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<DATE>2011-01-20</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="frontispiece">
<PB N="1" REF="1">
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>portrait of Boethius</FIGDESC>
<HEAD>SEVERINUS BOETIUS. ANICIUS MANLIUS</HEAD>
<Q>Ex veteri Natua marmorea qu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ letters"> e&s;t Roma.</Q>
</FIGURE></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS BOETIUS, OF THE CONSOLATION OF <HI>Philo&s;ophy.</HI></P>
<P>In Five BOOKS.</P>
<P>Made Engli&s;h and Illu&s;trated with NOTES, By the Right Honourable <HI>RICHARD</HI> Lord Vi&s;count <HI>PRESTON.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>J. D.</HI> for <HI>Awn&s;ham</HI> and <HI>John Churchill,</HI> at the Black Swan in <HI>Pater-no|&s;ter-Row;</HI> and <HI>Francis Hildyard</HI> Book&s;eller in <HI>York.</HI> MDCXCV.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB N="iii" REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P><HI>A</HI> Long Retirement in the Country ha|ving afforded me many Hours of lei&s;ure, I con&s;idered that I could not employ them better than in giving an Eng|li&s;h Dre&s;s to this Part of the Works of <HI>Boetius,</HI> intituled, <HI>Of the Con&s;olation of Philo&s;ophy.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Chaucer,</HI> the antient Poet of our Na|tion, was the fir&s;t whom I find to have attempted a Tran&s;lation of this Book into our Tongue: but that is now almo&s;t as un|intelligible to the Engli&s;h Reader as the Ori|ginal is; the Alterations of our Language, which he is &s;aid, before any of our Country|men, to have endeavoured to refine, having been very many and great &s;ince the times in which he flouri&s;hed. I have al&s;o &s;een two
<PB N="iv" REF="3">
other Tran&s;lations, the one of them publi&s;hed in the Year <HI>1609.</HI> The other only of four Books in that of <HI>1674,</HI> imprinted at <HI>Ox|ford:</HI> and though I &s;hall not cen&s;ure either of them, I may mode&s;tly &s;ay, that I &s;ee no|thing in them which may hinder me from offering one to the Publick which may be more correct.</P>
<P>In this &s;mall but mo&s;t admirable Book are to be found great Variety of Learning, many weighty Sentences, much well-dige&s;ted Morality, and exact Rules for Life. This, and the other Works of our Author, &s;hew him to have been a Man of comprehen&s;ive Learn|ing, and of great Piety and Devotion; and his Con&s;tancy in Suffering makes him ap|pear to have been of as great Vertue and Courage.</P>
<P>He fell into ill Times, living when the Roman Empire was ju&s;t expiring, being brought to its Period by the violent Irrup|tions of &s;everal Northern Nations which flow|ed down upon it like an impetuous Torrent; who&s;e Force was not to be re&s;i&s;ted, but did
<PB N="v" REF="3">
carry all things before it; it being then the Cu&s;tom of tho&s;e People who lived North|wards, beyond the <HI>Rhine</HI> and the <HI>Danow,</HI> born in an healthful and prolifick Climate, to abandon their native Countries when they were over-&s;tock'd, (as they often happened to be) and to &s;eek new Habitations.</P>
<P>By this Means the Face of <HI>Italy</HI> (and in|deed of a great Part of <HI>Europe</HI>) was over|&s;pread with (Barbari&s;m; Arts and Civility were buried in their own Ruines, and all was &s;ubjected to the Will and Violence of bloody Conquerors.</P>
<P>In the wor&s;t of the&s;e Times this good Man endeavoured to maintain the Rights of his Country, and was the great Supporter of that &s;mall Part of the Roman Liberty which re|mained, de&s;iring nothing more than to &s;ee it one day re&s;tored: but it was not the Plea&s;ure of Heaven to grant his De&s;ire; it rather thought fit to permit him to fall into the Hands of his Tormentors, who&s;e Per&s;ecutions and Cru|elties only ended with his Life, and under the more barbarous Treatment of tho&s;e who gave
<PB N="vi" REF="4">
a Liberty to their Tongues (as appeareth in &s;e|veral Parts of this Book) to traduce and vi|lify his afflicted Vertue, to deba&s;e and decry his Sufferings, who handled his Wounds with|out Compa&s;&s;ion; and who, by &s;tabbing his Fame and Reputation, became more criminal than tho&s;e partial Judges who condemned him to Death, and more bloody than tho&s;e Exe|cutioners who acted the Tragedy upon his Bo|dy.</P>
<P>Hence it is that we may find him to have been the Subject of Reflection and Di&s;cour&s;e to the A&s;&s;emblies of the Pretenders to Policy, the Enquirers after and Tellers of News, who were generally the Knaves and Fools of his Country; and of tho&s;e mean-&s;pirited Men who being at a Di&s;tance from the Dangers and Mi&s;|fortunes with which he was oppre&s;s'd, thought they might &s;afely pa&s;s a Cen&s;ure upon his Actions and Carriage, <HI>like Plowers plowing upon his Back, and making their Furrows long;</HI> and &s;o, at his Expence, advance a little Tro|phy of Reputations to them&s;elves, by pretend|ing, perhaps, that their Demeanour &s;hould
<PB N="vii" REF="4" MS="y">
have been with more Firmne&s;s if they had been in his Circum&s;tances, when mo&s;t of them had not Souls, calmly, to think upon what he with Con&s;tancy and Bravery did endure.</P>
<P>It is true that this way of treating Unfor|tunate, though Good Men, as it had a Be|ginning long before the Times of <HI>Boetius,</HI> &s;o daily Experience &s;hews that it hath been care|fully continued &s;ince, even to our own, and will be carried on, doubtle&s;s, till all things &s;hall have an End.</P>
<P>He from whom Fortune hath withdrawn her kinder Influences, and upon whom tho&s;e who, under God, govern the World do not think fit to &s;hine, whatever his Merits may have been before, will find him&s;elf expo&s;ed to all the Injuries which his Superiours, Equals or Inferiours &s;hall think good to heap upon him: <HI>He becometh a Reproof to all his Ene|mies, but e&s;pecially among&s;t his Neigh|bours; his Kinsfolks and Acquaintance &s;tand far off him, and are afraid of him; and they who &s;ee him without do convey them&s;elves from him: He
<PB N="viii" REF="5">
becomes like a broken Ve&s;&s;el, and is clean forgotten, like a dead Man out of Mind: He heareth the Bla&s;phemy of the Multitude,</HI> (which is always as ill-grounded as it is loud) <HI>and the Drunkards make Songs upon him.</HI> So that the Ob|&s;ervation made by the ingenious and learned Mr. <HI>Dryden,</HI> in his Dedication before the Tran&s;lation of <HI>Juvenal, pag. 35, &amp; 36.</HI> appears to be very ju&s;t, which is, that amongst Men, tho&s;e who are pro&s;perou&s;ly unju&s;t are entituled to a Panegyrick, but afflicted Ver|tue is in&s;olently &s;tabbed with all manner of Reproaches: No Decency is con&s;idered, no Ful&s;omne&s;s is omitted, no Venom is wanting &s;o far as Dulne&s;s can &s;upply it; for there is a perpetual Dearth of Wit, and Barrenne&s;s of good Sen&s;e and Entertainment.</P>
<P>But the&s;e are the ordinary Turns of Pro|vidence, to which all Men ought to &s;ubmit; as tho&s;e who are endowed with Piety and good Sen&s;e do with Willingne&s;s, ever making the right U&s;e of them, without being &s;urprized at them; becau&s;e they know that that Happi|ne&s;s
<PB N="ix" REF="5" MS="y">
is only to be found within them&s;elves, which others &s;o anxiou&s;ly hope and &s;eek for from foreign Objects.</P>
<P>This makes the wor&s;t of Evils, Bani&s;hment or Death, to be endured with Chearfulne&s;s by Men of great Souls, they knowing that the Per&s;ecution of this World is, to be the la&s;t Proof of their Patience and Fidelity; and that when that is at an end, their Vertue &s;hall be rewarded and crowned.</P>
<P>It now remains that I acquaint the Reader with the De&s;ign of this Book, and al&s;o that I &s;ay &s;omething concerning my Performance upon it.</P>
<P>Our Philo&s;opher here attempts to bring Man to a true Under&s;tanding of the Sove|reign Good of humane Minds; for &s;ome time after the Creation of the World he lived, and acted according to the Divine Rules and the Law of Nature: but being fallen into a State of Sin and Impiety, he &s;oon lo&s;t all his natu|ral
and glorious Idea's and Forms, and was no longer cheri&s;hed with the kind Favours and Influences of Heaven as before he had been.
<PB N="x" REF="6">
Yet notwith&s;tanding this unhappy Change, Vice had not &s;o far obtain'd over Vertue, but humane Nature &s;till had a Knowledg (though much fainter) of God; it &s;earched after him who gave to it a Being, and urged it &s;elf on to de&s;ire and pur&s;ue Happine&s;s. From hence it came to pa&s;s, that the Sages and Philo&s;o|phers of &s;everal Ages differed much in their Opinions concerning the <HI>Summum Bonum,</HI> or Sovereign Good, or Happine&s;s of humane Nature, as may be &s;een by their Writings, and the Hi&s;tories which make mention of them; which Opinions I need not now to enumerate, they being &s;o well known. But we, whom God hath ble&s;&s;ed with greater and more cer|tain Lights than Nature could afford, do now know well that our Happine&s;s can con&s;i&s;t in no other thing than in its Union with the Eternal Good: This being the highe&s;t Perfection of our Souls, it ought to incite us to pur&s;ue vigo|rou&s;ly &s;o Exalted and Seraphick a State of Life; which leads us to tho&s;e Felicities which this World cannot &s;hew. <HI>Boetius</HI> therefore here demon&s;trates to us plainly, that there is
<PB N="xi" REF="6">
no &s;ub&s;tantial Happine&s;s in this World; that Riches, Honours, worldly Glory, or Pomp, can afford us none, but rather that we are tra|velled with Unea&s;ine&s;s and Inquietude amidst our large&s;t Enjoyments; that we can never be &s;atisfied with any thing below that Eternal and Immortal Good which hath left &s;ome Im|pre&s;&s;ions of it &s;elf upon every Creature; and that we mu&s;t &s;trongly endeavour to &s;ettle our &s;elves in the happy Condition of a Conjunction with the Eternal Being, and not &s;top in the Pur&s;uit of it by repre&s;enting to our &s;elves that humane Life is full of Mi&s;eries, that inno|cent Vertue is afflicted and di&s;tre&s;&s;ed, and that Wickedne&s;s is triumphant, and Impiety pro|&s;perous. We are advi&s;ed by him al&s;o to con&s;i|der that God, who ever hath ruled, and will rule the World, will at la&s;t do Ju&s;tice to tho&s;e who have lived according to his Precepts, and have been ju&s;t and righteous, however they may have been per&s;ecuted; and that he will &s;hew in his own time that he maketh great Dif|ference betwixt them, and tho&s;e who have of|fended him by tran&s;gre&s;&s;ing his Laws.</P>
<P><PB N="xii" REF="7">It is here al&s;o &s;hewn, that Death it &s;elf, which &s;eems &s;o terrible to our Natures, doth only, after the Fatigues and Travels of the Day of Life, lay us, as it were, at Night to &s;leep, that &s;o our high and noble Faculties may be awaken'd to the Participation and Enjoyment of a more &s;erene, free and happy E&s;tate, which the Misfortunes of this World cannot affect, and which &s;hall never have an End.</P>
<P>This I take to be the Sum of what is con|tained in this Book of <HI>Boetius.</HI></P>
<P>I am now to adverti&s;e the Reader, that in my Tran&s;lation I have followed the Editions of <HI>Vallinus,</HI> and that of the Sieur <HI>Cally</HI> for the U&s;e of the <HI>Dolphin,</HI> becau&s;e I take them to be the mo&s;t correct of any of tho&s;e which I have &s;een. In the Annotations al&s;o I have mo&s;tly followed them, becau&s;e I have found them very learned and exact; but when I have made u&s;e of them, I have very much contracted them. I fore&s;ee too, that it may be objected, that in them I &s;eem to affect bor|rowed Learning, (which indeed I do not, nor ever did) and that tho&s;e Stories out of the
<PB N="xiii" REF="7">
Poets and Mythologi&s;ts, which &s;well the Vo|lume, might have been omitted, becau&s;e they are commonly known. To this I an&s;wer, that I did not make this Tran&s;lation for the Learn|ed, and that by Con&s;equence I could not intend to inform them, by my Notes and Illu&s;trations, of any thing which they did not know before; but that I did think they might be in&s;tructive to the Engli&s;h Reader, and might make the Sen&s;e of the Book more plain and plea&s;ant to him, for who&s;e U&s;e alone both the one and the other were de&s;igned.</P>
<P>I know that Fault will al&s;o be found with the Liberty which I have taken in rendring of the Ver&s;e, and with my own Additions which are in &s;ome Places made. To this I mu&s;t re|turn, that I have endeavoured, as well in tran&s;lating the Pro&s;e as Ver&s;e, not to omit any part of the Author's Sen&s;e; and, to the be&s;t of my Under&s;tanding, I am &s;ure I have not: but, I think, &s;ince tho&s;e Tran&s;lations are al|lowed by all Men to be flat and in&s;ipid, where the Words of the Author are too clo&s;ely fol|lowed, it mu&s;t then be nece&s;&s;ary that &s;omething
<PB N="xiv" REF="8">
&s;hould be added or alter'd by the Tran&s;lator to heighten them, and to give them a more grate|ful Ta&s;te, which is all I have pretended to do: But I mu&s;t leave it to others to judg how well or how ill I have performed this.</P>
<P>I have al&s;o rendred &s;ome <HI>Metres</HI> into blank Ver&s;e, which may &s;eem to &s;ome Readers to be an Effect of Lazine&s;s: But let the Cen|&s;urers con&s;ult the Original, and they will find that where-ever I have done it, the Subject and the Nature of the <HI>Metre</HI> is &s;uch, that the Author's Sen&s;e could not be clearly ex|pre&s;&s;ed in the more confin'd way of Rithme.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="biography">
<PB N="xv" REF="8">
<HEAD>THE LIFE OF BOETIUS.</HEAD>
<P>ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERI|NUS BOETIUS was de&s;cended from an antient and noble Family, many of his Ance&s;tors having been Senators and Con|&s;uls, and was born at <HI>Rome</HI> in that time when <HI>Augu&s;tulus,</HI> the la&s;t of the Roman Emperors, (having for Fear re&s;ign'd the Empire) was ba|ni&s;h'd, and <HI>Odoacer</HI> King of the Herulians began to reign in <HI>Italy,</HI> about the Year of Chri&s;t CDLXXV, or a little after. His Grandfather &s;eems to have been BOETIUS, a Con&s;ular Man, who was Captain of the Guards to <HI>Va|lentinian,</HI> and accompanied <HI>Aetius,</HI> that valiant Commander, in all his Expeditions, equally &s;haring with him his Labours and Victories; and &s;uffer'd for his &s;ake when he was kill'd by the Hand of the Emperor, who envy'd his Fame, and fear'd his Valour; with whom the
<PB N="xvi" REF="9">
