CHAP. IV.
Concerning the Regulation of the Will and the Government of the Passions.
As the Capacity which we find in our selves of Receiving and Comparing Ideas is what we call the Understanding, so the Power of Preferring any Thought or Motion, of Directing them to This or That thing rather than to another is what we mean by the Will: Whose Regularity consists in a constant Tendency towards such things as ought to be Prefer’d, or in a word, in Conformity to the Will of GOD. That GOD’s Will is the Rule of ours is methinks so plain that it needs no proof; for why do we Prefer a thing but because we Judge it Best? and why do we Chuse it but because it Seems Good for us? Now GOD being Infinitely Wise all his Judgments must be Infallible, and being Infinitely Good he can Will nothing but what is best, nor prescribe any thing that is not for our Advantage. This is I dare say what every one Thinks if they think at all about the matter and is the Rule they wou’d Act by did they give themselves leave upon all occasions duly to Consider and Weigh what is propos’d to them.
But as there are some Ideas which our Understandings receive so early that they seem to be born with us, which are never totally absent from our minds, and are in a manner the source of all the rest; so there are certain Motions or Inclinations inseparable from the Will, which push us on to the use of that Power, and determine it to the Choice of such things as are most agreeable to them. Nor shou’d we do amiss in following these Inclinations did they keep that Impression which the Author of Nature gave them, which is towards Good in general, or towards himself, for he only is our True Good, and these are the Wings of the Soul which shou’d carry it on vigorously towards him.
Whether there is not in us an Inclination to do what is Fit, that is to think and Act agreeably to a Rational Nature, without considering our own particular advantage I shall not here dispute. For whether this be so or no, ’tis certain that in our present Circumstances, we cannot separate Fit and Good in Reality, tho we may have distinct Ideas of them. What is really proper for Rational Creatures to do, tending necessarily to their Happiness, and nothing being able to make them truly Happy but that which is fit to be done. Besides, so pure an Inclination being wholly abstracted from Self-Love and Prejudice is not subject to any Irregularity, and so needs not be spoken of here; and perhaps so few are acquainted with it, that it will hardly be known what we mean by it.
An Inclination therefore after Happiness is that to which we shall at present reduce all the rest; which Happiness we pursue by removing as far as we can from that which is uneasie to us, and by uniting our selves as much as we are able to some Good which we suppose we want. The former of these being indeed a pursuit of Good, tho not so Directly as the latter. Good then is the Object of the Will, and hitherto one wou’d think there were no probability of our straying from the Will of GOD, and that there were so little need of advising us to Will as GOD Wills that it is impossible we shou’d Will otherwise; because whenever we oppose our Wills to his, we change in a manner the very Constitution of our Nature and fly from that Happiness which we wou’d pursue.
But the misfortune is as has been once observ’d already, that we Will e’re we are capable of examining the Reasons of our Choice, or of viewing our Ideas so exactly as we must if we wou’d Judge aright. And the frequent repetition of such unreasonable Choices makes them Customary to us, and consequently gives a new and wrong bias to our Inclinations, which upon all occasions dispose the Will to the Choice of such things as we suppose, tho by mistake, to contribute to our Happiness. Add to this, that the Passions which are certain Commotions in the Bloud and Animal Spirits accompanying these Inclinations, design’d in the Order of Nature for the good of the Body, as the Inclinations were intended for the Good of the Soul, do so unite us to sensible things, and represent ’em with such advantage, that Spiritual Good which seems at a greater distance relishes very little, and abstracted Truths do not find us so Impartial as to examin them throughly, and to give them their due Weight, when they’re ballanc’d against such things as may be Seen and Felt; these being commonly preferr’d, not for their intrinsic worth, but for their outward Shew and the Bulk they carry.
That we always endeavour to be Happy is sufficiently evident, and that we too frequently fly from GOD who only can make us so, Experience sadly Demonstrates. Which cou’d not be did we not grosly mistake our Happiness, as we certainly do whenever we Will any thing in opposition to the Will of GOD, whatever Appearance of Good it may happen to carry. ’Tis true the Will does always pursue Good, or somewhat represented to it as such, but it is not always, or rather very seldom, determin’d to the Choice of what is in it self the greatest Good. And though I suppose we always Chuse that which in that Juncture in which it is propos’d seems fittest for our Present turn, yet it is often such as we wou’d not prefer, did we impartially examin and observe the Consequences. But we will not do that, chusing rather to Act by the Wrong Judgments we have formerly made, and to follow blindly the Propensities they have given us, than to suspend our Inclinations as we both May and Ought, and restrain them from determining our Will, till we have fairly and fully examin’d and ballanc’d, according to the best of our Knowledge, the several degrees of Good and Evil present and future that are in the Objects set before us. The neglect of which is at once both our Fault and Misery; Our Fault in that we precipitate our Choice, refusing to Consider sufficiently to rectifie our Mistakes. And our Misery because we shall certainly be Disappointed sooner or later, and be convinc’d that what was so Hastily and Unreasonably Chosen, ought not even then to have been prefer’d, how Pleasant soever it appear’d, seeing it neither Was nor Cou’d be Good for us.
It seems indeed the greatest wonder in the World how any Man in his Senses can prefer the short Pleasures of Sin, which are attended even in this Life with Pain and Shame, and a thousand Inconveniencies, to the Present Delights of Vertue, and the Prospect of a Felicity Infinite and Eternal, if he does at all compare them. An Eternity of Joys must needs be preferable to Fifty or Threescore Years of Sinful Pleasures, weigh them in what Scales you please, and supposing these much greater than ever any Sinner found ’em, especially since they are attended with Eternal Pains, and no perverse Inclination can make us think otherwise if it will allow us to consider. But it will not allow Consideration, or if it does a little permit it, it deceives us however with fallacious Salvoes. It fixes our Thoughts on a Present Uneasiness which it says must be remov’d, and our Desires gratify’d at any rate, without suffering us to weigh the ill Consequences of doing so. And perhaps the Wrong bias which we receive from our Evil Inclinations does not consist in the persuading us that a Present Sinful Pleasure or Profit, is the Greatest Good, or that it ought to be Prefer’d before the Favour of GOD and Eternal Beatitude, which whenever we Think of we must needs acknowledge to be infinitely greater, but in keeping us from a full Conviction that th’ one can’t be Chosen without Renouncing th’ other, and in making us unwilling to examine throughly, lest we shou’d want the pretence of Ignorance or Passion to excuse what our Consciences can’t but Reproach us with as an unworthy Choice, whenever we permit our selves to Reflect.
So that the great aggravation of Sin seems to consist in this, That the commission of it is a pretending to be Wiser or Stronger than GOD, an attempt to out-wit him by Fineness, or else by plain Force to wrest his Felicity from him whether he Will or no. For seeing we always Will Happiness, and yet wou’d be Happy after another manner than GOD Wills we shall, we express a Desire, and an Endeavour so far as we’re able to Oppose and Alter his Will and Order, by reconciling the gratification of a present unreasonable Appetite with the Enjoyment of Happiness, tho he has declar’d they can’t be reconciled, and made it in the ordinary course of things impossible they shou’d.
Mr. Boyle Style of Scripture.
The Will of GOD then is the Rule of ours, and if it be ask’d how we shall come to the Knowledge of it? the Answer is ready, that the Eternal Word and Wisdom of GOD declares his Fathers Will unto us, by Reason which is that Natural and Ordinary Revelation by which he speaks to every one; and by that which is call’d Revelation in a stricter Sense, which is nothing else but a more perfect and infallible way of Reasoning, whereby we are Clearly and Fully instructed in so much of GOD’s Will as is fit for us to know. We must therefore Improve our Reason as much as our Circumstances in the World permit, and to supply its deficiency Seriously, Devoutly and Diligently study the Holy Scriptures “than which (to use the words of a most excellent Person) a Christian needs understand no other Book to know the duty of his Faith and Life, tho indeed to understand it well, ’tis ordinarily requisite that a pretty number of other Books be understood.”
