An
Idea
of
Happiness
,
&c.
SIR
,
THO
you
have
been
pleas'd
to
assign
me
the
Task
of
an
Angel
,
and
in
that
Respect
have
warranted
me
to
disobey
you
;
yet
since
,
a
considerable
part
of
that
experimental
Knowledge
which
I
have
of
Happiness
is
owing
to
the
Delight
which
I
take
in
your
vertuous
and
endearing
Friendship
,
I
think
't
is
but
reasonable
I
should
endeavour
to
give
you
an
Idea
of
that
,
whereof
you
have
given
me
the
Possession
.
You
desire
to
know
of
me
wherein
the
greatest
Happiness
attainable
by
man
in
this
Life
does
consist
.
And
here
,
tho
I
see
my self
engaged
in
a
work
already
too
difficult
for
me
,
yet
I
find
it
necessary
to
enlarge
it
:
For
,
since
the
greatest
Happiness
,
or
Summum
Bonum
of
this
Life
is
a
Species
of
Happiness
in
general
,
and
since
it
is
call'd
(
Greatest
)
not
because
absolutely
perfect
and
compleat
;
but
inasmuch
as
it
comes
nearest
to
that
which
indeed
is
so
,
it
will
be
necessary
first
to
state
the
Notion
of
Happiness
in
General
,
and
then
to
define
wherein
that
Happiness
does
consist
which
is
perfect
and
compleat
,
before
I
can
proceed
to
a
Resolution
of
your
Question
.
By
Happiness
,
in
the
most
general
Sense
of
the
word
,
I
understand
nothing
else
but
an
Enjoyment
of
any
Good
.
The
least
Degree
of
Good
has
the
same
Proportion
to
the
least
Degree
of
Happiness
as
the
greatest
has
to
the
greatest
,
and
consequently
as
many
ways
as
a
man
enjoys
any
Good
,
so
many
ways
he
may
be
said
to
be
happy
:
neither
will
the
Mixture
of
Evil
make
him
forfeit
his
Right
to
this
Title
,
unless
it
either
equals
the
Good
he
enjoys
,
or
exceeds
it
:
And
then
indeed
it
does
;
but
the
Reason
is
,
because
in
strictness
of
Speaking
,
upon
the
whole
Account
the
man
enjoys
no
Good
at
all
:
For
if
the
Good
and
the
Evil
be
equal-balanc'd
,
it
must
needs
be
indifferent
to
that
man
either
to
be
or
not
to
be
,
there
being
not
the
least
Grain
of
good
to
determine
his
Choice
:
So
that
he
can
no
more
be
said
to
be
happy
in
that
Condition
,
than
he
could
before
he
was
born
.
And
much
less
,
if
the
Evil
exceeds
the
Good
:
For
then
he
is
not
only
not
happy
,
but
absolutely
and
purely
miserable
:
For
after
an
exact
Commensuration
supposed
between
the
Good
and
the
Evil
,
all
that
remains
over
of
the
Evil
is
pure
and
simple
Misery
;
which
is
the
Case
of
the
Damn'd
:
And
when
't
is
once
come
to
this
(
whatever
some
Mens
Metaphysicks
may
perswade
them
)
I
am
very
well
satisfied
,
that
't
is
better
not
to
be
than
to
be
.
But
now
on
the
other
side
,
if
the
Good
does
never
so
little
out-weigh
the
Evil
,
that
Overplus
of
Good
is
as
pure
and
unallay'd
in
its
Proportion
,
as
if
there
were
no
such
Mixture
at
all
;
and
consequently
the
Possession
of
it
may
properly
be
call'd
Happiness
.
I
know
the
Masters
of
Moral
Philosophy
do
not
treat
of
Happiness
in
this
Latitude
;
neither
is
it
fit
they
should
:
For
their
Business
being
to
point
out
the
ultimate
End
of
Humane
Actions
,
it
would
be
an
impertinent
thing
for
them
to
give
any
other
Idea
of
Happiness
than
the
highest
:
But
however
this
does
not
hinder
but
that
the
General
Idea
of
Happiness
may
be
extended
farther
,
even
to
the
Fruition
of
any
Good
whatsoever
:
Neither
is
there
any
reason
to
find
Fault
with
the
Latitude
of
this
Notion
,
since
we
acknowledge
Degrees
even
in
Glory
.
In
this
General
Idea
of
Happiness
two
things
are
contain'd
.
One
is
,
some
Good
,
either
real
of
apparent
,
in
the
Fruition
of
which
we
are
said
to
be
in
some
measure
or
other
happy
.
The
other
is
the
very
Fruition
it self
.
The
first
of
these
is
usually
called
Objective
Happiness
,
and
the
latter
Formal
.
Some
I
know
divide
Happiness
into
these
as
distinct
Species
;
but
I
think
not
so
artificially
:
For
they
are
both
but
constituent
Parts
,
which
joyntly
make
up
one
and
the
same
Happiness
:
Neither
of
them
are
sufficient
alone
,
but
they
are
both
equally
necessary
.
That
the
last
of
these
is
a
necessary
Ingredient
,
I
think
no
doubt
can
reasonably
be
made
:
For
what
would
the
greatest
Good
imaginable
signifie
without
Fruition
?
And
that
the
former
is
likewise
necessary
is
no
less
certain
:
For
how
can
there
be
such
a
thing
as
Fruition
without
an
Object
?
I
grant
't
is
not
at
all
necessary
that
the
Object
be
a
real
substantial
Good
;
if
it
appear
so
,
't
is
sufficient
.
From
this
Distinction
of
real
and
apparent
Good
,
some
have
taken
occasion
to
distinguish
of
Happiness
likewise
into
two
sorts
,
real
and
imaginary
:
But
I
believe
,
upon
a
more
narrow
Scrutiny
into
the
matter
,
't
will
be
found
,
that
all
Happiness
,
according
to
its
Proportion
,
is
equally
real
;
and
that
that
which
they
term
Imaginary
,
too
w●●●
deserves
the
Name
,
there
being
no
such
thing
in
Nature
:
For
let
the
Object
of
it
be
never
so
Phantastick
,
yet
it
must
still
carry
the
Semblance
and
Appearance
of
Good
(
otherwise
it
can
neither
move
the
Appetite
nor
please
it
,
and
consequently
be
neither
an
Object
of
Desire
nor
of
Fruition
;
)
and
if
so
,
the
Happiness
must
needs
be
real
,
because
the
Formality
of
the
Object
,
thō
't
were
never
so
true
and
real
good
,
would
notwithstanding
lie
in
the
Appearance
,
not
in
the
Reality
:
Whether
it
be
real
or
no
is
purely
accidental
:
For
,
since
to
be
happy
can
be
nothing
else
but
to
enjoy
something
which
I
desire
,
the
Object
of
my
Happiness
must
needs
be
enjoy'd
under
the
same
Formality
as
't
is
desired
.
Now
since
't
is
desired
only
as
apparently
good
,
it
must
needs
please
me
when
obtained
under
the
same
Notion
.
So
that
it
matters
not
to
the
Reality
of
my
Happiness
,
whether
the
Object
of
it
be
really
good
,
or
only
apprehended
so
,
since
if
it
were
never
so
real
,
it
pleases
only
as
apparent
.
The
Fool
has
his
Paradice
as
well
as
the
Wise-man
,
and
for
the
time
is
as
happy
in
it
;
and
a
kind
Delusion
will
make
a
Cloud
as
pleasing
as
the
Queen
of
Heaven
.
And
therefore
I
think
it
impossible
for
a
man
to
think
himself
happy
,
and
(
during
that
Perswasion
)
not
really
to
be
so
.
He
enjoys
the
Creature
of
his
own
Fancy
,
worships
the
Idol
of
his
Imagination
,
and
the
happiest
man
upon
Earth
does
no
more
:
For
let
the
Circumstances
of
his
Life
be
what
they
will
,
't
is
his
Opinion
only
that
must
give
the
Relish
.
Without
this
,
Heaven
it self
would
afford
him
no
Content
,
nor
the
Vision
of
God
prove
Beatific
.
't
is
true
,
the
man
is
seated
at
the
Spring-Head
of
Happiness
,
is
surrounded
with
excellent
Objects
;
but
alas
,
it
appears
not
so
to
him
;
he
is
not
at
all
affected
with
his
Condition
,
but
,
like
Adam
,
lies
fast
in
a
dead
Sleep
in
the
midst
of
Paradice
.
The
Sum
of
this
Argument
is
this
;
Good
is
in
the
same
manner
the
Object
of
Fruition
,
as
't
is
of
Desire
;
and
that
is
not
as
really
good
in
its
own
Nature
,
but
as
't
is
judged
so
by
the
Understanding
:
And
consequently
,
tho
it
be
only
apparent
,
it
must
needs
be
as
effectual
to
gratifie
the
Appetite
as
it
was
at
first
to
excite
it
during
that
Appearance
.
So
long
as
it
keeps
on
its
Vizor
and
imposes
upon
the
Understanding
,
what
is
wanting
in
the
thing
,
is
made
up
by
an
obliging
Imposture
,
and
Ignorance
becomes
here
the
Mother
of
Happiness
as
well
as
of
Devotion
:
But
if
the
man
will
dare
to
be
wise
,
and
too
curiously
examine
the
superficial
Tinsel-Good
,
he
undeceives
himself
to
his
own
Cost
,
and
,
like
Adam
,
adventuring
to
eat
of
the
Tree
of
Knowledge
,
sees
himself
naked
,
and
is
ashamed
.
And
for
this
reason
I
think
it
impossible
for
any
man
to
love
to
be
flatter'd
:
't
is
true
,
he
may
delight
to
hear
himself
commended
by
those
who
indeed
do
flatter
him
;
but
the
true
reason
of
that
is
,
because
he
does
not
apprehend
that
to
be
Flattery
which
indeed
is
so
;
but
when
he
once
throughly
knows
it
,
't
is
impossible
he
should
be
any
longer
delighted
with
it
.
I
shall
conclude
this
Point
with
this
useful
Reflection
,
That
since
every
Man's
Happiness
depends
wholly
upon
his
own
Opinion
,
the
Foundation
upon
which
all
envious
Men
proceed
,
must
needs
be
either
false
or
very
uncertain
.
False
,
if
they
think
that
outward
Circumstances
and
States
of
Life
are
all
the
Ingredients
of
Happiness
;
but
uncertain
however
:
For
since
they
measure
the
Happiness
of
other
Men
by
their
own
Opinion
,
't
is
mere
Chance
if
they
do
not
misplace
their
Envy
,
unless
they
were
sure
the
other
Person
was
of
the
like
Opinion
with
themselves
.
And
now
what
a
vain
irrational
thing
is
it
to
disquiet
our selves
into
a
dislike
of
our
own
Condition
,
merely
because
we
mistake
another
Man's
?