Life, Safety, and Maje&s;ty of the We&s;tern Em|pire expired. His Father was ANICIUS MANLIUS FLAVIUS BOETIUS, Son of BOETIUS, mention'd above, who was Con&s;ul in the Year CDLXXXVII. He dy|ing when his Son was an Infant, his Friends and Relations took care of his Education, and &s;ent him to <HI>Athens,</HI> where he not only attain'd to a perfect under&s;tanding of the Greek Tongue, but al&s;o of Philo&s;ophy, and of all other kinds of Sciences. Nor did he &s;pend many Years in tho&s;e Studies, but with a wonderful Quickne&s;s he perfected him&s;elf in the Knowledg of all Arts and Di&s;ciplines: Therefore returning young to <HI>Rome,</HI> he &s;oon became the Admirati|on of all there, and in &s;hort time was advanc'd to the chief Dignities of his Country. Fir&s;t he was admitted into the Rank of Senators: Next he obtain'd the Con&s;ulate: and la&s;t of all, was made Ma&s;ter of the Offices. He had two Wives, the one nam'd <HI>Helpes;</HI> the other <HI>Ru&s;ticiana:</HI> The fir&s;t was a Sicilian by Birth; her Father's Name was <HI>Fe&s;tus,</HI> at that time Chief of the Senate. Her Vertues, and the Endowments of her Mind, far exceeded her Beauty and Fortune: She excell'd in Poetry, and writ according to the mo&s;t exact Rules of it, accompanying her Husband as a &s;weet and in&s;piring Genius, whil&s;t he compos'd &s;ome of his immortal Works. He de&s;ired much to have
<PB N="xvii" REF="9">
had I&s;&s;ue by her, and perform'd the la&s;t Offices to her in the following Ver&s;es, which expre&s;s with Pa&s;&s;ion his Conjugal Affection.</P>
<Q><L>HELPES dicta fui, Siculae Regionis Alumna,</L>
<L>Quam procul &agrave; patria, Conjugis egit amor.</L>
<L>Quo &s;ine, moe&s;ta dies, nox anxia, flebilis hora,</L>
<L>Nec &s;olum Caro, &s;ed Spiritus unus erat.</L>
<L>Lux mea non clau&s;a e&s;t, tali remanente marito,</L>
<L>Majorique animae, parte &s;uper&s;tes ero.</L>
<L>Porticibus &s;acris, tam nunc peregrina quie&s;co,</L>
<L>Judicis aeterni te&s;tificata Thronum.</L>
<L>Ne qua manus Bu&s;tum violet, ni&s;i fort&egrave; jugalis,</L>
<L>Haec iterum cupiat jungere membra &s;uis.</L>
<L>&V;t Thalami Cumul&iacute;&abque; comes, nec morte revellar,</L>
<L>Et &s;ocios vitae nectat uterque Cinis.</L></Q>
<P>In Engli&s;h thus;
<Q><L>Led by the Charms of my kind Lord I came</L>
<L>To <HI>Rome, Sicilian HELPES</HI> was my Name.</L>
<L>My Days, Nights, Hours, he did with Plea&s;ure crown,</L>
<L>One were our Bodies, and our Souls were one.</L>
<L>Though forc'd from hence, I do my Fate &s;urvive,</L>
<L>Whilst &s;till my nobler Part in him doth live.</L>
<L>A Stranger in this &s;acred Porch I lie,</L>
<L>And of th' Eternal Judg I te&s;tify.</L>
<L>O let no Hand invade my Tomb, unle&s;s</L>
<L>My Lord would mingle this my Du&s;t with his:</L>
<L>As once one Bed, then &s;hould we have one Grave,</L>
<L>And I in both &s;hou'd him my much-lov'd Partner haue.</L></Q></P>
<P><PB N="xviii" REF="10">His other Wife was <HI>R&V;STICIANA,</HI> Daughter to <HI>Quintus Aurelius Memius Symma|chus,</HI> who was al&s;o Chief of the Senate, and Con&s;ul in the Year CDXXCV. By her he had many Children, two of which were Con&s;uls, viz. <HI>Q&V;INT&V;S ANICI&V;S SYMMA|CH&V;S,</HI> and <HI>ANICI&V;S MANLI&V;S SEVERIN&V;S BOETI&V;S,</HI> in the Year DXXII. this bearing the Name of his Father, the other of his Grandfather. <HI>Boetius</HI> well con|&s;idering that <HI>Symmachus,</HI> his Father-in-law, be|ing without Heirs-male, he &s;hou'd do a grate|ful thing to him if he gave his Name to his elde&s;t Son by his Daughter. 'Tis likely that his Wealth was not &s;mall, becau&s;e (be&s;ides that he owns in his Writings, that he liv'd in great Plenty and Splendour, and that he had an Abun|dance and Affluence of all worldly things) his Father &s;upported the honourable Office of the Con&s;ulate; and his Grandfather, in the mo&s;t difficult times of the Empire, commanded the Pretorian Bands. Nor was he only con&s;idera|ble by his Patrimony, for he had a great Ac|ce&s;&s;ion to his Fortune by his Wife <HI>R&V;STICI|ANA,</HI> to whom (and her Sons) the whole E&s;tate of <HI>Symmachus</HI> did de&s;cend, &s;ince <HI>Galla,</HI> the other Daughter of <HI>Symmachus,</HI> upon the Death of her Husband, who died young, &s;oon after the time of his Con&s;ul&s;hip was expir'd, vow'd perpetual Cha&s;tity, and a&s;&s;ociated her
<PB N="xix" REF="10">
&s;elf to the Ve&s;tals. To the&s;e Ornaments of Birth and Fortune Nature added al&s;o the con&s;i|derable Faculties of Speaking and Writing; in which he &s;o excell'd, that him&s;elf acknow|ledges the fir&s;t; and that the &s;econd was not wanting to him, will appear to any one who examines what he has written upon the &s;everal Subjects of Mathematicks, Logick and Divini|ty: But this Divine Work <HI>of the Con&s;olation of Philo&s;ophy</HI> doth far exceed the re&s;t, for it abounds in various and difficult Arguments, and yields many choice Sentences and Rules of Life. Up|on every Subject which he attempts he does &s;o acquit him&s;elf, that none can be &s;aid to have taught more accurately, to have prov'd more irrefragably, or to have illu&s;trated with more Per&s;picuity. To be &s;hort, he had &s;o much Strength of Soul and Thought, and he &s;hew'd &s;o much Judgment in all his Managements, that even a mo&s;t knowing Prince fear'd his Parts; and his Vertues and Integrity became his Crime, and wrought his Ruine. The&s;e were the Cau&s;es of his Bani&s;hment and Death: With the&s;e he &s;tudied to defend the good, and to curb and re&s;train ill Men, whenever it was in his Power: For whil&s;t he &s;u&s;tain'd the Dignity of Ma&s;ter of the Offices (it being dangerous for him then to refu&s;e to do &s;o) he was made Pre&s;ident of the Council, to whom it belong'd to over&s;ee the Di&s;cipline of the Palace; and being Partaker
<PB N="xx" REF="11">
of many of the Secrets of his Prince, was call'd often to advi&s;e him in his weightie&s;t Affairs of State; and on all the&s;e Occa&s;ions he gave great Proofs of his Abilities and inviolable Equity. Among&s;t other of his generous and good Acti|ons he defended <HI>Paulinus</HI> and <HI>Albinus,</HI> both Con&s;ulars, and the Senate it &s;elf, with the rich Province of <HI>Campania,</HI> again&s;t the Rapine and Violence of King <HI>Theodorick, Cyprian, Triguilla</HI> and <HI>Coniga&s;t;</HI> and al&s;o again&s;t the devouring Avarice of the Captain of the Guards, and other barbarous Spoilers. By the&s;e Proceedings he became the Object of ill Mens Hate, and in|curr'd al&s;o the Di&s;plea&s;ure of the King. But at this very time the Orthodox Emperor <HI>Ju&s;tin,</HI> &s;ucceeding to <HI>Ana&s;ta&s;ius</HI> the Arian like a new Sun, enlightned the Oriental Regions with the Light of the true Faith: He confirm'd that Peace which was de&s;ir'd by <HI>Theodorick</HI> King of the Gothes, who then (<HI>Odoacer</HI> being &s;lain) reign'd in <HI>Italy.</HI> He having reconcil'd the Church of <HI>Con&s;tantinople,</HI> and al&s;o &s;everal others, to <HI>Hormi&s;da</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome,</HI> did immediately, by his Edict, bani&s;h all Arians, except the Gothes, out of the Ea&s;tern Empire. <HI>Theodo|rick</HI> the Goth was troubled at this Action above mea&s;ure; however he di&s;&s;embled his Re&s;ent|ment, when behold three Informers, Men of de&s;perate Fortune, and wor&s;e Lives, <HI>Gauden|tius</HI> and <HI>Opilio,</HI> for &s;everal Offences being con|demn'd
<PB N="xxi" REF="11">
to Bani&s;hment, and <HI>Ba&s;ilius</HI> lately di&s;|mi&s;s'd from being Steward of the King's Hou&s;e|hold, and al&s;o much indebted, apply to the King and accu&s;e <HI>BOETI&V;S,</HI> for that he &s;hould hin|der an Informer from bringing in his Witne&s;&s;es to prove the whole Senate guilty of Trea&s;on; that he declar'd his De&s;ign, by &s;everal Letters, of re&s;toring the Liberty of <HI>Italy;</HI> and that he had endeavour'd to rai&s;e him&s;elf to Honours by magical Arts, and other unlawful Means. <HI>Theo|dorick</HI> jealous, as all are, of the Rights and Safety of his Crown, and fearing too that if the true Religion &s;hould be a&s;&s;erted, the Romans, being more addicted to <HI>Ju&s;tin,</HI> would attempt &s;ome Great thing, and knowing that what was done in the Ea&s;t again&s;t the Arians, was done at the Reque&s;t and in favour of <HI>Hormi&s;da</HI> and the Se|nate of <HI>Rome,</HI> did give ready Faith to tho&s;e Ac|cu&s;ers, and immediately &s;ent them to the Se|nate at <HI>Rome,</HI> from which Place this good Man was then far di&s;tant, where they were to pre|&s;ent their Accu&s;ations, and to declare that the Lives and Safety of the Prince, and of all the Gothes, were now in great Jeopardy: So, to the Grief of all good Men, the innocent <HI>Boeti|us,</HI> ab&s;ent, unheard, and undefended, was con|demned to Death, and to Pro&s;cription. But the King fearing that Ju&s;tice and all the World would have but too good Cau&s;e of Offence a|gain&s;t him if this Man &s;hould die, he changed
<PB N="xxii" REF="12">
his Sentence from Death to Bani&s;hment, that &s;o he might be a Terror to other People; and he might &s;till have him in his Power to make a Sa|crifice of when his barbarous Soul &s;hould thir&s;t after Blood. Therefore in the Year DXXII. he was bani&s;h'd to <HI>Milan,</HI> or (as others &s;ay) he was confin'd to <HI>Ticinum,</HI> now <HI>Pavia;</HI> and all his Friends and Relations were forbid to accom|pany him on his way, or to follow him thither. Being in that Place he writ this choice Piece <HI>of the Con&s;olation of Philo&s;ophy,</HI> that he might in it declare his Innocence to Po&s;terity. Whil&s;t this learned and good Man was employed upon this Work, and endeavouring to re&s;tore unto him|&s;elf, by Philo&s;ophy, that Contentment and Qui|et of which his Enemies, by their In&s;ults and Injuries, had deprived him, <HI>Ju&s;tin,</HI> in the Year DXXIV. did promulgate an Edict again&s;t the Arians, by which he commanded (without ex|cepting even the Gothes) that all the Bi&s;hops of that Opinion &s;hould be depo&s;ed, and that their Churches &s;hould be con&s;ecrate according to the true Chri&s;tian Form. The Gothes being every where bani&s;h'd from all Parts, apply'd them|&s;elves to <HI>Theodorick.</HI> He fir&s;t by Letters treats with <HI>Ju&s;tin</HI> to re&s;tore them to their Liberties and Privileges: But when he found he made no Progre&s;s by that way, he de&s;ign'd an Emba&s;&s;y, and would make it more &s;plendid and weighty by the Dignity of the Per&s;ons to be &s;ent. <HI>John</HI>
<PB N="xxiii" REF="12">
the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome,</HI> [which before that time was never done] and with him four of the Con|&s;ular and Patritian Orders were &s;ent upon this Occa&s;ion, and were commanded to addre&s;s to the Emperor, to repeal that Edict, by which he had exterminated the Arians; which if he did not &s;peedily do, then to declare that he would de&s;troy <HI>Italy</HI> with Fire and Sword. The Amba&s;&s;adors at their Arrival at <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> were receiv'd with all Re&s;pect and Joy, the Emperor, People and Clergy, going in Pro|ce&s;&s;ion to meet them: <HI>John</HI> the Bi&s;hop going to the Church took the upper Hand, and &s;itting on the Throne on the right Hand, he celebrated the Day of the Re&s;urrection of our Saviour after the Roman U&s;e, and crown'd <HI>Ju&s;tin</HI> the Em|peror. <HI>Theodorick</HI> did not well dige&s;t tho&s;e great Honours done to his Amba&s;&s;adors, but he did not expre&s;s his Di&s;content till the Gothes by their Letters complain'd to him, that <HI>John,</HI> in contempt of his In&s;tructions, had con&s;ecrated the Arian Churches after the Roman way. Then believing him&s;elf not only contemn'd but in|jur'd, he began to rage and threaten, and to meditate Revenge. Nor did he long con&s;ider of the way: For on the tenth of the Kalends of <HI>November,</HI> in the Year of Chri&s;t DXXV. [and of his Bani&s;hment the fourth] by a Sword he open'd the way of Immortality to <HI>Boetius.</HI> There want not &s;ome who &s;ay, that the King raging
<PB N="xxiv" REF="13">
much when he heard the News from <HI>Con&s;tanti|nople,</HI> did not, as before, think this a feigned, but did now believe it as a real and true Con&s;pi|racy: And that he did admoni&s;h <HI>Boetius</HI> by the Tribune (to whom he had committed the Exe|cution) that if he did de&s;ire or hope for Mercy at his Hands, he would di&s;clo&s;e the whole Trea|&s;on in all its Methods and Circum&s;tances. But he (as he might well do) in&s;i&s;ting upon his In|nocence, receiv'd the fatal Blow. As to what relates to <HI>Symmachus,</HI> 'tis reported that he was &s;ent for to <HI>Ravenna,</HI> and was there long detain|ed in cu&s;tody. <HI>John,</HI> with his Collegues, about this time return'd to <HI>Rome,</HI> when he found his Friend <HI>Boetius</HI> dead; <HI>Italy</HI> groaning under Op|pre&s;&s;ion and Mi&s;ery, and in vain &s;trugling with her Chain; the King raging and furious, and Barbarity every where reigning: he &s;tay'd &s;ome little time at <HI>Rome,</HI> and at length was per&s;waded by <HI>Theodorick,</HI> who had put on a Vizard of Cle|mency and Mildne&s;s (though his Friends ad|vi&s;ed him to the contrary) to go to <HI>Ravenna,</HI> accompanied with others; whom, as &s;oon as they were arriv'd, he deliver'd to &s;everal Kee|pers, and puni&s;h'd by &s;everal ways: <HI>John</HI> was put into a low Dungeon, where he was &s;oon overcome by Hunger, and the Horror and Stench of the Place, and died the 6th of the Kalends of <HI>June:</HI> on the Day after the Death of this holy Man <HI>Symmachus</HI> was murder'd, ha|ving
<PB N="xxv" REF="13">
undergone no legal Trial. Nor had the Rage of the Tyrant ended here; for he al&s;o de|&s;ign'd upon the Lives of &s;everal others of the Patritians, if he had not been deterr'd from go|ing further by the Fear which he was under of the Re&s;entments of the Orthodox Emperor <HI>Ju|&s;tin.</HI> The Body of <HI>John</HI> was tran&s;lated from <HI>Ravenna</HI> with much Pomp and Solemnity, and was received by the Clergy and People of <HI>Rome,</HI> on the Kalends of <HI>June,</HI> with all the Ceremo|nies due to Martyrdom. But the &s;ame Honours could not be done to the Bodies of <HI>Boetius</HI> and <HI>Symmachus,</HI> though they had receiv'd the &s;ame Crown and Palm, for the King commanded that they &s;hould be hidden in the mo&s;t private Place that could be found. (Nor did <HI>Theodorick</HI> long &s;urvive this barbarous Action, the Revenge of Heaven always pur&s;uing and overtaking Ty|rants, when that of Men cannot; for in a few Days after the Head of a great Fi&s;h being &s;erv'd up to him at Supper, <HI>Symmachus,</HI> who was by his Command lately &s;lain, &s;eem'd fiercely to threaten him out of it, with his Teeth and Eyes; with which terrible Sight being &s;tricken and amaz'd, he trembling and cold, took his Bed and died, having fir&s;t with Tears expre&s;s'd and te&s;tified his Grief for the Death of <HI>Boetius</HI> and <HI>Symmachus,</HI> to <HI>Elpidius</HI> his Phy&s;ician, then pre&s;ent. <HI>Amala Sunta,</HI> the Daughter of <HI>Theo|dorick,</HI> &s;ucceeding to her Father in the King|dom,