See P. 114, &c.
In the former Chapter we have laid down a Method of using our Reason so as to discover Truth, by observing of which ’tis hop’d we may escape from considerable Errors, and consequently from great Offences. And tho I can’t say we shall never be Mistaken nor Chuse amiss, yet our Infirmities will be very pitiable, such as our Just and Merciful Lord God will never impute to us, tho we our selves ought to be humbled for and always endeavouring to rectifie ’em.
After all, the best way to be further Instructed in the Knowledge of our Duty is to Practise so much of it as we Know already. By keeping GOD’s Commandments, we get such a sound and strong Constitution of Soul, as leads us naturally to our True Good. For as a healthy person whose Tast is not vitiated, is directed by that, without examining the Philosophy of Bodys to such things as are fit for the nourishment of his own: So a Divine Sensation gives us a lively relish of what’s Good, and a perfect aversion to the contrary. It endues the Soul not only with a Sagacity of Understanding to discern readily what is best, but likewise with such a Regularity of Will, as makes it even Hate and Abhor all evil ways.
A most desirable Temper no doubt, the very top of Human Felicity, but how shall we obtain it? We find our selves under the power of quite contrary Inclinations and Relishes, and how to get rid of ’em we know not. This is indeed a very wretched condition, the only thing that deserves our Sorrow, yet the Case is not so desperate, but that by the help of an Almighty Physician we may be Cured, if in good earnest we set about it. And because the not discerning our true Happiness and the being accustom’d to pursue a false one is the cause of our Disorder, somewhat must be done by way of Meditation and somewhat by way of Exercise.
Now I know not any Subjects more proper for our Meditation on this and all occasions, than our own Nature, the Nature of Material Beings, and the Nature of GOD; because it is thro the mistake of some of these that our Inclinations take a wrong bias, and consequently that we transgress against GOD, our Neighbour and our selves. For did we consider what we Are, that Humane Nature conflicts in the Union of a Rational Soul with a Mortal Body, that the Body very often Clogs the Mind in its noblest Operations, especially when indulg’d. That we stand not singly on our own Bottom, but are united in some measure to all who bear a Human Form, especially to the Community amongst whom we live, and yet more particularly to those several Relations we may have in it. Did we go on to consider what are the proper Duties and Enjoyments of such a nature as ours, that is, what performances do naturally result from those Capacities we find our selves endow’d with, which may therefore be reasonably expected from us, and what sort of Pleasures we are made to relish. Again, were we so far at least Philosophers, as to be able to pass a due estimate on Material Beings, did we know ’em so well as not to prize them above their real value. Did we in the last place contemplate the Author of our Being, from whom we Derive and to whom we owe our All; and insted of prying saucily into his Essence, (an insufferable presumption in Creatures who are ignorant of their own) or pretending to know more of him than he has thought fit to communicate in his Word, and in that Idea of Infinite Perfection which he has giv’n us, Frequently, Seriously and Humbly Meditate on what he has been pleas’d to unveil. Did we but employ so much of our Time and Thoughts on these things as we do on our Sins and Vanities, we shou’d not be long in discerning the good effects.
For I question not but that we shou’d be convinc’d that the Body is the Instrument of the Mind and no more, that it is of a much Inferior Nature, and therefore ought to be kept in such a Case as to be ready on all occasions to serve the Mind. That the true and proper Pleasure of Human Nature consists in the exercise of that Dominion which the Soul has over the Body, in governing every Passion and Motion according to Right Reason, by which we most truly pursue the real good of both, it being a mistake as well of our Duty as our Happiness to consider either part of us singly, so as to neglect what is due to the other. For if we disregard the Body wholly, we pretend to live like Angels whilst we are but Mortals; and if we prefer or equal it to the Mind we degenerate into Brutes. The former indeed is not frequent, it is only to be found amongst a few Scrupulous Persons, who sometimes impose such rigors on the Body, as GOD never requires at their hands, because they are inconsistent with a Human Frame. The latter is the common and dangerous fault, for the most of us accustom our selves to tast no other Pleasures than what are convey’d to us by the Organs of Sense, we pamper our Bodies till they grow resty and ungovernable, and instead of doing Service to the Mind, get Dominion over it.
Thus we learn what is truly to Love our selves: for tho Self-Love as it is usually understood has a very ill Character and is the Root of Evil, yet rightly apply’d it is Natural and Necessary, the great inducement to all manner of Vertue. They cannot be said to Love their Body who wou’d not willingly suffer a little pain in a Finger to preserve an Arm, much more to save their Life; nor do they in reality love themselves, who wou’d not readily suffer any uneasiness in their Body, which may conduce to the good of their Mind; and who do not prefer the least probability of bettering their condition in the next Life, to all the Conveniencies of this, nay even to Life it self.
Again, when we consider that we are but several Parts of one great Whole, and are by Nature so connected to each other, that whenever one part suffers the rest must suffer with it, either by Compassion or else by being punish’d for the want of it, we shall never be so absurd as to fancy we can do ourselves a Service by any thing Injurious to our Neighbours.
And finding both that we’re endow’d with many excellent Faculties, which are capable of great Improvement, such as bespeak in us somewhat too Divine, to have it once imagin’d that it was made for nothing else but to move a portion of Matter 70 or 80 Years; to Act only on the Stage of an Unjust and Ill-natur’d World, where Folly and Wickedness usually go away with the Reward that is due to Wisdom and Vertue: And yet that for all these Excellencies, somewhat is still wanting to complete our Happiness, we do not find intire Felicity in our selves, but we are conscious of many wants which must be supply’d elsewhere. We therefore look about to see where we may meet with this Supply, and Material Beings with which were compass’d do first present themselves. These are the Objects of our Senses, it is at their presence that the Body tasts all its Pleasures, no wonder therefore if it endeavour to persuade us that our Good is here, tho a little Consideration, if not our frequent disappointments when we seek no further, were sufficient one wou’d think to convince us that it is not. For when we come to weigh ’em in an impartial consideration we discern, that as they are GOD’s Work they have a Perfection suitable to their several Natures, and are as perfect as is consistent with the several Ranks and Stations they are plac’d in, so that consider’d Positively they are not to be Contemn’d, since they set forth the Wisdom, Power and Goodness of their Maker. But if we compare them with the Human Soul they appear of little value, and of none at all in comparison of Him who made them; and since their Nature is beneath, and their Worth much less than ours, we cannot find our Happiness in ’em. They contribute ’tis true to the Preservation and Ease of the Body, they help to make it fit for the Service of the Mind; But since a very few of ’em will do this, the rest are but a load and trouble, so far from being useful, that they indeed hurt us, unless they’re made to minister to Charity and Contemplation.