Thus
far
of
the
Notion
of
Happiness
in
General
;
I
now
proceed
to
consider
that
Happiness
which
is
{αβγδ}
(
as
Plato
speaks
)
sound
and
entire
,
perfect
and
compleat
.
Concerning
the
general
Notion
of
which
,
all
men
,
I
suppose
,
are
as
much
agreed
as
they
are
in
the
Idea
of
a
Priangle
.
That
't
is
such
a
State
than
which
a
better
cannot
be
conceiv'd
:
In
which
there
is
no
Evil
you
can
fear
,
no
Good
which
you
desire
and
have
not
;
That
which
fully
and
constantly
satisfies
the
Demand
of
every
Appetite
,
and
leaves
no
possibility
for
a
desire
of
Change
;
or
to
summ
it
up
in
that
comprehensive
Expression
of
the
Poet
,
Quod
sis
esse
velis
,
nihilque
malis
.
When
you
would
always
be
what
you
are
,
and
(
as
the
Earl
of
Roscommond
very
significantly
renders
it
)
do
Rather
nothing
.
This
I
suppose
is
the
utmost
that
can
be
said
or
conceiv'd
of
it
,
and
less
than
this
will
not
be
enough
.
And
thus
far
we
are
all
agreed
.
For
I
suppose
,
the
many
various
Disputes
maintained
by
Philosophers
concerning
Happiness
,
could
not
respect
this
general
Notion
of
it
,
but
only
the
particular
causes
or
means
whereby
it
might
be
acquired
.
And
I
find
Tully
concurring
with
me
in
the
same
Observation
,
Lib
.
3.
de
Fin.
Ea
est
beata
vita
(
says
he
)
quaerimus
autem
non
quae
fit
,
sed
unde
.
The
difficulty
is
not
to
frame
a
conception
of
a
perfectly
happy
State
in
the
general
,
but
to
define
in
particular
wherein
it
consists
.
But
before
I
undertake
this
Province
,
I
think
it
might
not
be
amiss
to
remove
one
Prejudice
,
which
,
because
it
has
gain'd
upon
my self
sometimes
in
my
Melancholy
Retirements
,
I
am
apt
to
think
it
may
be
incident
to
other
men
also
.
It
is
this
,
Whether
after
so
many
Desputes
about
,
so
many
restless
endeavours
after
this
state
of
perfect
Happiness
,
there
be
any
such
thing
or
no
.
Whether
it
be
not
a
meer
Idea
,
as
imaginary
as
Plato's
Common-wealth
,
as
fictious
as
the
Groves
of
Elysium
.
I
confess
,
this
suspicion
has
oftentimes
overcast
my
mind
with
black
thoughts
,
damp'd
my
Devotion
,
and
as
it
were
,
clipp'd
the
Wings
of
my
Aspiring
Soul
.
And
I
happened
to
fall
into
it
upon
a
serious
reflection
on
the
nature
of
Fruition
in
the
several
Periods
and
Circumstances
of
my
Life
.
For
I
observ'd
according
to
my
Narrow
experience
,
that
I
never
had
in
all
my
Life
the
same
thoughts
of
any
good
in
the
very
time
of
the
enjoying
it
as
I
had
before
.
I
have
known
when
I
have
promised
my self
vast
Satisfactions
,
and
my
imagination
has
presented
me
at
a
distance
with
a
fair
Landscape
of
Delights
,
yet
when
I
drew
nigh
to
grasp
the
alluring
Happiness
,
like
the
Sensitive
Plant
it
contracted
it self
at
the
touch
,
and
shrink'd
almost
to
nothing
in
the
Fruition
.
And
though
after
the
Enjoyment
is
past
,
it
seems
great
again
upon
Reflection
as
it
did
before
in
Expectation
,
yet
should
a
Platonical
Revolution
make
the
same
Circumstances
recur
,
I
should
not
think
so
.
I
found
't
was
ever
with
me
as
with
the
Traveller
,
to
whom
the
Ground
which
is
before
him
,
and
that
which
he
has
left
behind
him
seems
always
more
curiously
embroider'd
and
delightsome
,
than
that
which
he
stands
upon
.
So
that
my
Happiness
,
like
the
time
wherein
I
thought
to
enjoy
it
,
was
always
either
past
or
to
come
,
never
present
.
Methought
I
could
often
say
upon
a
Recollection
,
How
happy
was
I
at
such
a
time
!
Or
when
I
was
in
expectation
.
How
happy
shall
I
be
if
I
compass
such
a
design
!
But
scarce
ever
,
I
am
so
.
I
was
pretty
well
pleas'd
methought
while
I
expected
,
while
I
hoped
,
till
Fruition
jogg'd
me
out
of
my
pleasing
slumber
and
I
knew
it
was
but
a
Dream
.
And
this
single
Consideration
has
often
made
me
even
in
the
very
pursuit
after
Happiness
,
and
full
career
of
my
Passions
,
to
stop
short
on
this
side
of
Fruition
,
and
to
choose
rather
with
Moses
upon
Mount
Nebo
to
entertain
my
fancy
with
a
remote
Prospect
of
the
Happy
Land
,
than
to
go
in
and
Possess
it
,
and
then
Repine
.
How
then
shall
Man
be
happy
,
when
setting
aside
all
the
Crosses
of
Fortune
,
he
will
complain
even
of
Success
,
and
Fruition
it self
shall
disappoint
him
!
And
this
melancholy
reflection
bred
in
me
a
kind
of
Suspicion
,
that
for
all
that
I
knew
it
might
be
so
in
Heaven
too
.
That
although
at
this
distance
I
might
frame
to
my self
bright
Ideas
of
that
Region
of
Bliss
;
yet
when
I
came
to
the
Possession
of
it
,
I
should
not
find
that
perfect
Happiness
there
which
I
expected
,
but
that
it
would
be
always
to
come
as
't
is
now
,
and
that
I
should
seek
for
Heaven
even
in
Heaven
it self
.
That
I
should
not
fully
acquiesce
in
my
condition
there
,
but
at
length
desire
a
Change
.
And
that
which
confirm'd
me
the
more
in
this
unhappy
Scepticism
,
was
,
because
I
consider'd
that
a
great
number
of
excellent
Beings
who
enjoyed
the
very
Quintessence
of
Bliss
,
who
were
as
happy
as
God
and
Heaven
could
make
them
,
grew
soon
uneasy
and
weary
of
their
State
and
left
their
own
Habitation
.
Which
argues
that
their
Happiness
was
not
perfect
and
compleat
,
because
otherwise
they
would
not
have
desired
a
Change
,
since
that
very
desire
is
an
Imperfection
.
And
if
Happiness
be
not
compleat
in
Heaven
,
sure
't
is
impossible
to
be
found
any
where
else
.
Before
therefore
I
proceed
to
define
wherein
perfect
Happiness
does
consist
,
I
think
it
necessary
to
endeavour
the
removal
of
this
Scruple
,
which
,
like
the
flaming
Sword
,
forbids
entrance
into
Paradice
.
In
order
to
which
,
I
shall
inquire
into
the
true
Reason
why
these
Sublunary
good
things
when
enjoyed
do
neither
answer
our
expectations
,
nor
satisfy
our
Appetites
.
Now
this
must
proceed
either
from
the
nature
of
Fruition
it self
,
or
from
the
Imperfection
of
it
,
or
from
the
Object
of
it
,
or
from
our selves
.
I
confess
,
did
this
defect
proceed
from
the
very
nature
of
Fruition
(
as
is
supposed
in
the
Objection
)
't
is
impossible
there
should
be
any
such
thing
as
perfect
Happiness
,
since
't
would
faint
away
while
enjoy'd
,
and
expire
in
our
embraces
.
But
that
it
cannot
proceed
thence
,
I
have
this
to
offer
,
Because
Fruition
being
nothing
else
but
an
Application
or
Union
of
the
Soul
to
some
good
or
agreeable
Object
,
it
is
impossible
that
should
lessen
the
good
enjoyed
.
Indeed
it
may
lessen
our
estimation
of
it
,
but
that
is
because
we
do
not
rightly
consider
the
nature
of
things
,
but
promise
our
selves
infinite
Satisfactions
in
the
enjoyment
of
finite
Objects
.
We
look
upon
things
through
a
false
Glass
,
which
Magnifies
the
Object
at
a
distance
much
beyond
its
just
Dimensions
.
We
represent
our
future
enjoyments
to
our selves
in
such
savourable
and
partial
Ideas
which
abstract
from
all
the
inconveniencies
and
allays
which
will
really
in
the
Event
accompany
them
.
And
if
we
thus
over-rate
our
Felicities
before-hand
,
't
is
no
wonder
if
they
baulk
our
Expectations
in
the
Fruition
.
But
then
it
must
be
observed
,
that
the
Fruition
does
not
cause
this
Deficiency
in
the
Object
,
but
only
discover
it
.
We
have
a
better
insight
into
the
Nature
of
things
near
at
hand
,
than
when
we
stood
afar
off
,
and
consequently
discern
those
defects
and
imperfections
,
which
,
like
the
qualities
of
an
ill
Mistriss
,
lay
hid
all
the
time
of
Courtship
,
and
now
begin
to
betray
themselves
,
when
't
is
come
to
enjoyment
.
But
this
can
never
happen
but
where
the
Object
is
finite
.
An
infinite
Object
can
never
be
over-valued
and
consequently
cannot
frustrate
our
Expectations
.
And
as
we
are
not
to
charge
Fruition
with
our
disappointments
but
our selves
(
because
we
are
accessory
to
our
own
delusion
by
taking
false
measures
of
things
)
so
neither
is
the
Unsatisfactoriness
of
any
condition
to
be
imputed
to
the
Nature
of
Fruition
it self
,
but
either
to
the
imperfection
of
it
or
to
the
finiteness
of
the
Object
.
Let
the
Object
be
never
so
perfect
,
yet
if
the
Fruition
of
it
be
in
an
imperfect
measure
there
will
still
be
room
for
Unsatisfactoriness
,
as
it
appears
in
our
enjoyment
of
God
in
this
Life
.
Neither
can
a
finite
Object
fully
satisfy
us
though
we
enjoy
it
never
so
thoroughly
.
For
since
to
a
full
satisfaction
and
acquiescence
of
Mind
't
is
required
that
our
Faculties
be
always
entertained
and
we
ever
enjoying
:
it
is
impossible
a
finite
Object
should
afford
this
Satisfaction
,
because
all
the
good
that
is
in
it
(
being
finite
)
is
at
length
run
over
,
and
then
the
enjoyment
is
at
an
end
,
The
flower
is
suck'd
dry
,
and
we
necessarily
desire
a
Change
.