<PB N="xxvi" REF="14">
and knowing well what had happen'd to him at his Death, did &s;oon re&s;cind what her Fa|ther had done contrary to Right and Ju&s;tice, and did re&s;tore the E&s;tates and Goods of their Fa|thers to the Children of <HI>Boetius</HI> and <HI>Symmachus,</HI> which before had been confi&s;cate to the U&s;e of the King. The Religious of tho&s;e Days did then decree the u&s;ual Honours to both of their Memories; and at this Day <HI>Boetius</HI> at <HI>Pavia</HI> on the 10th of the Kalends of <HI>November,</HI> and <HI>Sym|machus</HI> at <HI>Ravenna</HI> on the 5th of the Kalends of <HI>June,</HI> are commemorated with much Devotion, becau&s;e they died in the maintenance of the true Faith again&s;t the impious and heretical Doctrines of <HI>Arius.</HI> The Tomb of <HI>Boetius</HI> is to be &s;een at this Day in the Church of St. <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> at <HI>Pa|via,</HI> near to the Steps of the Chancel, with the following Epitaph:
<Q><L>Maeonia &amp; Latia lingua clari&s;&s;imus, &amp; qui</L>
<L>Con&s;ul eram, hic perii, mi&s;&s;us in exilium;</L>
<L>Et quid mors rapuit? Probitas me vexit ad auras,</L>
<L>Et nunc fama viget maxima, vivit opus.</L></Q></P>
<P>In Engli&s;h thus;
<Q><L>Skill'd in two Tongues, grac'd with the Con&s;ulate,</L>
<L>A bani&s;h'd Man, I yielded here to Fate;</L>
<L>Though Death prevail'd, Vertue has rais'd me high,</L>
<L>And now my Fame and Works do thr&ocirc; the World fly:</L></Q>
When many Ages after, the Emperor <HI>Otho</HI> III. did enclo&s;e his Bones then lying neglected a|mong&s;t
<PB N="xxvii" REF="14">
the Rubbi&s;h in a Marble Che&s;t. <HI>Gerber|tus,</HI> a great Philo&s;opher, who was afterwards ad|vanc'd to the Papal Chair, by the Name of <HI>Syve|&s;ter</HI> II. did honour him with this following Elogy.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>Roma potens, dum jura &s;uo declarat in orbe,</L>
<L>Tu pater, &amp; patriae lumen, Severine Boeti,</L>
<L>Con&s;ulis officio, rerum di&s;ponis habenas,</L>
<L>Infundis lumen &s;tudiis, &amp; cedere ne&s;cis</L>
<L>Graecorum ingeniis, &s;ed mens divina coercet</L>
<L>Imperium Mundi. Gladio bacchante Gothorum</L>
<L>Libertas Romana perit: tu Con&s;ul &amp; Exul,</L>
<L>In&s;ignes Titulos praeclara morte relinquis,</L>
<L>Tunc decus Imperii, &s;ummas qui praegravat artes,</L>
<L>Tertius Otho &s;ua dignum te judicat aula:</L>
<L>Aetern&uacute;mque tui &s;tatuit monimenta laboris,</L>
<L>Et ben&egrave; promeritum, meritis exornat hone&s;tis.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>Whilst <HI>Rome</HI> does all the World proudly awe,</L>
<L>Thou her great Con&s;ul do&s;t to her give Law;</L>
<L>No nobler Light thy Country ever &s;aw!</L>
<L>The Learn'd take Lights from thee, thou art behind</L>
<L>None of the Grecian Worthies, thou dost find</L>
<L>Room for the World in thy capacious Mind.</L>
<L>Now when the Roman Liberty is gone,</L>
<L>Bani&s;h'd, thou layst thy Purple Honours down,</L>
<L>And dying &s;corn'st the Gothick Tyrant's Frown.</L>
<L>Imperial <HI>Otho,</HI> Patron of all Arts,</L>
<L>To thee his Favours after Death imparts,</L>
<L>And builds this Monument to thy De&s;erts.</L>
</LG></Q>
<TRAILER>The End of the Life of <HI>BOETI&V;S.</HI></TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="xxviii" REF="15">
<HEAD>The Te&s;timonies of &s;everal Writers concerning <HI>Boetius</HI> tran&s;lated.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD><NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot"><HI>Ennodius,</HI> or (as &s;ome read) <HI>Evodius,</HI> was Bi&s;hop of <HI>Tici|num</HI> or <HI>Pavia,</HI> and an excellent Poet and Orator.</NOTE><HI>ENNODI&V;S</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Pavia</HI> to <HI>Boetius, Epi&s;t.</HI> xiii. <HI>Lib.</HI> vii.</HEAD>
<P>THO&V; do&s;t vouch&s;afe, most accompli&s;h'd of Men, to extol my Vertues, when thy Indu&s;try, even in thy Youth, and without tho&s;e Inconve|niences, which attend tho&s;e in Years, hath given thee all the Advantages of Age: All things in the &V;ni|ver&s;e are &s;ubject to thy Diligence and Inquiry: To whom, even in the Beginning of thy Life, a&s;&s;iduous Reading is Diver&s;ion; and that which others with Sweat and La|bour &s;carce attain to, thou conquer'st with Delight: That which appeared in the Hands of the Antients but a &s;ingle Light, in thine &s;hines with double Lu&s;tre and Flame; for thou hast obtain'd the Ma&s;tery of that in thy Beginning, which our Ance&s;tors &s;carce arrived at in the last part of their Lives.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Out of the Greek of<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="foot"><HI>Procopius</HI> of <HI>Cae&s;area</HI> in <HI>Pale&s;tine</HI> was a Rhetorician and a So|phi&s;ter: Among&s;t his &s;everal Hi&s;tories he wrote three Books of the Gothick Wars.</NOTE> <HI>PROCOPI&V;S, Hi&s;t. Goth. Lib.</HI> 1.</HEAD>
<P><HI>SYmmachus,</HI> and his Son-in-law <HI>Boetius,</HI> Patrici|ans, and nobly de&s;cended, were, in their &s;everal times, Chiefs of the Senate and Con&s;uls, and made deeper Re&s;earches into Philo&s;ophy and Morality, than
<PB N="xxix" REF="15">
any Per&s;ons of their time, and were very charitable as well to Strangers as to Romans, who were in want. Their Merits having rais'd them to Honours and Authorities, they became the Hate of tho&s;e flagitious Per&s;ons who ac|cus'd them fal&s;ly, and were the Occa&s;ion of their Deaths, and of the Confi&s;cation of their Goods. But a few Days after, <HI>Theodorick</HI> &s;upping, and having before him the Head of a great Fi&s;h, it appear'd to him to be the Head of <HI>Symmachus,</HI> (who by his Command was killed) grinding his Teeth against him, and threatning him with &s;parkling Eyes, and an ireful Countenance. Whence, being affrighted with the Strangene&s;s of the Prodigy, and his Joints and Members trembling above mea&s;ure, he forthwith betook him&s;elf to his Bed; and there acquaint|ing <HI>Elpidius</HI> his Phy&s;ician with things, in order, as they had happen'd, he with Tears lamented his injurious Deal|ing with <HI>Symmachus</HI> and <HI>Boetius;</HI> which when he had done, being overwhelm'd with Grief, and a&s;toni&s;h'd with the late portentous Vi&s;ion, he yielded to Death, giving this his first and last Example of injurious Acting a|gainst his Subjects, by condemning &s;uch worthy Men, contrary to his Cu&s;tom, without any Cau&s;e a&s;&s;ign'd.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD><HI>The &s;ame</HI> PROCOPI&V;S, Lib. <HI>3.</HI> eju&s;dem Hi&s;t.</HEAD>
<P>This was further added to compleat the Mi&s;ery of <HI>Ru|&s;ticiana,</HI> the late Wife of <HI>Boetius,</HI> and Daughter of <HI>Symmachus;</HI> that &s;he who had formerly reliev'd the Poor and Nece&s;&s;itous, &s;hould (going from Hou&s;e to Hou&s;e, and Door to Door) beg in a &s;ervile and Country Habit, the Nece&s;&s;aries of Life from her Enemies. The Gothes indeed did con&s;pire against the Life of <HI>Ru&s;ticiana;</HI> and objected to her, that &s;he giving Money to the Comman|ders of the Roman Army, was the Cau&s;e of throwing down the Statues of <HI>Theodorick,</HI> in Revenge of the Death of <HI>Symmachus</HI> her Father, and <HI>Boetius</HI> her Hu&s;|band.
<PB N="xxx" REF="16">
<HI>Totilas</HI> however &s;uffer'd no Injury to be done to her, but pre&s;erv'd her and &s;everal others from all harm.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD><NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot"><HI>Paulus Diaconus,</HI> at the Command of <HI>Adelburga,</HI> Daughter of King <HI>De&s;iderias,</HI> made a large Appendix to the Hi&s;tory of <HI>Eutropius.</HI></NOTE><HI>PA&V;L&V;S DIACON&V;S, Lib.</HI> 7. added to the Hi&s;tory of <HI>Eutropius.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WHilst <HI>John</HI> the Pope, <HI>Theodorus, Importunus, Agapitus,</HI> Con&s;ular Men, and another <HI>Aga|pitus</HI> a Patrician, were performing their Amba&s;&s;y to <HI>Ju&s;tin, Theodorick,</HI> &s;purr'd on by his Rage, &s;lew <HI>Sym|machus</HI> the Patrician, who had been Con&s;ul, and <HI>Boe|tius</HI> the Elder, who had al&s;o been Con&s;ul, both good Chri&s;tians, with the Sword.</P>
<P><HI>Out of</HI> MARI&V;S <HI>his Chronicle,</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ju&s;tin II.</HI> and <HI>Opilio,</HI> being Con&s;uls; <HI>Indict. II. which was in the Year of Grace DXXIV.</HI></P>
<P>In this Year <HI>Boetius</HI> the Patrician was killed within the Territories of <HI>Milan,</HI></P>
<P><HI>Probus</HI> the younger and <HI>Philoxenus</HI> being Con&s;uls, <HI>Indict. III. in the Year DXXV.</HI></P>
<P>In the Con&s;ulate of the&s;e Men <HI>Symmachus</HI> the Patri|cian was ma&s;&s;acred at <HI>Ravenna.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="foot"><HI>Ana&s;ta&s;ius</HI> was the Re&s;torer and Keeper of the Apo&s;tolick Li|brary, and therefore &s;tiled <HI>Bibliothecarius.</HI></NOTE><HI>ANASTATI&V;S Bibliothecar.</HI> in the Life of <HI>John</HI> I.</HEAD>
<P>AT the &s;ame time when <HI>John</HI> the Pope, with <HI>Theo|dorus, Importunus,</HI> and <HI>Agapitus,</HI> Excon&s;uls, and <HI>Agapitus</HI> the Patrician (who died at <HI>The&s;&s;alonica)</HI> were &s;ent to <HI>Con&s;tantinople,</HI> the Heretical King <HI>Theo|dorick</HI> detain'd two renown'd Excon&s;ular Senators, <HI>Sym|machus</HI> and <HI>Boetius,</HI> and &s;lew them with the Sword.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="xxxi" REF="16">
<HEAD><NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot"><HI>Ado</HI> was Arch-bi&s;hop of <HI>Vienna,</HI> and writ a &s;hort Chronicle from the Beginning of the World to his own times.</NOTE><HI>ADO</HI> of <HI>Vienna,</HI> in his Chronicle.</HEAD>
<P>WHen <HI>John</HI> the Pope, in his Return came to <HI>Ra|venna, Theodorick</HI> impri&s;oned him, and his Companions being di&s;plea&s;ed that <HI>Ju&s;tin,</HI> the chief Defen|der of the Orthodox Faith, had received them &s;o honoura|bly; at which time he &s;lew <HI>Symmachus</HI> and <HI>Boetius,</HI> both Con&s;ulars, upon Account of their Faith.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD><HI>AIMOINI&V;S</HI> de ge&s;t. Franc. <HI>Lib.</HI> 2. <HI>Cap.</HI> 1.</HEAD>
<P>SOME of tho&s;e who were with <HI>John</HI> the Pope he burnt, others he put to Death by &s;everal Ways and Tortures. Amongst whom <HI>Symmachus</HI> the Patrician, and <HI>Boetius</HI> his Son-in-law, after long Impri&s;onment, fell by the Sword. How well <HI>Boetius</HI> was &s;een in &s;acred and profane Letters, may, by his Writings on &s;everal Subjects, appear. The&s;e his Treati&s;es of Arithmetick, and Logick, and Mu|&s;ick, &s;o grateful to the Romans, will te&s;tify. Furthermore, his Book of the <HI>Con&s;ub&s;tantiality of the Trinity,</HI> doth &s;ufficiently &s;hew how u&s;eful he might have been to the Church, if the Times could have born him.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="foot"><HI>Joannes Sarisburien&s;is,</HI> or <HI>Saresberien&s;is,</HI> was an Engli&s;h-man, and Bi&s;hop of <HI>Chartres</HI> in <HI>France.</HI> Among&s;t other things he writ <HI>Poli|craticum, &s;ive de Nugis Curialium &amp; Ve&s;tigiis Philo&s;ophorum.</HI></NOTE><HI>JOHANNES SARISB&V;RIENSIS</HI> Epi&s;cop. Carnot. Policrat. Lib. 7. Cap. 15.</HEAD>
<P>IF you will not believe me, revolve diligently the Book <HI>of the Con&s;olation of Philo&s;ophy,</HI> and the contra|ry will be plain to you. And although that Book does not plainly expre&s;s the word <HI>Incarnate,</HI> yet amongst tho&s;e who rely upon Rea&s;on, it is of no &s;mall Authority, whilst
<PB N="xxxii" REF="17">
it yields fitting and &s;pecifick Medicines to &s;uppre&s;s the Grief of the mo&s;t &s;ick and exulcerated Minds. Nor the Jew, nor the Greek, under Pretext of Religion, declines the &V;&s;e of Phy&s;ick, whilst the Wi&s;e in the Faith, and the &V;nwi&s;e out of the Faith, are &s;o profited by the artificial Compound of right Rea&s;on; but no Religion, where Rea|&s;on hath any Sway, ought to abominate what it offers. He is profound, without Difficulty, in his Sentences; in his Words weightily clear: He is a vehement Orator, clear Demon&s;trator, an irrefragable Arguer, &s;ometimes per&s;wa&s;ively gliding to that which is to follow, &s;ometimes as it were pu&s;hing the Reader on by nece&s;&s;ity towards it.</P>
<P><HI>Tho&s;e who are de&s;irous to know more of our Au|thor, and of the Te&s;timonies of learned Men con|cerning him, from the time in which he flouri&s;hed, downwards to this pre&s;ent Age, may con&s;ult further</HI> Ennodius <HI>Bi&s;hop of</HI> Pavia, <HI>menti|oned before;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. L. 8. Ep. 1.</NOTE> Ca&s;&s;iodorus, <HI>a learn|ed and pious Man, Chancellor to King</HI> Theodorick, <HI>in two Epi&s;tles which he writ to</HI> Boetius <HI>by the Order of that King; as al&s;o Venerable</HI> Bede; Sigelbertus <HI>a Monk of</HI> Gemblores, <HI>in the Dutchy of</HI> Brabant, <HI>of the Order of St.</HI> Benedict; Thomas Aquinas; Laurentius Valla; Sanctus Antonius <HI>Arch|bi&s;hop of</HI> Florence, <HI>of the Order of the Friars-Prea|chers;</HI> Jacobus Philippus Bergomen&s;is, <HI>of the Order of the</HI> Eremites <HI>of St.</HI> Augu&s;tin; Hermolaus Barbarus, <HI>a noble Venetian, Arch-bi&s;hop and Patriarch of</HI> Aqui|leia; Angelus Politianus, <HI>an excellent Poet and Ora|tor;</HI> Joannes Tritenhemius, <HI>Abbot of</HI> Spanheim; Ju|lius Cae&s;ar Scaliger; Lilius Gregori|us Gyraldus;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Centur. 6. Cap. 10.</NOTE> <HI>the Centuriators of</HI> Magdeburg; <HI>and</HI> Ju&s;tus Lip&s;ius; <HI>who have all made ju&s;t Mention of</HI> Boetius <HI>in their Writings, and built honourable Monuments to his Fame.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="book">
<PB N="1" REF="17">
