind . Nothing renders a Man more beloved , and tho Popularity be a dangerous thing in a State , when it meets with an Ambitious Spirit ; yet it is safe and desireable , when found in a peaceable and wise Man : And the Excellency of this Virtue chiefly consists in taming the Excesses of Passions of all sorts ; For Passion without this restraint would sometimes break out into rude and offensive Deeds , sometimes into provoking Speeches ; always disorder the Judgment , and so brings Inadvertency into our Actions . But our meek Man is quite of another Frame ; He allows such a proportion and measure to every Affection , as that they may all serve the Ends of a virtuous and good Life .

SO that if Meekness , which is the true temperament and Complexion of Virtue , did prevail more amongst men ; it would give them great security in troublesom times , procure them Friends , keep 'em considerate , and circumspect in all they do , that they never over-shoot themselves with Folly , Passion , and precipitancy in Words or Actions .

NOW the happiness of meek Persons is set forth in the Doctrine of our Saviour , where it is said , They shall inherit the Earth ; that is , as Grotius interprets the words , They shall not only enjoy the most lasting peace in their own minds , but they shall partake of the most constant Friendship from others , which is the best possession and most to be valued ; That they shall inherit peace of Mind , is out of doubt , because meekness hath a peculiar power in it to regulate the passions ; the greatest disturbance to the quiet of our lives proceeding from their Exorbitances , whereby the mind is kept continually out of Frame ; Nay , they are the distempers of ir , and we may liken our Anger to a Frenzy , our Hopes and Fears to an Ague , our Love to a Feaver , and our Envy to a Consumption : So that whatever will compose them , and bring 'em into Harmony , must needs be of great consequence to our welfare .

NOW the Passions may be divided into two kinds ; such as are more violent and unnatural , referring to Evil , as Anger , Fear , and Grief ; Others more natural and kindly , relating to that , which is good , and consequently they are more agreeable to our desires , as Love , Hope , and Joy .

THE first of these are curbed by a meek and gentle Spirit ; the other are strengthened and confirmed ; and both ways our quiet is much promoted : For supposing we practice meekness in all matters of Controversie , Passions are commanded best by a meek Spirit . we shall thereby be inclined to judg soberly , and lovingly to accommodate all things : For such a prudent relaxation of the utmost rigour , as right Reason shall direct , according to the variety of Cases and Circumstances , will beget peace to ones self and the rest of mankind .

SUPPOSING our minds be thus temper'd to mildness in the midst of troubles , losses , and disappointments ; then these Evils will not be only less bitter to us ; but we shall be able thereby to overcome the Evil and turn it to a good use , and to the fortifying our Spirits against the difficulties , that are to be undergone in the course of a virtuous Conversation .

BESIDES all this it is the peculiar priviledg of a meek Man , to have his Conversation in Heaven , while he dwells upon Earth ; It is true , no man's mind is in this State so well framed , as fully to understand the happiness of the other ; but this we may be sure of , that the peaceable and meek Man is best prepared for it , because our Souls must continue for ever ; What we make them in this World , and such a disposition of mind , as we carry with us out of this State , we shall retain in the next ; For He , that is filthy , will be filthy still , and He , that is unrighteous , will be unrighteous still : In a place therefore of happiness and purity there can be no room for fierce and unruly Passions , because they would not only make us miserable , but be a trouble to all those , with whom we should Converse ; For if a Man of a malicious and peevish Temper should enter the Mansions of Bliss , he would not only be unhappy himself , but He would raise storms even in those calm Regions ; he would be like the Rich man in Hell , tormented with a continual Thirst , and burnt up in the flames of his own ardent Desires .

VAIN Man ! that dreamest of being happy , without any disposition for it ; To be happy , is to enjoy what we desire , and to live with those , whom we love ; But there is nothing in Heaven sutable to the desires of a turbulent Man ; all the Joys there are purely Spiritual , and are only to be relished by those , who are meek upon Earth , and have purified themselves , even as God is pure .

THE hope therefore of that plentiful Inheritance , Meekness is the most proper disposition of mind for eternal Happiness . which God hath prepared for them , in whom there is the same mind and spirit of meekness , which was in Christ Jesus , should inspire us always with new vigour in the ways of Virtue and Holiness ; This very thought should confirm all purposes of Obedience ; For if we have our fruit unto holiness , our end will be everlasting Life : For the other State was so unknown to mankind , that they knew not , what Dispositions and Habits would qualifie them for it ; before they were declared by our Saviour , who came from thence , and consequently understood best , what were the necessary preparations for it ; Though many Virtues , which he hath enjoined us may seem unnecessary restraints of our Liberties ; yet we ought to conclude , that He knew the reason of such Commands , and that such qualities will be found as needful in the next World , as out bodily Senses are in this : for virtuous dispositions of mind , are as necessary to qualifie us to relish the pleasures of Heaven , as our Bodily Senses are to perceive the Delights of this World ; and therefore we should endeavour to exercise all those heights of Virtue , which the Gospel recommends to us ; because as much as we fall short of these , so will our glory and happiness be lessen'd in the other State .

Of the Three Conversable VIRTUES , Comitas , Veritas , Urbanitas . First , Of COMITY , or AFFABILITY .

THE Virtues which adorn and recommend a Man in Conversation , and are therefore called by Aristotle 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , are especially Three , Comity , Veracity , Vrbanity : For Man by Nature is a Civil Creature and Sociable : And the practice of Virtue consists in living sutably to the Dictates of Reason and Nature ; Man is by Nature a sociable Creature . and this is the substance and main Design of all the Laws of Religion , to oblige mankind to behave themselves in all their actions , as becometh Civil and Sociable Creatures : For God did at first make them so , otherwise they must have lived and died like Gladiators , and have unavoidably perished at one time or another by their own Swords ; otherwise the Well-being of the World must be entirely attributed to the Wit of Man , and not to the Providence of God , if so be He had sent his Creatures into it in such a Condition , as should oblige them to seek their own ruin and destruction : whereas all men have by the Divine Appointment a common Right and Title to Happiness , which cannot be obtained without Society , nor Society subsist without mutual Aids of Love and Friendship : That therefore , which makes men acceptable and inoffensive , in nothing troublesom , and welcome to one another , is such a quality , as doth arise from the constitution of Human Nature , and was intended for the common good of mankind ; who without it would live poor and solitary , like Bats and Owls , or like Vermine , by robbing and filching from one another . One of these Qualities is that , which Aristotle for want of a better word calls 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , and we define it to be a Virtue , which holds the middle place between Flattery and Moroseness .

A Flatterer is one that commends every thing you do , whether it be good or bad ; He is a fawning Sycophant , that will embrace and commend a Man at that time , in which He really hates him : A morose and sour Person is one , who hardly approves any thing , but is blunt in his Expressions , and sullen in his humour towards all mankind : He , who can carry himself evenly between these two Extremes ; as that He can praise without such Flattery , as calls a man Fool or Knave by Signs over his Shoulder , whilst He hath him in his Arms , and can discommend , what is indeed to be misliked without detraction or Satyre , He is the Man , whom we seek for .

FOR we are to esteem Virtue , not as the People do men , only by the marks and Value Fortune has set upon them , never considering intrinsick Worth ; Whereas the King's Stamp makes not the Mettal either better or heavier : The Virtue affability gives a grace to all our Actions . But the good Quality we now talk of is called by Dionysius , Halicarnasseus , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Virtue , which gives grace a and lustre to all our Actions , and the same judicious Author laments the want of it in M. Cariolanus , a Man otherwise of very Eminent Qualifications ; But his being without this one Faculty expell'd him the City of Rome , made all his other Virtues unprofitable , and did cast a Cloud upon the rest of his Glories : For He thought , not to do wrong , was too mean a piece of goodness , to be accounted a Virtue ; This 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Gentleness and Loveliness was a stranger to all his Actions , otherwise most Honourable ; Whereas no Courtesie , no Affability in a man of great Accomplishments , is as unnatural and undecent , as no Ceremony in Religion .

IN the whole course of our Lives no Virtue is of greater use , none deserves more regard , than this especially in common Conversation ; wherein the occasions of commending and reproving do often occur , and this Virtue teacheth us how to commend without Flattery and to reprove without Bitterness : Indeed to praise men in their own presence is very seldom necessary ; they can do it fast enough of themselves , and many can scarce forbear doing it , tho it be nauseous to the Company , with whom they Converse : Flattery is an odious thing . The less need therefore shall we have to speak much of that , which we are like to have so litle use of ; which wise and modest Men delight so little in : And what can be more irksom , than to hear a Man flatter every thing , and every body alike ! What more ridiculous , and shameful , than to see men bowing low , and hugging each other , whilst they can hardly hold their solemn false Countenances ! How grievous is it to behold men as shye of Plain-dealing , as a Cheat is of fair Play ; they think , they shall never thrive , unless they practice all manner of plausible Arts to compass their Designs ; For let us observe at any time , what People do , when they meet together upon the Exchange or at the Court , they seem to put together many good Words to deceive or to signifie nothing .

Reproof is often necessary . WE must confess , occasions of Reproof do often offer themselves , and though they are neglected many times through a clownish Fear , or too much Reverence , which we have of our Company ; yet Ways ought to be both studied and found out , by which we may discharge as inoffensively as we can , this very necessary Duty ; And what better Example can we follow , than Latimer the Bishop of Worcester , who presented King Henry VIII . with a New-years-Gift , and it was in a Box shut close ; the King breaking it up , found in a fair Handkerchief these words wrote in letters of Gold ; Fornicatores & Adulteros judicabit Deus : a Fault this Prince was too guilty of , and He thanked the honest Bishop for his Civility , in correcting him after so gentile a manner . But most men are to be blamed in this matter ; For sic objurgant quasi oderint ; they put no difference between Reproving and Upbraiding ; Whereas Reproof ought to be administred like Physick ; or as we are wont to deal with Children , when a Potion is given 'em to drink , we anoint the Cup with some pleasant and palatable thing , to make the bitter draught go down : And St. Chrysostom discoursing of a sick Person , who longed much for Wine , which was bad for his Distemper , Reports , that his Physitian used this Art to deceive him ; He took a new Earthen Cup , heated it thorowly in the Fire , then he quench'd it in such fragrant Wine , as the Patient desired ; Having done so , he fills it with Water and presents it to the sick Man ; who smelling the fragrancy of the Cup , ere he was aware drank up the Water , and so escaped the Danger , which had ensued upon his drinking the Wine .

SUCH commendable Arts we must apply our selves to , when we administer the bitter but necessary potion of reproof ; as that Chirurgeon , who being to lay open a very corrupt Ulcer , and seeing his Patient afraid , hides his Launcet in a Spunge , wherewith , whilst he gently touches and seems to foment the Sore , he unexpectedly Launces it , and saves his Patient .

Great care must be had , with whom we converse . THIS Virtue , whose character we are now giving , will teach us a thousand such ways to deal with Mankind ; in the use whereof , the thing mainly to be consider'd is this , that we be especially careful of what Persons , we converse withal ; which are of Three sorts , either our Betters , or our Equals , or our Inferiours .

IN Conversing with our Betters , we must beware of Sawciness , or of using our advantage if we have any ; For it is a true Proverb , He that eats Pears with his Betters , must take heed how he choose the best . Rigomez de Selva , a great Courtier under Charles the 5th , being one Night at Cards with his Master , the Emperour likeing his Game , Swore , that Bout should be his ; the Courtier not willing to cross him , notwithstanding he had much the better hand , threw up his Cards and yielded : Some of the standers by , perceiving this , smiled ; which the Emperour taking notice of would needs know the cause without any excuse ; and being inform'd , what Rigomez had done rather than he would displease him , took it well for the present , and afterwards gave him a just reward : So welcome are these Civilities to Persons of the highest Quality and Honor.

Secondly , OUR behaviour amongst our equals must be without all Imperiousness ; for Insolence and Stateliness are no signs of a well bred Man , but the Scandals of Conversation ; and it being better to give too much Honor to any Person than too little ; therefore it is better to carry our selves as inferiours to our equals , and equal to such , as are not much our inferiours .

Thirdly , WE must so Converse with our inferiours , as never to do any thing that may look like scorn ; because Man by Nature is most impatient of Contempt : Man naturally is must impatient of c●ntempt . For a Person of Note and Birth in Rome Sueing once for the Consulship , took one of the Plebeians by the Hand , and finding it somewhat hardened by the reason of his daily labour , asked him merrily , whether he were used to go upon his Hands : The Man taking this for a Scoff and a Derision of him , complained to his Associates , and did so far prevail , that the Patrician lost the Consulship for his unseasonable jest .

TO conclude , in our behaviour with all kind of Persons , we must cut off those Angles , and smooth all that roughness , which may give offence ; and be cautious , that we fall not upon either of the extremes , base Submission , or Surliness ; for these are the Two Rocks , between which we must steer our Course , if we would adorn the Doctrine of Christ with a blameless Conversation . If we would keep up Friendship with our Brethren , which Friendship bears upon it a Character of the Divine Nature ; because it is ever doing good to Mankind , Affability without Friendship is nothing worth . and without which Affability is only Talk , but a tinkling Cymball : Nay without it the whole World is but a Wilderness , and Men are the Savage Beasts in that Desart : Now our Passions of all Kinds are most apt to swell and affect our Hearts ; to ease and bring down these Swellings , is the principal Fruit of Friendship , which at the same time chears our Spirits , and quickens them also in Wisdom and Virtue ; it doubles Men's joys , and cuts their griefs into halfes ; upon this account our most serious Religion commands us to be chearful and friendly , that we may be good company for our Neighbours ; for hereby our words are made more gracious and acceptable , our conceits more quick and pleasant , our countenances more smooth and obliging : A Temper thus Framed , may support the Burden of Life very contentedly ; which is not unfitly compar'd to a Journey ; to perform it all alone is so uncomfortable , that we should grow weary , as soon as we begin it , unless we were joined in friendship with our Fellow-Travellers , who will make it seem less tedious and burdensome : What a comfort is this to humane Life ! to walk with such Companions , as shall asswage our cares with their wholsom Discourses , dispatch our Counsels with their sage Opinions , and dissipate our sorrows with their innocent Mirth : Therefore Solomon hath told us , that two are better , than one ; 1. In the Case of inward Weakness , if one fall , the other will lift up his Friend ; 2. In the Case of Dulness , if one be cold and heavy , the other may communicate some heat to him ; 3. In the Case of Worldly Troubles and violent Enemies , that may prevail against one , yet two , he saith , shall withstand them : So in all private Cases , the calling a Man's self to a strict account , is a Medicine sometime too corrosive and sharp ; the reading Books of Morality is often very flat and dead ; and the observing our faults in others , is frequently unproper for our case ; but the best Receipt , both for the amending our Manners , and the managing our Business , is the Admonition of a Friend ; especially when he is one of real worth , having a Mind furnished with treasures of divine Wisdom , and a Heart full of the Love of God : For the Hope neither of gain , nor pleasure , nor youthful affection , but the Love of Wisdom , Goodness , and Sobriety must knit us together ; we must be united by the admiration and esteem of the same things ; for since the Study of Virtue is not subject to those changes of Fortune , that other things undergo , the benevolence of virtuous Men must needs be perpetual , and is not in danger to suffer that decay , which is wont to be the Fate of vulgar Friendship .

Of VERACITY .

OF the Conversable Virtues , Veracity is the Tye , and that , which gives 'em their real price , the Philosopher calls it Truth , but that name is too general ; for Truth is properly the Object of the understanding , as we are taught in the Mataphysicks , where Ens is said to have Three properties , unum , bonum , verum . For when the understanding doth conceive aright of Things , as they are in themselves with their mutual respects and relations one to another ; then ( as it were by a second notion ) it is said to conceive the Truth ; and if it happen not to form a right Conception of any thing , whose truth was not made by the understanding , but was antecedent to it ; there it is said to conceive that , which is false : For the better descent therefore unto our matter in hand , we are to understand , that there is in things a double Truth , one Metaphysical , the spring of all our common Notions and Principles , and upon which we ground all our Reasonings and Discourse ; to this is opposed Falsehood and Errour . Another Truth for distinction sake we call Moral , unto which is opposed a Lye . For when the understanding conceives amiss of any thing , it doth not presently lye , but errs , mistakes , or reports a Falshood . But Mendacia animo constant ; we then Lye , when wittingly we broach a Falshood for some evil end , either of gain or flattery , of fear , or some such purpose : And here we find that Truth , which doth properly constitute this Virtue .

NOTWITHSTANDING Truth , as it is opposed to a lye , is somewhat of too large a nature to be contained under this Virtue , but it is often opposed unto Justice : But the Truth , which especially belongs to this Virtue , concerns a point of behaviour in common Conversation , upon which we are frequently cast : For 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , that is , to speak somewhat of our selves is often very necessary , tho it be seldom welcome : For a Man to praise or dispraise himself is ungrateful , and quickly cloyes the hearer .

Veracity must govern our language , when we speak of our selves . NOW this Virtue of Veracity teacheth how to govern our Language , in case we are constrained to speak of our selves ; yet let me be so understood , that this Virtue doth also reach unto other parts of our Discourse ; for it becomes us , whensoever we speak of any thing , to utter our Thoughts , plainly , candidly , and sincerely : For clear and open dealing is the honor of Man's Nature ; and every mixture of falshood in the business of Life , is like Alloy in Gold and Silver Coin , which may make the Mettal work the better , but it embaseth it : Neither is there any Vice that so covers a Man with shame , as to be found false .

THE two extremes of this Virtue will betray us much ; Vain Boasting is very ungrateful and silly . on the one hand is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , vain boasting , a humor either of making Somewhat out of nothing , or of much out of little : For it is the vanity of many Men beyond measure to magnifie themselves , and by thus putting forth themselves to desire to seem something ; so their imaginations are filled with shadows of greatness ; an example of which vain Glory is the Fly upon the Axle-Tree , saying to herself , what a Dust do I raise ! Such are Mountebanks of all sorts , which we seldom miss of in any Company ; Men , who are always counterfeiting the Signs of some Virtue , which they have not , affecting every little story of themselves , and catching at honor from their very Dreams : Like the Mountebank-Physician , who would fain supply some higher Ability he pretends to , with craft , and draws great companies to him by undertaking strange things , which can never be effected ; so the Politician finding , how the People are taken with specious , miraculous impossibilities , playes the same game , protests , declares , promises I know not what things , which he is sure can never be brought about ; thus they are deluded and pleased ; the expectation of a future good , which shall never befall them , draws their Eyes off a present Evil ; so they are kept in Subjection , and He by his Boasting is established in his Greatness and Power .

The contrary to this Vain-boasting is by Aristotle called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , when a man dissembles what he knows to be in himself , and loves to speak slightingly of his own real Virtues , as in old time it was observed of Socrates , who was the severest 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 in the World , as appears by him in Platoes Dialogues : This very thing is sufficient to make us doubt at least , whether we may number this kind of Irony among the vices ; for the very Name of Socrates is the Name of Virtue : We must therefore with the Philosophers leave find some other vice to oppose Veracity ; which because we have no name for , we must be contented to describe it , and it is an unnecessary , overbashful dissimulation of those good things , which are in us .

FOR there are many examples of Men , who are satisfied with the knowledg of their own good Parts ; they have a Treasure of Learning lock'd up , and they care not to discover it to their own great disadvantage . If we peruse the writings of other Men concerning the Nature of Veracity , we shall find them to extend it to more particulars ; for according to them , all kind of Perjuries , Perfidiousness , Dissimulation , Craft , and all manner of Lyes are against it : So that if we would know , what Rule of Life this Virtue doth prescribe us , we cannot express it in more significant Words , than Tully hath done in the Third Book of his Offices ; where versuti , obscuri , astuti , fallaces , malitiosi , callidi , veteratores , vafri , are declared enemies to this Virtue , from which the shifting , close , deceitful , malicious , sly shufflers are always excluded : To which must be added all those , who for their own advantage , keep other Men in ignorance of that , which they are very much concerned to know .

No Lye must be used in any business or contract . IT will not be therefore much besides our purpose to commend unto all men a particular Care of their Language , to prevent all Deceit and Cozenage , that we never pretend one thing , and do another : Wherefore there must be no Lye admitted into any business or contract ; and if there can be no place for collusion or iniquity in humane Society ; what shall we say of the Jesuits Morals , who have brought them into Religion ! to make this out , I shall instance in Six things , which I may call the more refined ways of Lying .

The Jesuits Morals censured . First , THEIR Doctrine of Probability ; if a Man can find a Doctor among them , that held such an Opinion , it makes that Doctrine probable ; and as Tully says , there is nothing so absurd or ridiculous , which some Philosopher or other hath not maintained and asserted ; so there is nothing so contrary to the Rules of Virtue and Conscience , but what some Romish Casuist hath resolved to be good and practicable .

Secondly , THEIR mental Reservation ; you cannot know their names by what they say , because you do not know , what they reserve in their Minds , so that what they say , may be but half , or not at all , what they mean .

Thirdly , THE subtle trick of directing the intention ; by this they may kill a Man , so they do not intend to Murder him , but to deliver themselves of an enemy ; they may declare that , which is false , and deny that , which is true , because they intend the credit of their Church ; therefore this mere intention shall excuse them from the Guilt of downright Falshood .

Fourthly , THEIR Practice of Equivocation ; which is so well known among them ; insomuch that no Man can confide in any word they speak ; they are so ambiguous , and of such doubtful meaning .

Fifthly , THEIR Way of Evasion ; by having their Speech to bear a double Sense ; whereas no Man ought to use Wit and Parts to impose upon another , or to make a Man believe that , which he doth not mean ; for in treating with one another , we ought to take care , that there be a right understanding between both Parties , and that each do apprehend one anothers meaning and intent : and in case there be a mistake , we ought to release one another ; for all agreements are only in what we mean and intend ; not in that , wherein we did not consent and agree .

Sixthly , THEIR shift of Prolocution , that is , to use Words of such a sound , when they do not intend such a thing by them , as one would think , they did .

The best Religion spoiled by such practices . HOW witty ill men are to set up a Trade of Lying , and to spoil the Laws of the best Religion , that ever was made known unto Men ; For the Christian Law is plain and obvious , void of all ambiguous , or ensnaring Speeches ; free from Sophistications and windings of Language ; never flies to words of a dubious and uncertain signification , but openly declares the Truth to men ; therefore these practices above mentioned are contrary to that Simplicity and plain-heartedness , which ought to be in the Conversation of every Christian : Such Simplicity as was observed in a Groom of the Bed-Chamber to Henry VIII . who always gave his Answers very warily , that he might not be taken in a Lye ; insomuch that it was good Sport with the looser Courtiers to try , if they could entrap him : It being his Lot to attend the King in his Bed-Chamber , having laid him in his Bed , He took his leave ; the King slips out of his Bed , and silently went after him ; the Gentleman being come among the Courtiers , He was asked , Is the King a Bed ? He answered warily , I left him in his Bed ; by which Reply he defeated all their Art ; For had he answered positively , Yes , as it was expected , the King was at his back ready to have given him the Lye ; This is but a merry Story , yet it doth commend to us a serious Lesson concerning that care , which we ought to have in all out Discourses , that we speak nothing either deceitfully , or falsely .

AND by occasion of this Story , we may without trespassing against the Argument We handle , look into a Question heretofore managed with some Heat betwixt Parsons the Jesuit , a great Patron of Artificial Evasions in Speech , and others of his time , the Bishops of Lincoln and Durham .

THE Question was , Whether or no in case of some hazard , it were lawful to use any fine Device of Language to abuse such as were set to interrogate us in those Points , wherein there was evident danger of speaking the Truth ?

THE handling this Question at large would require more time to dispatch it , Truth is to be spoken in cases of danger . than can be well afforded ; yet for the present we will answer , That all these Shades and Illusions , by which Men evade direct and open Language in case of danger , are in themselves unlawful : For if we once so speak , as if we accounted them lawful ; that might befal us which befel Calvin in the Question of Usury : He granted indeed Usury to be lawful ; but He so fettered and entangled his Grant with Restrictions and Reservations , that He , who practised according to his Rule , should gain but little by it . For what will the Reader conclude upon this ; by Calvin's judgment Vsury is lawful ; This shall be Warrant enough for his practice , as for Restrictions and Reservations , he will make use of them according to his own discretion : The same may chance to befal us in this Question concerning the lawful use of Dissimulations , Equivocations unlawful . Concealments , Equivocations , and all subtle Evasions in Speech , when there is evident danger of speaking the Truth directly : For Experience tells us , that Men are apt to use all manner of Fallacy and Artifice , to save themselves and their own Stakes , not only before the Magistrate , but also in that solemn case of a Corporal Oath before God himself : What would they do then , if we should adventure to pull up this Hedg , and pronounce it lawful to use all the Art of a deceitful Tongue .

INDEED Men of brave Spirits and clear Virtue , such as Cato or Coriolanus , who have precisely observed 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , exact Justice , have made no scruple to use these shiftings to save themselves or their Friends : For when we remember our selves , and what kind of Persons we live amongst , we find it true , what was wisely said , periculosum est in tot humanis erroribus sold innocentiâ vivere ; The Best of us all are sometimes forced to make use of By-ways , when the High-way is beset with Thieves ; when we deal with Children , with Fools , with sick Persons , with our Enemies in the Field ( according as it is said , dolus an Virtus quis in Hoste requiret ? ) yea with our familiar Friends , we are compelled to make use of Art and Sleights to cozen them for their benefit ; honesto & misericordi mendacio calamitosi Civis Saluti consulimus ; Quod mendacium licet in genere vitiosum , est tamen temporibus necessarium .

IF we would be better informed concerning this Point , Gro. ca. 1. lib. 3. our best way is to consult the most Excellent Grotius , cap. 1. lib. 3. de jure belli & pacis , where we find it at large discussed out of all kind of Authors both Human and Divine : But after all that can be said upon this Theme , we can by no means absolve these kind of Actions from Iniquity and Sin ; only thus far we will go , as to declare them pardonable , when they are done upon constraint and high inconveniency , and take 'em to be allowed of , as Moses permitted Divorce , only because of the hardness of men's hearts .

BUT before we conclude , we must bewail the sufferings of Truth under the hands of those Teachers , The sufferings of Truth lamented . who to all the various inclinations of Men can carve 'em out , what Religion they please : This is the fruit of a dull Superstition , when foolish men are persuaded , they need not trouble their heads with the care of Truth , but leave that wholly to the Priest ; who will suffer nothing to pass for it , but what bears his mark and License ; who hath assumed a Power by an Index expurgatorius to blot Truth out of the best Books ; Where this Tyranny prevails , it is a misfortune to be born with Understanding .

WE cannot likewise but lament the ill usage of Truth , when Men labour to darken it with Metaphors , or by being too credulous , or by opposing the Evidence of Sense it self by Scepticism . Besides for the discovery hereof in many matters of Controversie , we know not , how far we may rely on the testimony of Antiquity , nor how far we are to follow the Tract of Human Reason ; especially when there are so many Mists cast before us by the deceits of others , that one had need of a better Eye-sight , than what is left us by the fall of our Fore-father . Falshood wears the disguise of Truth . For all great Errours have ever been intermingled with some Truth ; And indeed if Falshood should appear alone unto the World in her own true shape and Native deformity , she would be so black and horrid , that no man would look upon her ; and therefore she hath always had an Art to wrap her self up in a Garment of Light ; by which means she passes freely disguised and undiscerned . This was elegantly signified in the Fable thus ; Truth at first presented her self to the World , and went about to seek Entertainment ; but when she found none , being of a generous Nature , that loves not to obtrude her self upon unworthy Spirits , she resolved to leave Earth , and take her flight for Heaven ; but as she was going up , she chanced , Elijah like , to let her Mantle fall ; and Falsehood , waiting by for such an opportunity , snatch'd it up presently , and ever since goes about disguised in Truth's Attire .

AND there is always some Truth , that gives being to every Errour , though sometimes it would require a very curious Artist , in the midst of all the deformities of Errour , to descry the defaced Lineaments of that Truth , which it did at first resemble ; as Plutarch spake of those Egyptian Fables on Isis and Osiris , that they had 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , certain weak appearances and glimmerings of Truth ; but so as they needed 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , some notable Diviner , to discover them .

Whence the difficulty arises to find out Truth . AND this I think is the case of all , that search after Truth ; they must go along and dangerous Journey ; sometimes they must meet with no path at all ; sometimes with so many , and those so contrary in appearance to one another , that the variety confounds them ; Nay , she is so involved and interwoven with mistake ; that Mankind seem to have done that to Truth , which the Egyptian Typhon did to the good Osiris , when he hewed her lovely Form into a thousand pieces , and scattered them to the Four Winds : Ever since her sad Friends , such as dare appear in her behalf , imitating the careful search , that Isis made for the mangled Body of Osiris , have wandred up and down , gathering up Limb by Limb still as they could find them ; All the parts are not yet found , nor ever shall be , until her Master's Second coming ; He shall bring together every Joint and Member ; and mould them into an immortal Feature of Loveliness and Perfection .

IN the mean time we must not be wanting in all necessary Care for so doubtful a passage through all the Falshoods , as well as Vanities of this Life : For these are the Evils , that produce most of those Heats that are amongst men ; And if ignorant or malicious Physicians in this violent Feaver , did not apply new Heats , instead of Julips , they might by writing and speaking Truth , reduce the World in a short time to its antient healthful and natural Temper : For if Truth , as Democritus fansied , Truth must be sought for not without , but within us . lies at the bottom of a deep Well , we must seek for it in the Center and heart of our selves ; And we shall find her seated in that Dominion , which the Understanding and Judgment hath over the Passions ; which are the Glasses , that discover to us all the secret workings of the Mind , and they are the Instruments too , whereby She acts either Good or Evil : For according to the evenness and moderation of men's tempers , so much the more impartial their judgments are , and consequently so much the clearer Prospect they have of all manner of Truth : This will encourage us to walk in the practice of Uprightness and Veracity , until we come to that other World , where are the Eternal Laws of Right and Justice , the immediate and most steady Principles of Truth and Goodness ; where are infallible Rules for all cases and Actions however circumstantiated , from which the Will of God , though never so absolute , shall never depart one tittle : For his Truth hath place in every declaration of his Mind , and signifies an exact correspondency or agreement between his Mind and his Words , between his Words , and the truth of things ; the correspondency of his Words with his Mind , depends on the rectitude of his Will ; the Conformity of Words with his Mind and with the truth and reality of things , depends not not only on the rectitude of his Will , but the perfection of his knowledg , and the Infallibility of his Understanding : Therefore Porphyry tells us , That this is one of the Properties of God , to have regard to the Truth , and this is that , which doth set men near unto God ; and afterwards he adds , That Truth is so great a Perfection , that if God would reveal himself to Men , he would have Truth for his Body , and Light for his Soul .

Of URBANITY .

IN the Opinion of some austere Men this Vrbanity , which we call a Virtue , may be thought to have a more fit place in Erasmus his Moriae Encomium ; because it contains the Doctrine , how we should behave our selves in our Pastimes : Indeed the Life of a Man truly Virtuous doth properly consist in all Seriousness and Gravity ; little or no room is left for Jesting or any kind of Facetiousness . But because Man is a Creature of a weak and frail Constitution , easily subjected to Sadness and Melancholy , Facetious Speeches , a pleasant and jocular Humour , A facetious or pleasant Humour allowed of by our Religion . have been commended by Philosophers as virtuous , not disallowed by Reason , commonly affected by Men , often used by Wise and good Persons ; These things ought to have some place in our Conversation , otherwise we should think our Religion chargeable with too much sourness . And Aristotle believed them so necessary to sweeten the practice of the grave and serious Virtues , that He brings in Vrbanity , like a Fool in a Play , to make Sport , or like the Battel of the Cowards in the Arcadia , after the sad Story of Argalus and Parthenia .

HE doubts very much , Whether He should set it down for a Virtue or no ; For in reckoning up the Vices of common Language , He makes them to be Three . First , Stultiloquium , Speaking foolishly Secondly , Turpiloquium , Talking lewdly . Thirdly 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; which in English we call Jesting or Face●i●●●●●ss .

BUT since for the refreshing man's Life , and the smoother carrying on the more difficult Exercises of Virtue , there seems to be great need of some Mirth and Relaxation ; We must find out a due temper for them , that we may keep the middle Way even in our Recreations .

NOW if such a Medium can be discovered , there will likewise be seen the two Extremes , betwixt which it passes ; as Buffoo●●ry on one side , by Aristotle called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , which is nothing but Impudent , shameless , and injurious Scoffing , without any respect to Time , or Place , or Persons . On the other Rusticity , by Aristotle called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , which is nothing but a stupid Sullenness , that makes men appear Ill-bred , and unfit for Company .