Let then these little things be drawn aside, these Clouds that hide the most adorable Face of GOD from us, these Mud-walls that enclose our Earthly Tabernacle and will not suffer us to be pierc’d with the Beams of his Glory, and wounded, not to Death but Life, with the Arrows of his Love and Beauty. In him we find that infinite Good which alone can satisfie us, and which is not to be found elsewhere! Somewhat in which we lose our selves with Wonder, Love and Pleasure! Somewhat too ineffable to be nam’d, too Charming, too Delightful not to be eternally desir’d! And were we not sunk into Sense, and buried alive in a croud of Material Beings, it might seem impossible to think of any thing but Him. For whether we consider the Infinite Perfection of his Nature, or the Interest we have in, and our intire dependance on him. Whether we consider him as Maker and Governor of all things, as filling all places, intimately acquainted with all Events, as Righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. Whether we contemplate his Almighty Power; or what seems more suitable to our Faculties and Condition, the Spotless Purity of his Nature, the Moral Rectitude of his Will, which guided by Infallible Wisdom always Chuses what is Best. And more particularly his Infinite Goodness, his Beneficence to the Children of Men; that he is not only Good in himself, but that he is also Our Good, the only Amiable Being, who is altogether Lovely, and worthy of All our Love, the Object of our Hope, the Sum of our Desire, the Crown of our Joy, without whom we shall for ever Languish and Grieve; Enjoying whom we have nothing to Fear, nor any thing to Hate but what wou’d deprive us of that Enjoyment. If we consider how much he has done to render us capable of this Happiness even when we fled from it; what affronts he has put up, with what Patience he bears our Follies and solicits our Return, in a Word, all the Wonders of his Love in Christ Jesus! We cannot sure do less than fix our Thoughts for ever on Him, and devote our selves Intirely to Him! All our Passions will be Charm’d, and every Inclination attracted! We shall no more dispute his Will, nor seek exemption from it, but with all Sincerity of Heart, and ardent Desire cry out, Lord what wilt thou have me to do? Not my Will Lord, but thine be done! The business of our Lives will be to improve our Minds and to stretch our Faculties to their utmost extent, that so we may have the fullest enjoyment our Nature will admit, of this ever satisfying and yet ever desirable, because an Infinite, and our True, Good.
As to what is to be done by way of Exercise, not to enter too far into the Philosophy of the Passions, suffice it briefly to observe: That by the Oeconomy of Nature such and such Motions in the Body are annext in such a manner to certain Thoughts in the Soul, that unless some outward force restrain, she can produce them when she pleases barely by willing them; and reciprocally several Impressions on the Body are communicated to, and affect the Soul, all this being perform’d by the means of the Animal Spirits. The Active Powers of the Soul, her Will and Inclinations are at her own dispose, her Passive are not, she can’t avoid feeling Pain or other sensible Impressions so long as she’s united to a Body, and that Body is dispos’d to convey these Impressions. And when outward Objects occasion such Commotions in the Bloud and Animal Spirits, as are attended with those Perceptions in the Soul which we call the Passions, she can’t be insensible of or avoid ’em, being no more able to prevent these first Impressions than she is to stop the Circulation of the Bloud, or to hinder Digestion. All she can do is to Continue the Passion as it was begun, or to Divert it to another Object, to Heighthen or to let it Sink by degrees, or some way or other to Modifie and Direct it. The due performance of which is what we call Vertue, which consists in governing Animal Impressions, in directing our Passions to such Objects, and keeping ’em in such a pitch, as right Reason requires.
By which it appears that it is not a fault to have Passions, since they are natural and unavoidable, and useful too; for as the Inclinations are the Wings of the Soul, so these give Life and Vigor to the Inclinations, by disposing the Body to act according to the Determination of the Mind. But the fault lies here, we suffer ’em too often to get the Mastry of the Mind, to hurry it on to what Objects they please and to fix it there, so that it is not able to consider any Idea but what they present. Whereas the Soul can if she please, and if she makes use of her Authority in time, divert the Course of the Spirits, and direct ’em to a new Object, by Limiting or Extending her Ideas, and by laying aside those the Passions excited, and entertaining new ones. Nay, if we do but forbear to revolve such Considerations as are apt to continue the Commotion of the Spirits, it will cease of it self. This is what we can and ought to do, and if we do not perform it, we act rather like the Slaves of Sense than Creatures endued with Reason; but if we do, we can hardly receive any Injury from the Passions.
The way therefore to Govern ’em is to be always in a Temper fit for this, Recollect and Compos’d, holding our Minds in as even a poise as ever we can between Mirth and Melancholy, one of which Stupifies the Soul and the other Dissolves it; and both of ’em weaken and dispose it for Passion. Nothing but what feeds the ill humor will make Impression whilst it is under the power of this, nor any useful thing stay in it, but it lies open to all manner of evil, when it is violently agitated by that. Too much of either rendring us unfit to Converse with our selves or others; such a mixture of both as makes us Serious without Sourness, and Chearful without Levity, being the happy Temper. It is by surprize that the Passions injure us, they violently attack our Reason when she is not prepar’d to receive them, so that the Will is determin’d all of a sudden by Confuse Perceptions and Sensations. Nor is it easie to repulse them when once they have gain’d ground, because they often bribe our Guard, and get the Mastry of us by those very Considerations which shou’d have been arm’d against ’em. But Recollection, a sedate and sober frame of Mind, prevents this Mischief, it keeps our Reason always on her Guard and ready to exert her self; it fits us to Judge truly of all occurrences, and to draw advantage from whatever happens. This is the true Art of Prudence, for that which properly speaks us Wise, is the accommodating all the Accidents of Life to the great End of Living. And since the Passiveness of our Nature makes us liable to many Sufferings which we cou’d wish to avoid, Wisdom consists in the using those Powers, which GOD has given us the free disposal of, in such a manner, as to make those very things which befal us against our Will, an occasion of Good to us.
For if we do not live like Machines, but like Reasonable Creatures, that is if we Observe, Examine and Apply whatever comes under our Cognizance, every Turn in our own and our Neighbours Life will be Useful to us. It is not to be deny’d that we’re generally Critical Observators on our Neighbours, but I’m afraid it is with an Ill not a Good Design. We do’t to feed our Pride by an ungenerous insulting over their Infirmities, or thinking to Excuse and Justifie our own Faults by theirs. But we seldom set a mark on the Precipices from whence they fell that we may avoid ’em, or note their False Steps, that ours may be more Exact.
And indeed as things are usually manag’d, since Modesty, Breeding, or Sheepish Cowardise, restrains even those who are capable of bettering Conversation, from Edifying Discourses, the only use we can make of that Time which the World borrows of us and Necessary Civility exacts, is to lay in Matter of Observation. I do not mean that we shou’d make Ill-natur’d Remarks, or Uncharitable Reflections on Particular Persons, but only that we take notice of the several workings of Human Nature, the little turns and distinctions of Various Tempers; there being somewhat peculiar almost in every one, which cannot be learn’d but by Conversation and the Reflections it Occasions. For as to the main, we learn it by looking into our own Hearts, one Person being but the Counterpart of another, so that they who thorowly Know themselves have a right Idea of Mankind in general, and by making reasonable allowances for Circumstances, may pretty well guess at Particulars.
But even the Knowledge of our selves is not to be had without the Temper here recommended. For since the Passions do mostly depend on the Constitution of the Body, Age, Education and way of Living; so that the same Object does not only Affect several Persons differently, but variously moves the very same Person at several Seasons; and there was once a time perhaps, when that which puts us now in a ferment had no power to move us: We must therefore to the general consideration of Human Nature already spoken of, add a more minute inquiry into our own; Observing our Particular Passions, that especially to which we’re most inclin’d by Nature, on which all the rest in a manner depend; and all the Peculiarities that are to be found in our own Temper. Very great things many times depending on a trivial Humour; nor is it so often Reason, as our particular way of using it that determines our Thoughts and Actions. Now nothing less than a continual Watch and Application can procure us a sufficient Acquaintance with our selves, we cannot well discern what Objects most sensibly touch us; which is our weakest side; by what means it is Expos’d or Strengthened; how we may Restrain or rightly Employ a Passion we cou’d not Prevent; and consequently grow strong by our very Infirmities, whilst we make them an occasion of Exercising and Encreasing our Vertue unless we’re always in a watchful Frame, unless we make Remarks even whilst the Passion is working, and Constantly attend the least beatings of our own Heart. Our own Heart which is indeed one of the best Books we can Study, especially in respect of Morality, and one principal Reason why we’re no better Proficients in useful Knowledge, is because we don’t duly consult it.