Whenever
therefore
our
enjoyment
proves
unsatisfying
,
we
may
conclude
,
that
either
the
Object
is
finite
,
or
the
Fruition
imperfect
.
But
then
how
came
the
Angels
to
be
dissatisfy'd
with
their
Condition
in
the
Regions
of
light
and
immortality
,
when
they
drank
freely
of
the
Fountain
of
Life
proceeding
out
of
the
Throne
of
God
,
Revel
.
26.
with
whom
is
fulness
of
Joy
,
and
at
whose
Right
hand
are
Pleasures
for
evermore
.
Here
certainly
there
is
no
room
either
for
the
finiteness
of
the
Object
,
or
the
imperfection
of
Fruition
.
And
therefore
their
dissatisfaction
can
be
imputed
to
no
other
Cause
,
than
the
Nature
of
Fruition
in
general
,
which
is
to
lessen
the
good
enjoyed
,
as
was
supposed
in
the
Objection
.
This
I
confess
presses
hard
,
and
indeed
,
I
have
but
one
way
to
extricate
my self
from
this
difficulty
,
and
that
is
by
supposing
a
State
of
Probation
in
the
Angels
.
That
they
did
not
immediately
upon
their
Creation
enjoy
an
infinite
Object
,
or
if
they
did
,
yet
that
't
was
in
an
imperfect
measure
.
For
should
it
be
granted
that
they
were
at
first
confirmed
in
Bliss
and
compleatly
happy
both
in
respect
of
Fruition
and
Object
,
as
we
suppose
they
are
now
,
I
cannot
conceive
it
possible
they
should
be
dissatisfy'd
with
their
Condition
.
This
being
repugnant
to
the
Idea
of
Perfect
Happiness
.
Since
then
this
dissatisfaction
must
be
derived
either
from
the
imperfection
of
the
Fruition
,
or
the
finiteness
of
the
Object
,
and
not
from
the
Nature
of
Fruition
in
the
general
,
to
infer
the
possibility
of
perfect
Happiness
,
there
needs
no
more
to
be
supposed
than
the
existence
of
a
Being
full
fraught
with
infinite
inexhaustable
good
,
and
that
he
is
able
to
Communicate
to
the
full
.
There
may
be
then
such
a
thing
as
Perfect
Happiness
.
The
possibility
of
which
may
also
be
further
proved
(
tho
not
explicated
)
from
those
boundless
Desires
,
that
immortal
Thirst
every
man
has
after
it
by
Nature
:
Concerning
which
I
observe
,
that
nothing
does
more
constantly
,
more
inseparably
cleave
to
our
Minds
than
this
Desire
of
perfect
and
consummated
Happiness
:
This
,
as
Plato
pathetically
expresses
it
,
is
,
{αβγδ}
,
the
most
excellent
end
of
all
our
Endeavours
,
the
great
Prize
,
the
great
Hope
.
This
is
the
Mark
every
Man
shoots
at
,
and
tho
we
miss
our
Aim
never
so
often
,
yet
we
will
not
,
cannot
give
over
;
but
,
like
passionate
Lovers
,
take
Resolution
from
a
Repulse
.
The
rest
of
our
Passions
are
much
at
our
own
Disposal
;
yield
either
to
Reason
or
Time
;
we
either
Argue
our selves
out
of
them
,
or
at
least
out-live
them
.
We
are
not
always
in
Love
with
Pomp
and
Grandeur
,
nor
always
dazzled
with
the
glittering
of
Riches
;
and
there
is
a
Season
when
Pleasure
it self
shall
Court
in
vain
:
But
the
desire
of
perfect
Happiness
has
no
Intervals
,
no
Vicissitudes
,
it
out-lasts
the
Motion
of
the
Pulse
,
and
survives
the
Ruins
of
the
Grave
.
Many
Waters
cannot
quench
it
,
neither
can
the
Floods
Drown
it
:
And
now
certainly
God
would
never
have
planted
such
an
Ardent
,
such
an
importunate
Appetite
in
our
Souls
,
and
as
it
were
interwoven
it
with
our
very
Natures
,
had
he
not
been
able
to
satisfie
it
.
I
come
now
to
shew
wherein
this
perfect
Happiness
does
consist
,
concerning
which
,
I
affirm
in
the
first
place
,
that
it
is
not
to
be
found
in
any
thing
we
can
enjoy
in
this
Life
.
The
greatest
Fruition
we
have
of
God
here
,
is
imperfect
,
and
consequently
unsatisfactory
.
And
as
for
all
other
Objects
they
are
finite
,
and
consequently
,
though
never
so
fully
enjoy'd
,
cannot
afford
us
perfect
Satisfaction
.
No
;
Job
28.
Man
knoweth
not
the
price
thereof
:
Neither
is
it
to
be
found
in
the
Land
of
the
Living
.
The
Depth
saith
,
it
is
not
in
me
,
and
the
Sea
saith
,
it
is
not
in
me
.
The
Vanity
of
the
Creature
has
been
so
copiously
discoursed
upon
,
both
by
Philosophers
and
Divines
,
and
is
withall
so
obvious
to
every
thinking
man's
Experience
,
that
I
need
not
here
take
an
Inventory
of
the
Creation
,
nor
turn
Ecclesiastes
after
Solomon
.
And
besides
,
I
have
already
anticipated
this
Argument
in
what
I
have
said
concerning
Fruition
.
I
shall
only
add
one
or
two
Remarks
concerning
the
Objects
of
Secular
Happiness
,
which
are
not
so
commonly
insisted
upon
,
to
what
has
been
there
said
.
The
first
is
this
,
that
the
Objects
wherein
Men
generally
seek
for
Happiness
here
,
are
not
only
finite
in
their
Nature
,
but
also
few
in
number
.
Indeed
,
could
a
Man's
Life
be
so
contrived
,
that
he
should
have
a
new
Pleasure
still
ready
at
hand
assoon
as
he
was
grown
weary
of
the
Old
,
and
every
day
enjoy
a
Virgin
Delight
,
he
might
then
perhaps
like
Mr.
Hobbs
his
Notion
,
and
for
a
while
think
himself
happy
in
this
continued
Succession
of
new
Acquisitions
.
But
alas
,
Nature
does
not
treat
us
with
this
Variety
.
The
compass
of
our
enjoyments
is
much
shorter
than
that
of
our
Lives
,
and
there
is
a
Periodical
Circulation
of
our
Pleasures
as
well
as
of
our
Blood
.
—
Versamur
ibidem
atque
insumus
usque
.
Nec
nova
vivendo
procuditur
ulla
voluptas
.
Lucretius
.
The
Enjoyments
of
our
Lives
run
in
a
perpetual
Round
like
the
Months
in
the
Kalendar
,
but
with
a
quicker
Revolution
;
we
dance
like
Fairies
in
a
Circle
,
and
our
whole
Life
is
but
a
nauseous
Tautology
:
We
rise
like
the
Sun
,
and
run
the
same
Course
we
did
the
day
before
,
and
to
morrow
is
but
the
same
over
again
:
So
that
the
greatest
Favourite
of
Fortune
will
have
Reason
often
enough
to
cry
out
with
him
in
Seneca
,
Quosque
eadem
?
But
there
is
another
Grievance
which
contributes
to
defeat
our
Endeavours
after
perfect
Happiness
in
the
Enjoyments
of
this
Life
;
Which
is
,
that
the
Objects
wherein
we
seek
it
,
are
not
only
finite
and
few
;
but
that
they
commonly
prove
Occasions
of
greater
Sorrow
to
us
than
ever
they
afforded
us
Content
.
This
may
be
made
out
several
ways
,
as
from
the
Labour
of
Getting
,
the
Care
of
Keeping
,
the
fear
of
Losing
,
and
the
like
Topicks
,
commonly
insisted
on
by
others
;
but
I
wave
these
,
and
fix
upon
another
Account
less
blown
upon
,
and
I
think
more
material
than
any
of
the
rest
.
It
is
this
,
that
altho
the
Object
loses
that
great
appearance
in
the
Fruition
which
it
had
in
the
expectation
,
yet
after
it
is
gone
it
Resumes
it
again
.
Now
we
,
when
we
lament
the
loss
,
do
not
take
our
measures
from
that
appearance
which
the
Object
had
in
the
Enjoyment
(
as
we
should
do
to
make
our
sorrow
not
exceed
our
Happiness
)
but
from
that
which
it
has
in
the
reflection
,
and
consequently
we
must
needs
be
more
miserable
in
the
loss
then
we
were
happy
in
the
enjoyment
.
From
these
and
the
like
Considerations
,
I
think
it
will
evidently
appear
,
that
this
perfect
Happiness
is
not
to
be
found
in
any
thing
we
can
enjoy
in
this
Life
.
Wherein
then
does
it
consist
?
I
answer
positively
,
in
the
full
and
entire
Fruition
of
God
.
He
(
as
Plato
speaks
)
is
{αβγδ}
,
the
Proper
and
Principal
End
of
Man
,
the
Center
of
our
Tendency
,
the
Ark
of
our
Rest
.
He
is
the
Object
which
alone
can
satisfy
the
appetite
of
the
most
Capacious
Soul
,
and
stand
the
Test
of
Fruition
to
Eternity
.
And
to
enjoy
him
fully
is
perfect
Felicity
.
This
in
general
,
is
no
more
than
what
is
deliver'd
to
us
in
Scripture
,
and
was
believ'd
by
many
of
the
Heathen
Philosophers
.
But
the
manner
of
this
Fruition
requires
a
more
particular
Consideration
.
Much
is
said
by
the
Schoolmen
upon
this
Subject
,
whereof
,
in
the
first
place
,
I
shall
give
a
short
and
methodical
account
,
and
then
fix
upon
the
Opinion
which
I
best
approve
of
.
The
first
thing
that
I
observe
,
is
,
that
't
is
generally
agreed
upon
among
them
,
that
this
Fruition
of
God
consists
in
some
Operation
;
and
I
think
with
very
good
Reason
.
For
as
by
the
Objective
part
of
perfect
Happiness
we
understand
that
which
is
best
and
last
,
and
to
which
all
other
things
are
to
be
referr'd
;
So
by
the
Formal
part
of
it
must
be
understood
the
best
and
last
Habitude
of
Man
toward
that
best
Object
,
so
that
the
Happiness
may
both
ways
satisfy
the
Appetite
,
that
is
,
as
't
is
the
best
thing
,
and
as
't
is
the
Possession
,
Use
,
or
Fruition
of
that
best
thing
:
Now
this
habitude
whereby
the
best
thing
is
perfectly
possess'd
,
must
needs
be
some
Operation
,
because
Operation
is
the
ultimate
perfection
of
every
Being
.