WHEREFORE if I can make it out , when Facetious Humours are allowable , and when they are Wicked , and not to be endured ; I shall be able to shew a Man , how to get the Reputation of a Wit , and of one , that is both Good and Wise too : 'T is true , there is nothing , Men differ much in their Opinions about Wit. that men differ more in , than in determining , what Wit is ; sometimes they place it in Words and Phrases ; sometimes in Apposite Tales ; sometimes it puts on the dress of Similitudes , or is wrap'd up in humorous Expressions ; sometimes it is lodged in a sly Question , or a sharp Repartee ; sometimes a tart Irony goes for Wit , or a big Hyperbole ; In short , No Man can give a reasonable account of its Ways , because it doth answer to all the numberless Rovings of men's Fancies , and to all the turns of their Language .

IT will be therefore very hard to settle a clear and certain Notion hereof , so as to make a Virtue of That , which appears in so many shapes ; that we may as well define the figure of the Air , as tell , what is is . Leaving then this to your Imagination , I shall shew that the practice of Vrbanity or Facetiousness .

Facetiousness breeds good Nature in Mankind . First , IS Lawful , if it doth not touch upon Piety , if it doth not disturb the peace , if Justice and Charity are not entrench'd upon : For Christianity doth allow of those Pleasures , that serve for the innocent ease and refreshment of human Life ; And Vrbanitas reficit animos , saith Quintilian , conduces much to the breeding good Nature among us , whereby our Conversation will be rendred profitable and dear to one another , our cares will be allayed , and our drooping Spirits raised : But if we should be tied always to look dumpishly , and never to shew an ingenuous Chearfulness , our value for the Precepts of Christ would exceedingly languish .

Secondly , IT is allowable , when those things , that are in themselves base and ridiculous , are exposed to Contempt : For where plain and blunt Arguments will not penetrate , there Wit may , which hath a keener edg , so may reprove and instruct , with such sharpness , as may correct the Stupid , and rouze the Negligent .

Thirdly , It instructs or reproves better , than Satyre . IT may be a proper Remedy for some Maladies of men's minds , as Salt is for cleansing some Sores ; For diverse Persons have such a peculiar Genius , as that they will not abide a tart Admonition , but will admit of a free Way of telling them their Faults , and will amend upon it : they love a jolly and gay Humour ; in their own Fashion they may be taught to love sober Thoughts ; they hate the formal Methods of Instruction , and call it Pedantry ; but Reason under the disguise of Wit shall bring 'em to a better mind , when in its Native plainness its Advices would have been despised .

Fourthly , RAILERY is the best course we can take , to confute many Errours ; For what shall we do else with those , that deny the clear Principles of Reason ; to deal in earnest with them , will but raise more the Conceit they have of themselves ; But there is a Way of Jesting , that will subdue the obstinacy of the most perverse , dash the impudence of the most petulant , baffle the most captious Sophister , and confound the most wanton Sceptick .

Fifthly , The cause of Virtue may be maintained by it . IT is the surest Defence against unjust Reproaches ; And if the Patrons of Vice and Errour have made way for their corrupt Notions by witty Conceits and Elegant Expressions ; Why may we not undertake the Cause of Virtue with the same Weapons ; especially when downright Reason is thought a heavy thing , and men are so disposed to Mirth , who by this means may be made to know , that virtuous Men can speak pleasantly as well as judiciously : And if Rhetorical Schemes , Poetical Strains , Allegories , Fables , and Parable may teach , all the merry Fancies of the Facetious and Witty may adorn the Truth by instilling good Doctrines into the Head , and moving good Passions in the Heart .

THUS we may render Facetiousness a Virtue ; but as it is commonly used , it is far from being so ; Sundry Authors , as Tully , Quintilian , and others of a later Stamp , have framed us an Art of Jesting ; which if any one thinks fit to study , He may learn the Times , Places , and Persons , where and with whom jesting is comely : If then a Person will keep himself from buffoonery , absurd , or scurrilous Jesting on one hand , and on the other from clownish and unhandsom Discourse , they praise him for a Wit , and a pleasant Companion , one , that knows fairly and without offence to entertain ; And it is Aristotle's greatest Reason to prove Facetiousness to be a Virtue , because it hath two Extremes , the scurrilous , and the rustical Humour ; Whereas both these and the medium too may be all vitious ; Physicians discoursing of Feavers , which are called Synochi , continued Feavers , distinguish them into three kinds ; the first they call Monotoni , when the Disease keeps all in one Tenour ; the second they call Anabatici , when they grow unruly and encrease in harshness ; the third they call Paracmastici ; that is , decreasing , abating , and coming to some mediocrity ; Notwithstanding this distinction , more or less they are all Feavers still : So it is in the case of Vrbanity , Scurrility , and Rusticity , they may be all Vices in common Life ; And the Gravity of a well-tempered Man , The usual way of Jesting do not become a Christian . much more of a Christian , will own no such Virtue as facetiousness , as it is used in daily Conversation ; the Jester is only 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , fit to make others laugh ; Now Epictetus hath told us , this is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , it is a place slippery , and easily leading us into Idiotism and Folly , as it doth , when men think it a mark of a high Spirit , to be an Atheist ; Gentility and Wit , to droll upon Religion ; Whereas I appeal to all the Wise and sober World , whether they that would make Sacred Persons and Things ridiculous , are not infinitely so themselves ? It is true , the World is much taken with this sort of Ribaldry , and commends the man , who is skill'd in it , as a good Companion ; but in strictness of Life and Virtue we may not so account of it ; & nobis alii rarò , & nos aliis nunquam risum pariamus , is the good Council of Picus Mirandula ; and it is given in charge precisely by the last Canon of the third Council of Carthage ; si quis Clericus aut monachus verba scurrilia & joculatoria risumque moventia loquetur , acerrimè corripiatur .

WE can afford then no other place to Vrbanity in common Life , than what is allowed to officious Lying in the foregoing Chapter ; it may be permitted sometimes for human Infirmity sake : Religion a chearful thing . And although some mistaken men are pleased to paint out Religion in sad and melancholy Shapes , with sour and anxious Looks , as an Enemy to all mirth and chearfulness ; yet there is nothing more noble and generous , more courteous and affable , more sober and rational , than the Spirit of true Religion is : therefore they are unpardonably base and disingenuous , who would blast its Credit with the follies and deformities of Superstition ; as if it delighted in nothing but Sighs , and Groans , and discoloured Faces ; as if the Principles of true Goodness were unworthy the entertainment of a generous Mind ; when all this while they have in them all that is amiable and lovely , all that is chearful and ingenuous , all that is useful and profitable , and whatever can advance our Content , our Interest , our Reputation , or our Pleasure . Wherefore that Religion , and Reason may well agree in the case of facetiousness ; that it may not transgress the limits of Sobriety and be consistent with the tenour of a Christian's Duty ; that it may not fall under St. Paul's Censure of foolish talking and jesting , which are not convenient ; We may conclude , that such facetiousness is not unlawful , as affords harmless Delight to Conversation ; because Christianity is not so harsh an Institution , as to forbid mankind wholesom and useful Pleasures ; or sacrificing to the Graces , as the Ancients call'd it , when it exposes all wicked and base practices to due Contempt , because it is expedient , that Vices should appear ridiculous to the whole World ; For some Persons are so temper'd , that they are sooner pleased or vexed into better Manners , than they can be prevailed upon by grave and severe Reproofs : when it is made use of to confute such Disputers , as disavow the clear Principles of Reason and Sense ; What use the Ancients made of Urbanity . therefore the most rigid Patrons of Virtue in old time and the great Introducer of moral Wisdom among the Pagans did make use of tart and facetious Sayings to dash the impudence of the Sophister , and to confound the wantonness of the Sceptick ; for they thought it a disadvantage to Truth and Virtue , if the defenders thereof should be denied the use of this Weapon ; since it is that especially , whereby the Advocates of Vice and Errour do maintain and propagate them : And there is no doubt , but Christians may claim the same priviledg ; provided , they do not sport with holy Things ; nor detract from the good Name of their Brethren , to gratifie a Fancy ; provided also , they do not offend against the reputation of Persons eminent in Dignity or Worth , nor raise Animosities and Feuds in the Neighbourhood : in brief , if without wronging others , or doing any prejudice to our own good behaviour , we can be facetious ; then Vrbanity may consist well enough with 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , that fitting Decency and Stately gravity , which ought to be seen always in our Conversation .

Of MODESTY .

FROM such Virtues as become Men , we must now discourse of a Female-Virtue ; For all Ages and Nations have made some distinction between those , that are Masculine , and others , that are Feminine ; And this being such , we must in complaisance allow it to be a Virtue , tho Aristotle is so ill bred , as not to do it : For according to his way of Arguing , it is not gotten by frequent Actions , therefore it is no Habit , and therefore it is no Virtue ; it is rather born with us , runs in our Blood , and is given by Nature as a preservative against too much Boldness , or too much Lightness , to which Vices Youth are most liable .

HENCE it comes to pass , Why Modesty looks not well in elder Persons . that it doth not look well in Elder Persons ; For they through their long experience , and trial of most Casualties in Life , ought to be well assured of what they do , and therefore should not blush at any thing : For it is a Quality , which of it self will decay through maturity of Years , and it hath this difference from Fear , that shame and bashfulness makes us look red ; Our Fear makes us look pale ; and therefore is certainly a diverse Passion , arising from diverse Causes ; the one makes the Blood flow into the Face ; in the other it ebbs into the Heart .

THIS makes it appear more like a Passion , than a Virtue ; Now there is a considerable difference between one and the other ; Passions are seated in the Blood . For a Passion floats in the Blood , rises and falls with the Ebbs and Tides of our Humours ; and it were an easie task for any Man , that understands the Anatomy of the Brain , the structure of the Spleen and Hypocondria , the divarications of the Nerves , their twistings about the Veins and Arteries , and the sympathy of parts , to give as certain and mechanical an account of all the motions of the Passions , as of any vital or animal Function in the Body .

Virtue is seated in the Soul . WHEREAS Virtue proceeds from the strength and improvement of our natural Abilities ; When the Supreme Faculties of the Understanding and Will govern the inferiour Affections , and do keep them within their lawful bounds ; the same thing is called Grace , as it proceeds from the assistances and impressions of the Spirit of God ; upon which it wholly depends , and not upon the motion of the Heart , or the circulation of the Blood .

AND many have laboured to make Modesty one of these Virtues , and to that end they have found out therein an excess , which the Greeks name 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Latins , Stupor , which makes a Man over-bashful in the performance even of honest Actions , whereby the Works both of Virtue and Industry have been very much hindred : The other extreme is called by the Greeks 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Impudency , which is a quality of a quite contrary nature , rendring Men bold and adventurous , let the action they undertake be good or bad : Something like to Aesop and his fellow-Servant , of which the one professed , he could do all things ; the other , that he could do nothing ; the one is afraid of every Bush , the other fears no Colours , but sets upon all rash attempts ; the Medium betwixt these two extremes , is that 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , verecundia , Modesty , which in the youthful Age especially is ipsissimus virtutis color , the very Complexion of Virtue .

ACCORDING to this account of Modesty , Modesty useful for the regular guidance of our actions . it may be made very useful for the regular guidance of all our Actions ; for in humane Nature there is generally , more of the Fool , than of the Wise ; and therefore those faculties , by which the foolish part of mens Minds is taken , are most potent . Now overmuch boldness is a Child of Ignorance , yet it doth strangely possess some Men , those , that are either shallow in Judgment , or weak in Courage : Nay you shall see an impudent Fellow Act Mahomets part , and make the People believe , he can call a Hill to him ; he sees no dangers and considers no inconveniences .

NOW the modest Man weighs the difficulties , which he is to encounter ; he will not offer at any thing beyond his Strength , nor Mountebank-like , promise great Cures when he wants the Grounds of Science . But to fail in any lawful or just Enterprise , it would put him so out of countenance , that he would not be able to bear it : For to do a good and laudable action in spite of invidious Men , who grudge at the prosperity of Virtue , he thinks that a piece of dareing Manliness , which he may affect without the breach of Modesty : At the same time he Blushes at the sound of an Oath , and is ashamed of Drinking ; he is too bashful for the Chamber of the Whore , and cannot behold the detestable Foreheads of the violent , unjust , and debauched Race of Mankind without great confusion of Face .

IF we consider Modesty in these Actions , we shall find it the most indispensible requisite of a virtuous Man ; a thing so essential to the making him so , that every the least declination from it is a proportionable receding from goodness ; and the total abandoning modesty in these and many other cases ranks Men among Brutes .

I need make no collection of the Suffrages either of Philosophers or Divines to prove this matter ; it being so much an instinct of Nature , that tho too many make a shift to suppress it in themselves , yet they cannot so darken the notion in others , but that an immodest Person is look'd on as a kind of Monster , a thing distorted from its proper Form ; as Women are , when they become prostitutes ; who must break all the restraints of their very Nature , Shameless and immodest men can do nothing well . before they can be made so : Thus it is with shameless Men ; in adventures , where courage is necessary , they will not be constrained by any prudential consideration , but will run upon the Mouth of a Cannon to gain the name of bold and daring Heroes ; in the fury of their Lust , they will violate all the obligations of Morality , to fulfil these vehement desires ; in common Life , they Laugh at the ties of fair dealing , that they may grow rich , and contemn their poorer Neighbor ; in their Politicks , they will betake themselves to the most desperate Counsels , that they may trample upon others , and force them to draw their Yoke : In their Speculations , they will sink themselves into the grossest Heresies , that they may boast of their skill , and wit above the rest of inferiour Mortals : In their daily Commerce , they will strive to over-reach their unwary Brethren , that they may shew themselves more expert Gamesters at the intricate Cheat of Trading in the World .

THUS if you examine all the stations , that the several Degrees of Men are placed in , we must attribute most of their deviations from Virtue , to an impudent Humor , that cannot endure any moderation , and is impatient of all those Precepts , that would render every Man an humble and a modest Creature .

NOW on the other hand too much shamefacedness is a clog , and a kind of a dead weight upon Virtue , to stop its progress , that it may not exert its power with that advantage , which otherwise it would do : This makes it look , as if it were too dull a Principle for the Happiness of Life , which is ever in motion .

INDEED , if we consider the nature of our Passions ; they are perhaps the stings , without which they say , no Honey is made ; yet I think all sorts of men have ever agreed , they ought to be our Servants , Passions must be kept within due bounds . and not our Masters ; to give us some agitation for Entertainment or Exercise , but never to throw our Reason out of its Seat : Perhaps I would not always sit still , or would be sometimes on Horseback ; but I would never ride a Horse , that galls my Flesh , or shakes my Bones , or runs away with me as He pleases , so as I can neither stop at a River or a Precipice ; better no Passions at all , than have them too violent , or such alone , as instead of heightning our pleasures , afford us nothing but vexation and pain .

BUT in the case of Virtue , we had as good have none at all , as have it too bashful ; For this one bad Quality will bring upon us the just Censure of being either idle or cowardly in its Warfare ; whose Exercises we must undertake with the same resolution and undaunted Spirit , We must not be too bashful in the exercise of Virtue . as we see sensual men to pursue every pleasure they can start , without regarding the pains of the Chase , the weariness when it ends , or how little the prize is worth : All the World is perpetually at work about nothing else , but only that our wretched Lives should pass the easier and the happier for that little time we possess them , or else end the better , when we lose them : Upon this occasion Virtues came to be admired , because they are the best means to this End : He therefore must bid defiance to mankind , must condemn their universal Opinions and Designs , if instead of practising these Virtues with constancy and courage , He shall offer to sneak out of the Field , and by too much bashfulness betray the Fort , that He should maintain against the assaults of Vice . Not that we are to presume too much , or think our selves so safe , that we may venture into all sorts of bad Company without danger of being infected ; A man may as well upon confidence of a sound Constitution enter a Pest-house , and converse with the Plague ; whose Contagion doth not more subtlely insinuate it self , than the temptations of evil Converse : Neither must we think to sequester our selves out of the World , which never can be drawn into use , neither will it mend our condition : for if every action , which is good or evil in Man at ripe years , were unavoidable or compelled ; What were Virtue but a Name , What praise could be then due to well-doing , What commendation to be sober , just , or continent ! But God left Adam free , and set before him a provoking Object ever almost in his Eyes , and herein consisted the right of his Reward , No Virtue without freedom to act , or not to act . and the merit of his abstinence ; To what purpose did he create Passions within him , and Pleasures round about him , but that these rightly temper'd , are the very Ingredients of Virtue : This justifies the Providence of God ; who though he command us Temperance , Justice , Continence ; yet He pours out before us ( even to a profuseness ) all desireable Things , and gives us Minds that can wander beyond all Limit and Satiety : It is not necessary then to affect a Rigour contrary to the manner of God and of Nature , by flying from the Delights or any other Enjoyments of this World , which are freely permitted , both for the trial of Virtue , and the exercise of Truth . In the case therefore of Conversation in general , and especially of that , which is mixt , Male and Female together , we must put on such a Modesty , as may guard our Virtue against the strongest persuasions to Evil : 'T is said of Philopaemen , that the Lacedaemonians , finding it their interest to corrupt him with Money ; Virtue an awful thing . they were yet so possest with the Reverence of his Virtues , that none durst undertake to attaque him : Such an Authority there is in Virtue , that it will discourage the most impudent Assailant ; Such a Sovereignty appears in its very blushes , as is able to controul all loose Desires .

Of TACITURNITY , or the Government of our Speech .

THE great Work and business of a Christian is to act wisely , and to govern himself discreetly , and it is one difficult part of that Government to rule his Speech , as he ought ; For the Tongue is a very nimble and versatil Engine , which the least breath of Thought doth stir , yet it turns the whole World about ; because all the affairs of Conversation and Commerce are managed thereby ; whatever is done in the Court , or in the Hall , in the Church or at the Exchange , in the School or in the Shop .

NOW there are four Questions , that may here be put . 1. What it is to rule or bridle the Tongue ! 2. Wherein it is to be governed ! 3. Why or for what Reasons ! 4. How this is to be done !

FIRST to rule our Tongues , What it is , to rule the Tongue . is to weigh and consider , what we are about to speak ; and to restrain our selves from uttering that , which upon consideration we find is not fit to be made known ; And be we never so passionately earnest to ease our Minds ; yet we must chuse rather to offer the greatest violence to our Passions , than give our selves leave to speak that , which sober Consideration and sound Christianity do not allow of : Both which do principally charge us to speak nothing , when we are urged to speak much , or to speak gently and wisely , when our Passions would move us to speak at random .

THEREFORE we must bridle our Tongues especially from meddling with these five things : 1. Vanity . 2. Swearing and Cursing . 3. Lying . 4. Flattery . 5. Reproach and Scoffing : For by these Evils most of the mischief , that is in the World , is promoted ; He , who babbles that , which is vain and trivial , is altogether useless ; and He , who speaks that , which is false , is very destructive at least to himself ; He , who Flatters , abuses his Friends with false Countenances and feigned Speeches ; He , who Reproaches , wounds his Neighbour , and violates the great Duties incumbent on us , Justice and Charity ; He , that swears , profanes God ; which is a certain sign of a vain and light Spirit , that considers little , and cannot distinguish Things .

TO the Question , Why we ought to bridle our Tongues , I shall answer in two Instances .

Want of consideration the cause of speaking foolishly and rashly . First , BY shewing the Evils , that accompany an unbridled Tongue .

2. BY shewing the rare Effects of a well-governed Conversation .

NOW if a Man doth not consider what He is to say , in some measure he speaks , he knows not what ; how great a Folly is it , to offer that to the judgment of others , whereof a Man hath made no judgment himself ; to speak Words , and expect the Hearer should put Sense into them , though the Speaker intended none ! Whereas weighty and deep Sense lies low and deep in the mind , is not easily and readily drawn out ; Wise Sayings and Sage Counsels do not dwell upon the Tip of the Tongue ; they do not edg and fringe our Lips : they do not gush out like pent-Waters , but spring gently and easily drop by drop ; So the heaviest Bodies lie nearest the Centre ; Gold and Silver are in the hidden Mines of the Earth , while dirt and mire cover its Face ; So the Treasures of the Sea sink to the bottom , while Foam swims aloft , like unto which are rash und hasty Words , that knock at every Ear , that importune every Man , that ask and answer every Question ; They are the Scum of an empty Mind , the very froth of an unsetled and uncomposed Spirit .

WHEN therefore I see a Man swell with Pride and Scorn , with Envy and Wrath , saying , This Man hath no Religion , and the other knows nothing of the Power of Godliness ; This is a Formalist , and That an Hypocrite ; this is Ignorant , and the other meerly Moral ; I can no more think him to be a good Christian , than I can believe Scorn to be Piety , Bitterness to be Love , or Fury to be Patience .

WHEN I see a Man haunt Atheistical Company , hear him Rioting in Wine , when vain Discourse fills his Mouth , and Trifles wag his Tongue , as puffs of Wind shake the leaf of the Asp ; when uncleanness flows out of his Belly into his Mouth ; I must needs think , that his Heart is full of these Fornications , which have debauch'd his Tongue , and that all these Evils are painted tot he life in his impure Fancy , which hedescribes in his Discourse ; Men will be judged of according to their words . Wherefore let a Man speak , as He would be thought to be ; For whatever slight Thoughts any man hath of his Words , others will pass Sentence on him according to them , and the less he considers them , the more they will be considered by others , and that to his shame , and to the disgrace of that Religion , which He doth profess .

MOREOVER , an unbridled Tongue disturbs the World , fills it with Confusion , and darkens all with Smoak , and no wonder , for it sets all things on fire , and no wonder at that neither , being its self set on fire of Hell ; and as a spark will kindle a great Fire , so a word hath been often the occasion of many Quarrels , and of Deaths in the World : For Words are the wings of evil Reports , and evil Reports are the Arrows of evil Tongues , and wicked Words feather those Arrows ; they carry an ill Tale through a whole Country and propagate Mischief , as the Sun doth Light , swiftly and on every side ; they publish it in the Streets , or at the Table ; and whisper it in the Closet ; so every place is infected with Calumnies , evil Surmises , and bitter Censures : Scornful Speeches the rise of most differences . Look but into any Neighbourhood , and how many Feuds shall you find between Brother and Brother ; How few Families shall you find not infected with this Breath ! that are not filled with Suspicions , that are not exasperated with Contests and Contradictions . Then if you enquire into the reason of these inordinate Heats , and unchristian Distempers ; you will find , they began thus , this Neighbour spoke contemptibly of the other , and He returned the Scorn again ; then mutual Scorns beget mutual Grudges , and God knows , where those Grudges will end ; For He that draws the Sword , must as we use to say , throw away the Scabbard ; So He , that speaks a rash Word , little knows the offence He may give , what jarrs he may kindle , and how far , or how long they may be propagated : For commonly men entail their Quarrels upon their Children , and following Generations inherit the the Animosities of their Ancestors , and Children study to Revenge their Parents sufferings : Hence come endless Suits at Law , and hence proceed many bloody Duels ; For how many have lost their Estates to satisfie a Passion ! How many have rather chosen to die upon the point of a Sword , that have the pain of a sharp Reproof ; So great miseries doth Evil-speaking produce in the World ; besides the confusion it creates in a man 's own Soul ; for it makes the same shakings within , as it does without : Now there can no greater Evil befal a man in the judgment of the Holy and Wise , than to have his mind the Seat of a War , than to have Wrath , Malice , Fear , and Revenge clashing one against another in his own Heart ; For every man 's own Spirit should be a Sanctuary , or a place of Rest to himself ; after the hurries that he meets with in the World , and in the government of its Affairs , a man should always have God , and a peaceable Mind to retreat to ; for this is the security of wise and good Men , that the disturbances , which are without them , do not reach their thoughts , looking outward when they see nothing but Disorder , and hear nothing but Clamour , within they find peace , and joy , and light , even the Light of God's Countenance and of a clear Conscience ; But it is quite contrary with the violent Talker ; who is at first warmed by some inward heat , but then the Coals are blown up , and the Fire grows too strong to be suppressed ; Hence we may observe , that He , who hath begun a Quarrel sometimes in Words expressing Prudence , though Displeasure , hath in the progress of it talked himself into a Fhrenzy , and hath enflamed his own Spirit beyond all measures of Discretion .

FURTHER , Religion scandalized by an unbridled Tongue . An unbridled Tongue Scandalizes Religion , therewith bless we God , even the Father , and therewith curse we men , who were made after his likeness ; This is to join the love of our Father , and the hatred of our Brother together ; Thus to represent Religion , as a thing reconcileable to Evil , is the greatest Scandal to it , and makes it a contradiction to it self : Woe be to them , saith our Saviour , by whom offences come ; and woe be to him that censures Morality , and is not himself Moral ; who calls himself a Christian , and yet hath not mortified one Lust : For it is not Christianity to be unlike the Author , who was meek , humble , and charitable in all his Conversation ; Neither is it so to make a Lye ; to be Suspicious , or Envious ; Proud or Self-willed ; to Scorn , and Deride , to Censure and Backbite : For as a Fountain cannot send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter ; so neither can a godly Man raise a false Tale , or believe it , when it is raised ; but his Christianity is such , as the Apostle describes , 1 Corin. 17.4 , 5 , 6.7 ; suffereth long and is kind , vaunteth not it self , is not puffed up , doth not behave it self unseemly , seeketh not her own , is not easily provoked , thinketh no evil , rejoyceth not in iniquity , but rejoyceth in the Truth , beareth all things , believeth all things , hopeth all things , endureth all things .

MORE than this , an unbridled Tongue is an uncontroulable Evil ; a Beast not to be tamed and quieted ; Is it not an unreasonable thing , to value no man's Religion , and to spare no man's good Name ! What can we think of such a Spirit , whom the reverence of God's Command shall not awe ; whom Christ's Example of Patience shall not move ! Who will not learn Modesty from an Angel , who would not bring a railing Accusation against the Devil himself !

REFLECT therefore ( O Man ) upon thy self and consider ; as thou wouldst not demonstrate thy self to be a rash and unmortified Person ; as thou wouldst not enflame the Neighbourhood and disturb the World ; as thou wouldst not ruffle and darken thine own Soul ; as thou wouldst not of a man make thy self an unreasonable Brute ; as thou wouldst not have thy Religion , a vain and unprofitable Thing ; as thou wouldst not be deceived in so important an Affair , as Christianity it self ; take heed of an unbridled Tongue , and govern thy Speech wisely ; which is to be done by these means ; 1. By possessing certain Habits . 2. By acting by certain Principles .

First , THE Habits we are to possess are , 1. Sound and impartial Judgment . 2. True Christian Love . 3. Deep and serious Humility . 4. Firm and solid Patience .

First , WE must study to gain a clear Judgment , A sound judgment will put a stop to Evil-speaking . that no self-Conceit may bribe us to think well of our selves , or to despise our Brethren ; For , says Plutarch , We should not first love , and then judg ; but first judg , and then love ; And there is in no case more need of This , than in relation to our selves , because we naturally love our selves , even before we are able to make any judgment what we really are ; and we are all fond of our selves , well reconciled to our own Opinions and Actions , and therefore do always presume well of our selves . But on the contrary , most men are at enmity with the Virtues of others ; therefore we are apt to think meanly and speak suspiciously of what is Eminent in them : whereas , if we would forbear to speak of others , till we have examined our selves , I believe , our accusations of them would die in that self-examination ; and we should generally find so much to condemn in our selves , that we should not readily arraign other men .

Charity is of great use to rule the Tongue . Secondly , HE , that will govern his Tongue well , must labour after the Spirit of Charity ; For Charity will cover a multitude of sins , our own sins from the indignation of God , and other men's sins from our reproach . And He , who stabs his Brothers Reputation with an evil Tongue , ought to consider , that these polluted streams which gush out of the Mouth , flow from a bitter Fountain in the Heart ; that keen words are the effusions of Hatred , and He , that hateth his Brother , is a Murderer . Whereas , if our Religion were Love , as it ought to be , what a great change would it make among us ! For when we love , we shall hold our Peace without a bridle in our mouths ; we shall bridle our Tongues without a Bit in our jaws ; we shall rule our Passions without pain , and naturally Heal , where we now Wound .

Humility will check rash words . Thirdly , WE must practise deep and serious Humility ; For rash words are generally the vomit of Anger , and Anger proceeds from Pride : But of all men those , that are humble , are the least prone to break out into violent and indecent Speeches ; For if other men think well of themselves ; they are apt , without evident reason to the contrary , to think so of them too ; if others have a mean esteem of them , they think as meanly of themselves ; they agree with their very Enemies , and they are of the same Opinion with those , who have the least value for them ; It is Pride , that swells and boils with Rage and Contempt , that is displeased and offended with every thing ; that brands this man with Hypocrisie , and the other with Superstition ; that calls this man Carnal , and the other Ignorant ; Nay , if God were like unto vain Man , then Ignorance must know , and Prejudice must judg , Passion must hold the Scales with her trembling Hand , and Pride must step into the Ballance to weigh for Religion : But when these fumes of Pride are over , and the vapours are scattered ; when Humility hath brought us to self-Reflection , we then learn to think soberly , and to judg charitably , according to that of the Apostle , Phil. 2.3 . Let nothing be done through strife and vain-glory , but in lowliness of mind , let each esteem others , better than themselves .

Without Patience we are not fit for this World . Fourthly , WE must endeavour after Patience ; which if it be not as firm , as a Rock , we are not fit for this World ; if we cannot hear ill , and do well ; if we cannot be content to hear a Fool contemn a Wise Man , and an Hypocrite vaunt it over a sincere Christian ; if we have not the patience to hear Words cryed up against Things , and impertinent Discourses thought to be very Oracles ; if we cannot hear our selves censured for our Sobriety , and hated for our Love ; we are not fit to converse among men ; For the best Men are every day abused by unjust Reproaches , and Aspersed by Lyes ; And therefore if others speaking evil of us shall be judged a sufficient reason for us to speak evil of them ; as long as we live , we shall be Evil-speakers ; Wherefore we must either resolve to hear our selves traduced by ill Reports , and make no other returns , but Prayers for our unjust Accusers , or else we must throw up our Claim to Christianity , and reckon our selves among the Scribes and Pharisees , who return Injury for Injury , and dash one Wrong against another .

THUS much for the Habits , that help us to govern our Speech ; the Principles that we are to Act by , follow :

First , WE should consider , that it is our chief business to reform our selves ; Our chief business is to amend our selves . For the Pharisee is not amended by accusing the Publican ; nor the Publican by finding fault with the Pharisee ; but the Pharisee and Publican both by condemning themselves ; Therefore we should always , when we are inclined to condemn others , think thus with our selves ; Do we acquit our selves by accusing them ! Do we reform our selves by correcting them ! Are we the more Innocent , by pronouncing others guilty ! Do we find our own Corruptions abated , by ripping up those of other men ! If it be not thus , what have we been doing all this while ? We have forfeited our Interest in God , and our Title to the Name of Christ ; and there are none so free to meddle with other men , as they who most of all neglect themselves .

Secondly , WE should consider , that a Man is never qualified to reform others , till he hath in the first place amended himself ; For let a Man but look into his own Bosom , it will like the clearest Glass reflect upon him the exact Images and proportions of his Virtues and Vices ; the only fear is , lest this Mirrour should be any ways cracked and flawed by Self-love , mingled with other untoward Passions , that do so cloud the mind with prejudice , that it cannot take due measures , and understand it self aright : Indeed , a Man thus blinded , is so far from being sensible of his own imperfections , that He takes those very Defects often for good and great Accomplishments ; which makes him judg , He hath no faults , when he hath as many , or more , than other men . Thus a Man is the worst Neighbour to himself , when he is so partial a Judg of his own Actions , as quite to overlook his Errours , or to misapprehend them for Virtues : But he is fittest both to reform himself and others , who with an impartial and severe Judgment makes a strict enquiry after what is amiss at Home , and will not suffer any fondness to himself to misguide him in the Examination ; For after that Self-love , Envy , Pride , Hatred and Flattery , those malignant Humors , are purged out of the Heart ; He may safely be admitted to judg of other men ; For knowing well , what he himself is , his Charity in judging others will be such , as will bear all things : Instead of spreading ill Reports , He is in nothing more busie , than in stopping the Current of them , and in preventing as much as he can , whatever will prove mischievous to Human Society : Not that he doth , None are obliged to speak well of all Persons , or Things . or ought to think well of all Persons , or speak well of all Things , but He thinks and judges of things , as they are , being always directed therein by Charity and Prudence : For if a good Man should not condemn things as bad , and faulty , which are really so , he will be in some cases thought treacherous or cowardly , when He dares not reprove Evil for fear of some displeasure ; In other cases an Hypocrite or a Flatterer , when He passes by or commends that , which his Conscience doth not allow of .