Again, we shou’d endeavour to render Spiritual and Future things as Present and Familiar as may be, and to withdraw as much as we can from sensible Impressions, especially from such as attack us violently. She whose Mind is busied about the former will find ’em of Weight and Moment sufficient to employ all her Passions, whilst the other will be scarce taken notice of; or be look’d on with Indifferency, because they appear to deserve very little Admiration, Joy, or Sorrow, and are not of value enough to discompose the Mind. And tho we have not Ambition to aspire to St. Paul’s Perfection, who was Crucified to the World and the World to him, a greater Character than that of Universal Monarch; tho we think it impossible to be wholly Insensible to it whilst we live in it: Yet sure we can’t deny that it is Possible, and very much our Duty, to be more indifferent to the Objects of Sense than the most of us are. For we certainly do amiss if we fix our Eyes and Thoughts so constantly on ’em, as that at last we take them for the most considerable things, and imagine that our Happiness is here; or, tho we can’t be so gross as to believe this, yet if we act as if we did; It wou’d become us much better to argue, that the Possession of these Worldly Advantages which Mankind so much contend for, is Good if it can procure us Eternal Felicity; and that the Want of ’em is an Evil, if it exclude us from the Kingdom of Heav’n.
By which we learn how necessary it is to Retire and Meditate frequently; and how much it becomes us to keep out of the way of Theatrical Shows and inordinate Merriments, and not so much as to enter into a Parley with those Pomps and Vanities we renounc’d in our Baptism. For tho some extraordinary Tempers may make use of these to stir up the Powers of their Soul, and to give them a greater aversion to Vanity, as some Poysons are said to be Antidotes against others, yet for the most part they have an ill Effect: Because they deprive the Soul of real Joy and divine Serenity, by making too strong an Impression on the Senses, whereby the Animal Spirits are very much Mov’d and Exhausted, and being spent on trifles the Mind is left Dull, Unactive, and Melancholy too, especially if it Reflect on its Actions as it ought; so natural and necessary is it, that Vain Mirth shou’d conclude in Heaviness.
Les Passions de l’Ame.
Again, the Passions consider’d as Bodily Impressions only, excite us many times to the Gratification of the Animal in prejudice of the Rational Nature. For tho Mankind had Originally no Appetites but what might Innocently be satisfied; yet since our Degeneracy, and that we have lost the true Relish of Good and Evil, they often give us false alarms, stirring us up to Pursue or Avoid what indeed we Ought not, if we consult our Good in the Main, and not the pleasing of a Part, nay the Worst part of us. But if we consider ’em as attending our Inclinations, they can do no hurt, let ’em be as Brisk and Active as they can, provided they fix on their Proper Objects. Now what these are is to be found by the Nature of the Passions, by which we are led to the Use of ’em, since every thing ought to be employ’d about that which it is fitted for. But this being already accounted for by Des Cartes and Dr. More, in his excellent Account of Vertue, I cannot pretend to add any thing to what they have so well Discours’d. Only as a further confirmation of what has been already said we may observe; That Admiration gives Rise to all the Passions; for unless we were Affected with the Newness of an Object, or some other remarkable Circumstance, so as to be attentively engag’d in the Contemplation of it, we shou’d not be any wise mov’d, but it wou’d pass by unregarded. And therefore ’tis very necessary not to be struck with little things, or to busie our Minds about ’em, but to fix all our Attention on, and to keep all our Admiration for things of the greatest moment, such as are those which relate to another World.
We may further observe, that there is a leading Passion almost in every one, to which the Temper of their Body inclines, and on which the rest do in a manner wholly depend, especially if it be confirm’d by Education and Custom, so that if we duly manage this, we have the Command of all. Some are more subject to Fear, some to Hope, to Joy, Sorrow or the like, than others; but Love seems to be the predominant Passion in every one, and that which makes one of the former more remarkable than another, is only because it has been oftner mixt with Love. And indeed, since this is at the bottom of all the Passions, one wou’d think they’re nothing else but different Modifications of it, occasion’d by some Circumstance in the Subject or Object of this Passion. Thus Desire is a Love to Good consider’d as Future; Hope the Passion that disposes us to believe we may, and Fear that we shall not obtain it. Joy is a pleasant Commotion of the Soul in the Fruition of the Good we Love; and Sorrow a disagreeable one occasion’d by the want of it, or presence of its contrary. The like may be said of the rest, for even Hatred tho it appear directly opposite to Love, may be refer’d to it, the very same motion that carrys the Soul towards Good, carrying her also from those things which wou’d deprive her of it, which on that account are call’d Evils, and why do we Hate any thing, but because it does some way or other hinder our Enjoyment of what we Love?
If therefore our Love be Right, the rest of our Passions will of course be so; and our Love which is a motion of the Soul to joyn it self to that which appears to be grateful to it, will then be right when our Notions of Good and Evil are; That is, when we do not take up with Imaginary or Particular, but pass on to the Sovereign Good, to GOD who is the only proper and adequate Object of our Love, as Sin is of our Hatred, all things else being no otherwise to be Pursued or Avoided, than in proportion to the Relation they bear to these. So that if we Love GOD with All our Soul, as He certainly Deserves, and as we certainly Must if we wou’d be Happy; we shall be so taken up with the Contemplation and Admiration of his Beauties, have so boundless an Esteem, such an awful Veneration for, and so great a Contempt of all things in Comparison of Him; that our Desires will be carried out after nothing but GOD, and such things as may further our Union with Him. His Favour, and the Light of His Countenance will be the Object of our Hopes, nor shall we much Fear any thing but His Displeasure. No Grief will pierce our Heart but for our many Offences against, and our Imperfect Enjoyment of Him. We shall perfectly Hate all evil ways, be Jealous of Sin at the remotest distance, and suspect every thing that has the least appearance of a Temptation. We shall be extremely Watchful over all our Actions, and never Resolve upon any till we’re fully assur’d it is conformable to his Will and Pleasure. Whither will not our Emulation rise, what Difficulties won’t our Courage surmount, when th’ Enjoyment of a GOD is what we aspire to! The defects of our Services, and our failings in our Duty towards Him, will be the only occasion of Shame; for Reproach from Men when suffer’d for His sake will be counted a high Encomium, and his Approbation our only Glory. If ever we are Angry it will be when His Laws are Contemn’d and Right Reason violated; a just Indignation will arise when the Worthless are Prefer’d, and Merit is left unregarded. His Favourites will be ours, we shall dispense our Good-will to every one proportionably as they are dear to Him; and shall think our Gratitude can never enough express it self, to that Bountiful Being from whom we receiv’d our All. And Oh! with what Joy and Satisfaction of Mind shall we proceed in every step of this! how pure and exalted is that Pleasure, how highly entertaining, which results from the right use of our Faculties, and Fruition of the Sovereign Good! Happiness is the natural Effect as well as the Reward of an Ardent Love to GOD, and what necessarily flows from it, Universal Piety: That Holy Soul is always serene, and full of unutterable Bliss, whose Reason Directs, and whose Passions readily Obey, whilst both are Guided by his Will and Spirit who is Infallible. She tasts a Pleasure which the World can neither give nor take away, nor can Worldly Minds so much as Imagine it: She is satisfied with the Past, Enjoys the Present, and has no Solicitude for, but a Joyful Expectation of what’s approaching. For why the Dawnings of a Blisful Endless Day, break forth already in that Happy Mind, whose Temper and Constitution is Heavenly; it has a Foretaste, and thereby a well-grounded Assurance, of never-ceasing Joys to Come!
So far (by the way) is Religion from being an Enemy either to Nature or Pleasure, that it perfects the one, and raises the other to the greatest height. It teaches us the true Use of the Creatures, keeps us from expecting more in them than we can ever find, and leads us to the Enjoyment of the Creator who only can satisfie us. For I wou’d fain know of any experienced Person, whether any of the Delights of this World did ever answer Expedition when Enjoy’d, and whether the Joys of Religion do not exceed it? We come to the first with mighty hopes and are always Disappointed, to the last we approach with Fear and Trembling, supposing it will rob us of all the Satisfactions of Life, we shrink at the Pain and Difficulty, and thats the only thing in which after a little Trial we find our selves much mistaken. Good Christians being indeed the truest Epicures, because they have the most tastful and highest Enjoyment of the greatest Good.