Which
Axiom
(
as
Cajetan
well
observes
)
must
not
be
so
understood
as
if
Operation
taken
by
it self
were
more
perfect
than
the
thing
which
tends
to
it
,
but
that
every
thing
with
its
Operation
is
more
perfect
than
without
it
.
The
next
thing
which
I
observe
,
is
,
that
't
is
also
farther
agreed
upon
among
them
,
that
this
Operation
wherein
our
Fruition
of
God
does
consist
,
is
an
Operation
of
the
Intellectual
part
,
and
not
of
the
Sensitive
.
And
this
also
I
take
to
be
very
reasonable
.
First
,
because
't
is
generally
receiv'd
,
that
the
Essence
of
God
cannot
be
the
Object
of
any
of
our
Senses
.
But
Secondly
,
Suppose
it
could
,
yet
since
this
Operation
wherein
our
perfect
Happiness
does
consist
must
be
the
perfectest
Operation
,
and
since
that
of
the
Intellectual
part
is
more
perfect
than
that
of
the
Sensitive
,
it
follows
that
the
Operation
whereby
we
enjoy
God
must
be
that
of
the
Intellectual
part
only
.
But
now
whereas
the
Intellectual
part
of
man
(
as
't
is
opposed
to
the
Sensitive
)
is
double
,
viz.
That
of
the
Understanding
,
and
that
of
the
Will
,
there
has
commenced
a
great
Controversy
between
the
Thomists
and
the
Scotists
,
in
which
Act
or
Operation
of
the
Rational
Soul
the
Fruition
of
God
does
consist
,
whether
in
an
Act
of
the
Understanding
,
or
in
an
Act
of
the
Will
.
The
Thomists
will
have
it
consist
purely
in
an
Act
of
the
Understanding
,
which
is
Vision
.
The
Scotists
in
Act
of
the
Will
,
which
is
Love
.
I
intend
not
here
to
launch
out
into
those
Voluminous
Intricacies
and
Abstrusities
,
occasioned
by
the
management
of
this
Argument
:
It
may
suffice
to
tell
you
,
that
I
think
they
are
both
in
the
extream
,
and
therefore
I
shall
take
the
middle
way
and
resolve
the
perfect
Fruition
of
God
partly
into
Vision
and
partly
into
Love
.
These
are
the
two
arms
with
which
we
embrace
the
Divinity
,
and
unite
our
Souls
to
the
fair
one
and
the
good
.
These
I
conceive
are
both
so
essential
to
the
perfect
Fruition
of
God
,
that
the
Idea
of
it
can
by
no
means
be
maintained
if
either
of
them
be
wanting
.
For
,
since
God
is
both
Supream
Truth
and
infinite
Goodness
,
he
cannot
be
intirely
possess'd
but
by
the
most
clear
knowledge
and
the
most
ardent
love
.
And
besides
,
since
the
Soul
is
happy
by
her
Faculties
,
her
Happiness
must
consist
in
the
most
perfect
Operation
of
each
Faculty
.
For
if
Happiness
did
consist
formally
in
the
sole
Operation
of
the
Understanding
(
as
most
say
)
or
in
the
sole
Operation
of
the
Will
(
as
others
)
the
Man
would
not
be
compleatly
and
in
all
respects
Happy
.
For
how
is
it
possible
a
Man
should
be
perfectly
Happy
in
loving
the
greatest
good
if
he
did
not
know
it
,
or
in
knowing
it
if
he
did
not
love
it
?
And
moreover
,
these
two
Operations
do
so
mutually
tend
to
the
promotion
and
conservation
of
one
another
,
that
upon
this
depends
the
perpetuity
and
the
constancy
of
our
Happiness
.
For
while
the
Blessed
do
{αβγδ}
,
Face
to
Face
contemplate
the
Supream
Truth
and
the
infinite
Goodness
,
they
cannot
chuse
but
love
perpetually
;
and
while
they
perpetually
love
,
they
cannot
chuse
but
perpetualy
contemplate
.
And
in
this
mutual
reciprocation
of
the
Actions
of
the
Soul
consists
the
perpetuity
of
Heaven
,
the
Circle
of
Felicity
.
Besides
this
way
of
resolving
our
fruition
of
God
into
Vision
and
Love
,
there
is
a
Famous
Opinion
said
to
be
broacht
by
Henricus
Gandavensis
,
who
,
upon
a
Supposition
that
God
could
not
be
so
fully
enjoy'd
as
is
required
to
perfect
Happiness
,
only
by
the
Operations
or
Powers
of
the
Soul
,
fancied
a
certain
Illapse
whereby
the
Divine
Essence
did
fall
in
with
,
and
as
it
were
penetrate
the
Essence
of
the
Blessed
.
Which
Opinion
he
endeavours
to
illustrate
by
this
Similitude
.
That
as
a
piece
of
Iron
,
red
hot
by
reason
of
the
Illapse
of
the
fire
into
it
,
appears
all
over
like
fire
,
so
the
Souls
of
the
Blessed
by
this
Illapse
of
the
Divine
Essence
into
them
,
shall
be
all
over
Divine
.
I
think
he
has
scarce
any
followers
in
this
Opinion
,
but
I
am
sure
he
had
a
leader
.
For
this
is
no
more
than
what
Plato
taught
before
him
,
as
is
to
be
seen
in
his
Discourses
about
the
refusion
of
the
Souls
of
good
men
into
the
Anima
Mundi
,
which
is
the
self-same
in
other
terms
with
this
Opinion
.
And
the
Truth
of
what
I
affirm
may
farther
appear
from
an
expression
of
that
great
Platonist
Plotinus
,
(
viz.
)
that
the
Soul
will
then
be
Happy
when
it
shall
depart
hence
to
God
,
Enn.
6.
lib
.
9.
cap
.
10.
and
as
another
and
no
longer
her self
shall
become
wholely
his
,
{αβγδ}
,
having
joyn'd
her self
to
him
as
a
Center
to
a
Center
.
That
such
an
intimate
Conjunction
with
God
as
is
here
described
is
possible
,
seems
to
me
more
than
credible
from
the
Nature
of
the
Hypostatic
Union
,
but
whether
our
Fruition
of
God
after
this
Life
shall
consist
in
it
,
none
know
but
those
happy
Souls
who
enjoy
him
,
and
therefore
I
shall
determine
nothing
before
the
time
.
This
only
I
observe
,
that
should
our
Fruition
of
God
consist
in
such
an
Union
or
rather
Penetration
of
Essences
,
that
would
not
exclude
but
rather
infer
those
Operations
of
Vision
and
Love
as
necessary
to
Fruition
;
but
on
the
other
hand
,
there
seems
no
such
necessity
of
this
Union
to
the
Fruition
,
but
that
it
may
be
conceiv'd
intire
without
it
.
And
therefore
why
we
should
multiply
difficulties
without
cause
,
I
see
no
reason
.
For
my
part
I
should
think
my self
sufficiently
happy
in
the
clear
,
Vision
of
my
Maker
,
nor
should
I
desire
any
thing
beyond
the
Prayer
of
Moses
,
Exod
.
33.18
.
I
beseech
thee
shew
me
thy
Glory
.
For
what
an
infinite
Satisfaction
,
Happiness
,
and
Delight
must
it
needs
be
to
have
a
clear
and
intimate
perception
of
that
Primitive
and
Original
Beauty
,
Perfection
and
Harmony
,
whereof
all
that
appears
fair
and
excellent
either
to
our
Senses
or
Understandings
in
this
Life
is
but
a
faint
imitation
,
a
pale
Reflection
!
To
see
him
who
is
the
Fountain
of
all
Being
,
containing
in
himself
the
perfection
,
not
only
of
all
that
is
,
but
of
all
that
is
possible
to
be
,
the
Alpha
and
Omega
,
the
beginning
and
the
ending
,
the
first
and
the
last
,
which
is
,
and
which
was
,
Rev.
1.8
.
and
which
is
to
come
,
the
Almighty
!
To
see
him
of
whom
all
Nature
is
the
Image
,
of
whom
all
the
Harmony
both
of
the
visible
and
invisible
World
is
but
the
Eccho
!
To
see
him
,
who
(
as
Plato
divinely
and
magnificently
expresses
it
)
is
{αβγδ}
.
The
immense
Ocean
of
Beauty
,
which
is
it self
by
it self
,
with
it self
,
uniform
,
alwayes
existing
!
This
certainly
will
affect
the
Soul
with
all
the
pleasing
and
ravishing
Transports
of
Love
and
Desire
,
Joy
and
Delight
,
Wonder
and
Amazement
,
together
with
a
settled
Acquiescence
and
Complacency
of
Spirit
only
less
infinite
than
the
Loveliness
that
causes
it
,
and
the
peculiar
Complacency
of
him
who
rejoyces
in
his
own
fulness
,
and
the
Comprehensions
of
Eternity
.
We
see
how
strangely
our
Sense
of
Seeing
is
affected
with
the
Harmony
of
Colours
,
and
our
sence
of
Hearing
with
the
Harmony
of
Sounds
,
insomuch
that
some
have
been
too
weak
for
the
enjoyment
,
and
have
grown
mad
with
the
Sublimate
of
Pleasure
.
And
if
so
,
what
then
shall
we
think
of
the
Beatific
Vision
,
the
pleasure
of
which
will
so
far
transcend
that
of
the
other
,
as
God
who
is
all
over
Harmony
and
Proportion
exceeds
the
sweetest
Melody
of
Sounds
and
Colours
,
and
the
perception
of
the
Mind
is
more
vigorous
,
quick
and
piercing
than
that
of
the
Senses
?
This
is
perfect
Happiness
,
this
is
the
Tree
of
Life
which
grows
in
the
midst
of
the
Paradise
of
God
,
this
is
Heaven
,
which
while
the
Learned
dispute
about
,
the
Good
only
enjoy
.
But
I
shall
not
venture
to
Soar
any
longer
in
these
Heights
,
I
find
the
Aether
too
thin
here
to
breath
in
long
,
and
the
Brightness
of
the
Region
flashes
too
strong
upon
my
tender
Sense
;
I
shall
therefore
hasten
to
descend
from
the
Mount
of
God
,
lest
I
grow
giddy
with
speculation
,
and
lose
those
Secrets
which
I
have
learnt
there
,
the
Cabala
of
Felicity
.
And
now
,
(
Sir
)
I
come
to
consider
your
Question
(
viz.
)
Wherein
the
greatest
Happiness
attainable
by
Man
in
this
Life
does
consist
.
Concerning
which
,
there
is
as
great
variety
of
Opinions
among
Philosophers
,
as
there
is
among
Geographers
about
the
Seat
of
Paradise
.