<HEAD>ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS BOETIUS, OF THE Con&s;olation of Philo&s;ophy. BOOK the Fir&s;t.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<HEAD>The ARGUMENT.</HEAD>
<P>Philo&s;ophy appears to <HI>Boetius,</HI> and drives away the Mu&s;es: who, as &s;oon as &s;he was known to him, comforts him by the Example of other wi&s;e Men who had been under the &s;ame Difficulties. He relates what he hath de&s;erved from the Se|nate, and particular Senators, and from all <HI>Italy.</HI> Then he opens the whole Series of his Accu&s;ation, and the Cau&s;es of his Bani&s;hment, and &s;hews the Innocence of his Life and Acti|ons. Next, he complains of his many Injuries, and the Lo&s;s of his Reputation and Dignities. La&s;t of all, Philo&s;ophy enquires what are the Troubles of his Mind, and the Cau&s;es of them, which are indeed the Subject Matter of the whole following Work.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="I" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="2" REF="18">
<HEAD>METRUM I.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Carmina, qui quondam &s;tudio florente peregi,</L>
<L>Flebilis, heu! moe&s;tos cogor inire modos, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>I Who before did lofty Ver&s;e indite,</L>
<L>In mournful Numbers now my Griefs recite:</L>
<L>Behold! the weeping Mu&s;e hath bound her brow</L>
<L>With Cypre&s;s-Wreathes, and only dictates now</L>
<L>Sad Elegy to me, who&s;e teeming Eyes</L>
<L>Keep time with her's. The Mu&s;e who does de&s;pi&s;e</L>
<L>Danger, &s;ince I am gone, di&s;dains to &s;tay.</L>
<L>And goes the kind Companion of my way.</L>
<L>She who&s;e gay Favours my brisk Youth did court,</L>
<L>Now courts mine Age, and is its chief Support;</L>
<L>Which does advance before I thought it nigh,</L>
<L>And yet my Cares do make it onwards fly.</L>
<L>Too &s;oon the&s;e Temples hoary Hairs do &s;how,</L>
<L>Too &s;oon my Summer's crown'd with Alpine Snow:</L>
<L>My Joints do tremble, and my Skin does &s;it</L>
<L>Like a loo&s;e Garment, never made to fit.</L>
<L>Happy are they, whom when their Years do bloom,</L>
<L>Death doth not &s;eize, but when they call doth come!</L>
<L>That to the Wretched doth no Pity &s;how;</L>
<L>It &s;huts no Eyes which Tears do overflow.</L>
<L>When my pleas'd Fates did &s;mile, I once to Death</L>
<L>Had almo&s;t yielded my unwilling Breath:</L>
<L><PB N="3" REF="18">But now when Fortune's gilded Favours cea&s;e,</L>
<L>It doth arre&s;t my kindly Hour of Ea&s;e.</L>
<L>Why, O my Friends! did you me Happy call?</L>
<L>He &s;tands not firm, who thus like me can fall.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="I" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> I.</HEAD>
<P>Whil&s;t in Silence I recounted the&s;e things, and with<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Styli Officio.</NOTE> my Pen did delineate my Griefs and Com|plaints,<NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="foot"><HI>A Woman.]</HI> Philo&s;ophy is here meant; and becau&s;e &s;he ought not to appear but from an Eminent Situation, and as if it were de&s;cending from Heaven, he places her over his Head; and by a&s;&s;igning to her a reverend Countenance, he would &s;ignify her Original, her Age, and her Dignity; and by her &s;parkling Eyes, the clear and di&s;tinct Knowledg which &s;he hath of all things.</NOTE> a Woman of a mo&s;t reverend Countenance &s;eem'd to &s;tand over my Head, with &s;parkling Eyes, which were of an extra|ordinary Force and Quickne&s;s; her Colour was lively, and her Strength &s;eem'd to be un|exhau&s;ted, although &s;he was &s;o old, that &s;he could by no means be thought one of our time. It was difficult to judg of her Stature; for &s;ometimes &s;he appear'd to be of the com|mon Height of Men, then &s;he would &s;eem to touch the Clouds with her Head; which a|gain, when &s;he rais'd higher, &s;he pierc'd the very Heavens with it, and was not to be fol|lowed by the Eyes of tho&s;e who look'd after
<PB N="4" REF="19">
her. Her Garments were mo&s;t artificially made of the fine&s;t Threads and mo&s;t durable Matter; which (as &s;he her &s;elf afterwards told me) &s;he had woven with her own Hands: They al&s;o were over&s;hadowed with &s;uch a Mi&s;t and Duski&s;hne&s;s as u&s;ually covers old Ima|ges, ari&s;ing from Antiquity and the Neglect of Time. On the extreme Part of the&s;e Ve&s;t|ments below, the Greek Letter [&Pgr;]<NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="foot">Philo&s;ophy is divided into Theoretical and Practical: The fir&s;t of tho&s;e Species is denoted by the Letter [&THgr;], and con&s;i&s;ts in the pure and mere Contemplation of Truth. The lat|ter, which is &s;ignified by the Letter [&Pgr;], con&s;i&s;ts in the Practice and Exerci&s;e of Vertue. Theorie is placed in the upper-part of the Garment; becau&s;e, as <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> determines, Contemplative Philo&s;ophy is much more Noble than the Active. Steps and De|grees are placed there, by which we a&s;cend to the one, and de|&s;cend to the other; becau&s;e there can be no Exerci&s;e of Vertue without a Contemplation of Truth, nor ought that to be without the Exerci&s;e of Vertue.</NOTE> was to be read; and upon the highe&s;t Border the Let|ter [&THgr;]<NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="foot">Philo&s;ophy is divided into Theoretical and Practical: The fir&s;t of tho&s;e Species is denoted by the Letter [&THgr;], and con&s;i&s;ts in the pure and mere Contemplation of Truth. The lat|ter, which is &s;ignified by the Letter [&Pgr;], con&s;i&s;ts in the Practice and Exerci&s;e of Vertue. Theorie is placed in the upper-part of the Garment; becau&s;e, as <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> determines, Contemplative Philo&s;ophy is much more Noble than the Active. Steps and De|grees are placed there, by which we a&s;cend to the one, and de|&s;cend to the other; becau&s;e there can be no Exerci&s;e of Vertue without a Contemplation of Truth, nor ought that to be without the Exerci&s;e of Vertue.</NOTE> was interwoven; and betwixt them certain Steps were wrought in the form of a Ladder, by which there was an A&s;cent from the lowe&s;t to the highe&s;t Letter. But this Gar|ment was defac'd and torn by the Hands of &s;e|veral<NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Violent Per&s;ons.]</HI> Tho&s;e who by Precipitation or Prejudice wre&s;t and abu&s;e Philo&s;ophy, and do neither con&s;ider Truth, nor exerci&s;e Vertue.</NOTE> violent Per&s;ons, who had taken away what Parts of it they could. In her right Hand &s;he carried Books, and in her left &s;he &s;way'd a
<PB N="5" REF="19">
Scepter. So &s;oon as &s;he &s;aw the Patrone&s;&s;es of Poetry &s;tanding by my Bed, and dictating to me Words, in which I cloath'd my Griefs; with a concern'd Countenance and inflamed Eyes, &s;he immediately broke out into the&s;e Expre&s;&s;i|ons: What unwi&s;e Per&s;on hath &s;uffer'd the&s;e <HI>&s;cenique</HI> Strumpets to have Acce&s;s to this &s;ick Man; who are &s;o far from encountring his Di&s;temper with &s;pecifique and natural Reme|dies, that they only nouri&s;h and increa&s;e it by tho&s;e &s;weet Poi&s;ons which they infu&s;e? The&s;e are they who, with the fruitle&s;s Thorns of the Pa&s;&s;ions, choak and de&s;troy the hopeful Crops of productive Rea&s;on, and who only accu&s;tom the Minds of Men to bear and endure a Di&s;|ea&s;e, but never free them from it. If (conti|nued &s;he, directing her &s;elf to the Mu&s;es) your Care&s;&s;es had debauch'd and drawn a&s;ide, according to your Cu&s;tom, any profane or un|knowing Per&s;on, you &s;hould not have been blamed by me; nor could my Labours, by &s;uch an Attempt, have been eluded: but you have made an unhappy Pro&s;elyte of him whom I have &s;ed with my Brea&s;ts, and brought up in<NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Eleatick]</HI> Logical; and it is &s;tiled &s;o, becau&s;e Logick is &s;aid to have been invented by the great Philo&s;opher <HI>Zeno,</HI> who was called <HI>Eleates,</HI> becau&s;e he was born in <HI>Elea,</HI> a Region of <HI>Pelo|ponne&s;us,</HI> lying betwixt <HI>Arcadia</HI> and the <HI>Ionian</HI> Sea, to the We&s;t|ward; who&s;e chief City is <HI>Elis,</HI> now <HI>Belvedere,</HI> &s;eated on the Bankey Coa&s;ts of the River <HI>Peneus.</HI></NOTE> Ele|atique
<PB N="6" REF="20">
and<NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Academique.]</HI> The Philo&s;ophy of <HI>Plato</HI> is called Academique, becau&s;e <HI>Plato</HI> was the fir&s;t who profe&s;&s;ed Philo&s;ophy in the Aca|demy. The Academy was a Place adorned with Woods and &s;mall Groves without the Walls of <HI>Athens,</HI> but very near them; and was fir&s;t called <GAP DESC="foreign">, from <HI>Ecademus,</HI> a famous Man of that City; from whence <HI>Horace, Epi&s;t. lib.</HI> 2. <HI>Ep.</HI> 2.
<Q><L>Scilicet ut po&s;&s;em curvo digno&s;cere rectum,</L>
<L>Atque inter &s;ylvas Ecademi quaerere verum.</L></Q>
Now that <HI>Boetius</HI> was very knowing in both the&s;e &s;orts of Studies, is very plain, becau&s;e he tran&s;lated the Books of Logick of <HI>Ari&s;to|tle,</HI> and illu&s;trated them with Comments: And it will ea&s;ily ap|pear to tho&s;e who &s;hall peru&s;e this Work, that he thorowly under|&s;tood, and was perfectly addicted to the Opinions of <HI>Plato.</HI></NOTE> Academique Studies. Be gone, therefore, ye Sirens, who&s;e Plea&s;ures kill, who&s;e Embraces de&s;troy, and leave this un|happy Apo&s;tate to the Care and Skill of Me and my Mu&s;es. This charming Company being thus rebuk'd, with dejected and blu&s;hing Countenances left the Room. But I, who&s;e Eyes were yet darkned with Tears, not know|ing who this Imperious Woman &s;hould be, was much a&s;toni&s;hed; and fixing mine Eyes upon the Earth, I began &s;ilently to expect what &s;he would further do. She then ap|proaching to me, &s;at down on the lower part of my Bed, and &s;eeing my Face over&s;pread with Grief, and mine Eyes in that de|jected Po&s;ture, complain'd of the un&s;ettled State of my Mind, in the&s;e Ver&s;es.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="II" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="7" REF="20">
<HEAD>METRUM II.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Heu, quam praecipiti mer&s;a profundo</L>
<L>Mens hebet, &amp; propri&acirc; luce relict&acirc;,</L>
<L>Tendit in externas ire tenebras;</L>
<L>Terrenis quoties flatibus aucta,</L>
<L>Cre&s;cit in immen&s;um noxia cura! &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>WHen from all Parts the Winds do blow,</L>
<L>And Earth-bred Cares encrea&s;e and grow,</L>
<L>How drown'd the high-born Mind doth lie,</L>
<L>How dull's each noble Faculty;</L>
<L>And leaving its own proper Light,</L>
<L>How &s;oon it yields to di&s;mal Night!</L>
<L>When he was free, he did de&s;cry</L>
<L>And know each Region of the Sky;</L>
<L>He view'd the Glories of the Sun,</L>
<L>The Brightne&s;s of the<NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="foot">I know not why he gives the Epithet of <HI>Gelida</HI> to the Moon, unle&s;s it be that &s;he hath the Direction of the Night; which, becau&s;e of the Ab&s;ence of the Sun is colder than the Day.</NOTE> Gelid Moon:</L>
<L>He &s;aw of every wandring Star</L>
<L>The various Motions through each Sphear,</L>
<L>They to his Numbers &s;ubject were.</L>
<L>Why blu&s;tring Winds do <HI>Thetis</HI> brave,</L>
<L>And rai&s;e the curle-headed Wave:</L>
<L><PB N="8" REF="21">He knew what Spirit or Intelligence</L>
<L>This Globe doth move and influence;</L>
<L>And why the Star which in the We&s;t</L>
<L>Doth &s;et, ari&s;eth from the Ea&s;t:</L>
<L>Why in the Spring &s;oft <HI>Zephyres</HI> blow,</L>
<L>And cau&s;e the fragrant Flowers to grow:</L>
<L>He why the generous Grape doth &s;well</L>
<L>In plump <HI>Autumnus</HI> Cheeks, could tell:</L>
<L>Into all Secrets he did look,</L>
<L>And Nature was his mighty Book.</L>
<L>But, O! how alter'd is his Mind!</L>
<L>How gro&s;ly &s;tupid now, and blind!</L>
<L>His Neck a weighty Chain doth bear;</L>
<L>No chearful Smiles his Face doth wear;</L>
<L>Nor lifts he up his Head to breathe the Air.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="II" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> II.</HEAD>
<P>But now, &s;aid &s;he, Medicines are more re|qui&s;ite than Complaints. Then looking upon me &s;tedfa&s;tly, and with much Attention; Art thou, continued &s;he, that Per&s;on, who lately being nouri&s;hed with my Milk, and brought up with my Food, did&s;t arrive at the Perfecti|on of a vigorous and manly Soul? Certainly I gave thee tho&s;e Arms which would, if thou thy &s;elf had&s;t not thrown them away, have defend|ed thee firmly again&s;t every A&s;&s;ault. Do&s;t thou know me? From whence proceeds this un|u&s;ual Silence? From Shame or Stupidity? I
<PB N="9" REF="21">
had rather it were from the former; but I am afraid thou art oppre&s;s'd with the latter. But when &s;he &s;aw me not only &s;ilent, but almo&s;t &s;peechle&s;s and dumb, &s;he reach'd her Hand ea|&s;ily towards my Brea&s;t; And, then &s;aid &s;he, there is no Danger, he labours under a Lethar|gy, which is the common Di&s;temper of tho&s;e who are troubled in mind. He hath forgot him&s;elf a little, but he would &s;oon be better if he could recover the Remembrance of me; which, that he may do, I will wipe his Eyes, darkned a little with the Clouds of Mortality: and, as &s;he &s;aid this, &s;he dry'd the Tears from them with a part of her Garment, which &s;he had contracted into a fold.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="III" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM III.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Tunc me di&s;cu&s;&s;&acirc; liquerunt nocte tenebrae,</L>
<L>Luminibu&s;que prior rediit vigor, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>THen Night &amp; Darkne&s;s, which had long po&s;&s;e&s;t</L>
<L>My captiv'd Mind, did &s;wiftly fly away;</L>
<L>A &s;udden Light cloth'd my enlarged Brea&s;t,</L>
<L>And &s;truck mine Eyes with its once well-known Ray.</L>
<L>So when a mighty Wind infe&s;ts the Sky,</L>
<L>And watry Clouds hang heavy on its brow,</L>
<L>The Sun retires, the Stars conceal'd do lie,</L>
<L>And Night her Mantle over Earth doth throw.</L>
<L><PB N="10" REF="22">If <HI>Boreas,</HI> thundring from the Fields of <HI>Thrace,</HI></L>
<L>Opens the Ivory Palaces of Light,</L>
<L><HI>Phoebus</HI> &s;hines out with a more radiant Face,</L>