Ladies Calling.
For GOD is too Kind and Bountiful to deny us any Pleasure befitting our Nature; he does not require us to relinquish Pleasure, but only to exchange the Gross and Insipid for the Pure and Relishing, the Pleasures of a Brute for those of a Man. He wou’d not have us enslav’d to any Appetite, or so taken up with any Created Good whatever, as not to be able to maintain the Empire of our Reason and Freedom of our Will and to quit it when we see occasion. And this is all that the Rules of Self-Denial and Mortification tend to so far as they are Rational, they mean no more than the procuring us a Power and Disposition to do that which we come now in the last place to recommend, which is, To sanctifie our very Infirmities, to make even the disorderly Commotions of our Spirits an occasion of producing Holy Passions. It were better indeed if they were rais’d upon a right Principle; that the Passions did not move the Mind, but the Mind the Passions; and that the Motives to Religion were not Sensitive but Rational. However in the Infancy of our Vertue, it may not be amiss to make some use of our Vices, and what we advise if it serve no other end, ’twill help at least to break Ill-Habits and that’s a considerable benefit. Agreeable to which did an excellent Author bespeak the Ladies sometime ago: Let her that is Amorous, place her Love upon him who is the Chiefest among ten thousand; she that is Angry turn her edg against her Sins; she that is haughty disdain the Devils Drudgery; she that is Fearful dread him who can destroy, both Body and Soul in Hell; and she that is sad reserve her Tears for her Penitential Offices. Which, with the rest of that Authors Ingeniuous and Kind Advice, I heartily wish were not only to be seen in their Closets, but transcrib’d in their Hearts and Legible in their Lives and Actions.
Now in order to this, if our guard has been surpriz’d, and some sensible Impression has strongly broke in upon us, so that we find our selves all in a ferment, let us manage the Opportunity discreetly, change the Object and hallow the Passion. Which is no very difficult thing, for when a Passion is boyling it will spend it self on any Object that we please to fix it on. And the Proper Objects of our Passions, being most considerable in ’emselves, and naturally most apt to move us if we’ll but give them fair play, that is allow ’em a place in our Thoughts, they’ll work out the other, and make our Passions what they shou’d be: We have a plain Instance of this in Afflictions, in which our Grief is at first excited by some outward Cause, and when that has softned us, the Spirit of GOD who is never wanting unless we Neglect or Quench him, improves this Worldly into a Godly Sorrow that worketh Repentance not to be Repented of.
Besides, as there is a Pleasure in the Passions as well as in all the genuine Operations of Nature, so there’s a Pain accompanying ’em when misplac’d, which disposes the Mind to a readiness to rectifie them, that so it may enjoy the Pleasure without mixture of Pain. If therefore we assist it with a little Meditation, it will readily come over; and tho we may find it difficult absolutely to quash a Passion that is once begun, yet it is no hard matter to transfer it, so that it may pour forth it self in all its pleasing transports, without fear of danger, or mixture of uneasiness.
But a Caution will not be amiss, which is, that we don’t mistake the Fits of Passion for a Spirit of Piety and Devotion. They are good beginnings ’tis true, but if we’re only wafted up to Heaven in our Closets, and shew forth nothing or very little of it in our Lives and Conversations, we may cheat our selves with the conceit of being Holy, but neither GOD nor Man will be so impos’d on. She who mourns for her Sins, tho never so bitterly, and yet returns to them at the next occasion, gives a very good Evidence of her Weakness, but none of her Repentance. She who pretends to never so great transports of Love to GOD, and yet is wedded to the world, can part with nothing for his sake, nor be content and easie when He only is her Portion, gives Him good words, and makes Him many fine Complements and that’s the whole of the matter. She who makes shew of great Awe and Reverence towards the Divine Majesty at Church and has no regard to Him in the World his larger Temple, as good as declares that she thinks his Presence confin’d to a place, or that she hopes to commute a Days neglect for an Hours Observance, and expresses her Contempt of GOD much more than her Veneration. How can she profess to Hope in Him who is Anxious and Solicitous about the least Event? Or say that her Desires are fix’t on GOD who has a great many Vanities and Sensual Aptites to be Satisfied?
Nor are we less out of the way when we tincture our Religion with our Passions, and fashion an Idea of it according to our own Complection not the tenor of the Gospel. Hence comes that great diversity we meet with both in Practice and Theory, for as there is somewhat Peculiar almost in every ones Temper, so is there in their Religion. Is our Disposition Sad and Cloudy, are we apt to take Offence, Suspicious and hard to be pleas’d? we imagine GOD is so, Religion is not our Joy but our Task and Burden, we become extremely scrupulous and uneasie to our selves and others. And if Resolution and Daring be joyn’d with our Melancholy, and Temptations fall pat in our way, we discard such a troublesome Religion and set up for Atheism and Infidelity. On the other hand, if we’re Fearful and Timerous our Superstition has no bounds, we pay less regard to those Laws our Maker has prescrib’d, than we do to those Chimera’s our own Fancy has invented to reconcile Him. A mistake which the Brisk and Jovial are sensible of, but not of the contrary extreme they run into; they discern that GOD’s ways are ways of Pleasantness, and all his Paths are Peace, that Good Christians live the Happiest Lives, ’tis their Duty to Rejoyce evermore, and all the good things of the World are at their service. All which is very true, but then it is as true, that their Pleasures are not Sensual but Rational and Spiritual, which is not a lessening, but an Addition to their Character; that we are to Use the World so as not to abuse either our selves or it, to testify on all occasions our Moderation and Contempt of it, to be ready to quit it, nay even to part with Life it self when ever they come in competition with our Duty. In a word, if our Anger against our own Sins provokes us to be Peevish with others, tho not so good as they shou’d be, it goes too far. If our Zeal finds fault with all who do not come up to our Heights, or who don’t express their Devotion in our way, it is not according to Knowlege, that is, it is not Discreet and Christian. If our great Love to GOD takes us up so much, that we think we may be morose and ill-natur’d to our Neighbour, we express it in a very disagreeable way: And I dare say it wou’d be more acceptable to Him, if insted of spending it all in Rapture and Devotion, a part of it were employ’d in Imitating his Beneficence to our Fellow-Creatures.
To wind up all; The Sum of our Duty and of all Morality, is to have a Temper of Mind so absolutely Conform’d to the Divine Will, or which is the same in other words, such an Habitual and Intire Love to GOD, as will on all occasions excite us to the Exercise of such Acts, as are the necessary consequents of such a Habit. This frame and Constitution of Soul is what we must all our Life time Labour after, it is to be begun, and some Proficiency made in it whilst we stay on Earth, and then we may joyfully wait for its Consummation in Heaven, the reason why we cannot be perfectly Happy whilst we tarry here, being only because we can have this Temper but Imperfectly. The want of which is the Hell of the Damn’d, the degree of their misery bearing a proportion to their opposition to the Divine Will. For Happiness is not without us, it must be found in our own Bosoms, and nothing but a Union with GOD can fix it there; nor can we ever be United to Him any other wise than by being like Him, by an Intire Conformity to his Will.