The
Learned
Varro
reckons
up
no
less
than
288
several
Opinions
about
it
,
and
yet
notwithstanding
the
number
of
Writers
who
have
bequeath'd
Volumes
upon
this
Subject
to
Posterity
,
they
seem
to
have
been
in
the
dark
in
nothing
more
than
in
this
,
and
(
excepting
only
a
few
Platonists
,
who
placed
Man's
greatest
End
in
the
Contemplation
of
Truth
)
they
seem
to
have
undertaken
nothing
so
unhappily
,
as
when
they
essay'd
to
write
of
Happiness
.
Some
measure
their
Happiness
by
the
high-tide
of
their
Riches
,
as
the
Egyptians
did
the
Fertility
of
the
Year
by
the
increase
of
the
River
Nile
.
Others
place
it
in
the
Pleasures
of
Sence
,
others
in
Honour
and
Greatness
.
But
these
and
the
like
were
Men
of
the
common
Herd
,
low
groveling
Souls
,
that
either
understood
not
the
Dignity
of
Humane
Nature
,
or
else
forgot
that
they
were
Men
.
But
there
were
others
of
a
Diviner
Genius
and
Sublimer
Spirit
,
Queis
meliore
luto
finxit
praecordia
Titan
.
Who
had
a
more
generous
blood
running
in
their
Veins
,
which
made
them
put
a
just
value
upon
themselves
,
and
scorn
to
place
their
greatest
Happiness
in
that
which
they
should
blush
to
enjoy
.
And
those
were
the
Stoics
and
the
Peripatetics
,
who
both
place
the
greatest
Happiness
of
this
Life
in
the
Actions
of
Vertue
,
with
this
only
difference
,
that
whereas
the
former
are
contented
with
Naked
Vertue
,
the
latter
require
some
other
Collateral
things
to
the
farther
accomplishment
of
Happiness
,
such
as
are
Health
and
Strength
of
Body
,
a
Competent
Lively-hood
,
and
the
like
.
And
this
Opinion
has
been
subscribed
to
by
the
hands
of
eminent
Moralists
in
all
Ages
.
And
as
it
is
Venerable
for
its
Antiquity
,
so
has
it
gain'd
no
small
Authority
from
the
Pen
of
a
great
Modern
Writer
(
Descartes
)
who
resolves
the
greatest
Happiness
of
this
Life
into
the
right
use
of
the
Will
,
which
consists
in
this
,
that
a
Man
have
a
firm
and
constant
purpose
always
to
do
that
which
he
shall
judge
to
be
best
.
I
confess
,
the
Practice
of
Vertue
is
a
very
great
instrument
of
Happiness
,
and
that
there
is
a
great
deal
more
true
satisfaction
and
solid
content
to
be
found
in
a
constant
course
of
well
living
,
than
in
all
the
soft
Caresses
of
the
most
studied
Luxury
,
or
the
Voluptuousness
of
a
Seraglio
.
And
therefore
I
have
oftentimes
been
exceedingly
pleased
in
the
reading
of
a
certain
Passage
in
that
Divine
Moralist
Hierocles
,
where
he
tells
you
,
that
the
Vertuous
Man
lives
much
more
pleasantly
than
the
Vicious
Man
.
For
(
says
he
)
all
Pleasure
is
the
Companion
of
Action
,
it
has
no
Subsistence
of
its
own
,
but
accompanies
us
in
our
doing
such
and
such
things
.
Hence
't
is
that
the
worser
Actions
are
accompanied
with
the
meaner
Pleasures
.
So
that
the
good
Man
does
not
only
excell
the
wicked
Man
in
what
is
good
,
but
has
also
the
advantage
of
him
even
in
Pleasure
,
for
whose
sake
alone
he
is
wicked
.
For
he
that
chuses
Pleasure
with
Filthiness
,
altho
for
a
while
he
be
sweetly
and
deliciously
entertain'd
,
yet
at
last
through
the
Filthiness
,
annexed
to
his
Enjoyment
,
he
is
brought
to
a
painful
Repentance
.
But
now
he
that
prefers
Vertue
with
all
her
Labours
and
Difficulties
,
though
at
first
for
want
of
use
it
sits
heavy
upon
him
,
yet
by
the
Conjunction
of
good
he
alleviates
the
Labour
,
and
at
last
enjoys
pure
and
unallay'd
Pleasure
with
his
Vertue
.
So
that
of
necessity
that
Life
is
most
unhappy
,
which
is
most
wicked
,
and
that
most
pleasant
which
is
most
vertuous
.
Now
this
I
readily
submit
to
as
a
great
truth
,
that
the
degrees
of
Happiness
vary
according
to
the
degrees
of
Vertue
,
and
consequently
that
that
Life
which
is
most
Vertuous
is
most
Happy
,
with
reference
to
those
that
are
Vicious
or
less
Vertuous
,
every
degree
of
Vertue
having
a
proportionate
degree
of
Happiness
accompanying
it
,
(
which
is
all
,
I
suppose
,
that
excellent
Author
intends
.
)
But
I
do
not
think
the
most
Vertuous
Life
so
the
most
Happy
,
but
that
it
may
become
Happier
,
unless
something
more
be
comprehended
in
the
Word
(
Vertue
)
then
the
Stoics
,
Peripatetics
,
and
the
generality
of
other
Moralists
understand
by
it
.
For
with
them
it
signifies
no
more
but
only
such
a
firm
{αβγδ}
or
habitude
of
the
Will
to
good
,
whereby
we
are
constantly
disposed
,
notwithstanding
the
contrary
tendency
of
our
Passions
,
to
perform
the
necessary
Offices
of
Life
.
This
they
call
Moral
or
Civil
Vertue
,
and
although
this
brings
always
Happiness
enough
with
it
to
make
ample
amends
for
all
the
difficulties
which
attend
the
practise
of
it
:
Yet
I
am
not
of
Opinion
that
the
greatest
Happiness
attainable
by
Man
in
this
Life
consists
in
it
.
But
there
is
another
and
a
higher
Sense
of
the
Word
,
which
frequently
occurs
in
the
Pythagorean
and
Platonic
Writings
,
(
viz.
)
Contemplation
and
the
Unitive
way
of
Religion
.
And
this
they
call
Divine
Vertue
.
I
allow
of
the
distinction
,
but
I
would
not
be
thought
to
derive
it
from
the
Principle
,
as
if
Moral
Vertue
were
acquired
,
and
this
infused
(
for
to
speak
ingeniously
,
infused
Vertue
seem'd
ever
to
me
as
great
a
Paradox
in
Divinity
,
as
Occult
qualities
in
Philosophy
)
but
from
the
nobleness
of
the
Object
,
the
Object
of
the
former
being
Moral
good
,
and
the
Object
of
the
latter
God
himself
.
The
former
is
a
State
of
Proficiency
,
the
latter
of
Perfection
.
The
former
is
a
State
of
difficulty
and
contention
,
the
latter
of
ease
and
serenity
.
The
former
is
employ'd
in
mastering
the
Passions
,
and
regulating
the
actions
of
common
Life
,
the
latter
in
Divine
Meditation
and
the
Extasies
of
Seraphic
Love
.
He
that
has
only
the
former
,
is
like
Moses
with
much
difficulty
climbing
up
to
the
Holy
Mount
,
but
he
that
has
the
latter
,
is
like
the
same
Person
conversing
with
God
on
the
serene
top
of
it
,
and
shining
with
the
Rays
of
anticipated
Glory
.
So
that
this
latter
supposes
the
acquisition
of
the
former
,
and
consequently
has
all
the
Happiness
retaining
to
the
other
,
besides
what
it
adds
of
its
own
.
This
is
the
last
Stage
of
Humane
Perfection
,
the
utmost
round
of
the
Ladder
whereby
we
ascend
to
Heaven
,
one
Step
higher
is
Glory
.
Here
then
will
I
build
my
Tabernacle
,
for
it
is
good
to
be
here
.
Here
will
I
set
up
my
Pillar
of
Rest
,
here
will
I
fix
,
for
why
should
I
travel
on
farther
in
pursuit
of
any
greater
Happiness
,
since
Man
in
this
Station
is
but
a
little
lower
than
the
Angels
,
one
remove
from
Heaven
.
Here
certainly
is
the
greatest
happiness
,
as
well
as
Perfection
attainable
by
Man
in
this
State
of
imperfection
.
For
since
that
Happiness
which
is
absolutely
perfect
and
compleat
consists
in
the
clear
and
intimate
Vision
and
most
ardent
Love
of
God
,
hence
we
ought
to
take
our
Measures
,
and
conclude
that
to
be
the
greatest
Happiness
attainable
in
this
State
,
which
is
the
greatest
participation
of
the
other
.
And
that
can
be
nothing
else
but
the
Unitive
way
of
Religion
,
which
consists
of
the
Contemplation
and
Love
of
God
.
I
shall
say
something
of
each
of
these
severally
,
and
something
of
the
Unitive
way
of
Religion
,
which
is
the
result
of
both
,
and
so
shut
up
this
Discourse
.
By
Contemplation
in
general
(
{αβγδ}
)
we
understand
an
application
of
the
Understanding
to
some
truth
.
But
here
in
this
place
we
take
the
word
in
a
more
peculiar
sence
,
as
it
signifies
an
habitual
,
attentive
,
steddy
application
or
conversion
of
the
Spirit
to
God
and
his
Divine
Perfections
.
Of
this
the
Masters
of
Mystic
Theology
commonly
make
fifteen
Degrees
.
The
first
is
Intuition
of
Truth
,
the
second
is
a
Retirement
of
all
the
Vigour
and
Strength
of
the
Faculties
into
the
innermost
parts
of
the
Soul
,
the
third
is
Spiritual
Silence
,
the
fourth
is
Rest
,
the
fifth
is
Union
,
the
sixth
is
the
Hearing
of
the
still
Voice
of
God
,
the
seventh
is
Spiritual
Slumber
,
the
eighth
is
Ecstacy
,
the
ninth
is
Rapture
,
the
tenth
is
the
Corporeal
Appearance
of
Christ
and
the
Saints
,
the
eleventh
is
the
Imaginary
Appearance
of
the
Same
,
the
twelfth
is
the
Intellectual
Vision
of
God
,
the
thirteenth
is
the
Vision
of
God
in
Obscurity
,
the
fourteenth
is
an
admirable
Manifestation
of
God
,
the
fifteenth
is
a
clear
and
intuitive
Vision
of
him
,
such
as
St.
Austin
and
Tho
.
Aquinas
attribute
to
St.
Paul
,
when
he
was
rapt
up
into
the
third
Heaven
.
Others
of
them
reckon
seven
degrees
only
,
(
viz.
)
Taste
,
Desire
,
Satiety
,
Ebriety
,
Security
,
Tranquility
,
but
the
name
of
the
seventh
(
they
say
)
is
known
only
to
God
.