THE best Method any one can follow , to avoid these Extremes , and to go through the World with an unblameable Credit , is never to suffer the Mind , whose thoughts are ever at work , to start out into wanton Imaginations , so as to make him a Tatler , or a Busie-Body , but with constancy to apply his whole Soul to the examination of his own Ways , which is the surest and best course to guide our Judgments aright ; which when David did , he presently turned his Feet to God's Testimonies . Our words must be accounted for to God .

Thirdly , WE should consider , that all the Words , which our Tongues have uttered , as well as whatever our Hands have acted must be accounted for to God ; And if we do but reflect upon the Frame and Temper of our own Spirits , we cannot but conclude from thence ; that every one of us must give an account of his own Actions , and the Judgment hereafter shall pass upon us according to that Account : For every Man's Soul hath a Conscience belonging to it , and wheresoever this Conscience is , it giveth testimony to this Truth ; As we hope therefore for Salvation at this great Day , let us set a Seal upon our Lips , because by our Words we shall be justified , and by our Words we shall be condemned .

WHEREFORE , A Man who would live , as He is obliged by the Precepts of Virtue , must take care ,

First , THAT he does not mistake the place of his Religion , so as to be busie in the Lives of Others , and negligent of his own , that He do not with Zeal cry down the Evils of the Times , and yet practise those Evils , which He condemns .

Secondly , THAT he do not mistake the Power of Religion , as if it meant no more but a bare professing to be religious ; this Opinion makes some men contented , that their sins should be expiated by Christ's Blood , but they care not for having their Passions subdued by his Spirit : they are so far from it , that they do not think , that this is intended in his Gospel , or that it is possible to be done .

Thirdly , THAT He do not mistake a part of Religion for the whole ; as if God could be indented withal for a Dispensation in some parts of Christianity , in recompence for his Zeal and Activity in others .

FOR if a Man professes Religion , and yet doth not bridle his Tongue ; We may infer , that He doth not look upon his Religion , Every Man should take care , that his Religion be practical . as an Obligation upon him to reform his Life : Whereas if we would take , as we are bound , the measures of our Religion according to the Victories we have gained over corrupt Affections , and according to the Graces of the Gospel , which we have acquired ; it would abate a great deal of that confidence and Pride , that is in the World ; For then every one would take care , that his Religion be practical ; then all men would believe , that nothing can make them truly religious , that doth not conform them to the Life and Spirit of Jesus Christ ; then they will not take that for Christianity , which doth not either subdue some known Lust , or conform them to some known Law .

Of JUSTICE .

HITHERTO we have handled Virtues , which concern us privately , and as we are alone ; But it is noted by learned Men ; Virtue is distinguished either as it is our Duty in all our private Capacities ; or as it is in Relation , and carries with it some respect unto others : What we have hitherto asserted concerning the Rules and Maxims of Virtue , they are all designed for the solitary and retired State of Man , and would bind him up to the ways of Goodness , if there were none in the World , but himself . But Virtue , as we are now to consider it , is of a very large extent , and reaches to all the Families , and Common-wealths in the World : This prescribes 'em their Laws , this upholds their Order , and their Safety .

There is an essential Justice in the frame of Human Nature . FOR Man by Nature is a Sociable Creature and delights in Company ; so that in the very frame of Human Nature there is an essential Justice , that demands of every man Offices of Love and Kindness to others as well as himself ; in that without this that common welfare , and happiness , which the Divine Providence , that made Nature , designed for all and every individual of mankind , must become utterly unattainable ; Hence it is , that few men care to live alone , and those , that do it , are either Savage People , or they are discontented , and the humorous : But men generally are gathered into Commonwealths , and the lesser Companies of them are divided into Towns or Cities ; who are all thus met to comfort one another with mutual Society and mutual Help .

NOW the Virtue , Justice keeps all things even and true . which fits and composes us for so excellent an End , as is common Society , that holds the Scales , and keeps the ballances of all things even and true , is Justice ; accordingly it is said by Euripides 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; a just Man is made for his Neighbours ; For if Men should promote the good of Society , submit to Laws , practise Justice , and refrain from Cruelty , only to secure their own personal safety and interest ; then whenever this Obligation ceases , all the Ties to Justice must cease also ; and when any single person can hope to advance his own Interest by the ruin of the publick , it will be lawful for him to effect it : But the just Man , that God hath made so , is one , who thinks himself bound to maintain the common Right of all , and to secure his Neighbours happiness , as well as his own ; For if Justice be not supposed to be the Law of our Natures , no Covenants can be of power enough to bring us under any Obligation to it ; But this is a most certain Truth , that all men have a natural Right to Happiness from the very design of their Creation ; that this cannot be acquired without mutual Aids and Friendships ; and therefore right Reason dictates , that every man should have some concern for his Neighbour , as well as himself ; because this is made necessary to the welfare of the World , by the natural state of Things , and by this mutual Exchange of Love and Kindness men support one another in the comforts of Human Life .

Vniversal Justice . NOW Justice considered thus , as it stands in relation to others , hath a double signification ; either it is Universal , and contains in it all Uprightness , Integrity , and obedience to all Laws , that are wisely Enacted ; For sometimes it falls out , that even multitudes of men have conspired in making unjust and wicked Laws , as might be proved by several Instances in some unfortunate Times .

OR else Justice is particular , Particular Justice . and consists in two words Suum cuique ; in giving every man his Due , and this is that Virtue , the nature of which we now enquire into ; For though Justice be a prime and natural Virtue , yet its particular cases depend upon human Laws , that determine the bounds of Meum and Tuum ; Indeed , the Divine Law restrains Titius from invading Caius his Right and Property ; but what that is , and when it is invaded , only the Laws of this Society or Country they live in , can determine ; For Nature doth not assign this Moiety to Titius , and that to Caius , but leaves us to share the Earth among our selves , and to enclose , what she had left in common , into particular properties , as we shall agree among our selves ; And there are some cases , that are Acts of injustice in England , that are not so in Italy ; otherwise all places must be governed by the same Laws , and what is a Law to one Nation , must be so to all the World : whereas it is evident , that neither the Law of God , nor of Nature do determine the particular Instances of most Virtues , but for the most part leave that to the Constitutions of National Laws ; As for Example , Theft and Murther , Incest and Adultery are forbid in General , but what these crimes are , they determine not in all Cases , and whatsoever the Law of the Land reckons for such Crimes , That the Law of God prohibits .

Justice considered in opposition to Mercy . BUT before we proceed on the Point of particular Justice ; we must observe , that Justice commonly stands in opposition to Mercy ; as St. James tells us , when he saith , mercy rejoyceth against Judgment , or as the Psalmist , my song shall be of mercy and judgment , which may be better translated thus , be it Mercy , be it Judgment , yet will I Sing , in which sense Mercy is opposed not to Justice ; for God and good men are just both in Mercy and Judgment ; but to severity ; in which Sense civil Officers are said to do Justice , when they Fine , Imprison , and Hang Malefactors .

OUT of this confused Mass of Justice taken universally , we are to treat of particular Justice ; which , as we have observed , is fully set forth in those two Words Suum cuique : Now if I should undertake to define this Virtue , as we have done others , by the Passion , it governs , which I cannot easily name , or by giving you the two extremes , which it moderates , and brings to the middle way ; I should do more , than either Aristotle himself , or the rest of the Lawyers , who call themselves Sacerdotes Justitiae , have done in those infinite and immense Volumes , which they have written de justitiâ et jure against the express charge and command of Justinian their Original and prime Author .

IF we consult Aristotle , he tells us , that Justice is the Habit , quô justa volumus ; and we are much as wise for this , as we are for that itinerant and riding definition , which he hath left us of Quality , Qualitas est à quâ denominamur quales , and more than this we shall not be able to extract out of all the Cart-loads of Law-books : Out of all the endeavours of their exactest Penmen . I remember well , that Aristotle hath taught us , that some Virtues consist in the Moderation of our Actions , and for the Midiocrity it is in this , that we give not to any Man more or less , than his due , and this is the moderation , which we must keep between nimium and parum , in doing of Justice ; then we offend in one extreme , when we give too much ; then in the other , when we give too little .

NOW Justice taken in this Sense is twofold , either commutative or distributive , Justice is either Commutative or Distributive . or as some learned Men affect to call it , Justitia expletrix or assignatrix ; here by the way , we may take notice of a vanity in many great Scholars , of innovating the ordinary and known names , under which things have passed ; thus Mr. Hobbes hath been thought as the prodigy of the age , as very a deviser , as if he had found out Gunpowder , or Printing , only for dressing common acknowledged things in new Phrases , and then trimming them up for new Discoveries ; So Ramus is notoriously Guilty of this fault , who striving to bring all Arts into a new Order and Method , hath so changed their antient Names both in Grammar , Logick , and Mathematical Science ; that it is a great part of Learning to understand his new Language , and some have been known , who well understood these Sciences in the common Speech , to have been more troubled to understand 'em in his new-fangled Cant , than they were at first in their ordinary Dialect ; for as my Lord Bacon wisely observes , nothing hath more hindred the Growth of Learning , than Peoples studying of new Words , and spending their time in Chaptring , Modelling , and Marshalling of Sciences .

THE learned Author of this new Language of Expletrix and Assignatrix , instead of the old Dialect of Commutative and Distributive Justice , may take his share patiently in this reproof .

First , COMMUTATIVE Justice , What Commutative Justice is . is that Justice , wherein we give by way of exchange , one thing for another ; as when a Shoomaker gives Shooes , and the Husbandman Corn , thus naturally did all Men Traffick , ware for ware , one commodity for another , which we call Trucking or Bartering : But because this manner of dealing proved full of inconveniences ; for avoiding these , Men have found out another way of exchange by Money , which by a universal agreement , is made the common measure of all things , passable by way of Bargain and Sale ; now Money receiveth valuation and price , by the position of the Prince and State , or the mutual Convention of Men , things most alterable upon every occasion ; therefore the Grecians do term 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , because it consisteth 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , not 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as being nothing in Deed and Nature , but wholly depending upon the voluntary Institution of Men.

WHOSOEVER invented it , did Mankind a great piece of Service , and freed them from that cumbersom way of changing ware for ware : For in the First place , Money is of easie portage ; so that bearing about with us a little in our Purses , we have the price of all things to be bought by Money . 2. It is made of Gold and Silver , in this proportion , that one Ounce of the former , is equivalent to twelve Ounces of the latter ; which proportion to one another these Metals have born from the beginning : And of these Metals , mankind have made choice , because tho they are procured by tedious and difficult Voyages , yet they may be had , and that in some abundance ; for had they pitcht upon Lead , Brass , Copper , Iron , or any other more ignoble Earth , it had been liable to many inconveniences , chiefly two ; First the abuse of Coinage ; 2. The burden of Carriage ; every one would coin 'em at his pleasure , because they may be had every where , and at a cheap Rate ; every one would complain of its weight ; therefore I yourgus , the Founder of the Spartan Republick , that he might persuade his Citizens out of their love of Money , by a new kind of Argument , established a Law , that it should be made of Iron ; insomuch that when they went to their Markets , they were forc'd to convey it in Wagons , by reason of the weight , and the vastness of the pieces : And we read , that the Romans used Brass for their Money , in whose Language Aes & Aerarium , signifies Money and the Treasury , and effe in aere alieno , is to be in Debt : This was as great an inconvenience to these People , as it was to the Spartans ; for their As , which is but half-penny-Farthing in our Money , with them weigh'd a Pound ; whence comes the phrase Aes grave so often met withal ; wherefore about the time of the first Punick War they brake their Asses , which were before Librales , into Semisses , just half so much ; thus by degrees they made use of smaller portions , until greater quantity of Gold and Silver came in ; which by consent , were made the common measure of all things passable by exchange ; so became the best and fittest instrument of Commutative Justice .

THE Rule , Severus his Rule of Justice by which we are to exercise this Justice , is that , which Severus the Emperour wrote upon his Palace , quod tibi fieri non vis , alteri ne feceris ; whatsoever we would that Men should do unto us , do we even so to them ; this Sentence should be writ on our Houses Tops and on our Exchanges : The meaning of which is this , that we ought to put our selves into the circumstances of every Man , with whom we deal ; that then which we desire , he should do to us ; that do we to him ; and that which we would be unwilling he should do to us ; do we not to him .

NOW this is an exact Rule ; and it is plain and easie : Many men cannot find out what the Law is , or the Right in such a Case ; it is so entangled in long and intricate Rolls of Parchment ; many men cannot deduce the Laws of Nature one from another ; but there is no Man , but can tell , what it is , that he would have another man do to him ; every one can take his own actions , and put them into the other Scale , and can suppose , if this , that he does now to another , were to be done to himself , should he be contented with it : And thus by changing the Scales , the very Self-interest , which makes a man Covetous , and inclines him to injure another for his advantage , makes him likewise unwilling that another should wrong him .

IT must be confessed in matters of Contract and Commerce ; many Questions arise , which it is hard for one to decide , who is unacquainted with these affairs , the necessities of things , or the hidden reasons of some kinds of dealing : However this is a general Rule , in making Contracts we must deal fairly and truly ; in performing them we must satisfie the engagements , Vnskilfulness or ignorance are not to be imposed upon . we have made ; for so we would have all Mankind to treat us : Hence we are obliged not to impose upon any Man's ignorance or unskilfulness ; we may set a just value upon our Goods , but we are not to set a Price upon another man's Head , nor to Tax his ignorance ; therefore no advantage must ever be made of Children , or any other incompetent Persons : And it is sinful to disparage another man's Commodities , or to raise our own above the truth , that we may thereby lead a man into errour , or draw on a Bargain the more easily .

MATTERS of rarity and fancy have no certain Estimation ; therefore we must be moderate in the price that we put upon them ; so much the rather , because in these things we are left to be our own Judges , Neither should we venture so far , as to go to the utmost limits of what is Lawful ; for he , that will walke upon the very brink , the least step awry will tumble him down ; so he , who will do the utmost of what he may do , will sometime or other be tempted to what he should not act ; for it is a short and easie passage from the edges of what is lawful , to what is unlawful and evil ; Therefore in that latitude which Trading Men have of Gain , they are bound by this Rule of Justice to shew favour to the Poor and Necessitous ; to practice Ingenuity towards the ignorant or unskilful , and moderation towards all Men.

WHERE they have any doubt about the equity of their dealings , they should choose the safest part ; for not only a good Conscience , but a quiet one is to be valued above Gain ; therefore in Matters of Duty they ought to do the most ; in divisions of Right and proportions of Lucre , where there is any Dispute , they ought to choose the least ; for this is always the safest course : Now the circumstances , that vary Cases , are infinite ; so that when all is done , much must be left to the equity and chancery of our own Breasts : Neither can it be determined , how much a Man may get in the Pound and no more ; for he may make a greater Gain at one time , than another , of the same thing ; he may take those advantages , which the change of things , and the Providence of God gives him ; he may take more of some Persons , than others ; provided , he use all men righteously , he may use some favorably . I shall not descend to any more Particulars on this Head ; for the sake of Sir Thomas More's Observation of the Casuists in his time , that they did not teach Men not to Sin , but did shew them , how near they might come to Sin and not commit it .

THE second Species of particular Justice , we call Distributive Justice , Distributive Justice adjusts due Rewards and Punishments . which is concerned in adjusting due Rewards and Punishments ; and in dealing with every Man according to his desert : For many Men doing the same thing do not deserve alike ; great Persons and private Men , carry not away the same reward of their Actions : The Husbandman sells his Corn at the same Rate to the Prince and to the Beggar ; but the same Action of the King , and of the mean Person , is not rewarded in the same measure : Seeing therefore doing of Justice is nothing else , but dealing equally with all Parties as near as we can , that all things may come to equality , or which is the same , to equity , we are to observe , that there are two ways , which we are to take in all our Actions , of doing Justice :

First , ONE is called medium Rei , which is always the same , and is that medium Arithmeticum , which Aristotle and other Moralists talk of at large .

Secondly , THE other is medium rationis vel proportionis and is called medium Geometricum , which is not always the same , but varies according to persons , times , occasions , and other circumstances .

NOW the principal thing , which is to be respected in the doing Justice ; is that , which we call equity ; How Equity and Justice differ . as it stands in opposition to the rigour or strictness of Law . And here we must observe , that there is some difference between Justice and Equity ; tho sometimes they are put together and are taken for the same thing ; what the Laws and common Reason will allow , that we call just ; but equity considers the circumstances of the Case , and will grant allowance , if they do require it ; for equity doth moderate the Rigour of the Law ; sometimes there may be , what is just , and no equity in the Case , but sometimes there is both just and equal in the same matter ; now wheresoever there is equity against strict Justice ; there equity ought to take place :

AND when we consider , how much we are beholden to the Mercies of God for our Being and daily Maintenance ; we shall not think it safe to appear in the defence of strict Justice , not to stand upon all , Strict Justice not to be stood upon . that the rigour of the Law can desire ; For this is the Apostles Rule , Let your moderation , that is , your Clemency and Compassion be known unto all men ; it being a Habit , whereby a Man is enabled and inclined to deal according to the equitable sense of the Law , and is placed betwixt the two Extremes , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 Rigour , or summum jus on the one hand , insisting too much on the Letter , and relaxatio nimia , remitting too much from the true sense of it on the other side ; Now both these Extremes , the excess and the defect being evidently Vices , it must follow , that the Medium betwixt them must be a Virtue , and have in it the Obligation of a Duty .

AND if we do not act , as it commands us ; we shall not only depart from the Nobleness of a Christian Spirit , but we shall take such a course , as that a cancell'd Obligation may return upon us , as it did upon that wicked Servant in Saint Matthew ; who , because He did not forgive his Brother a small Debt , after his Lord had so freely forgiven him a great one , was afterwards taken and cast into Prison , because he had not compassion on his Fellow-servant , as his Lord had pity on him .

IN all our humble Applications to God Almighty we both hope and pray , that He would not be extreme to mark , what we have done amiss , but overlook our manifold Infirmities ; And I dare say , He is very unmindful of Humane Nature it self , who can harden himself against all Compassion to his Brethren , when at any time they are mistaken or surprized .

THEREFORE let Just and Equal be thus stated ; What common Reason or the letter of the Law will admit , may be accounted just ; but equal considers all Circumstances , and allows for Errours or any unavoidable Accidents ; To be just , is to demean our selves according to the Laws of the Place , wherein we live ; To be equal , is to consider all things , that are reasonable , and to act accordingly .

FOR this temper of Mind will render us gracious and merciful ; consequently most like unto God , who is just and Righteous in all his ways , full of mercy and compassion ; For it is every ones Tenure and security ; where this Virtue doth not take place ; there will be nothing but Fraud and Cozenage , and every man will be unsafe ; it supports Human Society , which otherwise would soon fall into Strife and confusion ; it is agreeable to the principles of our Natures ; We were made to these things , and we force our selves , and offer violence to our Faculties , whenever we do an unjust Action , that is cruel or unrighteous : It is the Right of every case , and a man's greatest Wisdom is seen in finding that out , and his goodness , in complying with it ; And if we keep to this Rule of doing always what is Right and Fit , we shall be justified , whenever we are summoned to give an account of our Actions : we shall be delivered from the severity of Punishment , the end of which is either to support Right , or to be exemplary , that others may be withheld from following bad Examples ; In fine , the practice of this Virtue will remove from us all suspicion of Arbitrariness ; which is the foulest Imputation , that can be put upon any man , that he affects to maintain Self-will ; but to live in the practice of Equity , gives ease to the Mind , and to do thus is ever well-pleasing in the sight of God .

WHEREAS He , who is disposed to follow the heels of the Law , may , as the Proverb warns him , have his Teeth struck out , For Summum jus est summa injuria ; upon many emergent and unforeseen occasions , and as the circumstances of things alter , so doth the Law ; and many times it so falls out , that whoso keeps most strictly to the letter of it , is in danger of committing the grossest Iniquities .

HITHERTO we have placed the whole sum and stress of Common Justice in these two words , Suum cuique ; yet it is most true , that He , who puts into a Madman's Hand his own Sword , is certainly the madder Person of the two : To murther ones own Sister , or Mother , is the blackest Crime , and the most Savage of any , man can be guilty of ; yet Horatius Cocles and Orestes deserved their Pardons : Thus a thousand Circumstances may arise to mollifie the four Precepts of the Law ; by reason of which its strictness , may in some cases be dispensed with .

WHEREFORE in many Common-wealths , Law and Equity have distinct Courts , and Supreme Powers have always challenged a Prerogative to temper the rigour of Laws ; and the Style of the Chancery Court in England is Teste me ipso ; by which the Prince reserves to himself the moderation of the Law ; therefore it is called the King's Conscience , tho in the keeping of the Chancellour . And it is absolutely necessary this should be so , that through a dark and long Journey full of Briars and Brambles , we may at length come at Equity ; For Law suits must be uncertain , so long as the Lawyers seek not for their Judgments in their own Breasts , but in the Precedents of former Judges ; as the Ancient Judges sought the same , not in their own Reason , but in the Laws of the Empire ; besides there is scarce any thing so clearly written , that when the cause thereof is forgotten , may not be wrested by an Ignorant Grammarian or a Cavelling Logician , to the injury , or the destruction of an Honest Man .

THIS hath made Justice appear so perplexed a thing ; The reason why Justice hath appeared so perplexed a matter . the mighty Commentaries upon it have brought a Cloud upon that , which else would shine forth in all the brightness of Truth and Sincerity : Thus the Scripture it self hath suffered by Expositions , and the ways of Justice by the craft of Advocates and Clerks have been made to look like those of Fraud , mysterious and crooked : Thus Judgment is turned into Wormwood : for it is embittered by injustice , and delays make it sour . But that Justice , whose Character we give now , is a sweet and tender Virtue , as much an Enemy to hard Constructions and strained Inferences , as it is to Tortures and Racks : Patience and Gravity always attend it ; which prepare its way to a just Sentence , as God useth to prepare his , by raising Valleys , and taking down Hills ; so doth Justice encourage the modest , and suppresses the presumptuous and bold ; chiefly those , who are contentious , and such , as are full of Shifts and Tricks , whereby they would pervert her direct Courses and strive to bring her into oblique Lines and Labyrinths : For these Men would make her Courts like to the Bush in the Fable , to which while the Sheep fly for shelter in bad Weather , they are sure to lose part of their Fleece : but where untainted Justice prevails , there undoubtedly is true Policy ; which are so far from having an Antipathy to each other , that they are like the Spirits and the Sinews , one moves with the other continually : And that Throne , which hath these two for its Supporters , must be like Solomon's , supported by Lyons on both sides , Creatures most vigilant against all On-sets , and most couragious , to resist them .

Atheists make Justice an Artificial thing . BUT Atheistical Politicians make Justice an artificial thing , framed only by Men and Civil Laws ; as if it was the peculiar priviledg of Mankind , to be born free from all Duty and Morality : Thus they slander Human Nature , and make a Villain of it . For if there be nothing in its own Nature unlawful or unjust , then must the lawfulness or the unlawfulness of all Actions depend upon a Man's Will ; But by this means no Laws could ever be established in the World ; because a man might by his Will disoblige himself , and make an unlawful Action lawful , as he pleases : Besides , if nothing is unjust by Nature , then there can be no Laws of Nature ; and if there be none of these , No Covenants without natural Justice . then there can be no Covenants ; because Covenants without natural Justice are meer words and breath ; And if there are no Covenants founded upon natural Justice , it is as impossible to gather mankind into Bodies Politick , as it is to tie knots in the Wind or the Water .

MOREOVER , If the real Obligation to obey the Laws of Justice , be only from the Fear of punishment , then might men justly break any Laws , for their own advantage , if they can reasonably promise themselves Impunity : And whenever they have Power , they may oppose Civil Authority , which according to this Hypothesis is an artificial thing and nothing else but Force : If it be so , then there could never be any Government , which violence cannot , but some Natural Bond must hold together : which Bond can be no other , than Natural Justice ; which is not a Creature of the People , and of men's Wills , but hath a stamp of the Divinity upon it : For had not God and Nature made a City , had not they made Superiority and Subjection with their respective Duty and Obligation ; neither Art , nor Force could ever have done it : Wherefore to deny the mutual respects and rationes rerum to be unchangeable , will spoil God himself of that universal Rectitude , which is the greatest perfection of his Nature ; For then Justice , Faithfulness , Mercy and Goodness , will be but contingent and arbitrary Issues of the divine Will ; But if Justice be , as most certainly it is , an indispensible Perfection in God , then there is an Eternal Relation of Right and Equity betwixt every Being , and the giving it that , which is its propriety ; if Faithfulness , then there is an indispensible agreement betwixt a Promise , and the performance of it ; if Mercy , then there is an unalterable Suitableness or Harmony betwixt an indigent Creature and Pity ; if Goodness and Bounty , then there is an everlasting proportion , between fulness , and its spreading it self abroad for the benefit of the Creation . If these things be not Eternal and indispensible Perfections ; then their Contraries , injustice , unfaithfulness , cruelty , malice , and whatever goes to the constitution of Hell it self , might have been made the highest Perfections of the Divine Nature ; which is such a Blasphemy , as cannot be named without trembling .

To conclude ; Should we endeavour to deliver , what Aristotle hath left us concerning this Virtue , having spent about Justice alone the whole fifth Book of his Ethicks , we might prove tedious , if not infinite ; much more , should we follow those endless Discourses , which men have put together by way of Comment upon the Text of their Civil Law : The infinite Comments upon Justice condemned . The Wise Emperour , who was the founder of their Law , as foreseeing the mischiefs , that would thence arise , strictly commanded , that nothing should be written by way of Exposition , but only as he called them , Paratitla : long time was this Charge observed , ere there was any line written upon this Subject ; but as soon as some forward Men had broken up the Banks , that were set them , there issued forth such a Torrent of Writers , as ( Divinity only excepted ) have been hardly found in any other Science . It is not much more , than 400 years , since that Irnerius and Accursius began to write ; but there followed upon them such a Rabble of Scriblers , that our whole Libraries have been too little to hold them ; so fertile have their wits been , either in opening the paths of Justice , or in contriving by-ways to injustice : if therefore you would hear more concerning Justice , I must recommend you to Aristotle , or to the Interpreters of the Law , if at least their multitude do not confound you : But this observation we may make in the course of common Justice , that the written Law is like to a stiff Rule of Steel or Iron , which will not be applied to the fashion of the Stone or Timber , whereunto it is laid ; and Equity ( as Aristotle saith well ) is like to the leaden Rule of the Lesbian Artificers , which they might at pleasure bend to every Stone of whatsoever figure : And that we may conclude this Head in the Language of Aristotle , out of an Arithmetical Government ( as we may call it ) by rigour of Law , and that Geometrical Judgment at the pleasure of a Chancellour , well tempered together , the sweetest harmony of Justice must needs arise .

Of Intellectual VIRTUES .

FROM Virtues of a more troublesom and tumultuous nature ; for such all Moral Virtues are , which consist in the Moderation of our Passions , that are nothing else , but Winds and Floods troubling our Quiet ; We come now to a more serene and peaceable Order of Virtues , which we call Intellectual , and consist in that part of the Soul , which hath Reason and Understanding : These are in number Five , Ars , Prudentia , Scientia , Intellectus , Sapientia : For all things , about which we busie our selves , are ranged under these three Heads , Profit , Peace , and Truth ; Profit , Profit the Subject of Art . which is the God of the World , is the proper Subject of that Virtue , we call Art , and is nothing else , but diligence in geting a livelihood and means to subsist .

THE Virtue , which is employed in managing our Peace , we call Prudence ; Peace the Subject of Prudence . for all endeavour for quiet and good order , and decent procuring and bringing about our industry for liveliehood , for mutual association , and all other helps of good order and fair demeanour amongst our selves , either in single Life or in Families , or in Commonwealths , which are nothing else , but Collections of Families , yea of managing War it self , since War is never undertaken but for Peace ; all these are the offspring and Issue of Prudence .

THE last thing , Truth the Subject of Science , &c. which we labor about , and indeed is most proper and agreeable to the rational Soul , is Truth , the most excellent of all other things , if we know how truly to value it : To this belong the other Three Virtues , Science , Understanding and Wisdom , all which spend themselves in the investigation of Truth .

BY the way , I have often wondered , how Justice escaped out of the number of Intellectual Virtues ; for it hath very little in it , why we should account it among the Morals ; since it is not conversant in the moderation of any Passion , or in holding a Mediocrity betwixt two extremes , which two things formally constitute every Moral Virtue ; but every Act of it is purely Rational , and partakes little with the sensitive Part : But thus it hath pleased our great Masters in this Faculty , we now speak of , to range the Virtues ; and having Discoursed of Justice among the Morals , we will take no farther notice of it , but descend forthwith to the explication of the Intellectuals ; and First ,

Of ART.

NOW we enter the Work-house of Virtue , where Art manages all the Tools and Materials ; and in Humane Life , we are much more beholden to those , who invented Plowing and Sowing , than we are to the finer Wits , The work-house of Virtue . who have conveyed to us nothing but the abstracted Ideas of Science , and the aiery Notions of Metaphysicks ; which are like the curious Argumentations , concerning quantity and motion in natural Philosophy ; if they only hover aloof and are not squared to particular Matters , they may give an empty satisfaction , but no benefit , and rather serve to swell , than fill the Mind : But whatever we see in Cities or Houses , above the first Wildness of Fields , the Meanness of Cottages , and the Nakedness of Men , must be ascribed to the Works of Art : Therefore we are now to shew , how excellent and useful Virtue is , in the Established ways of Life : For altho the Studyes of Men are various , according to the difference of those Callings , to which they apply themselves , or the tempers of the places , wherein they Live ; yet the whole Trade and Business among them , The Business of Life depends upon common Honesty . doth depend as much upon Common-honesty , as War doth upon Discipline ; and without which , all would break up , Merchants would turn Pedlars , and Soldiers Thieves . But upon the Principles of Honesty , we work chearfully , our Life is pleasant , and we are constant to our Purposes , when the following of Profit , without regard to these Principles , will bring continual vexation upon us . Wherefore Tully in his Offices , blames the corruption of Time and Custom , that the Word Profitable , should be perverted insensibly to the signification of somewhat , that may be separated from Honesty ; as if any thing could be profitable , that were not honest , or any thing honest without being profitable ; an errour of the most pernicious consequence imaginable to the Life of Man : From the not understanding this matter aright , it often comes to pass , that we have a cunning Artificial sort of People , in great admiration , mistaking Craft for Wisdom : This opinion is by all means to be rooted out from among Men , and this following perswasion , erected in the stead of that ; there is no compassing the end we aim at , by fraudulent and indirect courses , but only by just Dealings and honest Counsels .

SO that if that be true , which is commonly observed , that Men are wont to prove such kinds of Christians , as they were Men before , and that Conversion does not destroy , but exalt our Tempers ; it may well be concluded , that the diligent Man in his Employment , is nearer to make a modest , and an humble Christian , The diligent Man makes the best Christian . than the Man of Speculative Science , who is proud of his Knowledg ; for a true Preparation for the next Life , is not at all inconsistent with Men's consulting of their happiness in this World , or being employed about Earthly Affairs ; the honest pursuit of the necessaries , and of the conveniences of a mortal Condition , by Just and regular Ways , is by no means contradictory to the most real and severe Duties of a Christian ; it is true indeed , an irregular prosecution of Profit or Gain , is an offence to Religion ; but so it is also to Right Reason , and Nature it self : And it is a wrong Conception of the State of Grace , if Men believe , that when they enter upon it , they must presently cast away all the thoughts and desires after the Possessions of this World ; but when we are bidden not to think our own thoughts , it is not intended , that we should forbear all natural Actions and Inclinations ; so it must be lawful for the strictest Christian , by the help of honest Arts , to provide for the necessities of this Life ; else the condition of Men would be worse , than that of the Beasts , that perish ; seeing to them it is natural to seek out for all the ways of their own preservation .

IT must be confessed , that there may be an excess , as well as defect , in men's Opinions of Holiness ; and then I will make no Scruple to say , that the virtuous Man defiles not his Mind , when he labors in the works of an honest Art to advance his profit ; Christianity approves of the works of honest Art . the diversion it gives him , will stand with the greatest constancy , and the delight of pursuing it , with the truth and reality of Religion : Which is indeed an Heavenly Thing , but not utterly averse from making use of the Rules of humane Arts ; wherefore it is not the best service , that can be done to Christianity , to place its chief Precepts so much out of the way , as to make them unfit for Men of business , whereas the best part of Religion is Practical , and Her chiefest Precepts are those , that govern the private Motions and Passions of our Minds ; those are its most excellent Rules , which calm our Affections and Conquer our Vices ; And the works of practical Religion are no less wonderful , than those of Art , which we now speak of ; for in whatever place of the World Arts have been destroyed , Barbarity prevails when Arts are Destroyed . Barbarity hath prevailed ; insomuch that if Aristotle , and Plato , and Demosthenes , should now arise in Greece again , they would stand amazed at the horrible Devastation of that , which was the Mother of Arts , and at the ignorance as well as incivility , that hath taken its seat : And if Caesar and Tacitus should return to Life , they would scarce believe this Britain , and Gaul , and Germany , to be the same , which they described ; they would now behold 'em covered over with Cities and Palaces , which were in their time overrun with Forrests and Thickets ; They would see all manner of Arts Flourishing in these Countries , where the chief Art , that was Practised when they Lived , was that Barbarous one of Painting their Bodies , to make them look more Terrible in Battel .