Now she who has obtain’d this blessed Temper, whose Will is Right, and who has no Passion but for GOD’s Service, is pleas’d that his Wisdom shou’d Chuse her Work, and only prepares to dispatch it with the greatest Diligence and Chearfulness. She keeps All his Precepts, and does not pick and Chuse such as are for her turn, and most agreeable to her own Humor; but as she does every thing for His Sake, so is she easy and pleas’d under all his Dispensations; is truly indifferent to Applause, and fully content with GOD’s Approbation. Indeed the Conquest of our Vanity is one of our last Triumphs, and a Satisfaction in all GOD’s Choices for us, from a full Conviction that they are most for our advantage, the best Test of a Regular Will and Affections. For these are heights to which we can’t arrive till we have travers’d over all the Paths of Vertue, and when once our Passions are reduc’d to this, I know not in what they can oppose us.
Not but that we’re strictly oblig’d to Provide for honest things in the Sight of Men as well as of GOD, to do nothing but what is of Good Report; to Abstain from all Appearance of Evil; not to give Occasion of Slander to those who desire and Seek it; but to Let our Light so shine before Men, that they may see our Good-works and Glorify our Father who is in Heaven. But when we have done this, and have taken all possible care to approve our selves to GOD and Man, can we be at Ease if we fail in the latter? Are we more desirous of a Good than a Great Reputation? and wou’d we not to get a Name amongst our Fellow Servants, do any thing that may in the least Offend, or be less acceptable to our Common Master? Can we bear the being Censur’d as Singular and Laugh’d at for Fools, rather than comply with the evil Customs of the Age? and are we much more Covetous of the Substance Vertue, than of the Shadow Fame? If it be so we’re pretty sure that all is Right, and that GOD’s will is the Rule, and his Glory the End of all our Actions. It goes to a good Womans heart to receive that Commendation which the good-nature or Civility of another bestows on her, when she knows she does not Merit it, and to find whilst she’s applauded abroad, a thousand Follies, Mistakes and Weaknesses in her own Mind. All the use that she makes of her Credit and Esteem in the World, is to excite her to Deserve it, tho at present perhaps she does not, and Really to come up to that Character which all are Ambitious to have.
Again, what is said of Submission and a perfect acquiescence in the Divine Will, is not to be so understood as if it were a fault to change our Circumstances when we’re fairly and honestly call’d to’t, or that we might not seek by honourable ways to enlarge them if they sit too strait. But it is design’d to correct that Complaining humor, which makes us always dissatisfied with the Present, and longing after a Change; which, how Religious soever we wou’d appear, is a very sure sign that our Passions are not mortified nor our Will reduced to a due Regularity: As hers is without doubt who can be pleas’d when even her most innocent Desires are denied, when she is disappointed in what she thinks her Best Designs. For such an one has nothing in her Temper that Sensible Impressions can so strongly fasten on, as to discompose her Mind; and what can she meet with to seduce her to Unlawful, who desires not to be her own Chuser in Lawful and Indifferent things?
The Laws of GOD have a Natural and Inward Goodness, which wou’d recommend them to a Rational Mind tho they were not injoyn’d, and therefore no wonder that Temper inclines one, Conveniency another, and Reputation a third to the Practise of some of them. But a Will duly regulated passes over these and is acted by a higher Motive, she who is Religious upon a Right Principle regards the Will of GOD only, for that and that alone is able to carry her Uniformly and Constantly thro all her Duty. Thus Acts of Beneficence, Liberality and Charity, are full of Lustre, they procure for their Possessor a lofty Character, and therefore whether we Value them or no, we’re willing however to seem to be fond of ’em. We fancy what mighty things we wou’d do were we in such or such a Persons Circumstances, and long to be Rich and Great that we may Relieve the Needy and Rescue the Oppressed. But we are not so forward in aspiring after Poverty, tho nothing shews a Braver Mind than the bearing it Nobly and Contentedly; we care not to be the Oppressed Person, that we might exercise Meekness and Forgiveness, Patience and Submission. Not but that the Vertues of Adversity are as lovely in themselves, and as Acceptable to GOD as those of Prosperity, or rather more so, because they express a greater Love to GOD, are more opposite to Vicious Self-Love, and do more eminently declare the Veneration we have for the Divine Wisdom and Goodness, which we can Adore and Delight in, which we can Justify and Applaud even in the most uneasy Circumstances. But they don’t make so great a Figure in the World, they don’t feed our Vanity so much, nor are so agreeable to Flesh and Bloud, and that’s the reason why we care not for them.
’Tis true we profess that we desire Riches and Honour, a great Reputation and Theater in the World, on no other account but to do GOD Service. But if we are real in this, why don’t we perform so much as we might in our Present Station? Alas! we Cheat our selves, as well as endeavour to impose on others; and under Pretence of seeking GOD’s Glory, in Reality pursue nothing but our own. For had we indeed that Esteem for GOD and Intire Conformity to his Will, which is at once both the Duty and Perfection of all Rational Beings, we shou’d not complain of his Exercise of that Power, which a Prince or even an Ordinary Master has a Right to; which is, to set his Servants about such work as he thinks them fittest for. If we allow that GOD Governs the Universe, can we so much as imagine that it is not Govern’d with the Greatest Justice and Equity, Order and Proportion? Is not every one of us plac’d in such Circumstances as Infinite Wisdom discerns to be most suitable, so that nothing is wanting but a careful observation whither they lead us, and how we may best improve them? What reason then to complain of the Management of the world? and indeed except in the Morals of Mankind which are visibly and grossly deprav’d, I see not why we shou’d so much as wish for any alteration. The Wicked Prosper sometimes and what then? shall we grudge them their Portion here, since that’s their All, and alas a very sorry one!
Besides, this world is not a soil for perfect Happiness to Grow in, Good and Evil are blended together, every Condition has its Sweet and Bitter, we maybe Made by Adversity and ruin’d by Prosperity according as we manage them. Riches and Power put opportunities of doing Good into our hands, if we have a Will to Use them, but at the same time they furnish us with Instruments of doing Evil. They afford us at once the Conveniences of Life and fuel for irregular Appetites. They make us known to others, but many times hinder us from being acquainted with our selves. They set us in view, so that if our Example be Bright it becomes the more Illustrious; but we must also remember that our Faults are as conspicuous as our Vertues, and that Peoples eyes are most intent on those, and most inquisitive to find ’em, so that even our innocent Liberties are many times misconstrued.
By Obscurity, and a Narrow Fortune, we’re depriv’d of somewhat Necessary or Commodious to our Present Living, but are quickned to a more diligent concern for a Life to Come; we don’t find our Good things here, and common Prudence will teach us to take care that we may enjoy them hereafter. If we do not Possess much, we have not much to Lose, nor such great Accounts to make; have little Business and less Authority with others, but hereby the more Command of our own Time and Thoughts. Our Vertue is plac’d in an ill-light, and our Wisdom rejected with a What Impertinents are these, who pragmatically attempt to Instuct their Betters? but we have fewer Temptations to shock the one, and greater Advantages, as things are commonly manag’d to improve both. We’re expos’d to the Contempt and Outrage of the World, but that makes us less in love with it, and more ready to welcome Death, whene’er it brings the kind Releasing Summons.
It may be thought a considerable omission that no directions have bin given, any further than the management of our Own Inclinations and Passions; tho’t be very advantageous to know how to deal with other Peoples, both in regard of Education, and of the Influence that they have on ours. But I have this to say, that Education is a beaten Subject, and has been accounted for by better Pens than mine: And that in this as in all other things, we are to treat our Neighbours as we do our selves, shew ’em the unsuitableness of those Objects which Irregular Affections pursue, and persuade them to a willing use of such methods as we take to Cure our own. It requires I confess, no little Skill to do this to purpose, and to convince them that, we’re really their Friends, whilst we strive to divorce them from such Objects as they’re endear’d and fastned to by a thousand tyes: And this is so nice a matter, so laborious a task, that the more I consider it the more unable I find my self to give sit Directions for the performance of it. They who wou’d do that, must have a more exact Knowlege of Human Nature, a greater Experience of the World, and of those differences which arise from Constitution, Age, Education, receiv’d Opinions, outward Fortune, Custom and Conversation, than I can pretend to. And perhaps there is no need of Directions since few will attempt to practise them; for if a Passion that is young and tender gives us work enough, as the difficulty of Education plainly shews it does, they had need be very Kind, very Good, and very Wise, who set about the Cure of an Old and inveterate one. Nor can they who have so much Divinity in their Mind as to design such a noble work, be thought to stand in need of any advice how to perform it.