I
shall
not
stand
to
examine
the
Scale
of
this
Division
,
perhaps
there
may
be
a
kind
of
a
Pythagoric
Suporstition
in
the
number
.
But
this
I
think
I
may
affirm
in
general
,
that
the
Soul
may
be
wound
up
to
a
most
strange
degree
of
Abstraction
by
a
silent
and
steddy
Contemplation
of
God
.
Plato
desines
Contemplation
to
be
{αβγδ}
,
a
Solution
and
a
Separation
of
the
Soul
from
the
Body
.
And
some
of
the
severer
Platonists
have
been
of
Opinion
,
that
't
is
possible
for
a
Man
by
mere
intention
of
thought
not
only
to
withdraw
the
Soul
from
all
commerce
with
the
Senses
,
but
even
really
to
separate
it
from
the
Body
,
to
untwist
the
Ligaments
of
his
Frame
,
and
by
degrees
to
resolve
himself
into
the
State
of
the
Dead
.
And
thus
the
Jews
express
the
manner
of
the
Death
of
Moses
,
calling
it
Osculum
Oris
Dei
,
the
Kiss
of
God's
Mouth
.
That
is
,
that
he
breath'd
out
his
Soul
by
the
mere
Strength
and
Energy
of
Contemplation
,
and
expired
in
the
Embraces
of
his
Maker
.
A
Happy
way
of
Dying
!
How
ambitious
should
I
be
of
such
a
conveyance
,
were
it
practicable
?
How
passionately
should
I
joyn
with
the
Church
in
the
Canticles
?
{αβγδ}
,
Let
him
Kiss
me
with
the
Kisses
of
his
Mouth
.
Cant
.
1
Ver
.
2.
But
however
this
be
determin'd
,
certain
it
is
,
that
there
are
exceeding
great
Measures
of
Abstraction
in
Contemplation
,
so
great
,
that
sometimes
whether
a
Man
be
in
the
Body
or
out
of
the
Body
,
he
himself
can
hardly
tell
.
And
consequently
the
Soul
in
these
Praeludiums
of
Death
,
these
Neighbourhoods
of
Separation
,
must
needs
have
brighter
glimpses
,
and
more
Beatifick
Ideas
of
God
,
than
in
a
state
void
of
these
Elevations
,
and
consequently
must
love
him
with
greater
Ardency
.
Which
is
the
next
thing
I
am
to
consider
.
The
love
of
God
in
general
may
be
consisidered
either
as
it
is
purely
intellectual
,
or
as
it
is
a
Passion
.
The
first
is
,
when
the
Soul
,
upon
an
apprehension
of
God
as
a
good
,
delectable
,
and
agreeable
Object
,
joyns
her self
to
him
by
the
Will
.
The
latter
is
,
when
the
motion
of
the
Will
is
accompany'd
with
a
sensible
Commotion
of
the
Spirits
,
and
an
estuation
of
the
Blood
.
Some
I
know
are
of
Opinion
,
that
't
is
not
possible
for
a
man
to
be
affected
with
this
sensitive
Love
of
God
,
which
is
a
Passion
,
because
there
is
nothing
in
God
which
falls
under
our
imagination
,
and
consequently
(
the
imagination
being
the
only
Medium
of
conveyance
)
it
cannot
be
propagated
from
the
Intellectual
part
to
the
Sensitive
.
Whereupon
they
affirm
,
that
none
are
capable
of
this
sensitive
passionate
Love
of
God
but
Christians
,
who
enjoy
the
Mystery
of
the
Incarnation
,
whereby
they
know
God
has
condescended
so
far
as
to
cloath
himself
with
Flesh
,
and
to
become
like
one
of
us
.
But
't
is
not
all
the
Sophistry
of
the
cold
Logicians
that
shall
work
me
out
of
the
belief
of
what
I
feel
and
know
,
and
rob
me
of
the
sweetest
entertainment
of
my
Life
,
the
Passionate
Love
of
God
.
Whatever
some
Men
pretend
,
who
are
Strangers
to
all
the
assectionate
heats
of
Religion
,
and
therefore
make
their
Philosophy
a
Plea
for
their
indevotion
,
and
extinguish
all
Holy
Ardours
with
a
Syllogism
;
yet
I
am
firmly
persuaded
,
that
our
love
of
God
may
be
not
only
passionate
,
but
even
Wonderfully
so
,
and
exceeding
the
Love
of
Women
.
't
is
an
Experimental
and
therefore
undeniable
Truth
,
that
Passion
is
a
great
Instrument
of
Devotion
,
and
accordingly
we
find
,
that
Men
of
the
most
warm
and
pathetick
Tempers
and
Amorous
Complexions
(
Provided
they
have
but
Consideration
enough
withall
to
fix
upon
the
right
Object
)
prove
the
greatest
Votaries
in
Religion
.
And
upon
this
account
it
is
,
that
to
heighten
our
Love
of
God
in
our
Religious
Addresses
,
we
endeavour
to
excite
our
Passions
by
Music
,
which
would
be
to
as
little
purpose
as
the
Fanatic
thinks
't
is
,
if
there
were
not
such
a
thing
as
the
Passionate
Love
of
God
.
But
then
as
to
the
Objection
,
I
Answer
with
the
excellent
Descartes
,
that
although
in
God
who
is
the
Object
of
our
Love
,
we
can
imagine
nothing
,
yet
we
can
imagine
that
our
Love
,
which
consists
in
this
,
that
we
would
unite
our
selves
to
the
Object
beloved
,
and
consider
our
selves
as
it
were
a
part
of
it
.
And
the
sole
Idea
of
this
very
Conjunction
is
enough
to
stir
up
a
heat
about
the
Heart
,
and
so
kindle
a
very
vehement
Passion
.
To
which
I
add
,
that
although
the
Beauty
or
Amiableness
of
God
be
not
the
same
with
that
which
we
see
in
Corporeal
Beings
,
and
consequently
cannot
directly
fall
within
the
Sphere
of
the
imagination
,
yet
it
is
something
Analogous
to
it
,
and
that
very
Analogy
is
enough
to
excite
a
Passion
.
And
this
I
think
sufficient
to
warrant
my
general
division
of
the
Love
of
God
into
Intellectual
and
Sensitive
.
But
there
is
a
more
peculiar
Acceptation
of
the
Love
of
God
proper
to
this
place
.
And
it
is
that
which
we
call
Seraphic
.
By
which
I
understand
in
short
,
that
Love
of
God
which
is
the
effect
of
an
intense
Contemplation
of
him
.
This
differs
not
from
the
other
in
kind
,
but
only
in
degree
,
and
that
it
does
exceedingly
,
in
as
much
as
the
thoughtful
Contemplative
Man
(
as
I
hinted
before
)
has
clearer
Perceptions
and
livelier
Impressions
of
the
Divine
Beauty
,
the
lovely
Attributes
and
Perfection
of
God
,
than
he
whose
Soul
is
more
deeply
set
in
the
Flesh
,
and
lies
groveling
in
the
bottom
of
the
Dungeon
.
That
the
nature
of
this
Seraphic
Love
may
be
the
better
understood
,
I
shall
consider
how
many
degrees
there
may
be
in
the
Love
of
God
.
And
I
think
the
Computation
of
Bellarmin
,
lib
.
2.
de
monachis
,
cap
.
2.
is
accurate
enough
.
He
makes
four
.
The
first
is
to
love
God
proportionably
to
his
Loveliness
,
that
is
,
with
an
infinite
Love
;
and
this
degree
is
peculiar
to
God
himself
.
The
second
is
to
Love
him
,
not
proportionably
to
his
Loveliness
,
but
to
the
utmost
Capacity
of
a
Creature
,
and
this
degree
is
peculiar
to
Saints
and
Angels
in
Heaven
.
The
third
is
to
love
him
not
proportionably
to
his
Loveliness
,
nor
to
the
utmost
capacity
of
a
Creature
,
absolutely
consider'd
,
but
to
the
utmost
capacity
of
a
Mortal
Creature
in
this
Life
.
And
this
(
he
says
)
is
proper
to
the
Religious
.
The
fourth
is
to
love
him
not
proportionably
to
his
Loveliness
,
nor
to
the
utmost
capacity
of
a
Creature
,
consider'd
either
absolutely
or
with
respect
to
this
Life
,
but
only
so
as
to
love
nothing
equally
with
him
or
above
him
.
That
is
,
not
to
do
any
thing
contrary
to
the
Divine
Love
.
And
this
is
absolute
indispensable
duty
,
less
than
which
will
not
qualify
us
for
the
enjoyment
of
God
hereafter
.
Now
this
Seraphic
Love
which
we
here
discourse
of
is
in
the
third
degree
:
When
a
Man
,
after
many
degrees
of
Abstraction
from
the
Animal
Life
,
many
a
profound
and
steddy
Meditation
upon
the
Excellencies
of
God
,
sees
such
a
vast
Ocean
of
Beauty
and
Perfection
in
him
,
that
he
loves
him
to
the
utmost
stretch
of
his
Power
;
When
he
sits
under
his
shadow
with
great
delight
,
and
his
fruit
is
sweet
to
his
Tast
.
Cant
.
2.3
.
When
he
Consecrates
and
Devotes
himself
wholly
to
him
,
and
has
no
Passion
for
Inferiour
Objects
.
When
he
is
ravished
with
the
delights
of
his
Service
,
and
breaths
out
some
of
his
Soul
to
him
in
every
Prayer
.
When
he
is
delighted
with
Anthems
of
Praise
and
Adoration
more
than
with
Marrow
and
Fatness
,
and
Feasts
upon
Alleluiah
.
When
he
melts
in
a
Calenture
of
Devotion
,
and
his
Soul
breaketh
out
with
fervent
Desire
.
Psal
.
119.
When
the
one
thing
he
delights
in
is
to
converse
with
God
in
the
Beauty
of
Holiness
,
and
the
one
thing
he
desires
to
see
him
as
he
is
in
Heaven
.
This
is
Seraphic
Love
,
and
this
with
Contemplation
makes
up
that
which
the
Mystic
Divines
stile
the
Unitive
way
of
Religion
:
It
is
called
so
because
it
Unites
us
to
God
in
the
most
excellent
manner
that
we
are
capable
of
in
this
Life
.
By
Union
here
I
do
not
understand
that
which
is
local
or
presential
,
because
I
consider
God
as
Omnipresent
.
Neither
do
I
mean
a
Union
of
Grace
(
as
they
call
it
)
whereby
we
are
reconciled
to
God
,
or
a
Union
of
Charity
,
whereof
it
is
said
,
he
that
dwelleth
in
love
,
dwelleth
in
God
and
God
in
him
.
Jo
.
4.16
.
The
first
of
these
being
as
common
to
the
inanimate
things
as
to
the
most
Extasi'd
Soul
upon
Earth
.