HENCE it is remarkable , that where-ever Arts have been Plante , d there Humanity , good Manners , Religion and good Manners Fourish , where Art is encouraged . and the Seeds of Religion have encreased ; and so long as there remains any corner of the World without Civility , Artificers are the most likely and fittest Persons , to subdue the Rudenesses of Mankind : And it was said of Civil Government by Plato , that the World will be best ruled , when either Philosophers shall be chosen Kings , or Kings shall have Philosophical Minds ; And I will affirm the like of Philosophy ; it will then attain to Perfection , when either the followers of Art shall have Philosophical Heads , or the Philosophers shall have Mechanical Hands ; for thus the conceptions of Men of Knowledg , which are wont to soar too high , will be made to descend into the Material World ; and the Flegmatick imaginations of Men of Trade , which use to grovel too much on the Ground , will be exalted : And the power as well as the value of Art may be proved by one instance , and it is of Archimedes , who did wonders by applying his skill in the Mathematicks to the Practices and Motions of manual Trades ; his success was so prodigious herein , that the true contrivances of his Hands did exceed all the fabulous strength , which either the Antient Stories , or modern Romances have bestowed on their Heroes : He alone sustained the burden of his Falling Country ; He alone kept the Romans at a bay , to whom the whole World was to yield : For neither Seas nor Mountains , neither Fleets nor Armies could resist the Force of his Engines , which are the greatest Powers of Nature , and of Men.

AS therefore those Men are most happy , Where Arts abound , there are Riches . who are still labouring to improve their minds in moral Virtues , which have such a mutual dependence , that no man can attain to perfection in any one of them , without some degree of the other ; so that Country is still the richest and most powerful , which entertains most Manufactures ; For the hands of men Employed are true Riches , and where this is done there will never a sufficient matter for Profit be wanting ; but where the Ways of Life are few , the Fountains of Profit will be possess'd by Few , and so all the rest must live in Idleness , on which inevitably ensues Poverty .

FOR Idleness is that defect which is opposite to Art ; for the Arts of men's hands are subject to the same infirmity with Empire , the best Art of their minds , of which it is truly observed , that whenever it comes to stand still , Idleness the cause of very ill effects . and ceases to advance , it will soon go back and decrease : So if we shall cast an Eye on all the Tempests , which arise within our Breasts , and consider the Causes and Remedies of all the violent Desires , malicious Envies , intemperate Joys , and irregular Griefs , by which the lives of most men become miserable or guilty , we shall find , that they are chiefly produced by Idleness , and may be most naturally cured by Business : For whatever Art shall be able to busie the minds of men with a constant course of innocent works , or to fill them with as vigorous and pleasant Images , as those ill Impressions , by which they are deluded ; it will certainly have a surer effect in the composing and purifying of their thoughts , than all the rigid Precepts of the Stoical or the empty distinctions of the Peripatetick Moralists .

NOW then it is required in that Study , which shall attempt according to the force of Nature , The Diseases of the mind cured by business . to cure the Diseases of the Mind ; that it keep it from idleness by full and earnest Employments , and that it possess it with innocent , various , lasting , and even sensible Delights : therefore where Industry and Trade do fill the Thoughts , as it does the whole Soul of the People in Holland ; you shall find none of those Distempers , that infect the minds of the Slothful and unactive ; Strangers among them are apt to complain of the Spleen , but those of the Country seldom or never ; which I take to proceed from their being ever busie , and easily satisfied ; For this seems to be the Disease of People , that are idle , and is incident to all men at one time or other , from the Fumes of indigestion , from the common alterations of some insensible degrees in Health and Vigour ; or from some changes , or approaches of change in Winds and Weather , which affect the finer Spirits of the Brain , before they grow sensible to other parts ; and are apt to alter the shapes or colours of whatever is represented to us by our Imaginations , whilst we are so affected ; yet this effect is not so strong , but that Business or intention of Thought , commonly either resists or diverts it : but such as are idle , or know not , from whence these Changes arise , and trouble their Heads with Notions and Schemes of general happiness or unhappiness in Life ; upon every such Fit they begin reflections on the condition of their Bodies , their Souls , or their Fortunes ; And as all things are then represented in the worst Colours , they fall into melancholy Apprehensions of one or other , and sometimes of them all ; these make deep impression on their minds , and are not easily worn out by the natural returns of good Humour : But this is a Disease too refined for a People , whose Heads are bent upon laborious Arts ; they are well , when they are not ill , and pleased , when they are not troubled ; they seek their happiness in the common Eases and Commodities of Life ; never amusing themselves with the more Speculative contrivances of Passion , or resentments of Pleasure .

WHICH brings me to the other Extreme , that is contrary to Art in the Excess : which is that Errour of mens Labours in all Ages , when they have still directed them to improve the arts of Pleasure , more than those of Profit : Hence it is that Men are Extravagant in painting their Coaches ; The mischief of improving Arts of Pleasure more than these of Profit . when their Heads would be better employed in inventing new Frames for Carts and Ploughs ; they are at a prodigious Charge for the Fashions of Cloaths , when they might spend their time better in devising new materials for Cloathing , or in perfecting those we have ; the Furniture and magnificence of Houses is risen to a vast Expence within our memory ; But Men would improve their time much better , and exercise a far more useful Art , in studying how to order Timber better , harden Stone , improve Mortar and make firmer Bricks : If men would be persuaded to follow the beneficial Arts of Life , and not be guided by vain Fancies , we should not be so overwhelmed , as we are , by Gaudiness and Superfluity ; so debauched by Pride and Luxury .

NOW then I will proceed to exhort the Man who hath most leisure to prosecute earnestly all the useful Arts of Life ; and for his Encouragement in these Ways , I will briefly lay down before him the Advantages He will gain by them .

First , THE usual course of Life of the Gentleman especially in England is so well placed , like Virtue between two Extremes , The Advantage Gentlemen have above others . between the troublesom noise of pompous Magnificence , and the baseness of Avaricious Sordidness ; that the true happiness of living according to the Rules and pleasure of uncorrupt Nature , is more in their power , than any others : To them in this Way of Life there can nothing offer it self , which may not be turned to a Philosophical use ; If they will consider the Heavens , or the motions of the Stars , they have in the Country a quieter Hemisphere , and a clearer Air for that purpose ; if they will observe the generations of living Creatures , their Stables and their Ponds , their Parks and their Kennels will give 'em Eternal matter of Enquiry : If they would advance their Fruits or their Plants , then the Pastures and Orchards , the Groves and Gardens furnish them with perpetual Contemplations . And from their Sports , Hunting , Hawking , Fishing , Fowling , they may receive as much solid Profit , as they do Delight .

FOR if the Gentleman , who is so much at leisure , can be brought to the love of some Art or business , Men most at leisure may much advance the happiness of mankind by loving some Art or business . the World would become more active and industrious ; consequently the happiness of Mankind would be much promoted , for that the minds of all sorts of men would be so taken up in some profitable Art or other , that they would not have time to think of those things , that disturb the peace of Human Societies : And let 'em not imagine , that Business doth debase them , or corrupt their Blood , because where Arts do most flourish , there the greatest Riches and power are established ; And if that be true , that every thing is preserved and restored by the same means , which did beget it at first ; they may then believe . that their present Honour cannot be maintained by intemperate Pleasures , or the gaudy shews of Pomp , but by true Labours and industrious Virtue ; and if we enquire into the Ways of Life of some of the Greatest Men , that have lived in times past , we shall find , that amidst the Government of Nations , the dispatch of Armies , and noise of Victories , some of them disdained not to work with a Spade , to dig the Earth , and to cultivate with triumphing Hands , the Vine , and the Olive .

THESE indeed were Times , Conquerours and other Great Men have laboured with their hands . of which it were well if we had more Footsteps , than in ancient Authors ; then the minds of Men were innocent and strong and bountiful , as the Earth , in which they laboured ; then the Vices of Human Nature were not their Pride , but their Scorn ; Then Virtue was it self , neither adulterated by the false Idols of Goodness ; nor puff'd up by the empty Forms of Greatness ; as it has been in some Countries of Europe , which are arrived at that corruption of Manners , that perhaps some severe Moralists will think it had been more needful for me to persuade the Men of this Age , to continue Men , than to turn Philosophers .

HOWEVER there is nothing , whose promoting is so easie , Diligence hath done the most wonderful things . as Diligence , when it is once set on Foot ; an Instance whereof ●s the Hollanders ; At first they were as Lazy , as some others ; but when by the number of their People they were forced to look abroad , to Trade , to Fish , and labour in the Mechanicks ; they soon found the sweetness , as well as Toyl of their Diligence ; their successes and their Riches still added new heat to their Minds ; and thus they have continued improving , till they have not only disgraced , but terrified their Neighbours , by their industry . The true Method of encreasing of which is by that course , which some have begun in Philosophy , by works and endeavours , and not by the prescriptions of Words or Paper-Commands : For if our Labourers had been as diligent , as our managers of Law-Suits , we had proved not only the most laborious , but the best temper'd Nation upon Earth : when the most disagreeing Parties may lay aside their Names of Distinction , and calmly conspire in a mutual agreement of Labours ; a Blessing , which answers that Evangelical Promise , that the Lion and the Lamb shall lie down together ; For in the Arts of Life men do not only converse without Violence or Fear , but they work and think in Company , and confer their help to each others Advantage : For should we look back to the beginning of the World , all would appear an America to us ; an uncultivated Desart , a wild Habitation ; neither had Man any property , before his labour made him a Title : All property did arise from Labour . Wherefore the first Commoners of the Earth did employ their Heads about getting the necessary supports of Life , and there ended their desires ; the later Inventions of Gold , Silver and Diamonds being things , that Phancy or Agreement hath put a price upon more , than real Use : Nature unassisted by Art did once furnish all the necessities of mankind , but since they have multiplied so much , many Arts have been found out , not only to answer the daily Needs , but the many conveniences of Human Life : Hence it is , that we have now Bread , Wine , and Cloathing , in the room of Acorns , Water , and Skins : for whatever valuation the three first bear above the latter , is altogether owing to the Hand of Laborious Art ; which how much they exceed the other in intrinsick worth , as soon as we have computed ; we shall then see , how much the devices and operations of Art have made the far greatest part of the value of Things , we enjoy in this World : For Nature doth only afford materials for Art to work upon : so that when we reckon into every Loaf of Bread , that is eaten , the pains and Skill of the many Artificers before Corn is wrought into Bread , we must admire the effects of Industry , and the Wisdom of God in his Wise disposal of this part of his Creation , who hath given it to the use of the industrious and Rational , not to the Phancy or covetousness , of the sensual or the Contentious .

HENCE we may infer the necessity of a Calling in all Orders of Men for their better leading a profitable and virtuous Life ; For Man is very active by Nature , and if He hath no Vocation to busie himself in , he must needs be doing somewhat , that is Evil ; as in the case of lazy Monks and begging Fryars , those slow Bellies , who by their unlawful Vows and affected poverty renounce all honest Industry , and enrich themselves not only with the Widows Houses , but with the fattest Lordships of a Country ; or in the case of those , who think themselves priviledged from taking pains by their Birth , Breeding , and Estates ; by which means their whole Life is spent either in doing nothing , or that , which is worse : Now these Persons should look into the Histories of their Ancestors , and observe by what steps they raised their Houses to the height of Gentry , or Nobility ; it was done either by serving in the Camp , sweating at the Bar , waiting at the Court , adventuring on the Seas , or by bartering in the Shop ; If it be so , then they usurp their Arms , if they do not inherit their Virtues : And if Mankind would judg truly of their Condition , as to the account they must give to God of their several Talents , the consideration of their works rather , than of their dispositions , will afford 'em the best Assurance ; because their Gifts and Abilities both of Body and Mind , being in the brain or hand , are at a greater certainty , than their Inclinations , which are seated in the Heart , that is deceitful above all things .

Of PRUDENCE .

AFTER Men have chosen an Active Life , the next , and chiefest Virtue , Prudence the best guide of our Actions . they are to seek for , is Prudence , to guide them in the just government of their Actions : The Philosophers are very much puzzled about the Nature of this Virtue ; some will have it , that we cannot be Happy , if any the least Sorrow and Trouble comes near us ; therefore they advise their prudent Man quite to leave the World , which is beset with these Thorns ; they would not have him converse with Mankind or enter upon any Employment ; so in the case of Temperance , they cannot tell , how any man should practice this Virtue , unless He wholly reject all Invitations to Feasts and Banquets .

NOW the Prudence , which we recommend , is very different from that which the Philosophers have prescribed , and is always joined with Goodness ; Good and Dis●reet the same . For good and discreet are terms convertible ; No Man can be indeed good without Prudence ; no Man prudent , unless He be good ; these Virtues ought to accompany each other ; and when they do so , they are the best defence a Man hath against Griefs , Troubles , Losses , Disappointments , and all the Evils of this mortal State .

WE are therefore to enquire , what this Prudence is by which we must guide our Affairs ; in general this may be said of it ; that it is that Virtue , which must govern all the rest ; to which they owe their Value , and their Beauty ; as will more fully appear , if we consider , that by Prudence alone Men are directed .

First , TO pitch upon a right , and a worthy End to all their Actions .

Secondly , TO make choice of fit and proper Means to compass this End .

Thirdly , TO be diligent , and persevere in the use of those Means , till they attain their End .

FOR He , who propounds little designs to himself , hath a mean and ungenerous Spirit ; because he aims at that , which is not worth his seeking ; and the more earnestly he pursues it , the greater is his loss and disappointment .

Secondly , IF a Man doth not accommodate proper Means for the obtaining of a Noble End , he starves his Cause and declares , that he doth not know the worth of his own Design ; so that his proposing a good End , is more by Chance than Election ; when he hath not Prudence to follow this End with fit and sufficient Means .

Thirdly , THO his End be good , and the Means proper to effect it ; yet if He be not constant to himself , but grow impatient of delay and weary of his Poast , before he is fully possess'd of the End , he drives at ; his Prudence must be concluded to de defective .

BUT put these three all together , and in whomsoever they are found , I may affirm , that he is a Person well qualified with Prudence , either for this , or the other World .

FOR as the prudent Man for this World is ever busie in contriving the most probable Ways of gaining the most precious things of it ; his Head is ever at work ; his thoughts are watchful and intent ; his whole mind is in this very matter , to promote his Fortune , and to settle his Interest ; so the prudent Man in the Exercises of Virtue , casts off all sloth and negligence ; The behaviour of a prudent Man in Religion . spends his hours in Meditation upon the transitory State of the best Things here , and the certainty of Death and Judgment ; so that He is constantly employed in stating his Accounts for this great Day , and in examining himself , how he is prepared for it : As the prudent Man for this World , who resolves to be Rich , considers , that He must then be very industrious in his Calling , and very frugal in his Expences ; that He must deny his Ease , and his Appetites , and exactly keep his Accounts ; For He , who indulges his Belly and his sleep , takes not the right way to encrease his Estate ; And as He , who hath an Ambition to be highly honoured or prefer'd , will take care to offend no Body , but demean himself Civilly ; will put up and conceal many Affronts ; will do all acts of Courtesie and beneficence , that He can ; As another , whose Genius leads him to search for Knowledg , knows the directest way to it is sedulous Study , to peruse good Books , frequent the best Company , and to render all useful to himself by sober Contemplation : So the prudent Man in Virtue aims at the Enjoyment of God's Favour and Eternal Life with him ; therefore He applies himself heartily to the fittest Means for this End , which is to be holy , and to do good ; to serve God faithfully , and to make use of all Opportunities of redeeming his time ; therefore thinking much of Heaven , and hoping to land himself safely there , He will never steer his Course by a false Compass , by imagining , that he is in the right way , when he is of such a Party , when He can dispute hotly for this and that Opinion , or when He spends all his Zeal upon those things , that perish in the using , and never go beyond this present State : As the prudent Man for this World doth not content himself with chusing proper Means to the Ends , he follows ; but when he is satisfied that the Means , he hath chosen , are fit and suitable , he is never discouraged or baffled out of them by any difficulties whatsoever ; For instance , No hardship disheartens the Man , who designs to get Riches ; He slights all the Labours and Cares in his Way , because he is stedfastly bent upon the acquisition of his Desires ; And as another Man , who is strongly inclined to become Eminent in all sorts of Learning , and to understand all Matters , that have been before him , knows well , that his Candle must never go out ; that by pains and watchings he must contract pale Looks , and a sickly Body ; yet he is not cast down by any of these considerations : So the prudent Man in the business of Virtue , is sure , that if he doth good and lives well , A virtuous and prudent Man values not Reproaches . he shall be happy ; therefore he values not the Reproaches of bad men , nor the Afflictions that are to be endured ; For he will never be beaten off from his intended purpose by any such or greater discouragements : As a Wise Man for this World looks upon it , as a notorious Mark of Folly , for a Man to run upon any thing at all Adventures ; as He is wary and suspicious , so that he will not trust his Fortune in every Bodies hands , nor take the Counsel of a Man , whom he thinks not to be Honest , or that he imagins , will impose upon him : So the prudent Person for the cause of Virtue , builds his Faith and Hope for a better World with as much care and caution ; therefore He is not apt to be misled by every Impostor , but contemns those Mountebanks in Religion , A Religious prudent man is not easily misled . who by fair Stories , and specious Gulleries , wheedle men out of their Sense and Reason : This he doth , because He is as careful of his Religion , and as watchful against Cheats , as the cunning man for this World is wont to be for advancing his secular Ends and Interests : For which purpose he will watch the proper Season of doing any thing , and will never let it slip ; So the prudent Man in the Warfare of Virtue lays hold of all opportunities for the benefit of his Soul ; He makes use of the present time , and considers , if his Work be not done now , it will never be done at all .

So far the Parallel goes between a prudent Man for this World and for Virtue ; But here we cannot but bewail the ill State of things , that Men should strive to be more discreet in the little Affairs of this Life , than they are in matters of much more importance to them ; the unreasonableness of which will appear in these four particulars .

First it is manifest , The unreasonableness of being more prudent for this world , than for virtue . that a good Man hath a nobler End to pursue , than the Men of this World can pretend to ; for how low a design is it ! how unworthy a rational Being , to heap up Wealth , when he knows not how soon he may be taken away from it , or that waste away and leave him : With an ambitious Person it is just so , he hath laboured all his days to become Great and Honorable ; when he hath effected it , his Name is only toss'd too and frô by the envy of the World ; but supposing that Riches could be durable , or that Honor were a certain thing ; yet the Possessions of this Earth in their most flourishing condition , are not to be compared with the enjoyments of a virtuous Man ; which are chiefly , to have peace with God , and with his own mind ; Now if a Virtuous Man hath a greater and more desirable End of his Actions , it is very unreasonable , that he should be outdone in prudence or care , in the working out his Salvation .

Secondly , As a virtuous Man hath the best end , so the means , that he hath to it , are much more certain , than all the methods of the World are : For Solomon hath assured , us that here the Race is not always to the swift nor the Battel to the strong ; one in all likelihood would think , that the swiftest should winn the Race , and the strongest , the Battel ; yet the wisest Man , and the best Judge of the true valuation of all things below , hath determined quite otherwise ; the best humane means , tho never so well fitted to their ends , do often miscarry ; for after a Man hath run the utmost dangers , and hath spent his life in continual care for an abundance of Worldly Goods ; a thousand accidents may and do fall out to devest him of it ; when another hath used all his Art and Wit to build up a reputation , a vulgar breath shall blast it all : Whereas the means , which the Lovers of Virtue use to their end , will never fail them ; for never any one was disappointed of a peaceable Mind , who ever was so prudent , as to manage the course of his Life by the Rules of Virtue ; never any failed of the Favour of God , who had so much discretion , as to obey his Commandments ; nor did ever any miss of Eternal Life , who were so wise for themselves , as to labor after it .

Thirdly , THERE is no more difficulty in the means of obtaining the reward of Virtue , which is both present and future Happiness , than there is in those ways , which the crafty Men of this World use to bring their designs about ; therefore it is still more unaccountable , It is easier for a Man to be virtuous , than vitious . that they should take more pains in their way , than the Disciples of Virtue do in theirs ; besides it is often much more difficult to raise a credit in the World , than it is to get the Favour of God , or that Peace of Conscience , which a conformity to the Precepts of Virtue will certainly afford us : Health of Body is not acquired without wariness and continual circumspection ; it is far easier , for a Man to entertain himself in virtuous Contemplations ; for God hath not set our happiness at difficult terms ; but the way to it is smoother , than we are apt to imagine ; it being as easie to be sober , as to be otherwise ; to be just , as unrighteous ; the Rules of Virtue are not so rigid , as Men usually apprehend them to be ; therefore it is the most unpardonable folly , if they be not as industrious in the practices of Virtue , as they often are in the prosecution of vitious and naughty Purposes .

Fourthly , BY being diligent and discreet in the exercise of moral Virtue , we commonly secure the happiness of this present World , as well as the next , the better to our selves ; for the Men , who regard only this World , may be sure , that they shall not find any felicity in a future Life , because they have taken no care about it , and frequently they lose this World also ; For if they follow Shadows , they must needs lose the Substance ; but if they lay fast hold of the Substance , The prudent Man is sure of the Happiness both of this and the other World . they must consequently possess the Shadow ; by which I mean , that if they would be wrought upon to lead a virtuous Life in good earnest ; they would not only secure their Interest in another World , but they would succeed better in the Affairs of this ; For , so our Saviour hath said , seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and his Righteousness , and all other things shall be added unto you : Therefore let us be Wise , and make Virtue , our main design , because length of days is in her right hand , and in her left Riches and Honour ; For God doth often dispense the common Benefits and good things of this Life to the Virtuous , over and above what he intends to bestow upon them in the World to come .

SEEING then good Men have the best End to follow , The Prudent Man always follows the best End . the most apt and certain means , that always prove effectual ; seeing there is no more difficulty in attaining Heavenly , than earthly things ; seeing that men do usually secure a competency of the things of this World , by minding the things of another ; but if we place all our Affections upon this World , it many times falls out , that we are frustrated of what we desire ; Therefore let us endeavour to be as prudent at least in our way of Piety and Virtue , as Worldly-minded men are in theirs ; From whose Sagacity we may learn to forearm our selves against the wiles of the Tempter ; For when all is done , true Wisdom is gotten only in the Word of God , because that makes us wise unto Salvation ; and they are very Fools , who never think , what mischiefs will come upon them , after they have spent a sinful and ungodly Life ; they seem not to be distinguished from Brutes , who care not , what they do , or what becomes of them , provided they can fulfil their fleshly Lusts ; it is quite otherwise with a good Man ; his End is Eternal Life ; the means he takes to it is an upright and virtuous Conversation , which will never fail of its Rewards .

NOW the opposites to true Prudence are Craft , or a fraudulent subtlety , and folly ; Craft , my Lord Bacon says , is a sinister and crooked Wisdom ; and certainly , there is a great difference between a Cunning , The difference between a crafty and a prudent Man . and a Wise Man , not only in the point of Honesty , but in Ability ; For there are those , who can pack the Cards , and yet they cannot play them well ; So there are some , who are very Quickwitted at Tricks and Expedients , that are otherwise weak and shallow Men : their great Engine is a smooth Tongue and a competent stock of Wit ; in general Expressions , they pretend much Affection and Kindness ; to gain their Ends , they will use many Artifices , as taking advantage of Persons in Necessity , that are under some fear of Punishment , or of Discovery ; that are in Danger , or blinded with Passion ; that are Weak or Ignorant , Inadvertent or Easie ; they watch their time to ensnare , and exert all their Power to impose upon them : Thus they build their House under ground , as it hath been observed of the Crafty , celant , tacent , dissimulant , insidiantur , praeripiunt hostium consilia ; and in order to their own advantage , they look upon all other men , as Enemies ; neither have they , or ever intend to have any Friends .

WHAT an odd , as well as wicked Humour is this Guile , as if by the help of the most perverse and the most erring Guide a man might find out shorter Ways , than the lawful Road , leaping over Hedg and Ditch ; breaking through all legal Bounds ; as if the most crooked were the readiest Way to arrive at their Journeys End : This is that , which the Serpent is said to be eminent for , above all other Beasts of the Field ; What Craft or a Serpentine Wisdom is . whence it is commonly called a Serpentine Wisdom , that lies ever upon the Catch , and deals by way of Stratagem : In a state of War perhaps it may be allowable , as it was thought by Virgil , when he asked ; dolus an virtus , quis in Hoste requirit ? Yet even in War its self , where matters depend upon sudden Actions , a brave and generous Enemy will make as little use of the Dolus or Craft , as may be : Therefore to use it in their ordinary carriage or dealings with their Brethren ; to make them such promises , as they will not be obliged by ; to utter Words , that intend nothing ; will expose men to others , with whom they converse , as dangerous and unworthy Persons .

THE deficient Extreme of Prudence is called Simpleness or Folly , which consists in such a vicious Habit , as is contracted by the frequent neglect or refusal of the Advices of Prudence ; This is properly both a Sin and a Punishment ; Folly opposite to Prudence : Having this peculiar brand of Infamy upon it beyond all other Vices , that whereas some men have been so impudent , as to take a pride in their dishonest Actions ; yet none have ever been so wretched , as to boast of their Folly ; This being amongst all Men counted most reproachful , and that , which will render one most contemptible .

THIS is not the same with Natural Folly , a principal defect of the Mind , which may be called Stolidity , or the Extremity of Dulness ; But the Folly , we speak of , doth rather come from the depravedness of the Will , It proceeds from a depraved Will. when it will not hearken to any thing delivered to it by right Reason ; and when men have once acquiesced in untrue Opinions , false Judgments , and have registred them as authentick Methods in their minds ; it is no less impossible to insinuate the Counsels of Prudence , or to speak intelligibly to such Men , than to write legibly upon a Paper already scribled over : the immediate cause hereof is prejudice , and of prejudice , a false Opinion of our own knowledg ; When this hath a predominancy over the Understanding ; then we have no Passion , but from it ; and we shall not be permitted to listen to the Voice of the wise Man , speak he never so wisely .

What Lightness of Mind is . THERE is also a Lightness in some Men's minds that produceth Folly ; An Example whereof is in them , who in the midst of a serious Discourse , have their minds diverted to every little Jest , or witty Observavation , which maketh them depart so often from their Discourse , that all they say , looks like a Dream , or some studied Nonsense : Thus prejudice and Levity are the causes of most of those Follies , mankind are guilty of ; either their minds are prepossessed and barr'd up against all sober and prudent Instructions ; or they are so aiery and inconstant , that for want of Ballast they cannot fasten upon any steady Principles ; when this is the state of the mind , all its Actions will be rash and irregular ; nothing will be done according to the Measures and Counsels of Prudence , neither will it know how to make use of any occasions , for the obtaining the great End of its Creation . A present cure for these Evils is Prudence , which is the Art of Business , directing a Man in the practical Affairs of Life to what is fit and convenient , according to the variety of Circumstances ; it consists in a solid Judgment to discern the Tempers and Interests of Men , the state of Business , the probabilities of Events and Consequences , together with a presentness of mind to obviate sudden Accidents ; For without this exactness of Judgment , to distinguish between things , we shall not be able to tell in some cases what is Vice , and what is Virtue ; where the former is like the latter , as it is in the instances of Pride and greatness of Spirit , Religion and Superstition , Quickness and Rashness , Chearfulness and Mirth ; So of Ambition and Sufficiency , Government and Tyranny , Liberty and Licentiousness , Subjection and Servitude , Covetousness and Frugality .

NOW the just limits and boundaries of these Things , Prudence necessary to judg between the limits of some Virtues and Vices . none but a wise and skilful Man can judg of ; who can discern one from the other , notwithstanding their great resemblance , and can give to every Cause its proper Actions and Effects : It is therefore necessary for every one , that desires to be a prudent Man , to observe his own Actions , and the original of them his Thoughts and Intentions , with great care and circumspection ; else He shall never arrive in any tolerable manner to the knowledg of what He doth well or ill : And lest all this diligence should be insufficient , as the partiality to himself will certainly render it , it is very requisite for him to betake himself often to wise and good Men ; who may with all freedom admonish him of his Failings , and direct him to their proper Remedies ; For we must not think , that we live one day without Faults , or that those Faults are undiscovered ; And He is happy , who hath a discreet Friend to observe his Conversation , The use of a Friend . and to tell him , where its Errours are ; this is the Way to grow better , and this is the most likely Way to perfect himself in Virtue and Prudence , which prudence depends very much upon experience ; without which no Person of ever so great Capacity , can ever arrive to be a Wise Man , more than a Fruit to maturity without Time ; It is true , all Mens Apprehensions are naturally alike ; what one sees Red , another sees not Green ; and Aloes is not bitter to one , and sweet to another ; And that one Man is more learned , is not , because he knows otherwise , than another ; but it is because he knows more Consequences , and more proportions by his greater Industry and Experience .

WHEN Experience hath made us prudent ; then there will be no inconveniences in Human Life , but we shall be aware of , so that nothing shall be able to disturb our Happiness ; when the Philosophy of Speculative Men would take us off from all Employments , that we may live in ease and quiet : This teaches us to manage publick Affairs and all manner of Negotiation , without making the least breach of the peace in our minds ; when their Wisdom , Prudence the best manager of our Conversation . for fear of danger , would have us never go to Sea ; our prudence would have us govern our selves wisely , since we are embarked , and steer our course in the best manner ; when one will not allow us to go to a Feast , lest we should be surfeited either with the Food or the Wine ; the other shews us how we may be abstemious , when we come to them .

WHEREFORE Prudence teaches us better Lessons for a life of Virtue , than Philosophy can pretend to ; For she hath much Study , but little Experience ; She can advise well , but cannot act ; The advantage of Reading Men , rather than Books . whereas the Reading of men , rather than Books , enlarges our Souls for the Entertainment of the best and most useful Notions ; frees them from that narrowness of Spirit , which scarce ever leaves the retired and solitary Student : But if he will come abroad , and walk with wise Men , he shall be wise ; He shall understand the Customs and Humours of Men , the Business and Duties of Life , the Government and Events of Providence : He must go out of the World , if he would wholly avoid wicked Men ; but his prudence will be seen so in ordering his Conversation , that he may not be polluted by their Company : And one chief reason , why in the Universities themselves men do not make so great a progress either in Piety or Learning , as might be exspected from those special Advantages , which they enjoy in those places , is , because they are not so careful to improve the benefit to be had by prudent Conversation ; For the Men of Reading do very much busie themselves about such Conceptions , which are no where to be found out of their own Chambers ; the Sense , the Custom , the Practice , the judgment of the World , is quite a different thing from what they imagine it to be in private ; and therefore it is no wonder , that when they come abroad into Business , they abound so much with Fears and Doubts , and mistaken Idea's of things ; which happens to them , because they have kept out of the way , in the shade of their Libraries , Arguing , , Objecting , Defending , concluding with themselves ; and would never look out , and by Conversing see , what is acted on the Stage of the World .

FROM what I have said , may be gather'd ; that Prudence will teach Men not to spend their thoughts about empty Contemplations , The prudent Man is more for practice than Contemplation . by turning them to the practices of a virtuous and an useful Life ; thus their minds will be cured of all their swellings , when all things are represented to them , just as large as they are ; For the nearer men come to the Businesses of Life , all those shadows grow less and less , which did either enlarge or darken Human Affairs : And indeed of the usul Titles , by which men of Business are wont to be distinguished , the Crafty , the Formal , and the Prudent ; the Crafty may answer to the Emperick in Philosophy , who has a great collection of particular Experiences , but knows not how to use them , but to base and low Ends ; the Formal man may be compared to the mere Speculative Philosopher , who vainly reduces every thing to some grave and solemn general Rules , without discretion ; And the prudent Man is like him , who proceeds on a constant and solid course of Experiments , which do not rest upon empty Knowledg , but are designed for Action : And it is the active Life of Virtue , which it is our Interest to begin betimes , because 't is a hard task for him , who has only thought much for the greatest part of his days , to turn a man of practice ; as He , that can paint the Face of a Lion , will much sooner come to draw any other Creature ; than He , who has all the Rules of Limning in his Head , but never yet used his Hand to lay on a Colour .