<L>And darts new Beams upon our wondring Sight.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="III" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> III.</HEAD>
<P>Thus the Clouds of Sadne&s;s being di&s;pers'd, I began to breathe more freely; and &s;et my &s;elf to recollect the Features of her who had done &s;o much towards my Cure. There|fore when I had earne&s;tly fix'd mine Eyes up|on her, I &s;oon knew her to be my tender Nur&s;e [Philo&s;ophy] in who&s;e School I had been in&s;tructed, and at who&s;e Feet, from my Youth, I had been brought up. And why, &s;aid I, thou Source and Patrone&s;s of all Ver|tue, do&s;t thou de&s;cend from above into the&s;e &s;olitary Regions of my Bani&s;hment? Shall I, returned &s;he, O my loved Pupil! de&s;ert thee, and refu&s;e to bear a part of that Burden under which I know thou now laboure&s;t, for my &s;ake? 'Tis contrary to the Rules of Philo&s;ophy, to leave the Innocent unaccompanied in his Pilgrimage. Shall I fear an Accu&s;ation, and be a&s;toni&s;h'd, as if &s;ome new thing had happen'd? Is this the fir&s;t time, do&s;t thou believe, that Philo&s;ophy hath been a&s;&s;aulted by impious and cruel Men? Have not I, among&s;t the Anci|ents, and even before the time of thy great
<PB N="11" REF="22">
Ma&s;ter, and my endear'd Son<NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Plato</HI> was born at <HI>Athens, A. M.</HI> 3626. or near it, and excelled in all &s;orts of Learning, e&s;pecially in Philo&s;ophy. His Wi&s;dom and Knowledg were the Occa&s;ions of much Misfortune to him: for by the Ba&s;ene&s;s and Treachery of <HI>Diony&s;ius</HI> the Sicilian Tyrant, to who&s;e Faith he had comitted him&s;elf, as <HI>Cicero</HI> relateth, he fell into great Snares and Dangers.</NOTE> <HI>Plato,</HI> often contended with Folly, and &s;upported my &s;elf again&s;t her ra&s;h Attacks? And even, whil&s;t he liv'd, did not his Ma&s;ter<NOTE N="(i)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Socrates,</HI> for his Wi&s;dom and Learning was condemned to Death. He was born <HI>A. M.</HI> 3600. and &s;o flouri&s;hed before the time of <HI>Plato,</HI> and was then e&s;teemed to be the mo&s;t wi&s;e and knowing of Men, becau&s;e he refin'd Philo&s;ophy, and rectified it, not allowing things which were occult and involved in the Secrets of Nature, to fall under the Con&s;ideration of it, or to be any part of its Subject, but directed its Enquiries to the Qualities of Vertue and Vice, &s;aying, That what was above us, did not concern us. He, by his Precepts and Examples, exhorted his Auditors to live well; and in his own way of living he ob&s;erved an Equalne&s;s of Temper; &s;o that he ever &s;hewed the &s;ame Countenance in Pro&s;perity and Adver&s;ity, neither more plea&s;ant nor more di&s;turbed. He was ac|cu&s;ed for not having right Sentiments touching the Gods, but mo&s;t unju&s;tly: and the People were &s;o much afflicted for his Death, that his Accu&s;ers were puni&s;hed, &s;ome by Death, &s;ome by Bani&s;hment; and, by the Order of the Senate, a Statue of Bra&s;s was rai&s;ed to his Memory.</NOTE> <HI>Socrates</HI> triumph over Death, to which he was unju&s;tly ad|judg'd, I &s;tanding by him and a&s;&s;i&s;ting him? Of who&s;e<NOTE N="(k)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Inheritance.]</HI> The Opinions and Doctrine of <HI>Socrates.</HI></NOTE> Inheritance, when the Rout of the Epicureans and Stoicks, and &s;everal of the other Sects, &s;natch'd a part, as every one plea&s;ed; and I &s;till oppo&s;ing my &s;elf to them, and &s;triving again&s;t them; they, with one con|&s;ent,
<PB N="12" REF="23">
fell upon me, as if I had been a part of their Prey, and tore this Garment, which I had woven with my own Hands: then every one going away with that Rag which he had &s;natch'd, vainly believ'd that he had po&s;&s;e&s;s'd him&s;elf of Philo&s;ophy, and her whole Trea&s;ure. Some of whom, becau&s;e &s;ome Foot&s;teps and light Traces of me did appear among&s;t them, the Folly of Men believing them to be my Fa|miliars, by the Error of the Multitude, were de&s;troy'd. But if thou art not &s;o well ac|quainted with the Bani&s;hment of<NOTE N="(l)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Anaxagoras</HI> lived before the time of <HI>Socrates,</HI> and con&s;e|quently of <HI>Plato.</HI> He held that Matter was Infinite, but that the minute Particles of it were agreeing among&s;t them&s;elves, and at fir&s;t confu&s;ed, but afterwards reduced into order by the Divine Mind. From hence he, or rather <HI>Plato,</HI> concluded that the Sun was not God, but a burning Lamp; and for this he was bani&s;hed his Country, or rather willingly left it; becau&s;e it is &s;aid, he left his Patrimonial E&s;tate, that he might enjoy more freely the Plea|&s;ures of Philo&s;ophy. See <HI>Diogenes Laertius</HI> concerning him.</NOTE> <HI>Anaxago|ras,</HI> the Poi&s;on of<NOTE N="(m)" PLACE="foot">I have already given an Account of <HI>Socrates:</HI> The manner of his Death was, he drunk a Draught of Hemlock or Ellebore, the Juice of which, through extream Cold, is Poi&s;on, which was the way of executing the Malefactors among&s;t the Athenians.</NOTE> <HI>Socrates,</HI> and the Tor|ments of<NOTE N="(n)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Zeno</HI> did philo&s;ophize before the time of <HI>Socrates,</HI> and en|dured many Torments for his Wi&s;dom and Opinions; but what they were, or who were the Authors of them, do not appear to me.</NOTE> <HI>Zeno,</HI> becau&s;e they were not of thy Country; and of the length of Time which hath intervened &s;ince their Sufferings,
<PB N="13" REF="23">
yet the<NOTE N="(o)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Julius Canius,</HI> or <HI>Canus,</HI> was born in the &s;ame Century with <HI>Seneca,</HI> and was a mo&s;t excellent Philo&s;opher; and being condemned to Death, he indured it with an almo&s;t incredible Con&s;tancy of Mind. <HI>Seneca, l. de tranquill. c.</HI> 14.</NOTE> <HI>Canii,</HI> the<NOTE N="(p)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Seneca</HI> the Philo&s;opher was contemporary with St. <HI>Paul,</HI> and flouri&s;hed in the fir&s;t Age after our Saviour's Nativity. He was the Tutor of <HI>Nero;</HI> by whom, after he had heaped up immen&s;e Riches, he was condemned to die. He fainted away in a warm Bath, having had &s;ome of his Veins opened, through which his Blood did pa&s;s: and before he died, with great Con&s;tancy &s;poke the&s;e Words to his Friends; <HI>Neroni &s;aevienti nihil aliud &s;upererat, po&s;t matrem, fratremque interfectos, qu&agrave;m ut educatoris, praeceptori&s;que ne|cem adjiceret.</HI> Nothing remained for cruel <HI>Nero</HI> now to do, but to add the Barbarity of the Death of his Teacher and Ma&s;ter, to the unnatural Murder of his Mother and Brother.</NOTE> <HI>Senecae,</HI> and the <NOTE N="(q)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Boreas Soranus,</HI> a great Philo&s;opher, of the &s;ame Age with <HI>Seneca,</HI> who by his Ju&s;tice and Indu&s;try gave &s;o great Offence to <HI>Nero,</HI> that he al&s;o died by his Command. The <HI>Canii, Senecae,</HI> and <HI>Sorani,</HI> are mentioned here in the plural Number for Empha&s;is and mark of Di&s;tinction; as we &s;ay, your <HI>Alexanders,</HI> your <HI>Cae|&s;ars,</HI> &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>Sorani,</HI> all of famous Memory, and who flouri&s;hed but few Ages &s;ince, may have reach'd thy Knowledg: the only Cau&s;e of who&s;e fatal and violent Ends was, that they were educated under my Di&s;cipline, and had imbib'd my Precepts, and &s;o became mo&s;t un|like to tho&s;e impious Men who wrought their De&s;truction. Therefore wonder not if I be beaten with Storms whil&s;t I &s;ail in the Sea of this World, &s;ince I propo&s;e no greater thing to my &s;elf than to di&s;plea&s;e ill Men. And though the Numbers of them be great, yet 'tis to be
<PB N="14" REF="24">
contemn'd, &s;ince it hath no certain Guide, but is actuated by the un&s;teady Coun&s;els of Phrene|tick Error. If, perhaps, they &s;hould form a Body again&s;t me, and being &s;tronger, a&s;&s;ail me, I the Leader do &s;traightways retreat with my Party into a Fortre&s;s, whil&s;t they in the mean time are imploy'd in Rapine and Spoil, and in robbing us of tho&s;e trivial things which are u&s;e|le&s;s to them, and not very nece&s;&s;ary for us: whil&s;t we, in the mean time, (&s;ecure in our Fa&s;tne&s;s from the Fear of their A&s;&s;aults, which Folly and Ignorance can never win) laugh at them, who, with &s;o much Labour and Hazard, pur&s;ue the meane&s;t and mo&s;t de&s;picable Trifles.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IV" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM IV.</HEAD>
<Q>Qui&s;quis compo&s;ito &s;erenus aevo, &amp;c.</Q>
<L>THat well-weigh'd Man, who in a &s;ettl'd State,</L>
<L>Hath triumph'd over his a&s;piring Fate;</L>
<L>Who, unconcern'd, Fortune in Smiles can view,</L>
<L>And fearle&s;s can behold her clouded Brow:</L>
<L>No raging Sea &s;hall move, nor &s;hall prevail</L>
<L>Again&s;t his Head; though the proud Billows &s;well,</L>
<L>Though black <HI>Ve&s;uvio</HI> &s;hould with them con&s;pire,</L>
<L>Vomiting out Auxiliary Fire:</L>
<L>Tho Heaven its fierce&s;t Thunderbolts &s;hou'd weild,</L>
<L>To which ev'n Oaks, &amp; Rocks, &amp; Towers mu&s;t yield&punc;</L>
<L><PB N="15" REF="24">Fear not, unhappy Man, th' Oppre&s;&s;or's Brow;</L>
<L>His Power from thy mean Fears alone can grow.</L>
<L>He who nor fears, nor hopes for any thing,</L>
<L>Di&s;arms the Tyrant, and him&s;elf's a King.</L>
<L>But he who to him&s;elf is not a Law;</L>
<L>If his un&s;table Brea&s;t the&s;e Pa&s;&s;ions awe,</L>
<L>He yields his Arms, and now no more is free;</L>
<L>He makes his Chains, and meets his Slavery.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IV" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> IV.</HEAD>
<P>Do&s;t thou perceive the&s;e things, &s;aid &s;he, and do they &s;ink into thy Mind? <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">E&s;ne <GAP DESC="foreign">?</NOTE> Art thou altogether unqualifi|ed and unfit to receive the&s;e Precepts? Why do&s;t thou weep? Why do thy Tears over|flow?<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> Speak, conceal not thy Thoughts. And if thou do&s;t expect Help from the Phy&s;ician, truly di&s;cover thy Di&s;temper. Then I, in &s;ome mea&s;ure recovering my &s;elf, &s;poke thus to her: Need my Sorrows then be repeated; and do not the Severities acted by Fortune a|gain&s;t me, appear enough of them&s;elves, with|out the&s;e Admonitions? Doth not the very Face and Horror of<NOTE N="(r)" PLACE="foot"><HI>This Place.]</HI> His &s;ordid and ob&s;cure Pri&s;on.</NOTE> this Place move thee? Is this the Library which thou did&s;t choo&s;e for thy particular Apartment in my Hou&s;e? In
<PB N="16" REF="25">
which, &s;o often &s;itting with me, thou did&s;t skilfully read upon all Divine and Humane Learning? Was this my Habit? Was this my Look, when with thee I penetrated into the Secrets of Nature? when thou<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Cum mihi &s;iderum vias radio de&s;criberes.</NOTE> traced'&s;t out to me the &s;everal Motions of the Stars? when thou did&s;t &s;hew me how to form my Life and Manners by Divine Rule and Or|der? And are the&s;e at la&s;t the Rewards of my Obedience to thee? Certainly thou did&s;t deli|ver this Sentence as an Eternal Sanction by the Mouth of<NOTE N="(s)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Plato.] Plato</HI> &s;aith, <HI>L. quinto de Repub.</HI> that tho&s;e Common|wealths are mo&s;t happy, who&s;e Governours are Lovers and Pra|cti&s;ers of Wi&s;dom and its Precepts; or who, by their Endeavours and Studies, aim at being &s;o. The &s;ame <HI>Plato, Dial.</HI> 6. <HI>de Repub.</HI> advi&s;es wi&s;e and good Men to take upon them the Government of their Country, le&s;t if it &s;hould be committed to impious and wicked Men, good Men might by them be oppre&s;s'd and ruin'd.</NOTE> <HI>Plato,</HI> viz. <HI>That tho&s;e Common|wealths are mo&s;t happy, who are governed by Phi|lo&s;ophers, or by tho&s;e who &s;tudy to be &s;o.</HI> By the &s;ame Per&s;on al&s;o thou did&s;t advi&s;e wi&s;e and di&s;|creet Men to take upon them the Government of their Country, le&s;t they refu&s;ing it, impi|ous and unworthy Subjects &s;hould exert them|&s;elves, and oppre&s;s the good and hone&s;t Citi|zens. Therefore I following this great Au|thority, have de&s;ir'd to reduce to practice, in the Management of publick Bu&s;ine&s;s, what I
<PB N="17" REF="25">
learnt from thee in our grateful Retirement. And thou and that God who infu&s;eth thee into the Minds of wi&s;e Men, may witne&s;s for me, that I had no other end in a&s;piring to the Ma|gi&s;tracy, than that one, of doing good to all, and protecting the Vertuous and Ju&s;t. Hence was I look'd upon by evil Men as their com|mon Enemy. Hence &s;prung Di&s;&s;ention and Di&s;cord with them; but &s;till the Clearne&s;s of my Con&s;cience made me de&s;pi&s;e the Anger of the mo&s;t powerful, when I acted in the De|fence of Ju&s;tice and Right. How oft have I oppos'd<NOTE N="(t)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Coniga&s;t.] Coniga&s;tus;</HI> or, as <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodorus</HI> writes him, <HI>Cuni|ga&s;tus,</HI> was one who had great Authority with King <HI>Theodorick,</HI> which appears from what <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodorus, L.</HI> 8. <HI>Ep.</HI> 28. relates, that King <HI>Athalavick</HI> writing to him, gives him the Title of <HI>Illu&s;tris.</HI> This Per&s;on abu&s;ing the Authority which he had with his Ma&s;ter, attempted upon the Fortunes of tho&s;e whom he thought not able to defend them&s;elves. He being Ma&s;ter of the Offices, <HI>Boetius</HI> did fre|quently oppo&s;e him; becau&s;e it was the Bu&s;ine&s;s of that Magi&s;trate to judg the Prefects of the Provinces, and to receive the Com|plaints of the Provincial Subjects, and to report them to the Prince.</NOTE> <HI>Coniga&s;t,</HI> who taking Advantage of their Inabilities, would have oppre&s;s'd and ground the Faces of the Poor? How oft have I with&s;tood<NOTE N="(u)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Triguilla.] Triguilla</HI> was Steward of the Royal Hou&s;hold, who was equal to <HI>Coniga&s;t</HI> in Wickedne&s;s, but &s;uperiour to him in Power.</NOTE> <HI>Triguilla,</HI> the Steward of the King's Hou&s;hold, and hinder'd him from bring|ing to effect the many Injuries and Wrongs which he had hopefully projected and begun?