And
the
two
last
being
common
to
all
good
men
,
who
indeed
love
God
,
but
yet
want
the
excellency
of
Contemplation
and
the
Mystic
Union
.
The
Union
then
which
I
here
speak
of
,
is
that
which
is
between
the
Faculty
and
the
Object
.
Which
consists
in
some
Habitude
or
Operation
of
one
toward
the
other
.
The
Faculties
here
are
the
Understanding
and
Will
,
the
Object
God
,
and
the
Operations
Contemplation
and
Love
.
The
result
of
which
two
is
the
Mystic
Union
.
Which
,
according
to
his
complex
Notion
of
it
that
I
have
here
delivered
,
The
great
Exemplar
,
pag
.
60.
is
thus
most
admirably
represented
by
the
excellent
Bishop
Taylour
.
It
is
(
says
he
)
a
Prayer
of
quietness
and
silence
,
and
a
Meditation
extraordinary
,
a
Discourse
without
variety
,
a
Vision
and
Intuition
of
Divine
Excellencies
,
an
immediate
entry
into
an
Orb
of
light
,
and
a
resolution
of
all
our
Faculties
into
Sweetness
,
Affections
,
and
Starings
upon
the
Divine
Beauty
.
And
is
carried
on
to
Extasies
,
Raptures
,
Suspensions
,
Elevations
,
Abstractions
and
Apprehensions
beatifical
.
I
make
no
doubt
but
that
many
an
honest
Pious
Soul
arrives
to
the
heavenly
Canaan
,
who
is
not
fed
with
this
Manna
in
the
Wilderness
.
But
though
every
one
must
not
expect
these
Antepasts
of
Felicity
that
is
vertuous
,
yet
none
else
must
.
Paradise
was
never
open
but
to
a
State
of
Innocence
.
But
neither
is
that
enough
.
No
,
this
Mount
of
God's
Presence
is
fenced
not
only
from
the
profane
,
but
also
from
the
moderately
vertuous
.
't
is
the
Priviledge
of
Angelical
Dispositions
,
and
the
Reward
of
eminent
Piety
and
an
excellent
Religion
,
to
be
admitted
to
these
Divine
Repasts
,
these
Feasts
of
love
.
And
here
I
place
the
greatest
Happiness
attainable
by
Man
in
this
Life
,
as
being
the
nearest
Approach
to
the
State
of
the
Blessed
above
,
the
onter
Court
of
Heaven
.
These
(
Sir
)
are
my
thoughts
concerning
Happiness
.
I
might
have
spun
them
out
into
a
greater
length
,
but
I
think
a
little
Plot
of
ground
thick-sown
is
better
than
a
great
Field
which
for
the
most
part
of
it
lies
Fallow
.
I
have
endeavour'd
to
deliver
my
Notions
with
as
much
Perspicuity
and
in
as
good
Method
as
I
could
,
and
so
to
answer
all
the
ends
of
Copiousness
,
with
the
advantage
of
a
shorter
Cut
.
If
I
appear
singular
in
any
of
my
Notions
,
't
is
not
out
of
an
industrious
affectation
of
Novelty
,
but
because
in
the
composing
of
this
discourse
(
the
Meditation
of
a
few
broken
hours
in
a
Garden
)
I
consulted
more
my
own
experimental
Notices
of
things
and
private
Reflections
than
the
Writings
of
others
.
So
that
if
sometimes
I
happen
to
be
in
the
Road
,
and
sometimes
in
a
way
by
my self
,
't
is
no
wonder
.
I
affect
neither
the
one
nor
the
other
,
but
write
as
I
think
.
Which
as
I
do
at
other
times
,
so
more
especially
when
I
subscribe
my self
SIR
,
Yours
most
affectionately
,
J.
N.
All-Souls
Colledge
Apr.
18.
1683.
Another
Letter
to
the
same
Person
,
concerning
the
true
Notion
of
Plato's
Ideas
,
and
of
Platonic
Love
.
SIR
,
WEre
I
not
as
well
acquainted
with
your
singular
modesty
,
as
I
am
with
your
intellectual
accomplishments
,
I
should
readily
conclude
,
that
your
directing
your
inquiries
to
me
proceeded
not
so
much
from
a
Curiosity
to
improve
your
own
Knowledge
,
as
to
try
mine
.
But
when
I
consider
that
you
are
ignorant
of
nothing
so
much
as
of
your
own
Worth
and
Abilities
,
I
begin
to
think
it
possible
that
you
may
propose
these
Questions
even
to
me
out
of
a
desire
to
be
inform'd
.
Which
way
so
ever
it
is
,
I
acknowledge
my self
to
be
obliged
to
you
for
affording
me
an
opportunity
of
serving
you
,
especially
in
such
an
Instance
,
where
I
cannot
gratify
your
Request
without
humouring
my
own
Genius
at
the
same
time
.
For
indeed
to
my
apprehension
,
there
is
not
a
finer
or
more
Sublime
piece
of
Speculation
in
all
Plato's
Philosophy
,
than
that
of
his
Ideas
and
that
of
his
Love
,
tho
it
has
undergon
the
same
hard
Fate
with
many
other
excellent
Theories
,
first
,
to
be
either
ignorantly
misunderstood
,
or
malitiously
misrepresented
,
and
then
popularly
vilify'd
and
decry'd
.
To
do
right
therefore
to
the
name
of
this
great
Man
,
as
well
as
to
satisfy
your
Demands
,
I
shall
first
propose
the
general
mistake
,
and
then
rectify
it
,
first
present
you
with
the
suppos'd
Opinion
of
Plato
,
and
then
with
the
true
and
genuin
one
.
I
begin
with
his
Ideas
,
by
which
't
is
taken
for
granted
by
the
generality
of
Writers
,
especially
those
of
the
Peripatetic
Order
,
that
he
understood
universal
Natures
or
abstract
Essences
subsisting
eternally
by
themselves
,
Separate
both
from
the
mind
of
God
and
all
singular
Beings
,
according
to
which
,
as
so
many
patterns
,
all
Singulars
are
form'd
.
As
for
instance
,
that
a
Bull
,
not
this
or
that
in
particular
,
but
a
universal
Bull
,
or
a
Bull
in
general
,
should
exist
by
it self
eternally
,
according
to
which
all
particular
Bulls
were
made
.
Sir
,
I
suppose
you
can
hardly
forbear
smiling
at
the
odness
of
the
Conceit
,
but
as
ridiculous
as
you
may
think
it
,
't
is
said
to
be
maintained
by
no
less
a
Man
than
Plato
,
and
has
been
thought
of
that
moment
too
,
that
Multitudes
of
great
Men
have
set
themselves
very
seriously
to
confute
it
as
a
dangerous
Heresy
,
and
have
opposed
it
with
as
much
zeal
as
ever
St.
Austin
did
the
Manichees
or
the
Pelagians
.
But
now
,
that
this
Opinion
was
not
only
for
its
Absurdity
and
Contradictiousness
unworthy
of
the
contemplative
and
refin'd
Spirit
of
Plato
;
but
was
also
apparently
none
of
his
,
I
dare
say
any
capable
Person
will
be
convinc'd
that
shall
heedfully
and
impartially
examin
and
compare
the
Works
of
Plato
;
And
this
Aristotle
himself
must
needs
have
known
(
he
having
been
his
constant
Auditour
for
twenty
years
together
)
but
only
he
wanted
a
Shadow
to
fight
with
,
and
so
father'd
this
monstrous
Opinion
upon
his
Master
.
And
of
this
disingenuity
of
Aristotle
,
together
with
other
abuses
,
Plato
himself
complain'd
,
while
alive
,
in
these
words
;
{αβγδ}
,
as
is
recorded
by
Laertius
in
the
Life
of
Aristotle
.
And
now
,
that
the
grossness
of
this
Abuse
may
the
more
fully
appear
,
I
will
in
the
next
place
present
you
with
another
Sense
of
Plato's
Ideas
,
and
such
as
by
a
more
than
ordinary
acquaintance
with
his
Works
,
I
know
to
be
the
true
and
genuin
one
.
Know
then
that
Plato
considering
the
World
as
an
effect
of
an
intellectual
Agent
,
and
that
in
the
Operations
of
all
other
Artificers
or
rational
Efficients
there
must
be
some
form
in
the
Mind
of
the
Artificer
presupposed
to
the
Work
(
for
otherwise
what
difference
will
there
be
between
a
fortuitous
effect
and
an
intended
one
,
and
how
comes
the
effect
to
be
of
this
Species
rather
than
another
?
)
thought
it
necessary
to
suppose
{αβγδ}
,
Eternal
Forms
,
Models
or
Patterns
,
of
all
the
Species
of
being
in
Nature
existing
in
the
Mind
of
God
.
And
these
he
calls
Ideas
.
I
say
existing
in
the
Mind
of
God
,
for
there
is
not
the
least
Intimation
in
all
Plato's
Works
of
any
such
Ideas
existing
separately
from
the
Divine
intellect
,
nor
do
the
great
Masters
of
Platonic
Philosophy
,
Plotinus
,
Porphyrius
,
Procles
,
or
any
other
that
I
know
of
make
mention
of
any
such
Spectres
and
Ghosts
of
Entity
.
No
,
this
Monster
was
hatch'd
in
Aristotle's
Brain
,
and
I
believe
did
never
enter
Plato's
Head
so
much
as
in
a
Dream
.
For
he
is
not
only
silent
about
it
,
but
does
in
several
places
expresly
assert
the
contrary
;
Particularly
in
his
Timaeus
,
where
,
of
set
purpose
,
he
describes
the
Origin
of
the
World
,
he
says
that
God
made
the
World
according
to
that
Pattern
or
Idea
which
he
had
in
his
Mind
.
The
same
you
will
find
more
amply
confirm'd
in
his
Hippias
,
his
Parmenides
,
and
his
sixth
Book
of
Repub
.
and
many
other
places
.
And
these
Ideas
he
calls
{αβγδ}
,
the
first
Intelligibles
,
and
{αβγδ}
,
the
Measures
of
the
things
that
are
,
implying
,
that
as
all
things
were
form'd
according
to
these
specifical
Platforms
;
so
their
truth
must
be
measur'd
from
their
Conformity
to
them
.
And
in
this
Sense
must
be
taken
that
Common
Axiom
of
the
Schools
,
that
the
Truth
of
a
thing
is
its
Conformity
with
the
Divine
Intellect
,
for
it
is
in
no
other
Sense
Intelligible
,
as
you
will
discern
in
the
Process
.