I have nothing more to add concerning Prudence , only this ; that it is the best preservative we have against all false Religions , and those , Prudence the best preservative against false Religions . that promote them ; wherewith unless a man be well guarded , he will be ever exposed to Impostors , who have an Art of presenting falshood for Truth , with as fair Colours and Pretences , with as exact and regular Proportions , with fanciful Consequences , and artificial Connexions : for want of a due discretion in governing their Lives by the plain Rules of the Christian Doctrine , Men have run headlong , into very absurd and gross Opinions ; For when once Religion is made a Tool to advance the Ambition or the Interests of designing men , then they broach swarms of supposititious Writings and sophistical Arguments , to maintain corrupt Opinions ; then they pretend to Visions and Dreams , to gain credit to their fond inventions : But a prudent Man , who makes a good Life his only purpose , acts as one in his Wits should do ; For holiness of Life restores him to his Primitive state , to the perfect and healthful Constitution of his Nature ; in the mean time it is a hard matter to persuade the Enthusiastical and the superstitious to be really good ; The Enthusiastical and superstitious are hardly brought to be really good . it is no easie thing to work upon their disordered Tempers and Passions , or to reduce 'em to the forsaken and untrodden Paths of Virtue .

NAY , a prudent thoughtfulness hath a natural power in it to work in a sincere Person a sense and acknowledgment of his Sins ; when he retires into himself , and takes a true estimate of his Condition ; For the workings of the mind are active and restless ; it will always be employed one way or another : and when it hath no external Object to entertain or divert it ; then self-Reflection , the best means to an impartial judgment of things will take place , and the true voice of Conscience will be heard .

ALL Men therefore , who act wickedly , forget the very nature of their own minds ; but He , who guides his Affairs with discretion , looks forward to the end of his Actions ; examines the Reasons , upon which his Religion is founded ; because most of the Errours among Men are such , Whence most Mens Errours do arise . as their own Reason might have corrected , had they in time bethought themselves ; and most of the dangers , they incur , proceed from hence , that they have a great indifferency upon their Spirits as to the truth or honesty of the Religion , they are engaged in .

IT cannot be expected , considering what fallible Creatures we are , that we should always walk according to the precise Rules of Prudence ; However seeing that most of the Faults of Men proceed from irregular Humours and Desires , which they are apt to be too Fond of ; we are by the Law of our Creation bound to use that Principle in us , we call Reason , that it may guide all our Operations , and direct them to some good End ; For God governs rational Beings , by the Principles of Reason , as He doth the material World by the necessary Laws of matter , and brute Creatures , by the instincts and propensities of Nature .

Of Understanding , Science , and Wisdom .

THESE Three may be handled together , because they are alike concerned in the search after Truth ; For the Vnderstanding perceives and apprehends the Objects by the Ministry of the Senses ; the resemblances of these Objects being conveyed to the Vnderstanding , do there make their own Image , which we call Science or Knowledg , in which two things are implied ; What Science is . the one is Truth ; the other is Evidence ; For what is not Truth , can never be known ; and Evidence is to Truth , as Sap to the Tree , which so far as it creepeth along with Body and Branches , keepeth them alive ; where it forsaketh them , they die ; For this Evidence , which is Meaning with our Words , is the Life of Truth ; and that which hath much experience of Fact , What Sapience or Wisdom is . and much evidence of Truth , that is , much Vnderstanding and Science , hath usually been called , both by ancient and modern Writers , Sapience or Wisdom , whereof Man only is capable .

OF whose Soul the Vnderstanding is the highest Faculty ; which judges of the Reports of Sense , Vnderstanding the highest faculty of the Soul . and detects all their Impostures ; resolves all sensible things into intelligible Principles ; the conceptions whereof are not mere passive Impressions upon the Soul from without , but they are actively exerted from the mind its self ; no passion being able to make a judgment either of it self , or other things : but some men have been so fond of corporeal Sense , as to believe , that there is nothing in Human Understanding , which was not first in bodily Sense ; which whosoever asserts , must say , that Life and Cogitation it self , Knowledg or Vnderstanding , Reason and Memory , Volition and Appetite , things of the greatest moment and Reality , to be nothing but mere Words without any signification : For if Sense were the only Evidence of things , there could be no absolute truth and falshood , nor certainty at all of any thing ; Sense as such being obnoxious to much Delusion : and were Existence to be allowed to nothing , that doth not fall under corporeal Sense , then we must deny the Being of Mind both in our selves and others ; because we can nether see nor feel any such thing .

THERE have been also those , who have thought , that our understandings might be so made , as to deceive us in all our clearest perceptions , in Geometrical Theorems themselves , and even in our common Notions ; if this be so , then we can never be certain of the truth of any thing , not so much , as that two and two are four ; nay , if this be so , we can never arrive at any certainty concerning the Existence of God , essentially good , forasmuch as This cannot any otherwise be proved , than by the use of our Vnderstanding-Faculty : Besides it is no way congruous to think that God Almighty should make Rational Creatures so , as to be in an utter impossibility of ever attaining to any Truth ; if this were so , what would our Life be , but a Dream ! and our selves , but a ridiculous piece of fantastick Vanity !

WHEREAS no Power , how great soever , can make any thing indifferently to be true ; nor can create such Minds , as shall have as clear Conceptions of Falshoods , as they have of Truths ; For Example , no Understanding Being , that knows , what a part is , and what a whole , what a cause , and what an effect , can possibly be so made , as clearly to conceive the part to be greater than the whole , or the effect to be before the cause : The Deity is the original of Truth . For the Deity is the original of Truth and Wisdom ; And it doth not derogate from him , that created Minds should so partake of the divine Mind , as to know certainly , that two and two make four , that equals added to equals will make equals , that a whole is greater than a part , that the cause is before the effect , and such like common Notions , which are the Principles , from whence all our knowledg is derived .

MOREOVER a Perfect understanding Being , is the beginning and head of the Scale of Entity ; from whence things gradually descend downward , lower and lower , Mind the oldest of all things . till they end in senseless matter ; for Mind is the oldest of all things , senior to the Elements , and the whole corporeal World ; for if once there had been no Life in the whole Universe , but all had been dead , then could there never have been any Life or Motion in it ; and if once there had been no understanding , then could there never have been any understanding produced ; because to suppose Life and Understanding to rise out of that , which is altogether dead and senseless , is plainly to suppose , something to come out of nothing ; wherefore because there is Mind , we are certain , that there was some Mind from all Eternity , from whence these imperfect Minds of ours came ; for the first Principle of all things must be an understanding Nature ; and the power we have to understand the truth we altogether owe to this Cause .

FOR Gen. 1.27 . What the Image of God is in Man . God created Man in his own image ; which image is that universal Rectitude of all the faculties of the Soul , by which they stand apt and disposed to their receptive Offices and Operations ; therefore in Adam the Understanding was a Noble and pure Faculty , could lead and controul the Passions , as it listed ; it did then determine upon the several informations of Sense , and all the varieties of imagination , not hearing only like a sleepy Judg , but also directing their Verdict : Being innocent and quick , it gave the Mind a bright and full prospect into all things ; insomuch that the discoveries of Truth are now very obscure in comparison with those clear representations thereof , which the understanding made then .

IT was likewise Adam's happiness to have those Maxims and general Notions of the Mind , which are the Rules of Discourse , Adam's understanding much above ours . and the Basis of all Philosophy , clear and unsullied ; Study was not then a duty , Night-watchings were needless : The Light of Reason wanted not the assistance of a Candle ; This is the doom of us poor faln Creatures , to labour in the Fire , to spend our Time , and impair our Health , and perhaps to spin out all our days upon one pitiful Conclusion : And 't is difficult for us , who were born and bred up with Ignorance and Infirmities about us , to raise our Thoughts to those Intellectual Perfections , that attended our Nature in the time of Innocence ; But we must conclude the Understanding to be at that time most Excellent , by the glorious Remainders , that are left of it ; For all those Arts , Rarities and Inventions , which vulgar Heads gaze at , the Ingenious pursue , and all admire , they are but the Reliques of an Understanding defaced with Sin and Time ; Insomuch that an Aristotle , whom we take to be the Great Master of Science , was but the rubbish of an Adam , and Athens , but the Rudiments of Paradise .

THE Image of God did no less remarkably shew it self , in that , which we call the practical Vnderstanding , in which are treasured up the Rules of Action , and the Seeds of Morality ; of this sort are these Rules of Life , that God is to be worship'd , our Parents to be honoured , our words to be kept ; which being of universal Influence , as to the regulation of the Behaviour , and Converse of Mankind , are the ground of all Virtue and Civility , and the Foundation of Religion .

NOW Adam had these Notions in his Bosom , firm and untainted ; and He had such a Conscience , as might be its own Casuist , and those Actions must needs be regular , when there is an uninterrupted agreement between the Rule and the Faculty : The Rule and the Faculty did ever agree . All the Laws of Nations , and wise Decrees of States , the Statutes of Solon and the twelve Tables , were but a paraphrase upon this standing Rectitude of Nature , upon this principle of Justice , that would never be imposed upon by a deluding Fancy , nor bribed by an alluring Appetite ; no utile nor jucundum could turn the Ballance to a false or dishonest Sentence ; the inferiour Faculties had the clearest Instructions , and were commanded too with such Power , as they could not resist ; It was not then , as it is now , when the Vnderstanding chastises the Passions , as old Eli did his headstrong Sons , gently and easily ; but its Voice at that time was ; this must , this shall be done .

THUS the Image of God did once shine in the understanding of Man ; at the same time , it was also stampt upon his Will ; as it appeared from that entire freedom and indifference the Will then had , to stand , or not to stand , to accept , or not accept the Temptation : The will now a Slave . I will grant the Will now to be as much a slave , as any one will have it , being free only to sin ; But from the beginning it was not so , neither is This Nature , but Chance : therefore it were blasphemy to lay our Faults upon God , as the Author of them , as if He had made us crooked : But when they came out of his Hands , the understanding and will never disagreed , what was propounded by the one , was never contradicted by the other ; Neither did the will attend upon the understanding in a servile manner , but as Solomon's Servants waited upon him ; it admired the Wisdom of its Dictates , and heard the Counsels thereof , which did both direct and reward its Obedience : For it is the nature of this Faculty to follow a Superiour Guide , the Vnderstanding ; but then she was a Subject , as a Queen is to her King , who both acknowledges a Subjection , and yet retains a Majesty .

Passions the Instruments of Virtue . IF we pass downward to the Passions , we shall be convinced , what influence the Vnderstanding hath in rendring them the Instruments of Virtue ; which the Stoicks look'd upon as sinful Defects and irregularities , as so many deviations from right Reason : But in this , they were constantly out-voted by other Sects of Philosophers : To us let this be sufficient , that our Saviour Christ was seen , to weep , to be sorrowful , to pity , and to be angry ; which shews that there may be Gall in a Dove , Passion without sin , and Motion without disturabnce .

BUT then the Vnderstanding must keep them within their just bounds ; as in the case of Love , which is so often compared to a Fire ; as if it could chuse , whether it will heat or no , no more than a Flame can ; The inferiour Affections governed by the Vnderstanding . therefore there is need of a sound mind to fix it upon its right Object , that it may not degenerate into Lust ; So in the case of Hatred , it must be the Vnderstanding , that must confine it to its proper Object , that it may not become Rancour against our Brethren ; by the same over-ruling Power Anger may be brought to vent its self by the measures of Reason , and never be touched with any transport of Malice , or the violence of Revenge : And for the lightsome passion of Joy , it may be made a Masculine and severe thing , not like the crackling of Thorns , but the most solid recreation of the Judgment ; Sorrow hereby is forced to be as silent , as our Thoughts , and that Anchor of the Mind , Hope is fastned upon the Actions of Innocence and Integrity , instead of the Mud of this World .

FOR as in the Body , when the Heart and Liver do their Offices , and all the smaller Vessels under them act orderly and duly , there arises a just temperament upon the whole , The cause of peace and satisfaction to the Soul . which we call Health : So in the Soul , when the Vnderstanding governs the lower Affections , there arises peace and satisfaction upon the whole Soul , which is such an healthful Constitution , as is infinitely beyond the pleasures of the Body .

THIS is the Faculty , that rules in us ; the immediate product whereof is Science ; Science the immediate product of the Vnderstandding . as the first Creature God formed was Light , so the first motion of Adam , after he was furnished with a sound Understanding and an obedient Will , was after Knowledg ; But by a foolish desire after more , and by taking some false steps he lost his Way , and left his Posterity in the dark , either following wrong Scents , or much in doubt , what paths to walk in : However there is a Providence in the conduct of Knowledg , as well as of other Affairs on the Earth , and it was not designed , that all the Mysteries of Nature and of Providence should be plainly understood through all the Ages of the World ; and what was made known to the Ancients only by broken Conclusions and Traditions , will be known in the latter Ages of the World , in a more perfect Way , by Principles , and Theories : The encrease of Knowledg being that , which changeth so much the Face of the World , and the state of Human Affairs , I do not doubt , but there is a particular care in the conduct of it , by what steps and degrees it should come to Light , at what Seasons , and in what Ages ; What Evidence should be left either in Scripture , Reason , or Tradition for the grounds of it , how clear or obscure , how disperst or united ; All these things were weighed and considered , and such measures taken , as best suit the designs of Providence , and the general Project and Method proposed in the government of the World : And it is not to be questioned , but the state both of the old World , and of that , which is to come , is exhibited to us in Scripture in such a measure and proportion , as is fit for this forementioned purpose ; not as the Articles of our Faith , or the precepts of a good Life , which he that runs , may read , but to the attentive , and those that are unprejudiced , and to those that are inquisitive , and have their minds open and prepared for the discernment of Mysteries of such a Nature .

There are many secrets , that pass our Vnderstandings . HENCE it is , that in every Science there are more Arcana to pose our Understanding , than easie Conclusions to satisfie it : which things being so far beyond the reach of our Reason , must needs enforce us to believe , that there is an admirable Wisdom , which disposeth , and an infinite Knowledg , which doth comprehend those Secrets , that we are not able to fathom : In Divinity likewise there are Mysteries , that with their brightness dazzle and confound our Reason , by their own astonishing Glory and Splendour they render themselves invisible to us ; Now our Reason must not presume to Science in those Mysteries , which are so far removed from its Notices ; whenever it offers to judg of them , it falls into uncertain Opinions , and loses its self in a Maze of thoughts : wherefore that our Reason may learn to be Modest , and to keep within its due bounds , let it try whether it can understand , how a drop of dew can be Organiz'd into a Fly or a Grashopper ; let it tell us , how the Glories of the Field are spun , or by what Pencil the Herbs and Flowers are so finely painted ; if these Objects do pose it , which our Eyes converse with daily , then let it not pretend to understand incomprehensible , to order infinite , and define ineffable things .

FOR to know how far our Science can go , is one of the best Points of Knowledg , The advantage of knowing , how far our Science will reach . we can have ; For this will secure us from those bold Untruths , and very absurd Errours , which unwary Men have fallen into , who have ventured over those limits , within which our Reason should be confined . The proper Work of which is to put a Man into as good a condition , as He is capable of , and as it is reasonable for him to expect ; and the desire of this is not properly a moral Virtue , about which Men have a Liberty of Acting , but is a natural Principle , that flows necessarily from the very frame of our Natures : For that , What is Natural Good , and what Moral . which hath a fitness in it to promote the welfare of Man , as a Sensitive Being , is styled Natural Good , and whatsoever promotes his welfare , as a Rational Being , is called Moral Good ; And the greater tendency any thing hath , to advance or hinder the perfection of our Nature , so much greater degrees hath it of Moral Good or Evil ; to which we ought to proportion our Inclination or Aversion ; and our Understanding tells us , that the rational Nature , and the perfection belonging to it is more Noble , than the sensitive , therefore moral good is to be preferr'd before Natural ; and that which is morally evil is more to be hated and shunn'd , than that , which is Natural .

The best Science is the knowledg of our selves . SUPPOSE we studied nothing but this ; how profitable would this Science be to us ! For it would make us wise to salvation : For as other Sciences carry out our Thoughts , and entertain them with Notions abroad , this will bring us to the knowledg of our selves ; which is the only Way to true Wisdom : For an Astronomer may gaze upon the Stars , may admire exteriour Objects much , that appear glorious , and after all he may fall into the Ditch ; But the end both of knowing and doing well is to be gotten only in that rare Science of what is most agreeable to the Reason and Interest of every Man : It is pity to lose this Science in a croud of Definitions , Divisions , and Distinctions , as some Philosophers have done : whose Understandings seem to be always in the warlike State of Nature , one against another .

WHEREAS it is requisite , that He , who would accomplish his Mind with the most excellent matters of Science , should first know himself , should be well practised in all the modest , humble , friendly Virtues ; And I dare boldly say , that a virtuous Man , of a calm and teachable Spirit , is more likely to make a good Proficient in all manner of Knowledg ; than the Wit , who must be always prying into things , that are too deep or are altogether unintelligible : The Chymists lay it down , as a necessary qualification of their Happy Man , to whom God wll reveal their Elixir , that rather He must be good and innocent , than too curious ; And if I were to form the Character of a true Lover of Science , Virtue must be the Foundation , and that upon a rational account ; For certainly such men , The humble Man is most likely to be the best Proficient in Science , whose minds are humble , and free from all Self-conceit , are in a far better way to the most beneficial Knowledg , than the bold and haughty ; they will pass by nothing , by which they may learn ; they will be always ready to receive , and communicate Observations ; they will not contemn the fruits of other men's Diligence ; they will rejoice to see the Learning of the best Things enquired into , both by themselves and others .

THEREFORE Socrates was esteemed the Patron of Virtue , Socrates the Patron of Virtue . because He was one of the First , that began to draw into some Order , the confused and obscure Imaginations of those , that went before him ; because He made all parts of Philosophy to be taken off from mere subtilty and words , that they might be immediately serviceable to the Affairs of Men and the uses of Life ; that they might no longer be wrap'd up , as it was the custom of the Wisemen in Egypt , in the dark shadows of Hieroglyphicks , nor concealed , as Sacred Mysteries , from the apprehensions of the Vulgar : But Virtue and the Science of Truth stands not in need of such Artifices to uphold her Credit ; but is then most likely to thrive , when the minds and labours of men of all Conditions are joined to promote it , and when it becomes the care of all People to practise it : Indeed the Grecian Poets did first soften men's natural Rudeness by the Charms of Verse , before they could be brought to receive the severer Doctrines , of Solon , Thales , and Pythagoras ; So some men must be delightfully deceived to their own good , and wholesom Instructions must be insinuated into their Minds with the mixture of Fables and the Ornaments of Fancy : but when once they are got over these Rudiments , nothing will relish so well with them as the stricter Lessons of Virtue , and an assiduous prosecution of those Sciences , that will at length bring them to the Seat of sound and perfect Wisdom .

NOW to seek for this Wisdom in Systems and Models , Wisdom is not to be found in Systems . is to seek the Living among the Dead ; but the powerful Energy of true Wisdom shews it self only in the virtuous Mind ; which is the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as the antient Philosophy speaks , the Land of Truth ; And when Zoroaster's Scholars asked him , What they should do to get winged Souls , such as might soar aloft after Truth ? He bids them bathe themselves in the Waters of Life ; and enquiring , what those were , they were told , the four Cardinal Virtues , which he compares to the four Rivers of Paradise : That Science is very thin , which is made up of Syllogisms and Demonstrations , but the Wisdom which is built upon Goodness is more convincing and more substantial , than all those ; For the End , it aims at , is a State of Everlasting Happiness , and the Means are the infused Principles of Grace , whereby our corrupted Natures are exalted to their Primitive Uprightness : Wisdom defined . So that this kind of Wisdom may be defined to be that Habit of Mind , whereby a Man is enabled to propose the true End of Eternal Blessedness , and to judg aright concerning such Means , as may be most fit for the attaining this End , conforming his Life and Carriage accordingly . Now that which is the greatest Truth , to gratifie our Understandings , and the Highest Good , to satisfie our Wills , must be an End proper for a Wise Man to follow : Neither was the Ancient Philosophy unacquainted with this Way and Method of attaining unto the most Divine Wisdom ; And it is observed , that Pythagoras , had several ways to try the Moral temper of the minds of his Disciples , before he would entrust 'em with the Sublimer Mysteries of his School ; And the Platonists were so sollicitous herein , that they thought , the Souls of Men could never be purged enough from the dregs of Sense and Passion , to become capable of their Metaphysicks ; And as we have observed already , Aristotle thought , a young Man unfit to meddle with the wiser Precepts of Morality , till the heat and rashness of his youthful Affections were cooled and moderated .

NOW the Wise Man , we now speak of , is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Contemplative Person , who hath passed through all the Discipline of Virtue ; For He cannot be good at true Theory , who hath not first been so at Practice , and to the true and sober Man peculiarly belongs 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Divine Wisdom , which vigorously displays it self 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as the Platonists phrase it , in an intellectual Life : For the good Man only lives in him , who is Life it self , and is enlightned by him , who is Truth it self : Besides Purity of Heart and Life , as also an ingenuous freedom of Judgment , What are the best preparations for Truth . are the best preparations for the entertainment of Truth ; For every Art and Science hath some certain Principles upon which the whole Frame and Body of it must depend , and therefore the Scripture is wont to set forth a good Life , as the fundamental Principle of Wisdom ; For it asserts the Fear of the Lord to be the beginning of Wisdom ; And in Divine Things especially He , that is most practical , is the wisest Man , and not He , that is most a Dogmatist . For as in the natural Body , it is the Heart , which sends up good Blood and warm Spirits to the Brain , whereby it receives power to execute its several Functions ; so that which gives us power to understand the best things aright , must be a living Principle of Piety within us ; because if the Tree of Knowledg should not be planted by this Tree of Life , Why Truth prevails no more in the World . then it may bring forth bitter , as well as sweet Fruit , evil as well as good Deeds : This is the reason , why Truth prevails no more in the World , because men are busied more in acute Reasonings and subtle Disputes , than in real goodness ; which Goodness and Truth grow both from the same Root and live in one another .

ON the contrary , Vice casts a cold Poison into the Understandings of Men ; benums the Faculties ; creeps into the Bed of Reason and defiles it ; Yet vicious Men are more apt , than others , to boast of their Wisdom ; but if we come nearer these Landskips of Reason and Wit ; that , which seemed afar off to be Hills and Mountains in them , will be found to be nothing but artificial Shadows : besides the Vanity whereby Sin is puff'd up , nothing is more unreasonable and foolish ; For what can argue a greater madness , than to forfeit the endless welfare of the Soul for the satisfaction of a Moment !

THEREFORE I will only ask this of Mankind , that they would act according to the directions of Wisdon , that is , agreeably to the fixed and unavoidable Fate of things , and remember , that they are a sort of Beings , who must hereafter live always , either in unconceivable Happiness or Misery ; if this Meditation will not bring 'em to Wisdom , there is no remedy , but they must be left to the dismal and pitiless deserts of their want of Sense and Consideration .

NOW there are two things , that make up Religion , Knowledg and Practice ; Knowledg and Practice make up Religion . the first is wholly in order to the second , and both together constitute Spiritual Wisdom ; For God hath not revealed his Will , and made known our Duty to us , to make us more learned , but to make us more good ; not to enlarge our Understandings or entertain our Minds with the Fine Notions of Virtue , but to Form and govern our Lives ; therefore God hath so ordered things , that no Man shall be Happy for any Speculations , unless they are drawn down into practice : For there is no kind of Knowledg , that a man may sooner come at , than the knowledg of Religion , because the greatest part of it hath a Foundation in the common Reason of Mankind ; and as for that , which is revealed , it is only new Arguments to be good and virtuous : Now this Gospel makes the knowledg and practice of Religion the only way to true Wisdom , and consequently to Happiness ; therefore they are the Practisers , that our Saviour hath bless'd in his Sermon on the Mount , the poor in spirit , the meek , and merciful : So He , who acts according to his knowledg , is likened to a wise Man , who built his house on a Rock , but He , who heareth our Saviour's Sayings , and doth them not , is likened to a foolish Man , who built his house upon the Sand ; the rain descended , and the floods came ; the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell : The practice of Religion is a necessary condition for Happiness . As God hath made the practice of Religion a necessary Condition of our Happiness ; so the nature of the thing doth make it a necessary condition for it ; For our utmost Happiness being to consist in the enjoyment of God , and it being impossible that Persons should have communion one with another , that are not of a temper ; we must be like to God , if we would be Happy ; Now nothing can make us like unto God , but Holiness and Virtue : Therefore Men are not wise , who think , they can be partakers of Happiness upon any other account ; Knowledg indeed it self is a Divine Perfection , but yet that alone doth not render a man like to God , neither doth that alone qualifie him for his Presence ; For if a Man had the understanding of an Angel , he might for all this be of a devillish Temper , and whosoever is so , hath no disposition in him for the place of pure Happiness .

LET every Man therefore , that hopes to be happy in the next World , lead an Holy Life in this ; because an unholy Life is in the nature of the thing utterly inconsistent with Being in Heaven .

THE proper Inference from all that hath been said is , that in all the exercises of our Understanding , Science , or Wisdom , we should make the practice of Religion our main design ; because for this purpose God gave us our Reason ; For to inspire Man with a Faculty of reasoning , by which he can form true Notions from single Experiments , and infer one Truth from another ; and to inspire his Reason with Divine Notions , are only two different Modes of Revelation : For He did as well reveal himself to us , when he gave us Reason to understand his Will , as he does , when he sends a Messenger from Heaven to declare his Mind .

SINCE then God light up in us this Candle of our Reason ; why may he not give new Light to it ; especially when it begins to burn with a dying and languishing Flame : How agreeable is this to the Divine Goodness , and to that infinite Care it takes of the welfare and happiness of reasonable Beings , to conduct and enlighten them with Divine Revelation ; chiefly when the groping World had so bewildred it self in an endless Maze of Errour , and was so lost in its own wandrings ; when no Human Understanding or Wisdom could shew the Way ; then to spring a Light from Heaven , whereby Mankind may be directed to the Coast of Truth , is the highest Instance of the care and goodness of Divine Providence ; that we were not left to take our own course , but were rescued from Sin and misery , ignorance and darkness by so kind an Hand .

ALL that we have to do is , to obey his Commandments , and this is the best way to encrease our knowledg in Religion ; For the practice of a Trade shall give a Man a truer knowledg of it , than reading all the Books , that ever were writ about it , and so we shall better know a Countrey by travelling into it , than by poring upon all the Maps , that ever were made of it : In like manner Obedience to the Will of God doth dispose us for the knowledg of it , by freeing our Minds from prejudice , by making our Understandings more clear , and taking away the great Obstacles of Wisdom ; which without the practice of Religion will be so far from being any furtherance to our Happiness , that it will be one of the saddest , and most unhappy aggravations of our misery : For when we come into the other World , no reflection will more enrage our Torments , than to think , that we chose to lead vitious Lives , and to make our selves miserable , when we knew the way to Heaven and Happiness . For after all that hath been said upon this Head , S. Paul's Judgment is undoubtedly true , 1 Corin. 8.1 . That Knowledg puffeth up , but Charity edifieth : Now when the Apostle said this , Corinth , the Metropolis of Achaia , was , as all other rich and populous places , excessively proud and luxurious ; softness and ease had expell'd all the thoughts of the Laborious Exercises of Virtue : Yet ( as it often happens ) the men were ingenious , though they were wicked ; In a word , all the World condemn'd them for their Debaucheries , but admired them for their Parts : Wherefore St. Paul tells them very truly , that their knowledg was the Original of all their Errours ; they might be blown up with Science , but they must be Edified with Charity : In like manner did the Gnosticks dote on the Mysteries of Words ; did pride themselves about Fruitless Genealogies , and the unintelligible methods of Science : for which reason St. Paul did severely reprehend these vain-glorious Sciolists , and declare , that a little Charity towards an offended Brother was more valuable than all their subtle Theorems , or the Positions of any the most celebrated Dogmatists : So the Philosophers of old gave another Interpretation to 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , know thy self , and improved it into Self-conceit and Arrogance ; their Principles and their Dictates seem always to be framed , rather to oppose than to establish Truth : If from them we pass to the times of Christianity , we find Julian and Lucian , Arrius and Socinus , all of them in a several way despising the plainness and simplicity of the Gospel , for the sake of their own trifling Opinions , which must not submit to the teachings of Fishermen : Nay , how many Volumes are there in the World , whose Subject is little else , but breach of Charity ! which Charity , and not great Words nor the phantastical Hypotheses of those , that call themselves Wise , must set a lustre upon all we do : For neither Happiness here , nor Heaven hereafter is to be gotten by haughty Looks or Suppositions , but by a constant Tenour of Bountifulness in our Lives , and integrity in our Actions : Supposing therefore we were set upon the highest Mountain of Metaphysicks , and had thence the ravishing Prospect of all the Kingdoms of human Learning , all the Glories of Philosophy ; yet we will not worship one Notion , that cannot be brought into the practice of a Holy Life .

An Enquiry into the Causes of the decay of MORAL VIRTUES .

A Manifest decay hath been brought upon Moral Virtue ;

First , BY Hypocrisie or Formality ; when Men follow a Form of Godliness , and deny the Power thereof .

Secondly , BY Licentiousness of Living , whereby Debauchery and ill Manners have much prevailed .

Thirdly , BY decrying the use of Reason in Matters of Religion .

Fourthly , BY making Morality and Grace , opposite to one another .

MEN of all Ages have been industrious to elude the practice of Moral Virtue by some trifling , childish , and unprofitable shews thereof : How can we , but stand amazed at the folly of Mankind , that love to be their own Impostors , Hypocrisie condemned . and that when they may be truly good at so easie and advantageous a rate , labor to be but seemingly so at the expence of a great deal of pain and trouble ; and with the Pharisees , take twice as much pains to scour the outside of the Dish , only that it may shine and glister , than is needful to keep the inside neat and cleanly : Thus they change wise Notices of things , for childish Conceits ; freedom of Spirit for narrowness of Soul ; chearfulness of Mind for slavish Fears ; a sweet and obliging Conversation for cynical Zeal ; Temperance and Sobriety , for harsh and Monkish Mortifications ; in a word , they change all the Branches and Fruits of a holy Mind and virtuous Actions for Forms and Gayeties : It will not therefore be unseasonable to caution Men against this Formality , as a most dangerous Cheat , that secretly enervates all the Power and Efficacy of that Goodness , it makes a shew of , that , whilst it pretends highly to advance Religion , undermines it : This I shall endeavour to do ,

First , BY laying down some of its most peculiar Characters .

Secondly , BY discovering the Arts , it makes use of , to overthrow the power of Moral Virtue .

Thirdly ! BY explaining what the Power of Moral Virtue is , and wherein it consists .

FIRST then the Formalist serves God barely out of a Principle of Fear , and not at all out of Love ; he only looks upon Him , as a great and austere Being , that sits in the Heavens , demanding harsh and arbitrary Homage from his Creatures ; he apprehends Him , as an imperious Almighty One ; that , because He hath bestowed upon us these little imperfect Beings , takes upon Him to impose severe and unreasonable Laws , and exacts for the few pleasures , He hath granted to the Life of Man , to be paid with sharp and troublesom Penances : But all this while he has not tho least thought of gaining his Favor by divine and virtuous Qualities . Whereas if we would attain to the Spirit and Genius of true Holiness , we must look upon it as a wise and gracious Design of Heaven , to fill the Souls of Men , with all Excellencies perfective of their Natures ; Religion no Trick . for Religion is no Trick or Artifice , but its natural design is to make Men truly good ; it is no Contrivance of Heaven to bring advantages to it self ; but it was graciously intended for the sake of Men , to carry on their Creator's Work , in compleating those things , which He made , and to make 'em more like Him , than He left them : But the Formalist or Hypocrite , is utterly unacquainted with all inward Sense of Goodness , and so he can please God , as he thinks , by giving him his due of Religious Performances , he is not at all concerned for solid and essential Righteousness .

THUS the degenerate Jews in the time of the Prophets , were wont to be lavish and profuse in their Sacrifices , that they might be excused or wink'd at , for the Duties of Virtue and Morality ; they would offer the richest Oblations , a Thousand Rams and Ten Thousand Rivers of Oyl , all the First-born of their Flocks and Families , the Fruit of the Fields and their Bodies too , to purchase a dispensation for their Vices ; they would not grudge to pacifie God , with any Sacrifice , rather than offer up their Lusts ; they would honor Him , praise Him , flatter Him , give Him all his dues and more , spare neither for costs nor charges in his Worship ; and all this , only to bribe him , that He might indulge them their Self-wills and their Passions ; and not be angry for their injustice , cruelty , and unmercifulness ; they were nice and punctual in their Fasts ; would spare for no trouble to appear Devout ; yet were there never any People in the World so vicious , as they ; the Prophets every where upbraiding them with the most notorious Peevishness and Pride , Covetousness and Ambition ; for they were persuaded , that such zealous Men , as they were , might be excused for the sake of their expensive Devotions , all those petty duties of Justice and Sobriety towards their Neighbors and themselves : On the contrary , a good Man Worships God , because he loves Him , and loves him , because he hates Vice ; he loves the eternal Rules of Equity and right Reason , because God loves 'em too .