However, I’ll venture to say in general, that we must never oppose Commotion with Commotion, nor be in Passion our selves if we wou’d reform anothers, else we lose many good Opportunities and seem to seek the gratification of our own humor rather than our Neighbours good. No discouragements shou’d shock us, no ungrateful returns shou’d lower our Temper, but we must expect and be prepar’d to bear many repulses and wild disorders, and patiently sustain that greatest uneasiness to a Christian Mind, the bitter appearance that our Hopes are lost, and that all the Labour of our Love is ineffectual! We must abound both in Good-Nature and Discretion, and not seldom make use of quite contrary Means to bring about the End we aim at. Removing all Fuel from the Passion sometimes; and sometimes Indulging it as far as Innocently we may; and if nothing else will do, give it line enough, that so it may destroy it self in its own Excesses.
But ah! will any one drive us to such a desperate Remedy as often Kills, and cannot Cure without a very great Care, and a more than Ordinary assistance of GOD’s Grace, which they have little reason to hope for, who abandon themselves to Temptations, and push things to such Extremities! Will nothing less than Temporal Ruin which unreasonable Passions naturally end in serve to prevent Eternal? and it were well if even that wou’d do, for they usually involve in both. If therefore such as are in Passion are capable of hearing any thing but what soothes ’em in their own way, I wou’d beg of ’em for GOD’s sake and their own, to grant but this one very easy and equitable Request, which is Calmly to Hear and to Consider what may be said against their darling Passion. For if it be Right it will stand the test of all that can be urg’d against it; if it be not, is it Good for them to retain and cherish it any longer? And if they refuse to listen to the Kind, tho according to them, unseasonable and mistaken advice that is given, and seek no further than for Arguments to Justifie themselves, do they not by so great a Partiality secretly confess that they are in the Wrong, and wou’d not have it discover’d that they are so, because they’re resolv’d with or without Reason to continue their irregular Passion?
And the cause of this strange Resolution seems to be this, That a Passion of any sort having got the hank of one, it becomes so Natural, so Agreeable, that the going about to wean them from it, looks like an attempt to deprive them of all their Joy; and they’re hardly persuaded to part with what’s a Present Delight, let its Consequences be what they may, and tho the quitting of it be in order to th’ enjoyment of that much Sweeter, as well as Nobler Pleasure, which arises from the due use of Reason; and with which those Wise and Holy Souls are entertain’d, who prefer the relishes of a Rational before those of an Animal Life.
But they ought not to think us their Enemies, when we endeavour their Cure, tho we happen to Lance and Scarifie them. They who are Sick of Passion are like People in a Lethargy, insensible of their Danger; nay they’re fond of their Disease, and set themselves against our Medicines; tho the greater unwillingness they show to be Disturb’d, so much the more need of Rousing ’em out of their pleasing slumber. The more secure they think themselves, the more wretched is their Condition, for that’s a sign that the Passion has got an intire Possession of their Soul, and has fortified all its Avenues against Reason and Wholesome Advice. And ’tis worth being remarqued, that our Inclinations how Innocent and Harmless soever they appear, are always to be suspected if the Passions that accompany them are violent. For Violence does not Answer but Destroy the Use of Passion, it hinders th’ Operations of the Soul, insted of disposing the Body to follow her Directions Vigorously.
And as to the Influence that another Persons Passion may have on us, enough has bin said to warn us, not to dally with the Flame when our Neighbours house is on Fire, lest we be consum’d in it; and carefully to avoid doing any thing which may excite, or encrease their Passions. But when we discern that the Plague is begun, let’s remove with all possible speed out of the infected Air. Great Passions arise from very small beginings, and that which appear’d Innocent at first if allow’d on that account, does often become our Ruin, or gives us at least the greatest trouble in overcoming it.
The CONCLUSION.
P.72, &c.
Thus you have Ladies, the best Method I can at present think of for your Improvement, how well it answers my Design the World must judge, if you are so favourable as to think it comes up to’t in any measure, what remains but to put it in Practise, tho in the way in which you live, ’tis not probable that all of you either Will or Can, for reasons mention’d in the first Part, and particularly because of the great waste of your Time, without Redeeming of which there’s nothing to be done. It is not my intention that you shou’d seclude your selves from the World, I know it is Necessary that a great number of you shou’d live in it; but it is Unreasonable and Barbarous to drive you into’t, e’re you are capable of doing Good in it, or at least of keeping Evil from your selves. Nor am I so fond of my Proposal, as not to lay it aside very willingly, did I think you cou’d be sufficiently serv’d without it. But since such Seminaries are thought proper for the Men, since they enjoy the fruits of those Noble Ladies Bounty who were the foundresses of several of their Colleges, why shou’d we not think that such ways of Education wou’d be as advantageous to the Ladies? or why shou’d we despair of finding some among them who will be as kind to their own Sex as their Ancestors have been to the other? Some Objections against this design have already been consider’d, and those which I have since met with are either too trifling to deserve a serious Answer, or too Ill-natur’d not to require a severer than I care to give them. They must either be very Ignorant or very Malicious who pretend that we wou’d imitate Foreign Monastries, or object against us the Inconveniencies that they are subject to; a little attention to what they read might have convinc’d them that our Institution is rather Academical than Monastic. So that it is altogether beside the purpose, to say ’tis too Recluse, or prejudicial to an Active Life; ’tis as far from that as a Ladys Practising at home is from being a hindrance to her dancing at Court. For an Active Life consists not barely in Being in the World, but in doing much Good in it: And therefore it is fit we Retire a little, to furnish our Understandings with useful Principles, to set our Inclinations right, and to manage our Passions, and when this is well done, but not till then, we may safely venture out.
As for those who think so Contemptibly of such a considerable part of GOD’s Creation, as to suppose that we were made for nothing else but to Admire and do them Service, and to make provision for the low concerns of an Animal Life, we pity their mistake, and can calmly bear their Scoffs, for they do not express so much Contempt of us as they do of our Maker; and therefore the reproach of such incompetent Judges is not an Injury but an Honor to us.
The Ladies I hope pass a truer estimate on themselves, and need not be told that they were made for nobler purposes. For tho I wou’d by no means encourage Pride, yet I wou’d not have them take a mean and groveling Spirit for true Humility. A being content with Ignorance is really but a Pretence, for the frame of our nature is such that it is impossible we shou’d be so; even those very Pretenders value themselves for some Knowlege or other, tho it be a trifling or mistaken one. She who makes the most Grimace at a Woman of Sense, who employs all her little skill in endeavouring to render Learning and Ingenuity ridiculous, is yet very desirous to be thought Knowing in a Dress, in the Management of an Intreague, in Coquetry or good Houswifry. If then either the Nobleness or Necessity of our Nature unavoidably excites us to a desire of Advancing, shall it be thought a fault to do it by pursuing the best things? and since we will value our selves on somewhat or other, why shou’d it not be on the most substantial ground? The Humblest Person that lives has some Self-Esteem, nor is it either Fit or Possible that any one should be without it. Because we always Neglect what we Despise, we take no care of its Preservation and Improvement, and were we throughly possess’d with a Contempt of our selves, we shou’d abandon all Care both of our Temporal and Eternal Concerns, and burst with Envy at our Neighbours. The only difference therefore between the Humble and the Proud is this, that whereas the former does not prize her self on some Imaginary Excellency, or for any thing that is not truly Valuable; does not ascribe to her self what is her Makers due, nor Esteem her self on any other account but because she is GOD’s Workmanship, endow’d by him with many excellent Qualities, and made capable of Knowing and Enjoying the Sovereign and Only Good; so that her Self-Esteem does not terminate in her Self but in GOD, and she values her self only for GOD’s sake. The Proud on the contrary is mistaken both in her Estimate of Good, and in thinking it is her Own; She values her self on things that have no real Excellency, or which at least add none to her, and forgets from whose Liberality she receives them: She does not employ them in the Donors Service, all her care is to Raise her self, and she little considers that the most excellent things are distributed to others in an equal, perhaps in a greater measure than to herself, they have opportunities of advancing as well as she, and so long as she’s puft up by this Tumor of Mind, they do really excel her.