But
now
,
lest
you
should
imagine
,
that
this
Platonic
Hypothesis
of
Ideas
existing
in
the
Divine
Mind
should
ill
comport
with
the
Simplicity
of
God
,
or
clash
with
that
approved
Doctrin
of
the
Schools
,
Nihil
est
in
Deo
quod
non
sit
deus
,
(
which
is
another
cavil
of
the
Antiplatonists
)
you
are
to
understand
that
Plato
by
his
Ideas
does
not
mean
any
real
Essence
distinct
from
the
Divine
Essence
,
but
only
the
Divine
Essence
it self
with
this
Connotation
,
as
it
is
variously
imitable
or
participable
by
created
Beings
,
and
consequently
,
according
to
the
multifariousness
of
this
imitability
,
so
are
the
possibilities
of
Being
.
Which
is
as
fine
a
Notion
as
was
ever
framed
by
the
Mind
of
Man
,
and
that
it
is
his
,
you
will
find
,
if
you
consult
his
Parmenides
.
And
this
will
serve
to
help
us
out
with
another
difficulty
,
for
whereas
Plato
makes
his
Divine
Ideas
not
only
the
exemplary
causes
of
things
,
but
also
(
which
is
a
consequent
to
the
former
)
the
measure
of
their
Truth
,
this
may
seem
to
fall
in
with
their
Opinion
who
make
all
Truth
dependent
upon
the
Speculative
understanding
of
God
,
that
is
,
that
God
does
not
understand
a
thing
so
because
it
is
so
in
its
own
Nature
,
but
that
a
thing
is
therefore
so
because
God
is
pleas'd
so
to
understand
it
.
Which
is
an
Opinion
full
of
mischief
and
absurdity
,
as
you
may
see
compendiously
,
and
yet
evidently
demonstrated
,
in
Dr.
Rust's
little
Discourse
of
Truth
.
Now
for
the
clearing
this
Difficulty
,
't
is
to
be
observed
,
that
the
Essence
of
God
,
according
to
Plato
,
is
distinguished
into
{αβγδ}
and
{αβγδ}
,
the
Counterpart
whereof
in
English
is
Conceptive
and
Exhibitive
.
By
the
Mind
of
God
Exhibitive
is
meant
the
Essence
of
God
as
thus
or
thus
imitable
or
participable
by
any
Creature
,
and
this
is
the
same
with
an
Idea
.
By
the
Mind
of
God
Conceptive
is
meant
a
reflex
act
of
God's
Understanding
upon
his
own
Essence
as
exhibitive
,
or
as
thus
and
thus
imitable
.
Now
if
you
consider
the
Divine
Understanding
as
Conceptive
or
Speculative
,
it
does
not
make
its
Object
but
suppose
it
,
(
as
all
Speculative
Understanding
does
)
neither
is
the
Truth
of
the
Object
to
be
measured
from
its
Conformity
with
that
,
but
the
Truth
of
that
from
its
Conformity
with
its
Object
.
But
if
you
consider
the
Divine
Understanding
as
Exhibitive
,
then
its
Truth
does
not
depend
upon
its
Conformity
with
the
Nature
of
things
,
but
on
the
contrary
,
the
Truth
of
the
Nature
of
things
depends
upon
its
Conformity
with
it
.
For
the
Divine
Essence
is
not
thus
or
thus
imitable
,
because
such
and
such
things
are
in
being
,
but
such
and
such
things
are
in
being
,
because
the
Divine
Essence
is
thus
and
thus
imitable
,
for
had
not
the
Divine
Essence
been
thus
imitable
,
such
and
such
Beings
would
not
have
been
possible
.
And
thus
is
Plato
to
be
understood
when
he
founds
the
Truth
of
things
upon
their
Conformity
with
the
Divine
Ideas
,
and
thus
must
the
Schools
mean
too
by
that
foremention'd
Axiom
concerning
Transcendental
Truth
,
if
they
will
speak
Sense
,
as
I
noted
above
.
And
now
,
Sir
,
from
Plato's
Ideas
thus
amiably
set
forth
,
the
Transition
methinks
is
very
natural
to
Love
.
And
concerning
this
I
shall
account
in
the
same
Method
,
first
,
by
pointing
out
the
popular
Misapprehensions
about
it
,
and
then
by
exhibiting
a
true
Notion
of
it
.
Platonick
Love
is
a
thing
in
every
bodies
Mouth
,
but
I
find
scarce
any
that
think
or
speak
accurately
of
it
.
The
mistakes
which
I
observe
are
chiefly
these
.
Some
of
the
grosser
Understanders
suppose
that
Plato
by
his
Love
meant
{αβγδ}
,
the
Love
of
Males
,
but
the
Occasion
of
this
Conceit
was
from
a
passage
in
his
Convivium
,
where
he
brings
in
Aristophanes
speaking
favourably
that
way
.
But
he
that
shall
from
hence
conclude
Plato
a
prostitute
to
that
vile
Passion
,
may
as
well
conclude
a
Dramatic
Poet
to
be
an
Atheist
or
a
Whore-master
,
because
he
represents
those
of
that
Character
.
But
that
Divine
Plato
intended
nothing
less
than
to
countenance
any
such
thing
,
is
evident
from
the
whole
scope
and
purport
of
that
Dialogue
,
and
from
other
places
where
he
expresly
condemns
it
,
and
rejects
it
with
great
abhorrence
;
particularly
in
the
first
of
his
de
legibus
,
where
he
calls
it
{αβγδ}
,
an
unnatural
attempt
.
Others
by
Platonic
Love
understand
the
Love
of
Souls
,
and
this
indeed
has
something
of
truth
in
it
,
only
it
is
much
too
narrow
and
particular
.
Others
take
Platonic
Love
to
be
a
desire
of
imprinting
any
excellency
,
whether
moral
or
intellectual
,
in
the
Minds
of
beautiful
young
men
by
Instruction
,
and
so
likewise
of
enjoying
your
own
Perfections
reflected
from
the
Mind
of
another
,
mix'd
with
and
recommended
by
the
Beauty
of
the
Body
.
According
to
the
usual
saying
,
Gratior
è
Pulchro
,
&c.
And
thus
Socrates
was
said
to
love
his
beautiful
Pupils
Phaedrus
and
Alcibiades
.
Others
measure
the
Nature
of
Platonic
Love
,
not
from
the
Object
(
to
which
they
suppose
it
indifferent
)
but
from
the
manner
of
the
Act.
And
according
to
these
,
that
man
is
said
to
love
Platonically
,
that
does
Casso
delectamine
amare
,
love
at
a
distance
,
that
never
designs
a
close
fruition
of
the
Object
what
ever
it
be
,
whether
Sensual
or
Intellectual
,
but
chooses
to
dwell
in
the
Suburbs
,
pleasing
himself
with
remote
Prospects
,
and
makes
a
Mistriss
of
his
own
Desire
.
And
this
is
the
receiv'd
Notion
,
and
that
which
People
generally
mean
when
they
talk
of
Platonic
Love
.
But
this
too
is
far
enough
from
the
right
,
for
tho
Platonic
love
does
not
aim
at
the
fruition
of
sensual
Objects
,
yet
it
designs
the
fruition
of
its
own
Object
as
much
as
any
other
Love
does
.
That
therefore
which
distinguishes
Platonick
love
,
is
not
the
manner
of
the
act
above-mention'd
,
but
the
peculiarity
of
the
Object
.
And
what
that
is
must
be
collected
from
the
Design
of
Plato
in
that
Dialogue
,
where
he
treats
purposely
of
it
,
his
Convivium
.
Which
is
briefly
to
shew
the
manner
of
the
Souls
ascent
to
God
by
love
.
For
Plato
makes
the
Happiness
of
Man
to
consist
in
the
Contemplation
and
Love
of
God
,
whom
he
calls
the
Idea
of
Beauty
.
But
now
because
this
Idea
of
Beauty
(
God
)
is
of
too
sublime
and
refined
excellency
to
be
immediately
fastned
upon
by
our
Love
,
he
recommends
to
us
{αβγδ}
,
a
Method
of
Ascent
,
which
is
from
loving
the
Beauty
we
see
in
Bodies
,
to
pass
on
to
the
Love
of
the
Beauty
of
the
Soul
,
from
the
Beauty
of
the
Soul
to
the
Beauty
of
Vertue
,
and
lastly
from
the
Beauty
of
Vertue
,
{αβγδ}
,
to
the
immense
Ocean
of
Beauty
,
&c.
For
so
have
I
observ'd
a
tender
Infants
Eye
not
enduring
to
gaze
directly
upon
the
too
powerful
Excellence
of
the
Meridian
Sun
,
chuse
to
entertain
it self
with
the
abatements
of
corrected
and
reflected
Light
,
and
take
up
with
the
feebler
refreshments
of
lesser
Beauties
for
a
while
,
till
at
length
the
faculty
grows
more
confirm'd
,
and
dares
encounter
the
Sun
in
his
Strength
.
And
these
are
the
Steps
of
the
Sanctuary
.
So
that
Platonic
Love
is
the
Love
of
Beauty
abstracted
from
all
sensual
Applications
,
and
desire
of
corporal
contract
,
as
it
leads
us
on
to
the
Love
of
the
first
original
Beauty
,
God
;
or
more
plainly
thus
,
The
Ascent
of
the
Soul
to
the
Love
of
the
Divine
Beauty
,
by
the
Love
of
abstracted
Beauty
in
Bodies
.
This
Love
of
abstracted
Beauty
in
Bodies
he
calls
{αβγδ}
,
Celestial
Love
,
in
opposition
to
that
which
he
calls
{αβγδ}
,
which
is
the
same
with
that
Passion
commonly
fignifi'd
by
the
name
of
Love
,
(
viz.
)
a
desire
of
corporal
contact
arising
from
the
sight
of
Beauty
.
This
last
indeed
is
a
very
vile
,
brutish
,
unmanly
affection
,
and
such
as
considering
the
vileness
of
our
Bodies
,
one
would
think
a
man
could
never
be
charm'd
into
without
the
Magic
of
a
Love-potion
.
But
the
former
is
an
Angelical
Affection
,
for
certainly
Beauty
is
a
Divine
thing
;
It
is
(
as
the
Platonic
Author
says
of
Wisdom
)
the
pure
Influence
flowing
from
the
Glory
of
the
Almighty
,
and
the
Brightness
of
the
Everlasting
Light
:
or
in
Plato's
own
Words
,
A
Ray
of
God
.
And
therefore
the
Love
of
abstract
Beauty
must
needs
be
a
very
generous
and
divine
Affection
.
Sir
,
I
could
be
more
large
in
my
account
,
but
I
consider
what
't
is
I
write
,
and
to
whom
,
and
therefore
I
think
it
high
time
to
remit
you
to
your
own
Thoughts
,
some
of
which
I
hope
will
be
,
that
I
am
in
a
very
eminent
degree
of
Friendship
,
Yours
J.
Norris
.
From
my
Study
in
All-Souls
Colledge
.