Secondly , THE Formalist is very busie about the Means and Instruments of Religion , but neglects the Ends thereof ; he is very zealous in religious Performances , but utterly careless of all inward Virtue and Goodness ; hence it is , that the Minds of some Men are so little possessed with true and real Virtue , because the Name of Religion hath been so much appropriated to its Forms ; which Men are apt to be taken with , when they may be easily reconciled with their Vices and Passions : The Pharisees did just so ; they only made great shews of Piety , to cover their Frauds and Rapines ; Too great a regard to Forms disappoints the effects of real virtue . they were curious to wash their Hands , but took no care to purifie their Hearts ; they would Fast and starve their Bodies , but at the same time , feed and pamper their Lusts ; they would not Rob , but they did oppress their Neighbors ; whilst they relieved their Brethren , they did at the same time hate and despise them : Thus the Instruments of Piety were made use of , as a means to subvert that , which they were ordained to advance ; And thus it is in the relative and subordinate Duties of the Christian Religion ; if Men do as constantly commit , as they do confess their Sins , they frustrate plainly the purpose of their Duty ; and whilst they are very Officious to run on God's Errand , they are very negligent of his Business : It is not every Confession of our Sins , that He requires , but when it proceeds from an effectual Resolution against them ; and therefore where it ends not in Reformation , it ends in Hypocrisie ; and to acknowledg , but not to Mortifie our Lusts , is only to tell God , we are great sinners , and by his leave intend to continue so .

IT is an easie matter for Men to present Heaven with large and perpetual addresses ; but unless they be meek , merciful , humble , charitable , righteous , candid , and ingenuous , as well as Godly and Devout , they can in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven : For the Christian Religion dwells not amongst its outside Rites and Solemnities ; but its proper Temple is , the Heart and Spirit of Man ; it resides in the inmost recesses of the Soul .

NOW the Formalist is only for the external Acts , not for the internal Habits of Virtue and Goodness ; his Actions , how good soever , issue only from fear , or custom , or outward compliances , not from any good Temper or Modification of Mind ; there appear no spots nor blemishes in his Face , his uncleannesses lodge within , and retire themselves to the Centre of his Soul ; thus his behaviour may be free from the common Pride and Vanity of the World , whilst his mind is infected with the worst Vices ; the posture of his Soul is as haughty and supercilious , as his demeanour is humble ; his Thoughts as arrogant , In what virtues our Saviour placed his Religion . as his looks are lowly . But our Saviour ever told his Followers , that his Religion was to be placed in a a sober and silent Piety , in Candour , Mildness and Humility , in doing good to all Men ; that all the mystery of it , lay in a good and virtuous Life ; so that all the nice Notions and Hypotheseses concerning Faith , Justification , Election , and such like Articles , are but foolish Traditions of some speculative Heads ; and those that are most earnest in these Controversies , are commonly most negligent of moral Duty ; whereas true Religion is an active Principle within , that serves the Mind with all good and virtuous Qualities ; it is , in a word , an inward sense and love of Goodness , that is the Fountain of all good Actions .

A Mind temper'd with this Principle , suppresses all manner of untoward Passions ; is governed by such meekness , as absolutely inclines it to pardon injuries , to delight in making good triumph over evil , and to satisfie it self as much by forgiveness , as others are pleased with revenge : For where the inward temper of the Mind is truly humble , there a Man 's inward esteem of himself will be sober and modest ; his opinion of others candid and ingenuous : Wherefore if Men took as much care to fill their Souls with goodness , as well as their fancies with the notions of it , they would be as free from Passion , Self-will , and all other mental Vices , as from Drunkenness , Sensuality , and the other exorbitances of their bodily Appetites .

Having thus set forth the Character of Formality , I now descend to the Second thing , to discover by what Way and Method , it defeats the practice of moral Virtue ; that perceiving its disguises , we may not be imposed upon : Now the Artifices , by which men are apt to delude themselves , are mainly these ,

First , THEY think , they may be dispensed with in the Duties of practical Virtue for their extraordinary strictness in some Duties of Godliness ; they weigh their acts of Devotion against all their miscarriages in Morality ; if they do but Fast twice a week , they presently believe , that they may be allowed to be froward and peevish : Hence it is , that the grossest Vices are sometimes called sins of Infirmity ; For when they imagine themselves in God's Favour for frequenting the places of Worship , for hearing Sermons and Prayers ; they are ready to conclude their most heinous sins to be rather the weaknesses of their Natures , than obliquities of their Wills , taking the measures of Virtue and Vice , not from the nature of the actions themselves , but from the conditions of the Persons , that commit them ; believing , that if a Man be once regenerated , all his sins are instantly changed into Infirmities : Thus the Stoicks of old made this one of their prime Paradoxes , that a wise Man of their Sect may be overcome with Wine , but can never be drunk ; though to be overcome with Wine , be downright drunkenness in a carnal Epicurean ; yet it was something else in a great Stoick .

How Immorality becomes uncurable . NOW Immorality under the disguise of piety becomes uncurable ; Passion and Self-will is made more implacable by pretences to Sanctity , and Godliness without Virtue serves only to furnish the Conscience with excuses against Conviction ; for it is easie to convince a debauched Person of his Distemper , from the blemishes , that are in all his Actions : But Hypocrisie by lodging it self in the Heart , and so by being undiscernible , becomes fatal , and the Man is past Recovery , before he feels his Malady .

THEREFORE of all men He , who hath the Form of Godliness only , is conceited with it , is the most desperate and incorrigible Sinner ; For he thinks , the performance of the outward acts of Devotion will fix him so in a State of Grace , that he needs not any Virtue : Thus the Supercilious and self-confident Pharisees were at a greater distance from Heaven , than Publicans and Harlots ; For these our Saviour could by his gentle Reproofs soften into a relenting and pliable Temper : But as for the Pharisees , their mistaken Piety only made 'em more obdurate and obstinate in sin , searing their Consciences against the Force of his sharpest Convictions ; so that He very justly consigned them up to an unrelenting and inflexible stubbornness .

Secondly , MEN deceive their own Souls , How Men deceive their own Souls . when they think themselves exempt from the Rule and Judgment of natural Conscience , which they fansie , exercises its binding Power only over those , that are in a state of Nature and Unregeneracy ; but as for them , that are enlightened by the Spirit of God , they are directed by the Motions thereof , not by the Laws and Dictates of Nature : Hence the plain and practical Principles of Reason and Honesty come to be neglected , and ever after men are led by giddy Enthusiasms , and are befooled by the temper of their Complexions ; they derive all their religious Motions from the present state and constitution of their Humours , and according as Sanguine or Melancholy are predominant , so the Scene alters .

BUT the Spirit of true Religion is of a sedate Temper and dwells in the Intellectual part of a Man , In what manner the Spirit of Religion works . and doth not work out or vent it self in flatulent Passions , but all its Motions are gentle , composed , and grounded upon the Laws of Reason and Sobriety : The Impressions of the Divine Spirit are steddy , uniform , and breath not upon the Passions , but the Reasons of mankind ; all its Assistances work in a calm and rational way ; they are not such unsetled and unaccountable motions as discompose , but enlighten our understandings ; the Spirit of God only discovers the Excellency , and enforces the Obligation of the Laws of God to the Consciences of Men , and works in us a reasonable love of our Duty , and serious resolutions to discharge it : Therefore the Spirit of every good Man is sober , discreet , and composed , such as becomes the gravity and seriousness of Religion ; which floats not in his blood , nor rises and falls with the Ebbs and Tides of his Humours ; but he maintains a calmness and evenness of Mind in all the various Constitutions of his Body ; he confines his Piety entirely within his Soul ; and chearfully keeps it from all mixtures of Imagination , as knowing a Religious Fancy to be the greatest Impostor in the World : And there is nothing , that spoils the Nature of the best Religion more , than outragious Zeal ; which instead of sweetning , embitters the minds of Men ; so that those Vices , which Moral Philosophy would banish , are often kindled at the Altar of Religion ; For it abuses the prudence and discretion of good Men , abhors a Christ-like meekness and sobriety , and fills their Religion with ill Nature and discontent : Hence it is , that no Quarrels are so implacable as Religious ones ; Men with great eagerness damn one another for Opinions and Speculative Controversies .

IF this be Religion ; farewel all the Principles of Humanity and good Nature ; farewel that Glory of the Christian Faith , an universal Love and kindness for all Men ; let us bid adieu to all the Practices of Charity and to the Innocence of a Christian Spirit : Let the Laws of our Saviour be cancel'd , as Precepts of Sedition ; Let us banish Religion out of Human Converse , as the Mother of Rudeness and incivility ; Let us go to the School of Atheism and Impiety to learn good Manners .

BUT if nothing bids greater defiance to the true Spirit and Genius of Religion , than a Form of Godliness , denying the Power thereof ; then let not the Wisdom of God be charged with the Folly of Men : Let then the furious Sons of Zeal , without the Power of Godliness , tell me the meaning of such Texts , as these ; Learn of me , for I am meek and humble ; I beseech you , that you walk worthy of the vocation , wherewith you are called with all lowliness , long-suffering , forbearing one another in Love ; put on therefore , as the elect of God , holy and beloved , bowels of mercy , kindness , humbleness of mind , meekness , forgiving one another , if any man have a complaint against any , even as Christ forgave you ; so also do ye : So saith James 3. Who is a wise man , and endued with knowledg amongst you , let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom ; He , that can reconcile these holy Precepts with a peevish or Cynical disposition , may as well unite Christ and Belial ; make a Christian , and a Pharisee the same .

WHAT remains then , but that we set our selves to a serious minding of true and real Goodness ; An exhortation to mind true and real Goodness . that we trifle not away our Time in pursuing the Shadows of it , nor waste our Zeal upon its Forms and Instruments ; that we cheat not our Souls with a partial Godliness , nor damn them with an half-Religion : For we must measure our profitableness under the means of Grace , by the influences of it upon the obedience of our Lives ; we must pursue Christianity in its true and proper usefulness ; give a sincere Obedience to every Law of Righteousness ; we must not divorce Piety from Justice and Charity , but join the love of God with the love of our Brother ; be impatient against our own Sins , and other mens Opinions ; spend our Zeal in our own , and not other men's Business ; be ever zealous for the prime and most substantial Principles of Religion , not for uncertain and unexamined Speculations ; we must set our selves with all our might against our Lusts and our Passions ; for all our Devotions without it will never expiate one habitual Sin , neither will a maimed or halting Religion ever arrive at Heaven : nothing but an entire Obedience to the Laws of Christ will gain admittance there ; Let us therefore inform our Minds with the Excellency of true Religion and Goodness ; Let us adorn them with an inward Purity and conformity to the Divine Will , accomplish them with all Godlike Virtues and Perfections ; We must be sure to obey the Fundamental Laws of Justice , Mercy , Tempeperance , Humility , Meekness , Patience , and Charity ; We must live up to all the Rules of Real and Essential Equity , and build all our hopes upon an unmaimed and solid Religion .

IN the second place we must observe , That licentiousness of Living hath brought a great decay upon Moral Virtue ; The Christian Religion , rightly understood , and sincerely practised , serves no doubt to make men more morally virtuous , than any other , that at this Day is , or since the Creation hath been profess'd in the World ; not only in regard of Justice and Temperance , but of Wisdom and Fortitude ; But it will be said , The d●genera●y of Mankind lamented . that since the first Plantation hereof , Men have from time to time degenerated , so as the farther they are removed from the Primitive Christians , who shined in good Works , they have grown worse and worse ; Since their times Zeal for Virtue hath decayed , as if it had not been the intrinsick Excellency of Religion , but the Fires of Pagan Persecution , that kindled that Heat in the Breasts of Christians : What shall we take to be the reason of this decay ; have the Principles of Christianity lost their Efficacy , like the Gentile Oracles , that all the motives of Virtue and Holiness have now so little influence upon men's Tempers or Lives ? or rather this must be the reason , that of old , Christianity was rooted in the Hearts of Men , and brought forth the Fruits of good Works in their Lives ; Whereas now it is only a barren Notion in Mens Heads , and their Actions are not governed by it ; then it was the Employment of their Souls in Meditation , of their Hands in Beneficence ; Now it is become a disguise for Covetousness , Ambition , Malice , and all that 's Evil : It is true , in the ancient Authors , which studious Men turn over , they find descriptions of Virtues more perfect , than really they were ; the Governments are represented better , and the ways of Life pleasanter , than they deserved ; upon this these bookish Men compare what they read with what they see , and here beholding nothing so Heroically transcendent , because they are able to mark all the spots , as well as beauties of every thing , that is so close to their sight , they presently begin to despise their own times , and exalt the past , to contemn the Virtues , and aggravate the Vices of their Age : But such is the condition of Religion , Debauchery a great Impediment to the growth of Religion . that the Moral part of it suffers much by reason of the Debauchery and ill Manners of Men : And when lewdness hath gotten a habit , and Men's Foreheads are Brazen in their wickedness , they will not receive a check from disarmed Religion ; but rather harden themselves against it , and account that their Enemy , which they are sure will not give countenance to the Vices , they are now settled in : Besides when a Licentious course of Life hath brought Men to disuse the Duties and Offices of Religigion , all its Obligations are antiquated with them ; then instead of Prayers they learn to Curse and Swear , and from not going to Church for a time , grow to plead a Priviledg not to come at it at all .

Secondly , NOT only loosness of Life , but also a wrong apprehension of Christian Liberty , hath much obstructed the Practice of moral Virtue ; for some Men have thought themselves discharged thereby from all the obligations of the Moral Law , and have been so absurd as to take the Gospel to contain nothing else properly , but a Publication of God's Promises , and that those Promises are absolute , without any Condition of our Obedience , so that neither men's Justification nor Salvation do depend upon it .

Libertinism a pernicious Principle . THIS is the Doctrine of modern Liberties , and is a Perswasion fit to Debauch the whole World ; about the Apostles times , it was much pleaded for by the Gnosticks , to excuse their revolts from Christianity in Times of Persecution , and their beastly Sensualities ; as if the knowledg of the Truth gave a Priviledg , neither to profess nor practise it ; when the one proved too incommodious to their secular Interests , or the other too disgustful to their sensual Inclinations .

WHEREAS the contents of the great Character purchased for us , What the Liberty is , which Christ hath purchased for us . and brought in by the Lord Jesus , are these ; that besides the freeing us from the Dominion of Sin , which the Law of Moses could not do , and the Tyranny of Satan , which the Gentile World lay under , He hath set our Consciences at liberty from Judaick Rites , to pursue our own Reason , and to serve all the interests of Peace and good Order in the World ; hence it is , that we find liberty and condescension or self-denyal joined together by St. Paul , Gal. 5.13 . ye have been called unto liberty , only use not liberty , as an occasion to the flesh , but by love serve one another , and by St. Peter , 1. Eph. 2.16 . as free , yet not using your liberty , as a Cloak of maliciousness , but as the servants of God : But if Religion should set us free from the Rules of Virtue , all the duties of it would be uncertain and precarious things ; nay it would destroy it self , and the Societies of Men would be so far from being the better for it , that their happiness would be undermined thereby ; but this is so expressly contrary to the whole design of the Christian Doctrine , and goes so cross to the very Sense of every honest Mind , that I shall not spend any more words about it .

IN the Third place we are to consider , how the progress of Moral Virtue hath been discouraged by decrying the Vse of Reason in Matters of Religion ; as if Reason was not as much the Word of God , as Revelation ; as if whatever contradicts Reason , was not opposite to Faith : For Abraham's Reason was a great confirmation of his Faith two Revelations were made to him , Our Reason confirms our Faith . that seeemed to clash one with another , and if his Reason could not have reconciled their difference , he could not have believed them both to have been from God ; for Divine Revelation doth not give new Faculties to Men , but propounds new Objects to those Faculties ; so that when God reveals any thing to us , He reveals it to our Understandings , that we may judg concerning it ; that we may not believe every Spirit , but try whether they be from Him or no ; now that which hath spoiled the Lives of many Men , is there assenting to such Doctrins , as never came from the Fountain of Truth ; therefore to preserve our integrity and keep the Truth , we must try the Spirits and compare the evidences Men bring for what they assert , which it is not possible to do , but by the Use of our Reason : But to be confident and peremptory in any thing without Reason , is nothing , but obstinacy of Mind .

WHEREAS if we turn off Reason , we level the best and most desirable Doctrine in the World , with the vainest Enthusiasm ; now by the Principles of Reason , we are not to understand the Grounds of any Man's Philosophy , nor the critical Rules of Syllogism ; but those fundamental Notices , that God hath planted in our Souls ; whereby we know , that every thing is made for an End , and every thing is directed to its End by certain Rules ; these Rules in Creatures of Understanding and Choice , are Laws ; and in Transgressing these , is Vice and Sin .

AS for Arguments from Scripture against the Use of Reason , 't is alledged , that God will destroy the wisdom of the wise and that the world by wisdom knew not God : But by this wisdom is not meant the Reason of Mankind , but the Traditions of the Jews , the Philosophy of the Disputing Greeks , and the Policy of the Romans ; all which the Apostle sets at naught , because they were very contrary to the Simplicity and Holiness , to the Self-denyal and Meekness of the Gospel .

Secondly , IT is said , that the natural Man receiveth not the Things of the Spirit of God , for they are Foolishness to him ; neither can he know them , because they are Spiritually discerned ; by which Words nothing more is intended ; than that a Man , who is guided purely by natural Reason and is not enlightned by Divine Revelation , cannot understand matters of pure Revelation , but he thinks them absurd and foolish , till they are made known to him by the Revelation of the Spirit of God ; and when they are so , nothing appears in the Mysteries of Religion , but what is agreeable to the soundest Reason and Wisdom .

Thirdly , IT is urged , that our Reason is very liable to be misled by our Senses and Affections , by our Interests and Imaginations , so that many times we mingle Errours and false Conceits with the genuine Dictates of our Minds , and appeal to them , as the Principles of Truth , when they are the false Conclusions of Ignorance and Mistake : All that can be infer'd from hence is , that we ought not to be too bold in defining Speculative and difficult Matters , nor set our Reasonings against the Doctrines of Faith : But this doth not tend to the Disreputation of Reason in the Object , that is , those Principles of Truth , which are Written upon our Souls ; for if we may not use our Understandings , Scripture it self will signifie either nothing at all , or very little to us .

THEREFORE to decry the Use of Reason , is to introduce Atheism ; The mischiefs of decrying the use of Reason . for what greater advantage can the Atheist have against Virtue , than that Reason is against the Precepts of it : This will make our Religion depend upon a warm Fancy , and an ungrounded Belief , so that it can stand only , till a new Conceit alter the Scene of Imagination .

Secondly , TO decry the Use of Reason , is to lay our selves open to infinite Follies and Impostures ; when every thing that is reasonable , is called vain Philosopy ; and every thing , that is sober , carnal Reasoning : This is the way to make up a Religion without Sense , and without Moral Virtue ; This is to put out our Eyes , that we may see , and to hoodwink our selves , that we may avoid the precipices of Vice : Thus have all extravagancies been brought into Religion beyond the imaginations of a Feaver , and the conceits of Midnight .

THE last and greatest obstacle to the Progress of moral Virtue is some Men's making Morality and Grace opposite to one another : Grace and Morality are not opposites . To divorce Grace from Virtue , and to distinguish the spiritual Christian from the Moral Man , is a modern invention ; for not one ancient Author , that hath treated of our Religion , did ever make any difference between the Nature of Moral Virtue and Evangelical Grace ; Evangelical Grace being nothing else in their account , but Moral Virtue heightned by the Motives of the Gospel and the assistances of the Spirit ; both which are external Considerations to the Essence of the thing it self ; so that the Christian Institution does not introduce any new Duties distinct from the Eternal Rules of Morality , but strengthens them by new Obligations , and improves them by new Principles : For ,

THE Power to perform these Duties comes from the internal Operations of the holy Spirit , which applies the Motives of Religion to our Minds , and by them perswades us to every good Action ; that we are enlightned with the knowledg of Christ , cometh of his Gift , who disposeth us to learn the Truth ; that we attend to the Word of God and are wrought into a serious Temper ; that we are excited to good Resolutions and confirmed in them , cometh of his Grace , who putteth good thoughts into our minds , thereby moveth our Wills and Affections most powerfully to every good Work , or to every Moral Vertue , which consists not only in the decency of outward behaviour , but is a prevailing inclination of the mind to those Manners , or that way of Life , which is best for a reasonable Creature ; or it is an universal goodness of Manners in Mind and in Practice .

NOW it is named Virtue , because the strength and vigour of a reasonable creature , consisteth in a temper of Mind , and course of Life agreeable to right Reason ; it is called Moral , because it is conversant about the customary dispositions and actions of reasonable Creatures : so those Laws , that are given with rational inducements to Obedience , are said to be Moral Laws , as being proper and suitable to the nature of rational Beings , to whom they are prescribed ; and this in opposition to the Laws of Motion and Matter , by which God governs the rest of his Works : for that Agent which hath no power over it self , but acts , because it must ; whatsoever laudable effects it may produce ; it is as uncapable of Morality , as those senseless Machines are , that move by the Laws of Matter and Motion .

NOW the duties required of us in the Covenant of Grace are Moral in the strictest Sense ; so that Holiness and Moral Vertue are in truth the same things diversly expressed ; for to do that , which is good , and to do it well is the sum of both : and it is plain that those perfections in God , which our Holiness is an imitation of , are Justice , Faithfulness , and Truth , his Patience , Mercy , and Charity ; his hatred of Sin , and his love of Righteousness ; all which are Moral Perfections ; and therefore when in these things we are followers of God our imitation of him does necessarily become Moral Vertue : and those Duties , which work in us the nearest likeness to Christ Jesus , are Meekness , Humility , Patience , Self-denial , contempt of the World , readiness to pass by Wrongs , to forgive Enemies , to love and do good to all , are all in the most proper sense Moral Vertues : indeed to glorifie God in Jesus Christ , is an end of Obedience , which Nature teacheth not ; but being made known by Grace , we are obliged to regard this end by the Rules of Morality ; which are derived from Christ , and caused by the Spirit ; so that we have no reason to boast of their being so much in our own power .

WHEREFORE let not Men think they can be Holy without Moral Vertue ; which they will be apt to do , whenever Grace is set in Opposition to Virtue ; they may as well think they may be godly without Religion ; Devout and Pious , without all sober and sincere use of their Understandings in spiritual matters , for this mischief will certainly ensue upon it , that Men will embrace Metaphors and Allegories , fancies and forms of Speech , instead of the Substance of true and real Righteousness .

'T IS certain then , The Duties of Morality are the most weighty concerns of Religion . that the Duties of Morality are the most weighty and material Concerns of Religion : and as in the Ordinary Generation of Mankind that vital principle the Soul , forms and moulds the foetus according to the specifical Nature of Man , and never gives over , till it has worked the whole bodily Mass into a full Complement of parts ; so by a new Principle of Life , called Grace , and derived from God through Christ into the mind , true Wisdom , Righteousness , Justice , Holiness , Integrity , and all the instances of Moral Vertue , are fashioned by this quickning spirit , in the thoughts and actions of good and pious Men : This makes the whole mystery of Regeneration intelligible , so that any Nicodemus may discern the manner and reason of it ; for to be born again , signifies in its utmost meaning , to become a sincere Disciple of our Lord Jesus , and to be his Disciple , is to believe and obey , as we are ingaged by Baptism ; this being the clearest proof we can give to our selves or others , that we own him in good earnest to be our Lord and Master , if for his sake we love Truth and Goodness , above all worldly interests .

What is meant by the New Creature . NOW to be Regenerate is to be the sincere Disciples of Christ , which will qualifie a Man for the Kingdom of Heaven ; and if that be true , it follows , that Regeneration and all those other Metaphors , which express the state of a Man fitted for eternal Happiness , do mean nothing else ; but his being such a Disciple of Christ , as to believe in him , to love , and obey him ; when the word of God , that Divine Seed , hath wrought its due and proper effects upon his Soul by its Precepts , the temper of his Mind , and the disposition of his Will are agreeable to the Laws of God : therefore we use to say of a meek spirited Man , that he cannot be furious ; and of an honest Man , that he cannot deceive ; and of a generous Man , that he cannot do a base or unworthy Action ; that is , it is Morally impossible , that he should , it being directly contrary to the Genius and Sense of his Soul so to do : just so it is with him , who is born of God , he cannot sin , because it is repugnant to the inclination and bent of his Nature ; which being Holy , will produce a godly and vertuous Life .

THIS Notion of the new Creature will not suffer a Man to reckon himself Regenerate , who doth not amend his Life according to God's Holy Word ; this will keep Hypocrites from pretending to be so , who are apt to think their hearts are good , when their manners are naught ; But the state of a Regenerate person is called Spiritual , as being caused by the Grace of God's Spirit ; so it may be called Moral , as consisting in the conformity of our Minds and Actions to the Divine Laws .

NOW he , who makes a distinction between Grace and Vertue , a Spiritual and Moral state , must think , that to disbelieve any of the Revelations , and to disobey any of the Commands of God , are not immoralities ; or that a Regenerate state doth not consist in Faith and Obedience .

WHICH state is called Regeneration , a Metaphor taken from a Natural Generation , because there is so great a change , that a Man is as it were another Creature : For first the understanding must be informed with the knowledge of truth concerning God , themselves , and a life to come , then this belief of the Gospel will so work upon their Wills , that they shall be turned from Sensuallity to the love of Goodness ; and this will produce a suitable change in their lives , which are not now led , according to the Lusts of the Flesh , and the examples of ill Men , but the Laws of God and the Example of Christ : And thus we come to the true use of all our Faculties , as an Infant , after it is born , falls into those Natural Motions , which are hindred by its imprisonment in the Womb : Nay by reason of that Divine temper , which is wrought in good Men by the Holy Spirit , they have such a sense of Good and Evil with regard to their Minds and Consciences , as all living Creatures have with respect to their Natures : For as in the Natural Life we apprehend what is contrary to it , so that we will not run into the Fire , nor down Precepices ; so in the Regenerate state we shall look upon all kinds of wickedness , to be what they are , detestable and pernicious to our Souls : but the Doctrine and Example of Christ do communicate to us a new sense of things , whereby we are so much altered for the better , as if we had never lived till then ; and we have infinitely more reason to think of this alteration in our state , than to remember the day of our birth with joy and gladness .

FOR now God worketh in us both to will and to do ; wherefore the fear and love of God , and godly Sorrow , and true Repentance , and the hope of Eternal Life , together with all Christian Vertues , such as Righteousness , Mercy , Patience , Love , Joy , Long-suffering , Gentleness , Goodness , Faith , All Moral Vertues are produced by the Grace of God . Meekness , and Temperance , are the Graces of the Spirit : From hence it follows , that God hath not left the success of the Gospel to depend upon that force only , which the bare Revelation of the motives to Obedience hath to persuade us ; if it should be so , it would be now lost labour to call upon God to help us by his Grace ; but seeing all Vertues and qualifications necessary to Salvation are produced by the Grace of God ; it follows , that all Christian Vertues are the Graces of the Holy Spirit : For saith S. James , every good and perfect gift is from above , and cometh from the Father of Lights , with whom is no variableness nor shadow of Turning .

AND S. Paul saith , that Grace of God , that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men , teaching us , that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts , we should live soberly , righteously , and godly in this present world : this one Scripture comprehends all that Men ought to account Religion ; that they live godlily , which is the Vertue of humble gratitude towards God ; Soberly , which contains the Vertues of Temperance , Chastity , Modesty , and all others , that consist in the dominion of Reason over our Sensual Appetites ; Righteously , which implies all the Vertues of Justice and Charity , as Affability , Courtesie , Meekness , Candour and Ingenuity . Let Men contend , as long as they please , about the Modes and Circumstances of Religion , all these disputes are very insignificant , if they do not issue in this , a good Mind , and a good Life .

The World was at first governed by the Dictates of Natural Light . FOR the first two thousand years of the World , God did Govern it only by the Dictates of Natural Light ; and these were in those days called the Precepts of Noah , the Preacher of Righteousness ; ever since that time to this day God hath Governed the greatest part of the World by those Principles ; and even since God's voluntary Dispensation , and positive Institution , which began at Moses , and hath continued to this time , He hath commanded the observance of these Rules : so that He hath never been more provoked , as when Moral Duties have been neglected , or when an indiscreet Zeal for positive Institutions hath been thought a sufficient recompence for a failure in these :

FOR in Religion there are things of an alterable Nature , and there are things unchangeable and eternal , which can never be relaxed or omitted ; and such are all Moral Vertues ; therefore to set them at odds with Grace , must needs be destructive to all true and real goodness ; for if we should set aside all manner of Vertue , what remains to be called Grace : if Grace should not be included in Morality , which consists in the right order and government of our Actions in all our Relations , it must be a phantasm and an imaginary thing : and all that the Scripture intends by the Graces of the Spirit , are vertuous qualities derived purely from God's free Grace and Goodness ; wherewith in the first Ages of Christianity He did in a miraculous manner inspire the Converts of the Gospel : and all the practical part of Religion is either Vertue it self or some of its instruments ; and the whole Duty of Man consists in being Vertuous ; and all that is enjoyned him beside , is in order to it ; that by the practice thereof he may live happily here , and be prepared for Happiness hereafter .

In what manner the Grace of God begets Vertue . NOW the manner , wherein the Grace of God begets Vertue in the Minds of Men , is suitable to the Rational Nature of Mankind ; we feel its operations no otherwise , than we do our own thoughts , neither can we distinguish them by their manner of affecting us from our natural reasonings : but when we are bent upon the doing of God's Will ; when we perform our Duty , and govern our Actions by his Word ; then we may conclude , we are acted by the Grace of God ; but if we forsake the steddy Rules of our Duty , we may take every violent impulse for a suggestion of his Spirit ; therefore unless we would expose our selves to infinite delusions , we must try the Nature of all the motions of our Minds by Scripture and Reason : For we have no other way of assuring our selves , that we follow the guidance of God's Grace , but by following the Rules of his Word ; and we quench the Motions of his Spirit oftentimes , when we imagin , that we only quarrel with our own thoughts , reject the good Counsels of a Friend , the exhortations of a Preacher , or the rebukes of our own Consciences .

BESIDES , when we are Born again and created New Creatures by this Spirit , we have the same Understanding and Will , we had before , but these are renewed , and made better : For the Precepts and Motives of the Gospel prevailing in our Minds , are properly a Principle of Holiness of Life in us ; these will produce a proportionable change in our Wills and Affections , that from being addicted to evil , they may be strongly inclined to what is good and vertuous .

THUS Grace and Vertue go hand in hand together ; one being a certain Product of the other ; Evangelical Graces being the same thing for substance with Evangelical Vertues , and these the same with Moral ones : hence it is , that the Word of God doth more effectually oblige and enable Mankind to an Holy Life , than any other Institution could effect , or Philosophy pretend ; for Religion is the same now as it was in the state of Innocence ; for as then the whole Duty of Man consisted in the Practice of all those Moral Vertues , that arose from his Natural Relation to God and Man ; so all , that is superinduced upon us since the Fall , is nothing but helps , to supply our natural defects , and recover our decayed powers , and restore us to a better ability to discharge those Duties we stand engaged to by the Law of our Nature , and the design of our Creation .

AND here what terms of wonder or of grief can be significant enough to express , or to bewail so strange a decay of Moral Vertue among Men , that the Light of the World should be so much darkned as it is ; that the Salt of the Earth should be corrupted ; that Men should lose the substance of Religion in the pursuit of its shadows , and a general loosness should swallow up all good Manners ; that Men should make use of Wit to decry sound Reason , and to set Vertue at defiance with Grace : methinks , their doing such acts should strike them out of the list of Rational Beings . But Satan is too subtle a mannager to lose this advantage , and the event sadly shews , he has not neglected to improve it ; For when once Men can think they may be Religious without Vertue , they will be hardly brought to exchange the vicious customs of Life for an habitual course of goodness ; they will not restrain their Appetites within the limits of Nature , nor sacrifice their brutish Pleasures to the interests of Holiness ; in cases of suffering for the Truth they will never endure any hardship rather than forsake so excellent an Institution as the Gospel : they will not believe themselves bound to subdue their Sensual Appetites and Affections to their superior Faculties in the methods of Reason and prudent Discipline : no less danger arises to the Souls of Men , when they labour after greater Excellencies over and above the common Vertues of Morality ; in striving to go beyond it , they run astray after Chimera's and illusions of Fancy : And if they indulge this humour , it will betray them to neglect the plain and practical Principles of Reason and Moral Honesty .