<PB N="18" REF="26">
How oft have I protected, with the Peril of my Authority, tho&s;e unhappy People, whom the lawle&s;s Avarice of the<NOTE N="(w)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Barbarians.]</HI> The Goths.</NOTE> Barbarians did vex with many Calumnies? No Man ever drew me a&s;ide from the Paths of Right to tho&s;e of In|ju&s;tice: I griev'd no le&s;s than the poor Sufferers, when I &s;aw the Fortunes of Provincial Subjects torn by the Rapine of private Officers, and them oppre&s;s'd with publick Taxes. When, in the Time of a &s;evere Famine, the whole Province of<NOTE N="(x)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Campania]</HI> Named <HI>Felix,</HI> called now by the Inhabitants <HI>La terra di Lavoro,</HI> is a Region of <HI>Italy,</HI> and a Province of the Kingdom of <HI>Naples,</HI> famous for its Fruitfulne&s;s and Number of Cities; its Metropolis is <HI>Naples,</HI> the large&s;t of the Italian Cities. <HI>Florus</HI> de&s;cribes it thus; <HI>L.</HI> 1. <HI>C.</HI> 16. <HI>Omnium, inquit, non mod&ograve; Ita|li&acirc;, &s;ed toto orbe terrarum, pulcherrima Campaniae plaga e&s;t. Nihil mol|lius Coelo: denique bis floribus vernat. Nihil uberius &s;ole: ideo liberi Cereri&s;que certamen dicitur. Nihil ho&s;pitalius mari: h&icirc;c illi nobiles por|tus, Cajeta, Mi&s;enus, &amp; tepentes fontibus Baiae: Lucrinus &amp; Aver|nus, quaedam Marie Otia. Hic amicti vitibus montes, Gaurus, Faler|nus, Ma&s;&s;icus, &amp; pulcherrimus omnium Ve&s;uvius Aetn&euml;i ignis imita|tor. &V;rbes ad Mare, Formiae, Cumae, Puteoli, Neapolis, Herculca|num; Pompei, &amp; ip&s;a caput urbium Capua, quondam inter tres maxi|mas, Romam Carthaginemque numerata.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Campania</HI> had like to have been ruin'd by an Impo&s;ition upon the People, which pa&s;s'd under the Name of a<NOTE N="(y)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Coemption.]</HI> This Coemption was a Monopoly, by which the Subjects of the Provinces were obliged to bring their Provi&s;i|ons and Victuals, and generally all the Products of their Lands, in|to the King's Granaries and Store-hou&s;es, to &s;ell them there at a low Price, and to buy them out again at a greater, &s;uch as the Publick Officers &s;hould exact of them.</NOTE> <HI>Coemption,</HI> I, the
<PB N="19" REF="26">
King being pre&s;ent at the De|bate, conte&s;ted with his<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Certamen adver|&s;um praefectum Prae|torii &s;u&s;cepi.</NOTE> Cap|tain of the Guards, on the Be|half of the Publick: And at la&s;t I prevailed, To that that heavy Impo&s;t was not exacted. I forced<NOTE N="(z)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Paulinus.]</HI> Becau&s;e he was of the Family of the <HI>Decii,</HI> was called <HI>Decius,</HI> and was Con&s;ul in the Year of our Redemption 498. therefore he is here called <HI>Con&s;ular.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Paulinus,</HI> a Con&s;ular Man, out of the very Jaws of tho&s;e<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Palatini canes.</NOTE> greedy Officers of the Palace, who&s;e Ambition and Hope had already devour'd him and his E&s;tate. When<NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Albinus.]</HI> He de&s;cended from the &s;ame Family of the <HI>De|cii,</HI> and was Con&s;ul in the Year of Chri&s;t 493.</NOTE> <HI>Albi|nus,</HI> who had been Con&s;ul al&s;o, was to have been cut off by a fal&s;e Accu&s;ation, I placed my &s;elf betwixt him and<NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Cyprian.]</HI> Was the Brother of <HI>Opilio</HI> the Informer again&s;t <HI>Boetius,</HI> of whom mention &s;hall be hereafter.</NOTE> <HI>Cyprian</HI> his Accu&s;er, and oppos'd my &s;elf to the Violence of his ut|mo&s;t Hate and Malice. Don't you think that I have got my &s;elf Enemies more than enough? I ought certainly, among&s;t the re&s;t of Mankind, to be more a&s;&s;ur'd and &s;afe, who for the Love of Ju&s;tice, have forfeited all my Hopes at the Court, and gain'd nothing but the Envy and Hate of tho&s;e who are power|ful there. But, behold upon the Accu&s;ation of
<PB N="20" REF="27">
what Men I now &s;uffer!<NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Ba&s;ilius.]</HI> This Man is &s;ometimes prai&s;ed, and &s;ometimes found fault with by <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodorus.</HI> He is commended, <HI>Ep. l.</HI> 2. <HI>Va|riar. &amp; Epi&s;t.</HI> 10. in which <HI>Agapita</HI> his Wife is mentioned, and &s;aid to be, <HI>&s;pectabilis foemina.</HI> And al&s;o, <HI>Ep.</HI> 11. in which we read what followeth: <HI>Ba&s;ilius, vir &s;pectabilis, datis precibus intimavit, Agapitam conjugem &s;uam de propriis penatibus &agrave; quibu&s;dam vitio &s;ollicita|tionis, abductam. Et cert&egrave; in his ver&s;ata rebus firmum docetur perdidi&s;&s;e con&s;ilium. Quid enim facere potuit probum, quae nullis culpis extantibus reliquit maritum.</HI> He is di&s;commended, <HI>Variar. l.</HI> 4. and <HI>Epi&s;t.</HI> 22. where <HI>Theodorick</HI> him&s;elf &s;aith, <HI>Ba&s;ilium &amp; Praetextatum artis &s;ini|&s;trae jamdiu contagione pollutos.</HI> And <HI>Ep.</HI> 23. where the &s;ame Prince writes, <HI>Praefectum urbis declara&s;&s;e Ba&s;ilium atque Praetextatum magicis artibus imbutos e&s;&s;e.</HI> If this <HI>Ba&s;ilius</HI> was the &s;ame Man who was here named, he was perhaps di&s;mi&s;&s;ed from the King's Service for being ver&s;ed in the Magical Arts: And from thence he might be urged by his Nece&s;&s;ities to accu&s;e <HI>Boetius</HI> fal&s;ly.</NOTE> <HI>Ba&s;ilius</HI> is one of them, who being lately, for his Offences, di&s;|mi&s;s'd from the King's Service, and oppre&s;s'd with Debt, is forc'd, by his Nece&s;&s;ities, to be|come my Accu&s;er. The Credit of the other two,<NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Opilio.]</HI> There was <HI>Opilio</HI> the Father, and <HI>Opilio</HI> the Son: The former, as <HI>Simondus</HI> &s;aith, was Almoner to <HI>Odoacer;</HI> which <HI>Theodorick,</HI> in <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodorus,</HI> &s;eemeth to intimate, <HI>Variar. L. quinto, Ep.</HI> 41. The latter, the Brother of <HI>Cyprian,</HI> was, as his Father and Brother before him, advanced to the Dignity of Almoner, but it was after the Death of <HI>Boetius, viz.</HI> in the Reign of <HI>Athala|rick, anno Chri&s;ti</HI> 528. From hence it is that <HI>Athalarick Ca&s;&s;iodor, Variar. L.</HI> 8. <HI>Epi&s;t.</HI> 16. in&s;cribed <HI>Opilioni Comiti &s;acrarum,</HI> thus &s;peaks, <HI>Secur&egrave; tibi credimus, quod toties tuo generi commi&s;&s;um fui&s;&s;e gaudemus. Paternis fa&s;cibus praefuit, &s;ed &amp; frater e&acirc;dem re&s;plenduit claritate:</HI> which might not hinder but that <HI>Opilio</HI> the Son might be condemned to Bani&s;hment by <HI>Theodorick,</HI> together with <HI>Gauden|tius,</HI> for his many Crimes and Frauds.</NOTE> <HI>Opilio</HI> and<NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Gaudentius.] Gaudentius</HI> &s;eems to be only known by his Accu&s;ation of <HI>Boetius;</HI> and one of whom I can give no other Ac|count.</NOTE> <HI>Gaudentius,</HI> is &s;o infa|mous,
<PB N="21" REF="27">
that lately, for their many Crimes and Cheats, they were condemned to Bani&s;hment by the<NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="foot">By the King.] <HI>Theodorick</HI> King of <HI>Italy;</HI> who, after he had overcome and killed <HI>Odoacer,</HI> obtained that Crown, <HI>anno Chri|&s;ti</HI> 409.</NOTE> King: and being unwilling to obey the Sentence, pre&s;ently took<NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Sanctuary.]</HI> As there were &s;ome Temples among&s;t the Hea|thens, &s;o all Churches of the Chri&s;tians were always e&s;teemed <HI>A&s;yla,</HI> or Sanctuaries. That &s;ome among&s;t the Heathens were <HI>A&s;y|la,</HI> appears from <HI>Virgil. l.</HI> 2. <HI>Aen&euml;id. v.</HI> 16. &s;hows it:
<Q><L>Et jam porticibus vacuis, Junonis a&s;ylo,</L>
<L>Cu&s;todes lecti Phaenix &amp; durus &V;ly&s;&s;es</L>
<L>Praedam a&s;&s;ervabant.</L></Q>
Al&s;o <HI>Aen&euml;id.</HI> 8. <HI>v.</HI> 342.
<Q><L>Hinc lucum ingentem, quem Romulus acer a&s;ylum</L>
<L>Rettulit, &amp; gelid&acirc; mon&s;trat &s;ub rupe lupercal.</L></Q>
And that all Chri&s;tian Temples were Sanctuaries, is plain <HI>ex Ced. Theod. l.</HI> 9. <HI>tit.</HI> 47. <HI>de his qui ad Eccle&s;ias confugiunt.</HI></NOTE> Sanctuary; of which when he had notice, he gave Com|mand, that if they did not leave the City of <NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Ravenna.]</HI> A City of <HI>Italy,</HI> upon the Coa&s;t of the Adriatick Sea. King <HI>Theodorick</HI> made this his Royal Seat, after the Defeat of <HI>Odoacer</HI> and his Succe&s;&s;ors. The Kings of the Goths did, after him, inhabit it.</NOTE> <HI>Ravenna</HI> by &s;uch a Day, they &s;hould, with all Di&s;grace, be driven out of it, with Marks branded on their Foreheads. Now judg if there can be any Addition to this my &s;evere U&s;age; for upon that very Day on which this Execution was order'd to be done upon them, the Accu&s;ation was receiv'd again&s;t me, from the Mouths of the&s;e villanous In|formers. What is then to be done? Have my
<PB N="22" REF="28">
many irk&s;ome Labours and Enquiries after Wi&s;|dom de&s;erv'd this? or becau&s;e my Condemna|tion was before determined, &s;hall it qualify the&s;e Men to be my Accu&s;ers? Is not Fortune a&s;hamed; if not of the Accu&s;ation of injur'd Innocence, at lea&s;t of the Ba&s;ene&s;s and Infamy of its Accu&s;ers? But perhaps you may ask, what Crime is objected to me? I am accu&s;ed for de&s;igning to pre&s;erve the Senate. Would you know the Manner and Circum&s;tances of my Trea&s;on? Why, 'tis urg'd, that I hinder'd an Informer from carrying Proofs to the King, which &s;hould have declared the whole Senate to have been guilty of Trea&s;on? And now, O my Mi&s;tre&s;s! what think you? &s;hall I deny the Crime that I may not be a Reproach to thee? No, it was always my De&s;ire to pre&s;erve that Augu&s;t Body in its Splendor, and in its ju&s;t Rights, and it &s;hall be &s;o to the la&s;t Moment of my Life. Shall I confe&s;s it? Then the pre|tended Endeavour of putting a &s;top to the Ac|cu&s;ers will cea&s;e. Shall I own it a Crime to wi&s;h the Safety of that A&s;&s;embly? Indeed its unju&s;t Decrees again&s;t me would make it look to be &s;o. But Folly, which always flatters it &s;elf, cannot change the Merit of things: Nor do I think it lawful, according to the Judgment of <HI>Socrates,</HI> either to hide the Truth, or own a Fal&s;ity. But however that Matter may be, I leave it to be weighed by you, and the Judg|ment
<PB N="23" REF="28">
of the Wi&s;e, having both by my Tongue and Pen declared the whole Truth and Series of my Misfortune, and tran&s;mitted it to indiffe|rent and unprejudiced Po&s;terity. To what pur|po&s;e &s;hould I &s;peak of tho&s;e forged Letters, in which I am accu&s;ed, to hope for the Re&s;taura|tion of the Roman Liberty? I could ea&s;ily e|nough have detected the Fal&s;ene&s;s of that Con|trivance, even by the Confe&s;&s;ions of my Accu|&s;ers, (which is of greate&s;t Weight in all &s;uch Affairs) if I might have been allowed to have made u&s;e of them. But what Liberty now can we ever hope to have? Would to Heaven we might expect any! then I had an&s;wer'd them in the Words of <HI>Canius;</HI> who, when he was ac|cu&s;ed by <HI>C. Cae&s;ar,</HI> Son to <HI>Germanicus,</HI> of being privy to a Con&s;piracy again&s;t his Life, told him,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Si ego, inquit, &s;c&icirc;&s;&s;em, tu ne&s;c&icirc;&s;&s;es.</NOTE> <HI>If I had known of &s;uch a De&s;ign, thou hadst never known it.</HI> In which thing, Sorrow and my Misfortunes have not &s;o dulled my Sen&s;es, that I &s;hould complain of the Contri|vances of wicked Men again&s;t the Vertuous. But I wonder that according to their Hopes they &s;hould have effected them; for the Will to do Ill proceeds from the Defects of humane Nature: But it is prodigious, that every Con|trivance of ill Men &s;hould prevail again&s;t the Innocent, even when the Eye of Providence beholds it. Whence it was that one of thy
<PB N="24" REF="29">
Di&s;ciples properly enough asked, If there be a God, whence then proceeds Evil? If there be none, whence Good? Be it &s;o, that it is natu|ral and fit enough that ill Men, who thir&s;t after the Blood of the Good, and of the whole Se|nate, &s;hould al&s;o promote my De&s;truction, who have always defended botn again&s;t their At|tempts. But have I de&s;erv'd this Return from the Hands of the Senate? <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Thou may&s;t remember, I imagine, becau&s;e always when I did or &s;aid any thing, thou wert pre&s;ent, and did&s;t direct me. Thou may&s;t remember, I &s;ay, when at<NOTE N="(i)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Verona.]</HI> A City of the Venetian Territory, built by the Gauls under the Command of <HI>Brennus,</HI> fir&s;t called <HI>Brenona,</HI> after|wards <HI>Verona.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Verona,</HI> the King, greedy and de&s;irous of our common Ruine, endeavour'd to have thrown that Trea&s;on, for which <HI>Albinus</HI> was accu&s;ed, on the whole Body of the Senate; how I then, contemning any Hazard which I might run, did vindicate and defend that Or|der. Thou know&s;t this to be Truth, and that I never was accu&s;tom'd to value or prai&s;e my &s;elf or my Actions: for who&s;oever &s;eeks a Name, by boa&s;ting of what he hath done, will le&s;&s;en, in a great mea&s;ure, the Plea&s;ures of a &s;elf-approving Con&s;cience. But now &s;ee the Event and Succe&s;s of my Innocence, for in&s;tead of receiving the Reward of true and &s;teddy
<PB N="25" REF="29">