The Men therefore may still enjoy their Prerogatives for us, we mean not to intrench on any of their Lawful Privileges, our only Contention shall be that they may not out-do us in promoting his Glory who is Lord both of them and us; And by all that appears the generality will not oppose us in this matter, we shall not provoke them by striving to be better Christians. They may busy their Heads with Affairs of State, and spend their Time and Strength in recommending themselves to an uncertain Master, or a more giddy Multitude, our only endeavour shall be to be absolute Monarchs in our own Bosoms. They shall still if they please dispute about Religion, let ’em only give us leave to Understand and Practise it. And whilst they have unrival’d the Glory of speaking as many Languages as Babel afforded, we only desire to express our selves Pertinently and Judiciously in One. We will not vie with them in thumbing over Authors, nor pretend to be walking Libraries, provided they’ll but allow us a competent Knowlege of the Books of GOD, Nature I mean and the Holy Scriptures: And whilst they accomplish themselves with the Knowlege of the World, and experiment all the Pleasures and Follies of it, we’ll aspire no further than to be intimately acquainted with our own Hearts. And sure the Complaisant and Good natur’d Sex will not deny us this; nor can they who are so well assur’d of their own Merit entertain the least Suspicion that we shall overtop them. It is upon some other account therefore that they object against our Proposal, but what that is I shall not pretend to guess, since they do not think fit to speak out and declare it.
Some indeed are pleas’d to say, that tho this appears in Speculation to be a very Happy and Useful way of Living, it will be quite another thing when reduc’d to Practice. Variety of Humours will occasion Resentments and Factions, and perhaps other inconveniencies not yet foreseen; nor can we expect that every Person there will be of such an agreeable, obliging and teachable Temper, as neither to Give nor Take Offence. And supposing the first Company were as tractable and as happily cemented by the mutual love of Vertue, and prudent Management, as we cou’d desire, yet how can we be secure of their Successors, or that this as well as other good Institutions shall not degenerate?
I agree so far with this Objection as to grant that our Proposal is not such a piece of Perfection that nothing can be said against it, but is there any thing in this World that is so? Or do Men use to quit their Employments and Houses, their Wives and Children, Relations and Friends, upon every little pet, or because they very often find trouble or disagreeableness? do they not rather if they are good Christians, bear with Infirmities and endeavour to mend them? He then who wou’d Object to purpose must shew that the Good it may do is not equivalent to the Evil which may attend it; that the Ladies will suffer greater Inconveniencies with, than without it, and that it will not in the Main be best. Otherwise we shall take liberty to believe that it is Humor, Covetousness or any thing rather than Reason which restrains him from Approving and Promoting it. There is a certain Pride in the Mind of Man, which flatters him that he can See farther and Judge better than his Neighbour, and he loves to feed it by scrupling and objecting against what another proposes, who perhaps has not over-look’d those fine discoveries in which he hugs himself, but having view’d them on all sides has discern’d and despis’d their insignificancy. I wou’d only ask our Objectors whether they think the World so good as that it needs none, or so bad as that it is not capable of Amendment? If neither of these, let them tell me whether Complaining and Wishing will ever do the business, or who is the greatest Benefactor to Mankind, he who finds fault with every Project set on foot to better and improve them, because it is not exactly after the Pattern in the Mount, that is indeed according to his own tooth and relish; it is not beyond exception, but has a touch of Humane Weakness and Ignorance mingled with it? Or he who vigorously and sincerely with a pure heart and a diligent hand, sets about doing what he Can, tho not so much as he Wou’d, were his abilities greater? We’re all apt enough to cry out against the Age, but to what purpose are our Exclamations unless we go about to Reform it? Not faintly and coldly as if we were unconcern’d for the success, and only wou’d do somewhat to still the reproaches of our Consciences and to exalt us in our own Imaginations, with the Pompous Idea of Zeal and Public Spiritedness; but with all our Might, with an Unwearied Industry and Vigor, I’me asham’d to say like that which the Instruments of Satan express in making Proselytes to Wickedness and Prophaneness; but rather with such as becomes the Servants of Christ, which bears some sort of proportion to the Greatness of our Master, the Importance of the Work and the Excellency of the Reward.
We do not expect that all who come into this Society will be perfect, but we will endeavour to make them and our selves so as much as may be. Nor shall any be admitted who either have not, or are not desirous to have, that Divine yet humble, that Great and Generous, yet Meek and Condescending Spirit, that unfeigned Love to GOD and all Mankind which was in Christ Jesus. We set no other Rules than those of the Gospel, Christianity being the highest Improvement of a Rational Nature, and every one’s oblig’d to keep its Institutions whether they Live in such a Society or out of it.
And as for that degeneracy which it may fall into, ’tis too general an objection to have any weight, and may as well be urg’d against Universities, all sorts of Government, and indeed against every thing, as against this. May be’s and if’s are endless, and he who undertakes to provide against all Future Contingencies, either believes no GOD or fancies himself to be one. A Prudent Man will look as far as he can, and provide to the utmost of his Knowlege and Power, but when that’s done, he knows he’s but a Man and therefore can’t possibly Forsee and Remedy all things.
Let’s then do what we Can, and leave the rest to our Great Benefactor and Governor, but let us set about our own part, not only when the way is open and easy, who shall give us thanks for that? but in spite of all Difficulties and Discouragement, since we have so Glorious a Leader, so indefatigable in his Labours, so boundless in his Love, such an Omnipotent Assister who neither wants Power nor Will to help us. The Peevishness and Obstinacy of such as Quarrel with our Labour of Love and set themselves against all we can do to serve them, will only add to our Laurels and enlarge our Triumphs, when our Constancy in doing Good has at last o’ercome those Perverse Opposers of it.
The End.
ERRATA.
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Books printed for Ric. Wilkin at the King’s-Head in St. Paul’s Church-yard.
A Serious Proposal to the Ladies for the Advancement of their true and greatest Interest: Part 1. By a Lover of her Sex, the 3d. Edition.
Letters concerning the Love of God, between the Author of the Proposal to the Ladies and Mr. John Norris. 8o.
Bishop Patrick’s Glorious Epiphany. 8o.
—— His Search the Scriptures. 12o.
Dr. Abbadie’s Vindication of the Truth of Christian Religion, against the Objections of all modern Opposers. 8o.
Dr. Woodward’s Natural History of the Earth. 8o.
An Answer to W. P. his Key about the Quakers Light within and Oaths; with an Appendix of the Sacraments. 8o.
The Lives and Acts of the Holy Apostles comprehensively and plainly related according to the Holy Scriptures and the Writings of the Primitive Fathers of most approved Authority. 8o.
A Letter to the Honourable Sir Robert Howard: Together with some Animadversions on a Book entituled Christianity not mysterious. 8o.
The Inhuman Cardinal, or Innocence betray’d, a Novel. 12o.
Ibrahim, the 13th. Emperor of the Turks, a Tragedy: Both written by Mrs. Mary Pix.
The Unnatural Brother: A Tragedy, by Edward Filmer, L.L.D.
FINIS.