THESE and many more are the Stratagems of the Devil to bubble Men of their Salvation ; How the increase of Goodness is much hindred . to put a stop to the increase of Goodness in the World , and to hinder the Reformation of Mankind ; who will never be at the trouble and pains of acquiring inward Righteousness and Purity , when they imagin a few superficial Notions , and extatical Whimsies may serve in the room of that industry , they should joyn with the Operations of Grace for the getting a blessed Immortality .

THAT we may countermine these Plots of the evil Spirit against us , let us do as God hath commanded , which we must think not only possible , but easie and pleasant , especially when all his Evangelical Methods of Salvation are actuated by a concurrence of supernatural strength : For notwithstanding our many weaknesses , through Christ we may do all things ; He alone gives us a will to use his Grace , and knowledge to discern the want of more .

THE proper Inference therefore from the whole is , that we resolve to go on in a good Course of Life , because by this means our Work will be easier to us , if we be diligent in governing our Conversation by the Rules of Vertue : the difficulty of Religion will still grow less , because our strength will increase , and God hath promised to give greater degrees of assistance to them that use what he hath already bestowed , then our endeavours must concur with this assistance which God gives ; for the Spirit doth usually work insensibly upon the minds of Men , and therefore it is compared to the Wind , which no Man sees , whence it cometh , nor whether it goeth : even so is the Spirit of God , Men feel motions upon their Hearts , but how these are produced , is altogether together invisible to them : when the Doctrine of the Gospel is propounded , and the Word is Preached , they find themselves convinced of the truth of it ; and as their Minds are enlightned , so their Wills and Affections are warned to a complyance therewith .

NOW when the Spirit of God hath begun this Work upon our Hearts , our business is to cherish those Motions , and to act accordingly ; which if we do , and pray to God for his aid , we shall find supplies coming in from him , that will increase our strength unto that which is good and vertuous : for we must know , that the greatest difficulties in Religion are met withal at first ; because at first God doth not usually bestow a great measure of his Grace : but he gives us a taste of his goodness , and if we relish it , he sends forth continually larger measures of his Grace and Favour .

The Conclusion drawn from all the Premisses .

SEEING then all the Precepts of Christianity agree to teach and command us to moderate our Passions , in the just regulation whereof we have placed the very Essence of Vertue ; seeing this was the end , which all Philosophy aimed at , as the utmost felicity , that was attainable in this World : Let us make it our business to work out our Salvation by living according to these Rules , which we have here set down ; for as they are not hard to be understood , so the performance of them is easie and pleasant .

THEY Are not hard to be understood , because God hath shewed us the difference between Good and Evil , Vertue and Vice ;

First , BY Natural Instinct .

Secondly , BY Natural Reason .

Thirdly , BY the common consent of Mankind .

Fourthly , BY External Revelation .

FIRST there is a secret impression upon the Minds of Men , whereby they are naturally directed to approve some things as good , and avoid other things as evil ; Natural Instinct teaches us what is Good and what is Evil. just as the Creatures below Men are by a natural Instinct led to their own preservation , and to take care of their young ones . In like manner we find in human Nature a propensity to some things that are beneficial , and a loathing of other things , that are hurtful to them ; the former appear beautiful and lovely , the latter ugly and deformed .

NOW these inclinations do not proceed from Reason , but from Nature , and are antecedent to all Discourse , as it is manifest from hence , that they are as strong , and do put forth themselves as vigorously in young persons , as in those that are older ; they do shew themselves as much in the rude and ignorant sort of People , as in those who are more refined , and better instructed , which is a plain Argument that they come from Nature , and not from Reason ; for if they proceeded from Reason , they would appear most eminently in those persons , who are of the best and most improved Understandings , and would be very obscure in such as exercise their Reason but a little : whereas experience shews us , that the most ignorant sort of Mankind have as lively a sense of Piety and Devotion , as great a regard to all kinds of Sobriety , as tender Affections to their Children , as much honor for their Parents , as true a sense of Gratitude and Justice , as the wisest and most knowing part of Mankind .

AND these are the Duties that are of greatest importance to us ; so that the Providence of God appears herein to be wonderfully careful of the happiness and welfare of Mankind , in that he hath wrought such inclinations into our Natures , as to secure the most material parts of our Duty , in planting in us a natural sense of good and evil ; so that in many cases if we do but consult our own Natures , we need no other Oracle to tell us , what we ought to do , and what to avoid ; how we ought to reverence the Divine Nature , honor our Parents , love our Children , be grateful to our Benefactours , and those that have obliged us , to speak the Truth , to be faithful to our Promises , to restore the thing that was intrusted with us , to pity those that are in Misery , and to deal equally with other Men , as we would that they should deal with us . There is no need of any subtle reasoning to prove the fitness or unfitness of these things , because it is prevented by the very Instinct of Nature , which teaches us what we ought to do in these cases .

FOR Men are naturally innocent or guilty in themselves , according as they do , or omit these things ; so the Apostle tells us in Rom. ii . 14 , 15. When the Gentiles , who have not the Law , do by Nature the things contained in the Law , they are a law unto themselves , their own Consciences in the mean time or by turns either accusing or excusing them , according as they do , or omit the doing of these things : If Men obey the natural Dictates of their Minds , their Consciences give them a comfortable testimony , as having done what became them to do : on the contrary when we affront Nature by acting against its suggestions , what trouble and uneasiness do we find in our own Breasts ; nay when a Man hath but a design to commit an evil deed , his Conscience is disquieted and perplexed at the thoughts of it , and he is as guilty as if he had really acted it . So Cain , when he contrived the murder of his Brother , the very imagination of the wickedness changed his Countenance , and filled him with Wrath and Discontent ; for as soon as we have consented to any iniquity , our Spirits receive a secret wound , and will make us restless ; because guilt doth not only fill the Mind with vexations , but puts it into an unnatural Fermentation , as the Prophet Isaiah describes the wicked person , he is like the troubled Sea that cannot rest ; and I appeal to that which every Man finds in his own Breast , if he doth not feel a trouble within him upon his acting contrary to any Principle of Nature , or any Notion of good and evil .

The Virtuous Man is the most bold and undaunted . BESIDES Men are naturally full of Hope or Fear , according as they follow or go against these Principles ; who is so confident and bold as he who hath behaved himself well and virtuously ; who is so strong and well armed against the force of the Powers of Darkness , against the apprehensions of a dreadful Judgment : these things are so terrible , that they must needs raise our fears ; but the honest Man , who is not conscious to himself of any guilt , is secure in his own Mind from any harm or prejudice from the Divine Justice either here or hereafter : whereas guiltiness creates fears of danger without any other reason for it ; and so the Scripture informeth us , that the wicked flyeth when no Man pursueth him ; nay when a Man hath done a secret fault , which no Eye is privy to , nor no human Law can punish ; yet even then he is constantly under the torment of his own thoughts , and hath a natural dread of a superiour Being ; to whom the most hidden Actions of Men are known , and whose Justice will not spare to punish .

FOR Men have naturally the Notions of good and evil within them ; which in the plain cases of Right and Wrong , will tell them what they ought to do , and what they ought to avoid ; so that in acting well they will be justified and acquitted in their own Minds , but in doing the contrary they will be condemned .

BUT yet there is a considerable difficulty in this matter ; because the Opinions of Men have been much divided about Virtue and Vice ; the different Laws and Customs of several Nations seem to argue , that they are not so well agreed about these things ; consequently the difference between Good and Evil is not so well known : more than this , there is in Mankind a propension to evil , and Men are generally vicious ; which seems to contradict that natural Instinct , which shews us , as we say , what is Virtue , and what is Vice .

To this Objection we answer , that all Mankind are agreed , that those Moral Virtues before mentioned ought to be practised , and that the contraries to them are Vices , and ought to be rejected ; if any one particular person happen to be of another mind , he is as rarely to be met with as Monsters , and no more to be drawn into an Argument against the truth of this Assertion , than a Man being born with three Legs can be an Argument , that Men naturally have not two . All Men have agreed that God is to be worshiped , though they differ much about the particular circumstances of his Worship : keeping of Faith all Men have held to be a Duty , though some say , Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks ; but this is no prejudice to the Truth : it must be granted that there is not the like evidence in all things , that there is in some ; and many things are not so clear , but that partial and inconsiderate Men may have wrong conceptions about them ; but these may be remedied , if Men will be wise and consider things as they should do ; if they will lay aside violent prejudices and self-Interest ; for if they will govern themselves like Men , and not be hurried away with Passion , It is one thing to know what Virtue is , and another to live according to that knowledg . they may come to understand what is good , and what is evil : it must be confessed , there is a great corruption in human Nature ; and we must consider that it is one thing to own the difference between Virtue and Vice ; another thing to live and act according to this judgment . Although Men have the Notions of Good and Evil , yet after all they may choose the Evil , and refuse the Good , and this the Apostle speaks of in Rom. vii . 27. I delight in the Law of God in the inward Man ; that is , my mind consents to it , as Holy , Just , and Good ; but here he tells us , he felt another Law in his Members , warring against the Law of his Mind , and bringing him into Captivity to the Law of Sin and Death , according to that of the Poet , — Video meliora proboque , Deteriora sequor ; — For a Man may be convinced of his Duty , but not act accordingly .

FOR by natural Instinct we know what we ought to do , antecedent to all Reason and Discourse .

Secondly , Natural Reason tells us what is our Duty . OUR Duty is also discovered to us by natural Reason ; for the force of moral Actions are planted in Mens Minds , and woven into the frame of their Natures : but to make our Duty more plain , God by the light of Reason hath shewed us what is good , and what is evil ; and not only so , but he stamps upon them the Authority of Laws ; for these two are very different , to apprehend a thing good for us to do , and to be under the Obligation of a Law to do it ; for to this it is necessary , we should apprehend it to be the Will of our Superior , that we should perform it .

NOW our Reason doth discover to us , what is Virtue , and that the Lord our God doth require our Obedience to it ;

First , BY shewing us how convenient and agreeable it is to our Natures .

Secondly , BY the tendency of it , to make us happy , and to free us from Evil and Misery .

NOTHING is more suitable to our Natures , than to have an esteem of what is great and excellent ; and Mankind being taught , that all Perfection is in God , we must adore him ; for that which is good , doth naturally beget Love and Reverence ; so it is agreeable to our Natures , to honor our Parents , to be grateful for Benefits received , to be just and righteous , to be charitable , compassionate , and temperate ; to be meek , humble , and prudent : Those that act contrary to these Duties , offer an Affront to their own Natures , and feel a pain in themselves , however they may carry it to others .

BESIDES , these things tend to make us happy , and to free us from Misery ; for Reason considers the consequences of things ; and we call that Virtue or Good , which will bring some benefit to us , and that Evil or Vice , which is like to bring upon us some Inconvenience ; upon this account Reason doth shew us what is good , and what is evil ; to begin with Piety towards God ; nothing is more reasonable , than to make him our Friend , who is able to make us happy or miserable ; and the way to make him our Friend , is to observe all the Vertues of a good life ; on the contrary , Impiety or a neglect of Vertue is plainly against our Interest ; for this is to disoblige him , who is more able to make us miserable than all the World besides , and without whose Favour nothing can make us happy : so that our Reason will require us to live vertuously ; as for instance , If Nature did not teach us Gratitude , Discretion would , it being the only way to obtain a second Favour , to be thankful for the first : Humility may seem to be a thing of no great Advantage , but he that shall consider what contempt Pride exposeth a Man unto , will be of another mind ; Temperance tends to our Happiness in this , that it tends to our Health , without which , all the Enjoyments of this Life are but little worth : on the other side , the intemperate Man is an Enemy to himself , continually making Assaults upon his own Life ; the Apostle adviseth , that we should abstain from fleshly Lusts , that war against the Soul , and it ought to be no small Argument to us , that they war against the Body also ; so for Kindness and Love , besides that they are good to others , they are of much use and benefit to our selves ; for there is unspeakable pleasure in Love , a great deal of ease in a charitable Temper : on the contrary , how fretting and vexatious to the Mind of Man are Malice , Envy , and Hatred ; they do not only raise Enemies abroad , but they set a Man against himself , and deprive him of the Peace of his own Mind : Compassion and Mercy is profitable to others and delightful to our selves . so Compassion and Mercy are not more profitable unto other Men than they are delightful to our own Souls ; and we do not only gratifie our selves by doing Services to others , but we thereby provoke Mankind by our Example to the like Kindnesses , and so turn the pity of others to our selves , when it shall come to be our turn to stand in need of their help . In like manner , our Reason directs us to the practice of Truth , Fidelity , and Justice , as the surest Arts of thriving in this World ; these beget Confidence , and give Men a Reputation in their Neighbourhood : and these Vertues , our Reason tells us , have the force of a Law ; and there needs nothing to give the force of a Law to any matter , but the stamp of divine Authority upon it . Now God , that made us and all other Creatures , and by virtue of his Authority over us hath imprinted on our Natures the Principles of Good and Evil ; and hath so wrought 'em into the frame of our Souls , by which , as by a natural instinct , Men are carried to approve what is good , and disapprove what is evil ; and supposing that our natural Reasons do tell us , that it is for our Interest to live in the practice of what we call Vertue , and to dislike and avoid what we call Vice ; this is a sufficient declaration , that we should do the one and avoid the other ; and if we live contrary to this , we violate the Law of him that made us ; for there needs nothing to make a thing become a Law to us , but that it is the Will of our Sovereign , who hath Right to require it of us : And this God hath declared to Mankind by the frame of their Natures , and by those principal Faculties he hath endued us withal ; for no Man can imagine but that we should follow the Instruction of our Nature , and be governed by the natural Notions of our own Minds . And those natural Passions of Hope and Fear , Hope and Fear are two very strong Passions . that are so rooted in our Souls , we cannot , without great force to our selves , act contrary to them . And this is all the Law that great part of Mankind comes under , and which is no other than that which the Apostle calls the Work of the Law written upon their Hearts ; and they having no other Revelation made to them , shall be judged by it ; and those that offend against this Law shall be found guilty before God , as well as those that have sinned against an express Revelation ; which is a plain Evidence , that these natural Dictates have the force of a Law , otherwise Men would not be guilty of any Crime by acting against them ; for it is a Rule universally true , that where there is no Law there is no Transgression ; and this I take to be the meaning of that obscure Passage of the Apostle Rom. v. 13. for until the Law , Sin was in the World , that is , before the Law was given unto Moses Men were capable of Sinning , and therefore there was another Law , against which they offended ; for Sin is not imputed where there is no Law : But Death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's Transgression ; that is , tho they did not sin against any express Law of God , as Adam did . Thus Reason discovers to us , how that the natural Dictates of our Minds have the force of a Law .

HENCE we may infer , that Mankind would have been under the Obligation of Religion , tho God had never made any immediate Revelation of his Mind and Will unto them : if this was not so , the Heathen , who had no supernatural Revelation from God , could not have been guilty of Sin , nor liable to his Judgment ; for if nothing were Vertue or Vice , but what was either expresly commanded or forbidden by God , then all Actions would have been alike to the Heathen : But there are some things naturally good , and some things naturally evil , and Men are bound to do the one and fly the other , tho God had never made any supernatural Revelation of his Will to them . For if God had never forbidden Hatred and Malice , with Deceit , Oppression , Violence , and the like Passions ; they would have appeared evil in themselves , and ought not to have been done by us ; because they are inconsistent with the Peace of Human Society , and contrary to the Nature and Reason of Mankind ; so on the other hand the Vertues opposite to these , as Love to God , together with Truth and Justice one towards another , have such Goodness in them , that they are commended to the liking of Mankind without the need of any absolute Declaration to oblige Men to the practice of them . If these things were not so , the Tables might have been turned , and all that which we now call Vertue , might have been forbidden by God , and things would have been every whit as well ; and there would have been no difference , only the Names of things would have been changed .

The nature of Good and Evil is unalterable . BUT I appeal to any ones Reason , whether he can think it as vertuous an Action to hate God , as to love him ; to contemn , as to honor him ; and whether Malice , Envy , Hatred , and Ingratitude , would have made as much for the Peace of Mankind , as the practice of Love and Goodness would have done ; if they would not , then it is manifest , that there is something in the Nature of Things , that made the difference : and so long as the Nature of God and Man remain what they are , some Things will be in their own Natures unalterably good , and some things evil ; which doth not depend upon any arbitrary Constitution , but is founded in the Nature of the Things themselves . The general consent of mankind shews what is Virtue and what is Vice

Thirdly , WHAT is Virtue , and what is Vice , is shewn to us by the general vote and consent of Mankind ; which we do not extend to all the instances of Virtue and Vice , but only to the great and more essential parts of it ; such as Piety to God , Adoration of the Divine Nature , Gratitude to Benefactors , Temperance , Meekness , Charity , Justice , Fidelity , and such like : these are agreed upon by mankind to be good , and the contrary to these evil ; for they are generally had in esteem by Men , and their opposites are evil spoken off ; now to praise any thing is to give testimony to the goodness of it , and to dispraise any thing , is to declare it to be evil : and if we consider the Customs of the World , and the instances of all Ages , we shall find that the Things that have been praised in the lives of Men , are the Piety and Devotion of Men towards their Gods , their Temperance and Gratitude , their Justice and Fidelity , their Humanity and Charity . The contraries to these have been ever condemned , as Atheism and Profaneness , contempt of God and Religion , Ingratitude , Falsness , Oppression , Cruelty . Nay , so steddy hath mankind been in commending Virtue , and censuring Vice , Vicious Men speak well of Virtue . that we shall find not only the virtuous themselves giving their testimony to Virtue , but even those that are vicious , have so much Justice as to speak well of Moral Virtues , not out of love to them , but because their Affections are prevented by the Conviction of their own Minds , and the testimony of these persons is the more valuable , because it is that of an Enemy : for Friends are apt to be partial , but the acknowledgement of an Enemy is of great weight , because it seems to be extorted from him and that which he is even forced to do against his will . And it is a clear evidence that Vice is generally cryed down by Mankind , because those that are so kind as to spare themselves , are yet very quick-sighted to spy a fault in any one else , and will arraign Vice in another with very much freedom .

HENCE it is , that the Scripture commands , that our Light should so shine before Men , that they may see our good works Matth. v. 13. Charges us to promise things honest in the sight of all Men , Rom. xii . 17. To have our Conversation honest among the Gentiles , that is , to do those things which the Light of Nature cannot but approve of , 1 Pet. ii . 12. By well doing to put to silence the ignorance of foolish Men : for this , saith the Apostle , is the Will of God ; by which it is intimated , that there are some Virtues so good in themselves , and so owned to be such , that the worst of Men have not the face to open their mouths against them .

BESIDES Mankind do generally stand upon their Justification when they are conscious to themselves , that they have done well , but are ashamed , when they have done ill : Some indeed are such Monsters of Impiety , that they can glory in their Shame ; but these are but few in comparison , and they attain to this Temper by a long habit of great and enormous Vices : But generally Men are Modest and are apt to Blush at what they do amiss : Now Shame is a Trouble arising from a Sense , What Shame is . that we have done amiss , and have forfeited our Reputation ; Guilt is a Passion towards our selves , but Shame is with respect to others ; so that he , who is ashamed of an Action , doth thereby declare , that he hath acted amiss , and that , what he hath done , is accounted so by others ; for if he did not believe , that Men had a bad opinion of such actions ; however he might be guilty in himself , he would not be ashamed in respect of other Men : But when Men have walked by the Rules of Virtue , the Conscience of their Integrity lifts up their Heads , because they are satisfied , that other Men have a good esteem of their Actions : And the Men sometimes will declare their dislike of the Ways of Virtue , yet they have a secret reverence for those , that do well , and when their Passions are over , they cannot but declare their Approbation and frequently do so : All Men have a secret reverence for those that do well . And this is a great evidence of the Consent of Mankind about Virtue and Vice ; for that those , that do their Duty , act above Board , and live in the Practice of Goodness , need not hide their Faces , nor seek dark corners to do their work in , as they , who are forging evil deeds , must do : For no Man is ashamed to meet another , with whom he has kept his Word and performed his Trust , as he , who hath done otherwise , is wont to be ; Glory and Shame , being an appeal to the Judgment of Mankind , concerning the Good or Evil of our Actions .

NOW Vices , such as Murder , Adultery , Drunkenness , Rebellion , Sedition , Fraud , Perjury , and breach of Trust , are provided against by most Nations , and severely punished by the Laws of most Countrys , which is a demonstration , what opinion all Nations have had of these things ; No Law ever made against Virtue . but there was never any Law made against Virtue ; no Man was ever forbidden to honour God ; tho particular Ways of Worship have been prohibited ; no Man was ever forbidden to be grateful , faithful , temperate , just , righteous , honest , charitable , and peaceable ; which is an acknowledgment , that Mankind always thought 'em good , and were never sensible of any harm or mischief to come by them ; for had they done so , they would at some time or other provided against 'em by Laws ; but as the Apostle saith , against these things there is no Law ; as if he had said ; turn over the Laws of Moses , search those of Athens , read over the Twelve Tables of the Romans , and you shall not find one of those Virtues that are commanded in the Scripture , condemned or forbidden ; a sure and clear proof , that Mankind never took any exception against them , but rested in the goodness of them ; that they were necessary and profitable for all things .

NOW this general consent of Mankind about what is Good and Evil , is a very good Argument of their being so in Truth and reality ; for the Consent of Mankind is the Voice of Nature , and the Voice of Nature is the Voice of God , the Author thereof ; for Tully tells us , that God would not have planted these Notions in the Minds of Men , had they not been agreeable to the Truth of Things ; there is no better way to establish , what is Natural , than if the whole kind agree in it , and if it be Natural , it is from God , and whatever is from God , is Real and True : Now I have proved , that God hath planted in Humane Nature , a Sense of the difference between Virtue and Vice , and hath made us able to judg , what is Good , and what is Evil.

BUT besides this , there are but two Causes , into which this general Consent of Mankind can be resolved , Tradition and humane Policy ; not Tradition , because that is insufficient for so large and long a Conveyance of so many particulars , as the Law of Nature consists in , throughout all Ages and Nations ; for the Traditions of particular Nations , which are supposed to be Arbitrary , and to have no foundation in Reason and Nature ; these do depend wholly upon instruction and memory , and cannot be preserved without them ; but we see among the Rude and Ignorant , upon whom hardly any care or instruction is used , men have as lively a sense of the difference between virtue and vice , in many particulars , as the more learned part of the World ; which is a plain Argument , that these things are not conveyed to us by Tradition : Nor can they be applyed to humane Policy ; for many of these things were never enacted by humane Laws , and yet they obtain among Mankind , as Gratitude , Charity , and such like ; Seneca says , that Gratitude was never enjoyned by any Law , but that of the Macedonians ; which plainly shews , that these things owe their Original to some other Cause , and that they are to be attributed to Nature , the Author of which is God ; and the general Consent of Mankind is an argument of their Truth and Reality .

HOWEVER , it is Objected , that several Persons , and some whole Nations have differed about some of these things , so that this Consent is not so general ; besides the Consent of the World in Superstition and Idolatry , may seem to weaken this Argument from the universal Agreement of Mankind about Good and Evil.

WE Answer , that it is not denied , but that Men may so vitiate their Natures , Nature may be so vitiated as to lose the Sense of Virtue and Vice . as to lose the sense of Virtue and Vice ; yet it may remain true , that Mankind have a natural Sense and Knowledg of them ; as some by Lust and Intemperance may so spoil their Palates , that they may not taste the difference of Meats and Drinks ; yet this last is never the less natural to Mankind ; for there is a great deal of difference between Natural and Moral Agents ; natural Agents always continue the same , but voluntary Agents may vary in some things , that are Natural ; especially where Men have Debauch'd their Natures , and have offered great violence to themselves : more than this , the exceptions are not so general , as to infringe the universal Consent of Mankind ; the difference is but in few things , and therefore they are taken notice of , and being collected together in History they may seem a great many ; but that they are particularly noted , is a sign , they are but few ; what if one Philosopher mentioned , that Snow was Black , and Ten more had been of his Mind ; this would have been no objection against the Sense or Reason of Mankind ; for all Men agree , that Self-preservation is a natural Instinct ; notwithstanding some particular Persons have offered violence to their own Lives : As to Superstition or Idolatry , there hath been no such agreement of Mankind in that , as to prove it to have a Foundation in Nature ; for it is confessed , that it was not always practised in the World ; but that it had a Beginning ; and indeed it grew up by degrees and sprang out of the Corruptions of Mankind ; and therefore Time was , when there was no such thing ; so that it does not owe its Rise to Nature , but to the defection of Mankind : For while Idolatry prevailed in the World , it was condemned by several Men , as a stupid and sottish Thing ; tho they had not the courage to declare against the Practice of it ; so that whilst it was used by the generality of the World , it was censured as a great Folly , by those , that were best able to judg .

Lastly , WE know what is Virtue and Vice , Good and Evil , more distinctly , Outward Revelation discovers to us , what is Virtue and what is Vice . by outward Revelation ; in former Ages of the World , God was pleased to reveal his Will several Ways , and more especially to the Nation of the Jews , the rest of the World being left solely to the dictates of natural Light ; But in the latter Ages of the World , it pleased God to make a publick and more full Declaration of his Mind by his Son , and this Revelation is for Substance the same with the Law of Nature ; our Saviour comprehended it under these two Heads , the Love of God and of our Neighbour ; the Apostle reduceth it to Sobriety , Righteousness and Piety ; for the Grace of God , that bringeth Salvation , teacheth us to deny all ungodliness and Worldly Lust ; and to live Soberly , Righteously and Godly in this present World ; so that if we believe the Apostle , the Gospel teacheth us the very same things , that Nature dictateth to Mankind ; for these are the very Virtues , which natural Light prompt Men unto ; only we allow a more perfect discovery of them by the Gospel ; and to convince Men of the Good and Evil , that are affixed to Virtue and Vice , there are great and eternal Rewards promised to one , and endless Punishments threatned to the other ; so that now Mankind have no cloak for their Sin ; their Duty being so clearly laid open to them ; and the Rewards and Punishments of another Life so plainly revealed ; all the defects of the natural Law , and the Corruptions of it through the degeneracy of Mankind , being fully supplyed by the Revelation of the Gospel : So that we may now much better say , than the Prophet could in his days , Mich. 6.8 . He hath shewed thee , O Man ! what is good , and what doth the Lord require of thee , but to do justly , and to love mercy , and to walk humbly with thy God

BUT as to external Revelation it is Objected , that the Scripture is very obscure , and gives us not sufficient direction in Matters of Faith :

WE Answer , that this Objection hath no Colour of Truth in it ; for if the Church of Rome , to whom are beholden for this Objection against the Word of God , and who are ready upon all occasions to quarrel with it ; Yet they do not deny , but the Scriptures are plain , as to Precepts of Life and Practice ; but as to matters of Faith , they pretend its defection in , as if God had not intended to reveal , but conceal his Mind in these things ; Indeed they have some reason to pretend this , considering , how hard it is to find several of their Doctrines in the Scripture ; but as to the moral Precepts of a good Life , they all grant , that they are clearly delivered in the holy Scripture ; so that this Objection about the obscurity thereof doth not lie against what I have been speaking .

THEREFORE seeing Moral Virtues may be plainly understood by Natural Instinct , Natural Reason , the consent of Mankind , and outward Revelation , we must in the next place see , how easie and pleasant they are to be practised .

First , THEY are easie , because we are assisted in the practice of them by the Holy Spirit of God , against all difficulties whatsoever .

Secondly , THEY are both easie and pleasant , because they are profitable for all things , improve our Understandings , and bring peace to our Minds .

FOR our Christian Race is a Warfare , and we have many Conquests to make over the corruptions of our Natures , the influences of Sense , and the disorders of Passion ; Whence the difficulties of a virtuous Life do arise . These are the rubs in our way , which make a virtuous course so difficult at first ; because to cast off old Habits of Vice and Folly , to which they have been long accustomed , is That , at which men are generally galled : For a State of Vice and of Virtue are not like two Ways , that are just parted by a line , so as that a Man may step out of the one full into the other , when and how he pleases ; but they are like two Ways , that lead to two very distant places , one where Happiness is , the other , where Destruction ; so that they are as far separated , as Heaven and Hell are : For the farther a Man hath travelled in the ways of Vice , he is at the greater distance from those of Virtue ; so that it requires time and much striving too , to pass from the one to the other ; it being a long and severe Conflict to master evil Habits ; the Temptations of the World and of the Flesh will rally and make head again , after they have been beaten off .

NOTWITHSTANDING these Difficulties the seeds of Virtue under the Influences and Care of the Divine Spirit will get the better , and grow up to such a strength , as will conquer them : It is indeed a very unpleasant sight for a vicious Person to look into himself , or to consider on his bad courses ; therefore he labours all he can to stifle his Reason , that he may not think , A vicious Person is - a very unpleasant sight to himself . what will be the sad issues of an ungodly Life ? Hence it is , that all Men find some bitterness in casting off their Lusts , according to the progress they have made in Vice : For if we intend to lead a vertuous Life , we must consider , that many Virtues are to be practised , before the contrary Vices will be subdued ; We have many irregular Passions to bring into order , and must root out all the power of evil Customs ; We have a Body of sin to put off , which clings close to us , and are bound to cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit , and to perfect holiness in the fear of God ; to encrease and improve our Virtues ; that is , add to our Faith Knowledg , Temperance , Patience , brotherly Kindness , and Charity ; to abound in all the fruits of Righteousness , which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God .

THIS Change cannot be wrought without some trouble ; this New-birth cannot be brought about without some bitter Pangs ; a thorow Reformation of Manners being a work , that requires much time , deliberation , and labour to effect it : However we should not be discouraged ; For so soon as we have begun a good course of Life , A good course of Life is always under the influence of God's Spirit . we are in such a way , as God will help us in ; and if we pursue our advantages , we shall every day gain ground , and the work will grow easier upon our hands ; and though we may be a little disheartned at first at the hardships of Virtue , yet after a little while we shall be enabled to run the way of God's Commandments with pleasure .

FOR nothing is more hurtful to a virtuous and holy Life , than to believe that God requires those things of us , that He hath not given us strength to perform ; whereas God takes delight in bestowing the gifts of his Spirit upon us ; nothing being more pleasing to him , than that we should partake of his Divine Nature , and be made Holy , as he is holy ; that we should be brought back to that State , wherein we were when we came out of his hands : Therefore one of the greatest discouragements to a virtuous Life is a false and unworthy representation of God , A false Notion of God is a great discouragement to a virtuous Life . as if the greatest part of the World were really destitute of any ability to do those things which his Gospel requires , and yet should be condemned for not doing them . These are hard things to be said of the best Being in the World ; of one , whom we believe to have infinitely more goodness in him , than is among all the Sons of men : So that S. James 1.5 . says , If any Man lack wisdom , let him ask it of God , who giveth liberally and upraideth not ; By which Wisdom are meant all the Fruits of the Spirit ; for so S. James hath described it ; that it is first pure , then peaceable , gentle , easie to be entreated , full of mercy and good works : Indeed when we think of our own weakness , the corruptions of our Natures , the strength of our Lusts , and the malice of our Spiritual Adversaries ; we are apt to despond , like the Children of Israel , when they heard of the Sons of Anak in their passage to the Holy Land ; But if we would look beyond our selves and our Enemies , as Caleb and Joshua did , to the power of the Lord ; we should , as the Apostle saith , of weakness become strong , and put to flight the Armies of the Aliens . For we read 2 Kings 16.13 . of Elisha's Servant , that he came to his Master in great perplexity of mind , and said unto him ; alas , Master , what shall we do ? Behold an Host hath encompassed the City both with Horses and Chariots ; But when he had opened the Eyes of the young Man , he beheld the Mountains full of Horses ●●d Chariots of Fire about Elisha ; Thus if our Eyes were opened to view the secret Aids , that are ready to join us in the course of Virtue , our Fears would soon vanish , and we should take courage against all the Enemies , that do assault us , not only flesh and blood , but Principalities and Powers , and spiritual wickednesses in high places . For saith our Saviour , S. Luke 19.26 . To every one that hath , shall be given , and from him , that hath not , shall be taken away That , which He hath : which was a proverbial Speech among the Jews , and signifies thus much , that , He who improves the Grace of God , shall have more , and from him , who makes no use of it , shall be taken away That , which he hath made no improvement of : For no Man , who enjoys the Gospel , is destitute of sufficient means of Salvation , The Gospel affords to all sufficient means of Salvation . if he be not some way or other wanting to himself : To what end else do we persuade Men to submit to the Terms of it ; to repent and believe ; to deny ungodliness and wordly Lusts ; When we know , they have no power to do , what we exhort them to , and God hath resolved to withdraw from them that Grace , which is necessary for these purposes : For if a Man thought , that God gives that Grace , whereby we may be saved only to a few , and that he always works upon those , to whom he gives it , in such a manner , as they cannot resist ; Why then should we do any thing in Religion ; because unless we be of the number of those whom God hath decreed to work effectually upon , we can do nothing towards the getting Salvation ; and if we be of that number , we need do nothing at all ; for it will certainly prevail , oppose it what we can ; Nay , if God doth not afford sufficient Grace to every man , whereby be may lead a virtuous Life ; how shall He govern the World ? how shall men be condemned for not doing their Duty ; in particular for not believing and repenting , when without God's Grace it was impossible to do either .