Vertue, I undergo the Puni&s;hment of Villany and Impiety! What Judges were there ever, who even upon the manife&s;t Proofs of a Crime, did &s;o unanimou&s;ly agree in Cruelty, that neither the Con&s;iderations of humane Nature, which ne|ce&s;&s;arily errs, nor of the Change of Fortune, which is &s;o uncertain to all, &s;hould encline &s;ome of them to Pity and Compa&s;&s;ion? If I had been accus'd of de&s;igning to burn the Tem|ples, or ma&s;&s;acre the Prie&s;ts, and &s;o de&s;troy all good Men, yet I &s;hould have been allowed to have been pre&s;ent, and upon my Confe&s;&s;ion or Conviction by the Witne&s;&s;es, &s;hould have received my Sentence. But now, for my Aff|fections and Services to the Senate, I am un|heard, undefended, at the Di&s;tance of<NOTE N="(k)" PLACE="foot">500 <HI>Miles.] Ticinum</HI> or <HI>Pavia</HI> was &s;o far di&s;tant from the Place where the Sentence of <HI>Boetius</HI> was pronounced.</NOTE> 500 Miles condemn'd to Death, and<NOTE N="(l)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Pro&s;cription.]</HI> Pro&s;cription was of two kinds: One was Pro|&s;cription of Goods, when they were expos'd to Sale by Wri|tings affixed upon the publick Places of the City or Country where the Criminal dwelt. The other was a Pro&s;cription of the Per&s;on, by which it was &s;ignified that the Offender was bani&s;hed by the Magi&s;trates, and that his Abode in the City or Country was not &s;afe.</NOTE> Pro|&s;cription. O my Judges! may none of you be ever convicted of the like Crime; the Fal&s;e|ne&s;s of which even mine Accu&s;ers them&s;elves know, and that they are forced to throw ano|ther pretended Offence into the Scale; which
<PB N="26" REF="30">
is, that out of my Ambition and De&s;ire of Dig|nity I have polluted my Con&s;cienee with the horrid Sin of<NOTE N="(m)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Sacrilege.]</HI> This was another Crime objected to <HI>Boetius;</HI> but in what the Sacrilege did con&s;i&s;t, which was laid to his charge, doth not &s;o well appear to me. Mon&s;ieur <HI>de la Boucherie,</HI> the French Interpreter of our Author, thinks it con&s;i&s;ted in his having, by deceitful Arts, gained Suffrages for the advancing him&s;elf to the Magi&s;tracy, which the Latins call, <HI>Crimen ambit&ucirc;s a circum&euml;undo &amp; &s;upplicando;</HI> and the Greeks <GAP DESC="foreign">: which <HI>Stephanus, in the&s;aur. gr. linguae verbo</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, interprets thus, <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;i|ve <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>popularitas huju&s;modi.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>&amp;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>ita differre videntur, quod prior concionibus multitudini lenocinari &amp; ob|repere &s;olet,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>ver&ograve; potius muneribus gladiatoriis &amp; &s;pectaculis. Vide Si&s;. Bud. p.</HI> 811. Both the&s;e were Crimes puni&s;hable by the Laws of tho&s;e Countries. Others, as <HI>Thomas Aquinas</HI> and <HI>A&s;cen&s;ius,</HI> think that it was the Crime of <HI>Sortilegium,</HI> or Sorcery, and practi|&s;ing Magical Aarts, of which he was accu&s;ed: and that for <HI>&s;acrile|gio</HI> we ought to read <HI>&s;ortilegio,</HI> which &s;eems to me to be true read|ing of it, for &s;everal Rea&s;ons which would be too long to in&s;ert here.</NOTE> Sacrilege. But certainly thou, my Guide and Directre&s;s, who art planted and rooted in my Soul, ha&s;t &s;o far driven out of my Heart the De&s;ire of mortal and fading things, that thou do&s;t know (I being ever under thy In&s;pection) there could be no Place there for that Impiety; for thou did&s;t daily in&s;til into my Ears and Mind that golden Saying of <HI>Py|thagoras,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>Follow God.</HI> Nor was it convenient for me to &s;eek A&s;&s;i&s;tance from &s;oul and unlawful Arts, whom already thou had&s;t form'd into the Excellence and Likene&s;s of God. Tho&s;e
<PB N="27" REF="30">
of my<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Innocens pene|tral domus.</NOTE> Family, my Friends al&s;o with whom I conver&s;ed, and <HI>Symmachus,</HI> that vertuous and reverend Per&s;onage, to whom the Secrets of my Conver&s;ation could not be hidden, do all, with one Voice, clear me, even from the Su&s;pition of that Crime. But, O Misfortune! even thou art the greate&s;t Cau&s;e of that Credit which is given to my Accu&s;ers; for 'tis be|lieved that I have u&s;ed unlawful Arts, becau&s;e I have been bred up under thy Di&s;cipline, and imbibed thy Precepts. So that it is not enough that that Reverence which is due to thee, &s;hould not reflect, with Advantage, upon me thy Di&s;|ciple, if thy &s;elf al&s;o do not &s;uffer upon my ac|count. But this al&s;o is an heavy Acce&s;&s;ion to my Misfortunes, that the Opinions of mo&s;t People are not as they ought to be, grounded upon a due Con&s;ideration and the Merit of Things, but upon the Events of Fortune; and that that only &s;hould be judged to be underta|ken with prudent Fore-&s;ight, which is crown'd with an unhappy Succe&s;s. Hence it is that tho&s;e who are unfortunate do lo&s;e, before any thing, the good Opinion of the World. It troubles me now to remember what are the various Ru|mours, the different and incon&s;i&s;tent Opinions of the People concerning me; &s;ome condem|ning, and &s;ome defending me and my Cau&s;e: Yet this I will &s;ay, that nothing can add more
<PB N="28" REF="31" MS="y">
to the Afflictions of the Unhappy, who are un|ju&s;tly per&s;ecuted, than when Men think they ju&s;tly de&s;erve the Mi&s;eries which they endure. And now I am, at la&s;t, robbed of my E&s;tate, &s;poil|ed of mine Honours, injured in my Reputation; and in&s;tead of tho&s;e Rewards which I might ju&s;tly have expected from my Country, I have been condemn'd to the greate&s;t Puni&s;hment. But now behold a more afflicting Scene! Me|thinks I &s;ee the Treacherous, the Unfaithful, the Injurious, and other mo&s;t Infamous Per&s;ons, all without Cau&s;e mine Enemies, over-flowing with Joy and Delight at my Misfortunes, and contriving new Accu&s;ations again&s;t me: The Good are affrighted with the Horror of what I &s;uffer, and ill Men are encouraged, by the Im|punity of others, to de&s;ign the greate&s;t Wick|edne&s;&s;es, and by Rewards to act them; whil&s;t the Innocent are not only depriv'd of their Secu|rity, but al&s;o of the natural Privilege of de|fending them&s;elves; therefore I may rea&s;ona|bly thus cry out:</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="V" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="29" REF="31" MS="y">
<HEAD>METRUM V.</HEAD>
<Q>O &s;telliferi Conditor Orbis, &amp;c.</Q>
<LG>
<L>ALL-knowing Architect, who&s;e powerful Hand</L>
<L>Inimitably fram'd the &s;tarry Sky;</L>
<L>Who fix'd on thine Eternal Throne do&s;t &s;it,</L>
<L>And with a rapid Motion turn'&s;t the Sphears;</L>
<L>Who do&s;t upon the Stars impo&s;e thy Laws,</L>
<L>And mak'&s;t even Planets wander by a Rule:</L>
<L>So that the Moon in glorious Array</L>
<L>Meeting her Brother, clad with Beams of Light,</L>
<L>Involves in &s;able Weeds the le&s;&s;er Stars:</L>
<L>But when to him &s;he nearer doth approach,</L>
<L>Her Horns grow pale, and &s;he is lo&s;t in Clouds.</L>
<L>From his cold Bed thou <HI>He&s;perus</HI> do&s;t rai&s;e</L>
<L>To u&s;her in the Shades of coming Night;</L>
<L>And then do&s;t make him change his wonted Cour&s;e,</L>
<L>To be the pale-fac'd Harbinger of Day;</L>
<L>From which Employ he <HI>Lucifer</HI> is call'd.</L>
<L>Thou, when the fierce&s;t Bla&s;ts of Winter rage,</L>
<L>Do&s;t &s;horten Day when ripening Summer comes,</L>
<L>Thou do&s;t give Wings to the &s;low Hours of Night;</L>
<L>Thou rul'&s;t the checquer'd Sea&s;ons of the Year:</L>
<L>So that the Leaves which <HI>Boreas</HI> blows off,</L>
<L>When his Autumnal &s;poils he proudly boa&s;ts,</L>
<L><PB N="30" REF="32" MS="y">The gentle <HI>Zephyres</HI> kindly do re&s;tore,</L>
<L>And<NOTE N="(n)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Syrius.]</HI> Or as &s;ome write <HI>Scyrius,</HI> is called &s;o <HI>&agrave;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>ex|&s;icco,</HI> to dry up, and is a mo&s;t bright Star placed in the Mouth of the Con&s;tellation called <HI>Canis major,</HI> the greater Dog; which when it ari&s;eth, accompanieth the Ri&s;ing Sun from the Month of <HI>July,</HI> at which time the ripened Corn &s;eemeth to wither. Which Star, becau&s;e it appeareth in the Mouth of the greater Dog, is named <HI>Canicula.</HI> <Q><L>Jam rapidos torrens &s;itientes Syrius Indos</L>
<L>Ardebat Coelo, &amp; medium Sol igneus orbem</L>
<L>Hau&s;erat, arebant herbae, &amp; cava flumina &s;iccis</L>
<L>Faucibus ad limum radii tepe&s;acta coquebant.</L>
<L>Virgil. 4. Georgic. v. 425.</L>
<L>&mdash;Tum &s;teriles exurere Syrius agros:</L>
<L>Arebant herbae, &amp; victum &s;eges aegra negabat.</L>
<L>Virgil. Aeneid. l. 3. v. 14.</L></Q></NOTE> <HI>Syrius</HI> broods upon the Fields of Corn,</L>
<L>Which the indu&s;trious Swain before had &s;own</L>
<L>&V;nder<NOTE N="(o)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Arcturus.]</HI> Qua&s;i <GAP DESC="foreign">, is a Star in the Sign of <HI>Bootes,</HI> near the Tail of the greater Bear; which Star doth accompany the Ri&s;ing Sun from the Month of <HI>October,</HI> at which time the Earth begins to cheri&s;h or nouri&s;h the Seed committed to it.
<Q><L>At &s;i non fuerit tellus foecunda &s;ub ip&s;um</L>
<L>Arcturum, tenui &s;at erit &s;u&s;pendere fulco.</L>
<L><HI>Virgil. Georg. l. 1. v. 67. &amp; v. 204.</HI></L>
<L>Praeterea tam &s;unt Arcturi Sydera nobis</L>
<L>Haedorumque dies &s;ervandi, &amp; lucidus anguis:</L>
<L>Qu&agrave;m, quibus in patriam vento&s;a per aequora vectis</L>
<L>Pontus, &amp; O&s;tri&s;eri fauces tentantur Abydi.</L></Q></NOTE> <HI>Arcturus</HI> colder Influence.</L>
<L>Nothing in Nature can Exemption plead</L>
<L>From that Eternal Law, which long hath fix'd</L>
<L>And chain'd each Being to its proper Place.</L>
<L>Why then do&s;t thou all other things direct</L>
<L>Towards the end by thee before de&s;ign'd,</L>
<L>And only leav'&s;t Man's Actions uncontroul'd,</L>
<L><PB N="31" REF="32" MS="y">In Paths uncertain leaving him to tread?</L>
<L>Why &s;hould un&s;table Fortune's erring Power</L>
<L>Such mighty Changes in the World work,</L>
<L>Whil&s;t Innocence has the Reward of Crimes,</L>
<L>Whil&s;t pro&s;perous Vice unju&s;tly is enthron'd,</L>
<L>And on the Neck of Innocence doth tread?</L>
<L>Vertue ob&s;cure, neglected and contemn'd</L>
<L>Doth lie, which yet in Darkne&s;s bright appears,</L>
<L>And th' injur'd Innocent tho&s;e Chains doth bear,</L>
<L>In which the Criminal ju&s;tly &s;hould be bound.</L>
<L>No Perjury him nor Fraud can ever hurt,</L>
<L>If with a lying Varni&s;h colour'd over;</L>
<L>But when he's pleas'd to u&s;e his mighty Power,</L>
<L>He can even Kings and Potentates &s;ubdue,</L>
<L>Whom all but he do honour and revere.</L>
<L>O thou who with fair Concord's la&s;ting Bands</L>
<L>The di&s;agreeing Elements do&s;t bind,</L>
<L>Behold the Earth, which now &s;o long hath groan'd,</L>
<L>Oppre&s;s'd with Violence and Mi&s;ery!</L>
<L>Behold, poor Man, not the lea&s;t noble Part</L>
<L>Of this great Work, to&s;s'd on the rowling Waves</L>
<L>Of giddy Chance, and almo&s;t left alone</L>
<L>Without a Pilot or a Polar Star,</L>
<L>By which to &s;teer to his long-wi&s;h'd for Port!</L>
<L>A&s;&s;wage at length the&s;e raging Floods,</L>
<L>Great Governour; and as thou do&s;t the Heaven,</L>
<L>So on a &s;table Bottom fix the Earth.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="V" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="32" REF="33">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> V.</HEAD>
<P>Whil&s;t my continued Griefs forc'd me to breath out the&s;e Complaints; &s;he, with a plea|&s;ant Look, and no way mov'd with my Ex|pre&s;&s;ion of them, be&s;pake me thus: When I fir&s;t &s;aw thee, &s;ad and weeping, I knew thee to be mi&s;erable and in Bani&s;hment; yet at what di&s;tance from thy home I did not know, till I gather'd it by thine own Di&s;cour&s;e: But in|deed thou art not driven out of thy Country, but ha&s;t wandered thus far from it; yet if thou had&s;t rather be thought to have been violently remov'd, thou ha&s;t done thy &s;elf this Injury, for it was never in the Power of any other Per|&s;on to have done it: For if thou do&s;t call to mind of what Country thou art, a Country not govern'd by the Fury and Exta&s;ies of a giddy and pa&s;&s;ionate Multitude, as that of the Athe|nians was heretofore; but <GAP DESC="foreign">;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iliad. &thgr;.</NOTE> where there is only one Lord, one King, the Almighty Governour of the Univer&s;e, who wi&s;hes the Encrea&s;e and numerous Pro&s;perity, and procures the Welfare of all his Subjects and Citizens, and loves not to le&s;&s;en their number, by &s;ending them into Bani&s;hment: to obey who&s;e Laws, and to be govern'd by them, is the noble&s;t Liberty and greate&s;t Happine&s;s.
<PB N="33" REF="33" MS="y">
Know'&s;t thou not that mo&s;t antient Law of thy<NOTE N="(p)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Commonwealth.]</HI> Philo&s;ophy u&s;eth here the word <HI>Civitas</HI> in a double Sen&s;e, which may agree with Heaven and with <HI>Rome,</HI> which are both &s;aid to be the Countries of <HI>Boetius.</HI> The mo&s;t an|tient Laws of <HI>Rome</HI> condemned no body to Bani&s;hment, much le&s;s the Laws of Heaven, when any one hath fixed his Heart there.</NOTE>
Commonwealth, which does decree, that it &s;hall not be lawful to bani&s;h any Man from it, who had rather fix his Adobe there than in any other Place? For whoever hath once at|tained to the Happine&s;s of being &s;ettled within the Bounds of that Territory, can never be pre|&s;um'd to de&s;erve the Puni&s;hment of Exile; but whoever once leaves off to de&s;ire to be an Inha|bitant there, at the &s;ame time leaves off to de|&s;erve to be &s;o. Therefore the Countenance of this Place, however di&s;mal, does not move me &s;o much as thine own Looks. I do not here &s;o much look for thy<NOTE N="(q)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Library.]</HI> The Antients u&s;ed to adorn their Hou&s;es with Gold, Ivory and Gla&s;s, which made a great part of the Expence of tho&s;e times, as noble Buildings, Banquets, and a great Atten|dance do of the&s;e; Men thinking that they draw a Re&s;pect, Ad|miration and Honour from others by them. <Q><L>Fit &s;trepitus tectis, vocemque per ampla volutant</L>
<L>Atria; dependent lychni laquearibus aureis</L>
<L>Incen&s;i; &amp; noctem flammis funalia vincunt.</L></Q>
<HI>Virgil.</HI> 1. <HI>Aenid. v.</HI> 729. and <HI>Horat. lib.</HI> 2. <HI>Ode</HI> 18. di&s;tingui&s;hing him&s;elf from the great Men of his time, &s;aith, <Q><L>Non Ebur, neque dureum</L>
<L>Me&acirc; renidet in domo Lacunar.</L></Q></NOTE> Library, the Walls of which were &s;o well inlaid with Ivory, and a|dorn'd with Gla&s;&s;es, as that noble Cabinet and curious Repo&s;itory of thy Mind and Thoughts.