BUT we profess to believe , that the Judg of all the World will do right , and if we do this , we must understand , that there will be nothing in God's proceedings at the day of Judgment , that will then be esteemed unjust by the Sons of Men ; for it is impossible , that we should conceive any other Notion of Justice in God , than what is owned for just among Men ; What is just in Man , is just in God . were it otherwise , God would not appeal to Men concerning the Equality of his Ways ; for if the same Notion of Justice be not in God , as is in Men ; we know not what it is , that is just in God , neither can we judg concerncerning the Equality or the Justice of his Proceedings : upon this account it is granted , that the Heathen to whom the Gospel of Christ never came , shall not be condemned for their unbelief ; it being unjust to condemn men for not believing that , which was never proposed to them for their Faith ; this would be , to oblige men to things , that are impossible , which no Law nor Equity can do : But far be it from us to entertain any thoughts unworthy of God , or to say that of the best Being , which we would account a reproach to our selves : Since then the Grace of God hath brought Salvation to us , it is our own fault , if we fall short of it , and our own Consciences will accuse us as unworthy of Eternal Life , because God hath done his part , if we be negligent in doing ours : For the Scripture attributes to us That , which God does , and bids us do That , which God did with us , and That , which we do , is attributed to God , and That , which God does by us , is ascribed both to God and us ; we work , and God works , by whom we are awakened , directed , assisted : The Controversies are very hot , and very long , and intricate about these things ; but I think , a right stating the matter , would extinguish them from being in the World .

SINCE that Grace , Grace necessary to Salvation is afforded us . which is necessary to Salvation , is afforded us , we cannot pretend any discouragement , but have all the reason in the World to set our hands to this Work , and to be doing our Duty , because the Lord is with us ; and he hath said , we shall not be tempted above what we are able to bear : we shall have such an inward assistance of the Spirit of God , as is necessary to receive and help the weakness of our Natures , and that impotency , which Men generally contract by vicious Habits ; and this Grace of God goes along with the external Revelation of the Gospel , and accompanies all those , who by their wilful resisting and opposing it , have not provoked God to withdraw it from them ; and then we make use of this Grace , when we are careful to enquire into this Revelation , and do what we can to act accordingly . And as our Minds are enlightned by it , so our Wills and Affections are warmed to a complyance therewith ; we shall find a gentle heat in our Hearts , inclining us to a ready Obedience to the Precepts of Gods Word , and to live in all Godliness , as it requires ; for when a Man is disposed to the Practice of Virtue , he hath just reason to conclude , that the Spirit of God is at Work upon him : Therefore we ought to go on in a good course of Life , because our work will be easier to us , the difficulties of Religion will still grow less , because our strength will encrease , and God hath promised to give greater degrees of assistance to them , who use , The practice of Moral Virtue is both easie and pleasant . what He hath already bestowed .

Secondly , THE Practice of Moral Virtues is both easie and pleasant , because they are profitable for all things , improve our Understandings and bring Peace to our Minds : Now Profit and Advantage have a stronger influence upon the affections of Mankind , than any thing else ; if then we can reconcile Virtue with the Interests nnd Profits of Men , they maybe perswaded to embrace a virtuous Course of Life ; which doth much conduce to our Health , not only in a Spiritual , but Natural Sense , because vicious Courses in the Nature and Tendency of them , do destroy the Constitution of our Bodies : But Religion doth oblige us to the exercise of such particular Virtues , as do as naturally tend to our Welfare and Long-Life ; for Diseases are prevented by living abstemiously , and the firm Estate of the Body depends upon Chastity ; the quiet both of Mind and Body too , upon the moderation of our Passions ; whereas the Lustful waste and consume away , because they follow Harlots , till a Dart strikes through their Livers ; Now the great triumph of Sensuality is , where the Ear is fed with Musick , the Eye with Beauty , the Smell with Perfumes , the Taste with Banquets ; what a Tumult do these various Objects raise within Men ! What Feavers do they kindle in their Blood , by their delicious Meats , as well as by Wines and Strong Drinks !

BUT Virtue doth not only establish Mens Health , but increases their Estates also ; Virtue establishes our health and augments our estates . therefore the Wise-man hath placed in her left Hand Riches ; which is brought to pass by charging Men to be Faithful and True , diligent and industrious in their Callings : For as Study and Experience give more force to the Soul , than any disposition whatever of the Body ; so Industry and Intention of Mind apon Business , will sustain a Man in every Estate , hath an influence upon his whole Life and Actions ; 't is true , very good Men may not arrive at much Plenty , yet their Vertue makes a compensation in this Case , by making them contented with that competent Allowance which God shall allot them ; for to a Man that is satisfied , Riches and Abundance are needless and superfluous .

Vertue advances our Reputation . NOW Vertue doth not only encrease our Estates , but it is a great advantage to our Reputation in the World ; for prudent and substantial Piety is of high price to all , whose Judgments are valuable ; when it is accompanied with serious Devotion to God , and real Effects of Charity before Men , it is honored among the worst sort of Mankind : every one therefore that is not forsaken of common Sense , must take pleasure in Vertue , when he sees his Actions are conformed to the Sentiments of all good and worthy Persons . He is above the Tongues of evil Men , and their Raillery will be in vain spent upon him , when every Action he does in the course of Vertue , will necessarily introduce him into the good Opinion of the best part of the World .

Vertue makes our Relations and Friends happy . MORE than this , Vertue doth not only bring us a good Name , but above all things it doth conduce to the Happiness of our Relations and Friends ; the goodness of God being so diffusive , as to scatter his Blessings round about the Habitation of the Just : for Vertue tends to this from the Nature of the thing it self , because it lays the strictest Obligations upon Men to provide for their Families ; which whosoever neglects , he is reckoned worse than an Heathen or Infidel : besides , it is many times seen , that the Posterity of such as have given Testimony of their Goodness , Charity , and Kindness towards Men ; of Piety and Devotion towards God , that their Relations have met with unexpected Kindnesses from others upon their account , and for their sakes have been especially cared and provided for .

THUS Vertue is profitable for our Health , for our Estates , for our Honor , and for our Relations : it doth likewise improve our Understandings , and bring Peace to our Minds .

1. IT makes us better acquainted with the great Interests of our Souls , Vertue improves our Vnderstandings . and it doth also set us at liberty from the Dominion of our Vices and Passions , and teaches us to use much Consideration and weighing of Things ; for that a Man may be vertuous , it is not sufficient , that he do vertuous Actions out of good Nature , Interest , or Passion , but he must do them discreetly and for good ends , by deliberation and choice ; for it hath been the Observation of all knowing Persons , and they have delivered it for a certain Rule , as hath also the holy Spirit and Wisdom of God himself , That vertuous courses only together with God's Grace obtained by Prayer , are capable to make a man wise , that is , to direct his actions in such a manner , as he shall not need to repent of them : Now an evil man seeks occasions to gratifie his Humor , and at best thinks to stop at the Confines betwixt Passion and Vice ; but a wise Man avoids the occasions of Vice , which he looks upon as a disease of the Soul , contrary to the natural and due Constitution of it , and subverting its true Tone and Disposition . And that every Vice in particular is contrary to Prudence , appears ; because Covetousness instead of Wisdom , introduceth Craft , Subtilty , and Deceitfulness ; Pride breeds Confidence of a Mans self , and Contempt of others Advice ; Lust is the Mother of Negligence and Inconstancy , and at length of that blindness of Understanding which renders Men uncapable of understanding such things especially as concern their Souls ; but even such also as are advantageous to their temporal Welfare . Besides , Vertue doth most notoriously improve our Understandings by delivering us from the power of all Passions whatsoever ; which is done by regulating the Imagination , whence they arose ; that is , by subjecting it to Reason , that it may not without Consultation follow the Suggestions of Sense , and unruly Motions of Appetite ; these being the Clouds that darken the Mind by a kind of Physical and Natural Influence : For as Intemperance and Excess do embase and clog our Minds , and glue them to the World , so they indispose them for all the Operations of the Spirit ; Malice , Wrath , and Envy , fill us with Prejudice and false Apprehensions of things ; so that Mens Spirits under these Distempers are not pure , nor fine enough for their Reason ; for as Clearness disposeth the bodily Eye for a better and quicker sight of material Objects ; so the Purity of our Souls , that is , freedom from Lust and Passion , fit us for Acts of Reason and Understanding . Now Vertue doth refine and purifie our Minds , by stifling the fumes and steams of every Vice and Passion , and the more a Man's Mind is cleansed from these Filthinesses , the more noble will it be in all its Operations ; the more a Man is free from Passion , his Apprehension of Things will be more distinct and unprejudiced ; and consequently his Judgment will be more steddy and better settled ; for freedom from Passion doth not only signifie that a Man is wise , but really contributes to the making of him such .

Vertue promotes the Peace of our Minds . Secondly , VERTUE tends to the Peace of our Minds ; therefore the Wise man declares , that her ways are ways of Pleasantness , and all her Paths are Peace ; which Peace and Pleasure are brought to us by Vertue two ways :

First , IN that it allays those Storms of Passion which ruffle and discompose the Mind ; for if we lay open the Soul with its Operations , we shall find , that Passions regulated by Reason or God's Spirit , are properly Vertues , and when they are not so regulated , they become Vices . Now Malice , Hatred , Revenge , Ill-will , Wrath , Impatience , are fretting Passions , and rob us of our Peace : they admit no Counsel , but are full of Tumult and Confusion : it is not in the power of Reason to rule absolutely over these untoward Affections ; but because Reason is sometimes misled , or obstinately mistaken , Almighty God has given us his holy Religion and his Spirit to govern Reason also , and render every Thought obedient to Faith . So that in Religion lies the universal and never failing Remedy of all the Evils of the Soul , and an infallible Cure of those Passions , that lye cross to our Minds ; which like small Particles , that have rugged and sharp Angles , do continually molest and grate upon us : but he that is free from the Tumults of these Passions , finds nothing but Sweetness and Contentment ; the moderation whereof ought to be the chief aim of every one who desires to be wise or to be quiet .

Secondly , Vertue frees us from guilt and the fears of divine Wrath. VERTUE frees us from the anxiousness of Guilt and the fears of divine Wrath , whereby it doth much promote our real Peace and Pleasure ; for what can be supposed to be more tormenting than the continual dreads of God's Anger ? consequently the Satisfaction must be as great , when God is reconciled to a Man and made his Friend : What Comfort and Joy doth a vertuous Person perceive in the sense of his Love , in the serious Reflections on a well-spent Life , in the Conscience of having acted uprightly in the chief business of Life ! what pleasure doth such a Man take in his Service ! what Peace in working Righteousness ! what Exultation and Triumph in the assured Hope and Expectation of future Glory !

AS there are pure and refined Joys , sweet and unmingled Delights in the ways of Vertue ; so on the contrary , the chief part of the Misery of ungodly Men is this , that they are of a Temper which is naturally a disquiet to it self ; and here the foundation of Hell is laid in the evil frame and disposition of their own Spirits ; when Men are not circumspect in their Conversation , and very careful to walk in the ways of Godliness , especially when the Confines of Vertue and Vice are so close , and the exact Limits and Boundaries are so difficultly fixed : Until this rash and inconsiderate running into Vice be cured , which only can be done by the practice of Virtue , it is as impossible that a Man should he happy or pleased , as for a sick Man to find ease by removing from one Bed to another , because the Distemper is lodged within his Breast ; all the Disorders of which must be quieted before we can be happy , for Happiness must be in our Hearts , and it must spring out of our own bosoms , and from thence , thro the comfortable influence of God's Holy Spirit , must all our Peace and Pleasure flow . Wherefore I cannot conclude this whole Discourse with a better or more persuasive Exhortation , than that which S. Paul makes use of to the Philippians , Phil. iv . 8. Finally Brethren , whatsoever is right , sincere , and true ; whatsoever is comely , grave , and venerable ; whatsoever is fair , just , and equal ; whatsoever is sacred , pure , and holy ; whatsoever is generous , noble , and lovely ; whatsoever is of credit , value , and esteem ; if there be any Vertue , if there be any Praise , think of these things .

FOR these things the Lord will have us to do , God's Will must be the Rule of our Actions . and his Will must be the Rule of all our Actions ; whose Laws are like himself just and holy , pure and undefiled , unchangeable and everlasting ; fitted to the first Age of the World and to the last ; to the wisest , and to the simplest ; to the times of Peace and of War , established against all alterations and occurrences whatsoever : for there is no time in which a Man may not be just and honest , merciful and compassionate , humble and sincere : a Conversation thus tempered we ought to continue and carry along through honor and dishonor , through all the terrors which evil Men or Devils can place in our way : and if we consider the Nature and Reason of Things , Virtue only doth qualifie and dispose us for the injoyment of God ; Vertue only doth qualifie us for the enjoyment of God . because it quiets the Mind , rectifies all its Faculties , governs the Affections , cleanses the whole Soul from all sin and pollution : whereas if it were possible for a wicked Man to be admitted into the presence of God or a local Heaven , to see all the glories and delights of that Place and State , all this would signifie no more to make him happy and contented , than heaps of Gold , and Consorts of Musick , a well spread Table , or a rich Bed can bring any relief to a Man in the Paroxism of a Fever , or in a sharp fit of the Stone ; the Reason is , because the Man's Spirit will still be out of order , till he be put into a right Frame by Virtue and Godliness .

'T IS true , all Men naturally desire ease and happiness , because all Natures would fain be pleased and contented ; but they hunt after it , Men are apt to mistake their Happiness . where it is not to be found : Men say , loe here is happiness , and loe there , in a high Place , in a great Estate , or in earthly Delights ; but believe them not , they are all shadows , when you come to embrace them ; therefore your Happiness must be nearer and more intimate to your Minds , than any thing this World can afford : for those who look after the Pomps of this World , grow vain and inconstant , lazy and negligent : those who covet the applause of the People , are often disappointed of the felicity they hoped for , because the People guide not themselves by Reason , but Chance : All outward things coming thus short of rendering us Happy , we must expect our Happiness in observing the Duties , and in obeying the Precepts of Virtue ; because they are upon all accounts for our advantage , and are founded upon the Interests of Mankind ; so that if it were not , that the God of this World did blind Mens Eyes , and abuse their Understandings from discerning their true Interest ; it were impossible so long as Men love themselves , and have a desire of their own Happiness , but they should be virtuous : If men sought their true Happiness they must be Virtuous . for God promiseth to make Men happy for ever , upon condition that they will do those things that will make them happy and easie in this World : considering our infinite obligations to God , the unquestionable Right and Title he hath to us , and his Sovereign Authority over us , he might have imposed Laws , and have given us such Statutes , as were not so good for us ; but so gracious a Master hath he been , as to link together our Duty and our Interest , and to make those things instances of our Obedience , which are Natural means and Causes of our Happiness .

IT hath been antiently observed , that Pythagoras his Learning ended in a few Musical jingles ; Thales his Wisdom in some uncertain Astronomical fansies ; Heraclitus his Contemplations concluded in Solitude and weeping ; Socrates his Renowned Philosophy led him to the practice of unnatural Lust ; Diogenes his sharpness of Wit , to use his body to endure all manner of nastiness and coarse Labour ; Epicurus his Inventions and Discourses , of which he boasts so much , set him down contented with any kind of pleasure . The same thing may be said of the Stoicks and Peripateticks .

WE must therefore be much out of the way , if we search for Happiness in their Lessons , and neglect our most Holy Religion ; Religion is the surest foundation of our Hopes . which whosoever does , he will unsettle the strongest Foundation of our hopes , he will make a terrible confusion in all the Offices and Opinions of Men ; he will destroy the most prevailing Argument to Virtue ; he will remove all human Actions from their firmest Centre ; he will deprive himself of the prerogative of his immortal Soul , and will have the same success , that the ancient Fables make those to have had , who contended with their Gods , of whom they report , that many were immediately turned into Beasts . Whereas if we were to contrive a way to make our selves happy , we should pitch upon just such Laws as those of Christianity are ; The Laws of Christ are most agreeable to the frame of our Natures . they are so agreeable to the Frame of our Natures and Understandings ; they require of us so Rational and Spiritual a service of God ; they oblige us to perform Duties so plainly necessary and beneficial to us ; the harshest and most difficult Precepts thereof tending upon one account or other to our manifest advantage ; it being very reasonable for a Man to be sorry for what he hath done amiss , and to amend his Life for the future ; to mortifie Lusts and Passions , which are so disorderly and troublesom to the Mind ; to bring down every proud Thought , which fills a Man with insolence and contempt of others ; to be patient in the meanest Condition , which will prevent those anxieties that come from the contrary Passions ; to love Enemies , and forgive Injuries ; which removes the perpetual torments of a malicious and revengeful Spirit .

FOR a Man is accomplished by two things :

First , BY his being enlightened in his intellectual Faculties , which is the perfection of his Understanding .

Secondly , BY his being well directed in his Morals , to refuse evil and to do good , wherein consists the goodness of his Mind .

Now the Doctrine of our Blessed Saviour tends to purge out of the Mind all vicious and depraved Affections , and to sow therein the Seeds of Grace and Virtue ; for his whole Sermon on the Mount tends to implant in us a pure Heart , a right Mind , clean Affections , an obedient Will , and a sound Vnderstanding : for the effecting of which , observe the admirable contrivance of the Divine Wisdom , after Mankind was broken and lost by the fall of one , that another should be raised out of his Root , who should satisfie the offended God ; should beget a new Generation of Men out of the old Stock , and advance the new Nature to a higher degree of Holiness than before : for sin is the greatest pollution , exorbitance , and degeneracy of an intelligent Agent ; Sin is the greatest degeneracy of an intelligent Being . it is worse than rottenness and corruption in natural things ; for these act according to the course of their own Natures : but we , as we are intelligent Beings , are under the obligation of a Rule , and to vary from that Law is a violent and and monstrous thing ; for all the departures from right Reason in Understanding Beings are privatively Evils , and therefore most highly displeasing unto God ; because all iniquity and sin is a contradiction to the unchangeable Laws of Goodness and Truth , which is the Law of Heaven , from which God in the fulness of his Liberty , and the greatness of his Power doth never depart : therefore we may say that all Vice doth offer violence to the Principles of God's Creation ; and that which is unnatural in the inferior World , is nothing so horrid as that which is irrational in the superiour : Now see what the consequence is of unnatural things in the lower World . Should the Sun leave its Course , and instead of being the Fountain of Light , should send forth nothing but stench and darkness ; how prodigious , and how terrible would this be ! Yet whosoever acts against the Divine Will , and the Dictates of right Reason , doth a thing more frightful than all this , more violent and mischievous , than if the Fire should cease to burn , or the Course of Nature should fail . But our Saviour both by his Precepts , Our Saviour teaches us to act according to the Reason of things . and by his Example , hath taught us to act according to the Reason of things ; so that we must love that which is Equal and Right , that which is true and good in its own Nature , that which is just and fit according to the Mind and Will of God : these are such certain Laws and Principles of Action , that it is not in the power of Men or Angels to control any of them : and if we vary from them , we expose our selves to endless misery , we spoil our Natures , and the best Principles thereof ; which are recovered by Christ Jesus his being Sanctification to us ; which cleanses us from all filthiness , and sets the dispositions of our Minds right : the Principles of whose Religion do not appear , as Spells and Charms , but they operate by the illumination of the Mind and Understanding ; for in the intellectual World the Principles of Knowledge and Understanding are every way as vigorous , as the properties and qualities in Nature are , only these Act by the way of Reason and information of the Mind : for in all the Virtues that are charged upon us by our Saviour , there is an agreeableness to the innate Notions of our Minds and Consciences ; they do all accord with the natural Conceptions we have of what is just and fit to be done : therefore all his Commandments are the resolutions of true Reason , and when once they are received into the Temper and Constitution of our Souls , they will make us to be of the same Mind as he was , that is , truly Wise , Holy , and Good : for his Doctrine and his Example are Arguments of Reason , sufficient to make us wise , to deliver us from the power and habits of Vice , and to rescue us from the Usurpations of the Devil : Now these are as true Principles of Action upon an intelligent Being , as any natural Qualities are in inferiour Nature ; and they will produce Invisible , but vital and Spiritual effects with a power much above what natural Agents can exert ; for as he , who gives himself up to Wickedness , will never want a Superiour Agent to carry him on , and make him more villanous and wretched ; so on the contrary whosoever watches over himself , and employs his faculties to the doing of good , shall ever have the assistance of the Divine Spirit to help him ; and indeed the Christian Religion doth that , which is solid and substantial , permanent and lasting , if it do not obtain this effect in us , of Reconciling our Minds and Dispositions to the Mind and Will of God ; and when the same Mind is in us , which was in Christ Jesus , of what strong and firm a temper will our Hearts be made ! What courage shall we have , even when few comforters , scarce any , but Enemies are near us ! Goodness , gentleness , patience , which are the Mind of Christ , by all true Philosophy , are esteemed to proceed from the greatest strength of Nature ; by all true Christianity , from the highest Degree of Grace : Nay when we have the same Mind with him , what Bravery of Spirit will the World discern to be in us ! We shall not then be afraid of the most exact and severe observations of what we do ; nothing will appear in our Discourses but Truth and Sincerity ; nothing in our Lives , but Honesty and Plain-dealing : in all our private Actions will be seen the most unaffected modesty , in all our publick , a good Conscience and a love of Virtue .

A pure Mind thus established and firmly rooted in us , will never be discomposed nor shaken by ungovernable Passions , we shall feel the comforts of the Evangelical Doctrin ; our lives will shew the excellencies of it : Our Saviours example leads us into the practice of all manner of Virtue . May we all therefore endeavour to express our Affections to our Saviour , by living comformable to the most perfect Example of Virtue and Piety : for from his Example we fetch the most useful Instructions , how to submit to the hardest conditions of Life , to endure mildly the rigours of the worst State , to Pardon and bear the Affronts of Enemies ; in the various Turns of the World always to practise Righteousness and Mercy , Meekness and Long-suffering : To implore Gods help by acknowledging our Obligations to Him for all , that we have , and do enjoy ; to moderate our appetites and desires in reference to the pleasures of this World , and to use them according to Reason and Nature ; to be True and Faithful , Just and Righteous in all our Actions ; to be kind and merciful , ready to do good to all , and to relieve them , that are in want ; to be satisfied in every condition , whether it be high or low ; to be meek and gentle , because the Meek Man , hath always the Government of his Mind and is never disturbed by Passion ; to be tender Hearted and Pityful , because cruelty and oppression are an offence to God and a provocation to Men ; to resign our selves up to the direction of God's Providence , that Governs the World , leaving all issues and future Successes , to the Wise Determination of the Divine Will : To hold to the Practice of Truth , because a Man's Heart will never misgive him in her ways ; not to dissemble , but to deal openly with Mankind , because this behaviour will make our passage easie through the World ; we shall have none to oppose , none to do us harm ; to be humble and sober in the judgment we make of our selves , because Self-confidence and Self-Conceit render Men Fools ; to be Peace makers and compose Differences ; to endure Wrongs patiently , to forbear Revenge , and to love our Enemies , because God does so in Nature , while he causes the Sun to rise upon Good and Bad ; to pass charitable Judgments upon others , because this is the way to make an Enemy a Friend ; to give real demonstrations of our Integrity and Goodness by the fruits of it , because Men disparage Religion who profess it , and do not guide their Actions according to its Doctrines ; to submit our Senses , and inferiour Affections to the Dictates of sober Reason and true Understanding , because Mind and Understanding is appointed by God to be his subordinate Governor in human Life ; to be modest and chast in our Conversation , because Modesty secures the Mind from Pride , and Chastity preserves the Body from the worst Indispositions .

THUS Christ Jesus hath shewn us an Example of all Moral Vertues ; and an Example in some respect hath an Advantage above a Rule , for it shews in what way the Ro●e is practicable ; and it is a Reproach to any Man not to be able to do or suffer , what others have done before him . Seeing then God hath taken such care that we should know our Duty , and hath made those things Instances of our Obedience , which are the natural means and causes of our Happiness , we are altogether without excuse if we do it not ; and we incur the heavy Sentence pronounced by our Savior , this is the Condemnation , that Light is come into the World , and Men love darkness rather than Light ; for whover does any thing that is evil , acts against the Convictions of his own Mind , and the Light that shines in his own Soul : besides , What Advantage is it that Wickedness brings to Men ? Name me that Vice which improves our Reason , or makes us e'er a whit the wiser ; that tends to the Peace and Satisfaction of our Minds , or to our Health and Credit amongst considerate Persons .

IF then it be Vertue that points out to us the most compendious and ready way to Happiness , we may see where our true Interest lies : let us not suffer our selves to be cheated of it by the little Arts of Vice , or the Insinuations of a Temptation ; than which there can be nothing more to our prejudice , even as to our temporal Concerns ; for every known and deliberate Sin that a Man commits , is a flaw in his Title to his Estate , not in respect of Men , but of God , who is the great Governor of the World , the wise Disposer of the Fortunes of Mankind .

Moral Vertue is the foundation of all revealed Religion . AND the Scripture doth every where speak of Moral Vertue , as the Foundation of all revealed and instituted Religion ; therefore our Savior , when he was asked , which was the first and great Commandment of the Law , answers , Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart , and thy Neighbour as thy self : A Jew would have thought that he would have pitch'd upon some of those things which were in so great esteem among them , Sacrifices , Circumcision , or the Sabbath . But he overlooks all these , and instances in the two principal Duties of Morality , the Love of God , and of our Neighbour : and these Moral Duties are those which he calls the Law and the Prophets , and which he came not to destroy , but to fulfil : for the Judicial and Ceremonial Law of the Jews was to pass away , and did so not long after , but this Law of Moral Duty was to be perpetual and immutable . And the keeping of this Law consisted in the Observation of such things , which the Scribes and Pharisees did most of all neglect ; therefore he tells us , that unless our Righteousness did exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees , we could not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven . Now these Men were the most punctual People in the World for observing the Jewish and Ceremonial Law : and whereas they were obliged to pay Tithes of their more considerable things , they would do it even of Mint , Anise , and Cummin . But then they were defective in Moral Duty ; they were unnatural to their Parents in denying them Relief , because their Estates , as they pretended , were dedicated to an holy Use : they were unjust , and under a shew of long Prayers devoured Widows Houses ; in a Word , as our Saviour tells 'em , they neglected both Mercy and Judgment , which are the weightier things of the Law , which whosoever neglects , he can never please God with any instituted or positive part of Religion ; and throughout the Old Testament , nothing is declared more abominable to him than Sacrifices , as long as Men allowed themselves in wicked Practices . And in the New Testament , the Christian Religion chiefly designs to teach Mankind Righteousness , Godliness , and Sobriety : and for this end was the glorious Appearance of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ , who gave himself for us , that he might redeem us from all Iniquity , and purifie to himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works ; and to deal honestly with every Man , to speak Truth to our Neighbour , and to have our Conversation void of Offence , is called the Image of God and the new Creature ; and the Apostle advanceth Charity above the greatest Excellencies of Knowledge and of Faith ; and in the description of the Day of Judgment Men are represented by our Saviour , as call'd to an account , both as to the Practice and Neglect of Moral Duties ; and no others are instanced in , to shew , what Place he intended they should have in his Religion .

Therefore from all that hath been said upon this Subject , we may infer ,

Positive Institutions must give way to Moral Virtue . First , THAT all Positive Institutions must give way to Moral Duties ; because God hath declared , that He would rather have Mercy than Sacrifice , and whosoever violates any Natural Law , he undermines the very Foundation of Religion ; which hath very little in it , that is positive , besides the two Sacraments , and going to God in the Name of Jesus Christ : for this the greatest and most perfect Revelation , that ever God made to Mankind , doth afford us the best helps and advantages for the performing of Moral Duty , and produces the strongest Arguments to engage us thereunto .

Secondly , GOD hath discovered our Duty to us in such ways , as may encourage us to the practice of it ; for we are prompted to it by a kind of natural Instinct ; we are led to the knowledge of it by Reason , by the general vote of Mankind , and by the most powerful and prevailing Passions of Human Nature , Hope , Fear , and Shame : And to take away all excuse of ignorance from us , by an express Revelation from himself : so that whenever we omit our Duty , or do any thing contrary to it , we offend against all these , and incur the heavy sentence pronounced by our Saviour , that Light is come into the World , and men love darkness rather than Light ; for he that doth evil , acts against the Convictions of his own Mind , and the Light that shines in his own Soul .

Thirdly , PIETY towards God , Righteousness , Justice , and Charity towards Men , are more pleasing to God and more valuable , that if we should offer to him all the Beasts of the Forest , or the Cattle upon a thousand Hills ; for to the strict observance of these Duties we are directed and obliged by our very Nature , and the most Sacred Law , which God hath written upon our Hearts ; and that we might have no pretence to take us off from them , God hath freed us in the Gospel from those many Observances , and burdensom Ceremonies , wherewith the Religion of the Jews was incumbred , that we might better mind Moral Duties , and live in the practice of them .

Fourthly , WE see in the last place , what is the best way to appease the wrath of God , and to reconcile our selves to him ; God seems oftentimes to have a Controversie with us , as with his People of old ; and at such times we are apt to ask , as they did , wherewith shall we come before the Lord , and bow our selves before the most high God! And we are apt to think , as they did , that the next way to please him is by external Worship and Devotion , which may be good and necessary ; but these are not the things that God doth mainly require of us : it is true , Prayers , hearing the Word of God , and receiving the Sacraments are to be performed ; but these are but means to a further End , and serve to engage us to the practice of the great and essential Duties of Christianity , and to promote the Virtues of a good Life : There doth appear in many Men a great deal of external Devotion , but their Lives and Manners are generally very corrupt , and the weighty things of the Law are neglected , as Justice , Righteousness , and Mercy ; so that we may take up the complaint of the Royal Psalmist , help Lord , for the Righteous man ceaseth , and the faithful fail ; and till we return to our antient Virtue and Integrity of Life , we have reason to think and fear , that God will continue to have a Controversie with us , notwithstanding all our Zeal and Noise about his Religion ; which must prevail with us to do Justly , to love Mercy , and to walk humbly with our God ; otherwise it will seem to have less power and efficacy , than Natural Agents have : But if we are truly religious , there is an imperceptible spring , that guides all our Motions in the Path of Virtue ; for we cannot see , at what passage the good Thought entred , neither can we perceive how the good Spirit infuses a Pious desire . Thus it is in Nature , we see the Sun shine , and can feel his warmth , but we discern not how he enters into the Bowels of the Earth ; how his little Atoms steal into the secret Pores of Plants ; how he impregnates Nature with new Life ; nay we feel not , how our own Spirits move , how they start and flie , as quick , as we think , from one end of our Nerves to the other , so undiscernable , and so puissant is the working of God's Grace in the change of our Minds into an heavenly Temper , in imprinting upon our Souls the fair and lovely Notions of Goodness and Truth ; in laying in our Minds the Seeds of a blessed Immortality , whereby the Soul will be gradually exalted to the utmost Perfection in all the Parts and Faculties thereof : By Grace and Virtue the Mind is sitted for an everlasting State of Happiness . that is , the Understanding will be raised to the utmost Capacity , and that Capacity completely filled : the Will will be perfected with absolute and indefective Holiness , with exact Conformity to the Will of God , and perfect liberty from all servitude of Sin ; it shall be troubled with no doubtful choice , but with its radical and fundamental Freedom , shall fully imbrace the greatest good . The Affections shall be all set right by an unalterable Regulation , and in that regularity , shall receive absolute satisfaction : To this internal Perfection will be added a condition proportionably Happy , consisting in an entire freedom from all Pain , Misery , Labour and Want , an impossibility of sinning and offending God ; an Hereditary Possession of all good , with an unspeakable complacency and joy slowing from it .