<PB N="34" REF="34">
But I did depo&s;e that there, which makes even thy Books valuable, the&s;e choice and ob&s;erva|ble Sentences, which are the Quinte&s;&s;ence of my voluminous Writings. Thou ha&s;t indeed &s;poken much Truth upon the Subject of thy great Merits from the Publick: but con&s;idering what, and how many they have been, all that thou ha&s;t &s;aid of them is but little. The Particulars which thou ha&s;t recounted of thy Integrity, and the Fal&s;ene&s;s of thine Accu&s;ation, are well known to all Men: And thou ha&s;t done well in being &s;hort in the Account of the Frauds and Villanies of thine Accu&s;ers, becau&s;e it will &s;ound better out of the Mouth of the People, who know all this. Thou ha&s;t al&s;o &s;everely in|veighed again&s;t the unju&s;t Decree of the Senate. Thou ha&s;t been much concern'd for the Injury done to me, and thou ha&s;t bewail'd the Lo&s;s of the good E&s;teem which Men had of thee. Thy la&s;t Complaint was again&s;t Fortune, and that Rewards and Puni&s;hments were not equally di&s;tributed, according to the Merits of Men: And in the end, thy di&s;temper'd Mu&s;e wi&s;hes that the &s;ame Peace which makes the Felicity of the calm Regions above, might al&s;o govern and re&s;ide upon Earth. But becau&s;e thy Affections are yet tumultuous and di&s;order'd, and becau&s;e the mutinous Pa&s;&s;ions of Grief, Anger and Sad|ne&s;s do variou&s;ly and &s;ucce&s;&s;ively draw and di|&s;tract thee: Thy Mind, I &s;ay, being in &s;uch a
<PB N="35" REF="34">
State, &s;trong and vigorous Medicines are not proper for thee; therefore, for the pre&s;ent, we will u&s;e more mild ones: &s;o that tho&s;e Hu|mours, which by frequent Di&s;turbances flowed in upon thee, being now gather'd to a Head, and come to a Con&s;i&s;tence, may, by gentle Ap|plications, be mollified, and be fitter to bear the more powerful Workings of &s;tronger Re|medies, which in time may di&s;&s;ipate them.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VI" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM VI.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Cum Phoebi Radiis grave</L>
<L>Cancri fidus inae&s;tuat, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>WHen <HI>Phoebus</HI> in his yearly way</L>
<L>To<NOTE N="(r)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Cancer]</HI> Is one of the Twelve Signs of the <HI>Zodiack,</HI> and is placed in that part of the Heaven which the Sun, going towards the North, touches about the end of <HI>June,</HI> and maketh the longe&s;t Day of the Year; turning from thence Southward, from whence the Circle which A&s;tronomers make to pa&s;s through this Sign, is called the Tropick of <HI>Cancer.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Cancer</HI> doth a Vi&s;it pay,</L>
<L>Who to th' unwilling Earth commits the Seed,</L>
<L>Shall have no Crop, but may on Acorns feed:</L>
<L>When arm'd with Fro&s;ts and crown'd with Snow,</L>
<L>Swell'd <HI>Boreas</HI> from the Hills doth blow:</L>
<L>No one or to the Groves or Woods then goes</L>
<L>To crop the purple Violet or Ro&s;e.</L>
<L>If thou would&s;t pre&s;s the winy Grape</L>
<L>Let Tendrels in the Spring e&s;cape:</L>
<L><PB N="36" REF="35" MS="y">For the great Patron of Mirth and Wine,</L>
<L>Doth for <HI>Autumnus</HI> Head his Chaplets twine.</L>
<L>To every Work God doth a&s;&s;ign</L>
<L>A proper and a fitting time:</L>
<L>Nor &s;uffers any thing to pa&s;s its Bound,</L>
<L>Which Nature in her Actings would confound.</L>
<L>For he who leaving Order, &s;trays,</L>
<L>And wanders in untrodden Ways,</L>
<L>Can never hope that glad Succe&s;s &s;hould crown</L>
<L>That Work which he with &s;miling Hopes begun.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VI" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> VI.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>Fir&s;t then wilt thou &s;uffer me to try the E&s;tate, and feel the Pul&s;e of thy Mind, by a few Que&s;tions; that &s;o I may better under&s;tand thy Malady, and pre&s;cribe the Methods of thy Cure?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>Ask me what thou plea&s;e&s;t, and I will an&s;wer thee.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>P.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thinke&s;t thou that this World is manag'd by blind Chance and Fortune? or do&s;t thou believe that Rea&s;on hath any &s;hare in the Government of it?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>B.</SPEAKER>
<P>I do by no means believe or imagine, that things, &s;o certain in their Methods, and &s;o regular in their Motions, &s;hould be mov'd and informed by &s;o un&s;teady a Cau&s;e: but I know that God, the Ma&s;ter-workman, doth pre&s;ide over his Work; nor &s;hall any Time or Accident ever move me from the Truth of this Opinion.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>P.</SPEAKER>
<P>So 'tis indeed; and of this, a little before, thy Mu&s;e did &s;ing when thou did&s;t al&s;o deplore the Misfortune of
<PB N="37" REF="35">
Man, whom alone thou did&s;t believe, not to be under the Care of Providence; though, that every other thing was govern'd by Rea&s;on, thou did&s;t not doubt. But it is miraculous to me, that thou, who ha&s;t &s;o ju&s;t Notions of all things, &s;hould&s;t be in &s;o ill a State of Health; I will therefore &s;earch further, for I believe thou yet laboure&s;t under &s;ome notable Defect: But tell, me, becau&s;e thou do&s;t not at all doubt but that the World is govern'd by God, by what kind of Government are its Affairs managed?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>B.</SPEAKER>
<P>I can not well comprehend thy Que&s;tion, therefore I cannot readily an&s;wer it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>P.</SPEAKER>
<P>I was not then deceiv'd when I thought there was &s;omething wanting, &s;ome Vacuity or Breach by which this whole Train of Perturbations found a way into thy Mind. But tell me, do&s;t thou remem|ber what is the chief End of all things, and whither the whole Ma&s;s and Body of Nature doth tend?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>B.</SPEAKER>
<P>I have heard what it is, but my Griefs have dulled my Memory, and eras'd almo&s;t every thing out of it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>P.</SPEAKER>
<P>But how then do&s;t thou know from whence all things have, their Being?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>B.</SPEAKER>
<P>That I remember well, and told thee, it was from God.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>P.</SPEAKER>
<P>And how then doth it come to pa&s;s, that thou knowing the Cau&s;e and Beginning of all things, &s;hould&s;t be ignorant of their End? It hath ever been of the Nature of the&s;e Perturbations, to have a Power to un&s;ettle Mens Minds, and to interrupt the
<PB N="38" REF="36">
Regular Cour&s;e of thinking; but they never yet could wholly alienate them from the genu|ine Sentiments of true Rea&s;on: But I pray thee an&s;wer me this, Do&s;t thou remember that thou art a Man?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>B.</SPEAKER>
<P>I am not &s;o much di&s;temper'd but I remember that.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>P.</SPEAKER>
<P>Can&s;t thou then tell me what Man is?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>B.</SPEAKER>
<P>If thou aske&s;t me, if I know my &s;elf to be a rational and a mortal Creature, I an&s;wer, I do know and confe&s;s my &s;elf to be &s;o.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>P.</SPEAKER>
<P>And do&s;t thou not know that thou art &s;omewhat more than that?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>B.</SPEAKER>
<P>No.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>P.</SPEAKER>
<P>Now I know another, and the greate&s;t Cau&s;e of thy Di&s;temper; which is, that thou ha&s;t lo&s;t the Knowledg of thy &s;elf: So that I have plainly found the Source of thy Di&s;tem|per, or rather the way of re&s;toring thee to thy Health: For becau&s;e thou art confounded with the Oblivion of thy &s;elf, thou complaine&s;t of thy Bani&s;hment, and of the Lo&s;s of thy E&s;tate. And becau&s;e thou do&s;t not know what is the End of things, thou do&s;t believe wicked and lawle&s;s Men to be powerful and happy. And becau&s;e thou ha&s;t forgotten by what Methods the World is govern'd, thou do&s;t imagine that the many Vici&s;&s;itudes and Changes of worldly Affairs, come to pa&s;s of them&s;elves, and are not directed by any Governour; and do&s;t be|lieve there are no Cau&s;es of &s;o important Ef|fects. The&s;e may certainly, not only be great Occa&s;ions of a Di&s;ea&s;e, but even of Death it
<PB N="39" REF="36" MS="y">
&s;elf. But, Thanks be to the Author of Health, who hath not &s;uffer'd thee to be wholly de|&s;erted by Rea&s;on; the true Opinion which thou ha&s;t of the Government of the World, which thou believe&s;t not &s;ubject to Humane, but to Divine Wi&s;dom, makes me not doubt of thy Recovery: For by this &s;mall Spark, there is to me a great A&s;&s;urance of vital Heat: But becau&s;e the Time is not yet come for &s;tronger Remedies, and becau&s;e it is natural to us to imbrace fal&s;e Opinions; &s;o &s;oon as we have laid a&s;ide the true, from whence a Mi&s;t of Di&s;turbances ari&s;eth, which hinders us from a true perception of Objects, I will endeavour, by Lenitives and Fomentations, to di&s;&s;ipate it; &s;o that that Darkne&s;s being removed, thou may&s;t ea&s;ily perceive the Brightne&s;s and Glo|ries of the true Light.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VII" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM VII.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Nubibus atris</L>
<L>Condita nullum</L>
<L>Fundere po&s;&s;unt</L>
<L>Sidera lumen, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>WHen &s;able Clouds o'er &s;pread</L>
<L>The Star-be&s;pangled Sky,</L>
<L>Each little Flame doth hide its Head,</L>
<L>And &s;eem to die.</L>
<L><PB N="40" REF="37">When a brisk Gale at South</L>
<L>Wrinkles the Ocean's Brow,</L>
<L>And by its Force the Froth</L>
<L>Brings from below;</L>
<L>Though &s;he before were clear</L>
<L>And Chry&s;talline her Face,</L>
<L>Her Beauties then will di&s;appear,</L>
<L>And lo&s;e their Grace.</L>
<L>The rapid Torrent which</L>
<L>Takes from the Hills its Source,</L>
<L>Some Rock or Shelf doth oft impeach,</L>
<L>And &s;top its Cour&s;e.</L>
<L>And thou, if thou would&s;t &s;ee</L>
<L>Truth by the cleare&s;t Light,</L>
<L>If thou in Paths &s;ecure and free</L>
<L>Would&s;t walk aright,</L>
<L>Drive flattering Joys away,</L>
<L>And bani&s;h &s;ervile Fear;</L>
<L>Let vain Hope never with thee &s;tay,</L>
<L>Nor Grief appear.</L>
<L>Clouds over&s;pread that Mind,</L>
<L>And it receives a Chain,</L>
<L>Where the&s;e an open Entrance find,</L>
<L>And where they reign.</L>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>The End of the Fir&s;t Book.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="book">
<PB N="41" REF="37">
<HEAD>ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS BOETIUS, OF THE Con&s;olation of Philo&s;ophy. BOOK the Second.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<HEAD>The ARGUMENT.</HEAD>
<P>Philo&s;ophy urges &s;everal Rea&s;ons to <HI>Boetius,</HI> why he &s;hould not &s;o much de&s;ire the Return of his former Fortunes. The De&s;cription of Fortune. Her Di&s;cour&s;e to <HI>Boetius,</HI> that he is not unhappy, but yet ble&s;&s;ed with much Felicity. The De&s;cripti|on of humane Felicity; that it doth not con&s;i&s;t in the Gifts of Fortune, nor in Riches, nor in Dig|nity and Power, nor in Glory and Fame; and even that &s;ometimes adver&s;e Fortune is profitable.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="I" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> I.</HEAD>
<P>HAving &s;aid this, &s;he was for &s;ome time &s;ilent; and when &s;he perceived that I di&s;po&s;ed my &s;elf with a mode&s;t Silence and Attention to hear her, &s;he thus be&s;pake me:</P>
<P><PB N="42" REF="38" MS="y">If I can &s;ee at all into the Cau&s;es and Habits of thy Di&s;ea&s;e, thou art affected with the Lo&s;s of thy former Fortune, and langui&s;he&s;t with the De&s;ire of its Return: The Change of that, as thou imagine&s;t, towards thee, hath perverted thy Faculties, and alter'd the whole State and Con&s;titution of thy Mind. I under&s;tand the manifold Deceits of that<NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Prodigy.] Prodigium,</HI> by <HI>Cicero,</HI> is called that which fore|telleth future Events, <HI>l.</HI> 2. <HI>de Nat. Dear.</HI> Since therefore Fortune is &s;o incon&s;tant, that when &s;he is pro&s;perous &s;he &s;eems to foretel Adver&s;ity, and when &s;he is adver&s;e to pre&s;age Pro&s;perity, &s;he may here be properly &s;tiled <HI>Prodigium.</HI></NOTE> Prodigy, and I know the bottom of that Familiarity &s;he u&s;eth towards all them whom &s;he de&s;igns to de|ceive, till &s;he hath left them plunged in Sor|row, and overwhelmed with Misfortunes and De&s;pair. And if impartially, and without Pa&s;&s;i|on, thou wilt call her to remembrance, and con&s;ider well her Nature, Habits and De&s;erts, thou wilt &s;oon be undeceived, and find, that even when &s;he did mo&s;t care&s;s thee, thou did&s;t never enjoy, nor that &s;he having now left thee, thou do&s;t lo&s;e any thing of Beauty or of Worth. But, I think, I need not labour much to recal the&s;e things into thy Memory; for thou wert wont, when &s;he was pre&s;ent, and flattered thee mo&s;t, to oppo&s;e thy manly Words to her Al|lurements, and to a&s;&s;ault her with Arrows
<PB N="43" REF="38">
drawn from my Quiver;<NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="foot">Here the Words of <HI>Boetius</HI> are, <HI>De no&s;tro adyto prolatis in|&s;ectabare &s;ententiis:</HI> The Sen&s;e of which Words I have, I think, fully enough rendred. <HI>Adytum</HI> was a Sacred Place in the Temple, into which it was lawful for none but the Prie&s;t to enter: Its Na|ture will appear from the Greek Etymology of the Word, which comes from <HI>ae'</HI> called <HI>privativum,</HI> and <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>ingredior.</HI> The Hea|thens al&s;o called the Place from whence the Oracles were given, <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>Aen. l.</HI> 2. <Q><L>Su&s;pen&s;i Eurypilum &s;citatum Oracula <HI>Phoebi</HI></L>
<L>Mittimus: i&s;que adytis haec tri&s;tia dicta reportat.</L></Q>
Since therefore Philo&s;ophy is &s;aid to have her Temple and her O|racles, &s;he will al&s;o have her <HI>Adytum,</HI> out of which &s;he draweth her Sentences: Of which Sentences <HI>Boetius</HI> made u&s;e whil&s;t he was pro&s;perous, to the purpo&s;e mentioned above.</NOTE> I mean with choice Sentences extracted from my Precepts and Labours. But every &s;udden Change works a great Alteration in the Minds of Men: Hence it is that thou al&s;o art departed from the wonted Tranquillity and Peace of thine. But it is now time to give thee &s;ome Emollients and plea&s;ant Lenitives, which may make way for more pow|erful Medicines. Approach then, Rhetorick, with all thy per&s;wa&s;ive Charms, who then on|ly do&s;t keep the right Path, when thou do&s;t not &s;werve from my In&s;titutions and Doctrines; and with Rhetorick let Mu&s;ick al&s;o draw near another Servant of my Retinue, and warble out Numbers &s;ometimes more light and airy, &s;ometimes more weighty and con|&s;i&s;tent.</P>
<P><PB N="44" REF="39" MS="y">What is it then, O Man, which hath plunged thee into this Aby&s;s of Mi&s;ery and Sorrow? Certainly thou ha&s;t &s;een &s;omething a&s;toni&s;hing and new. Do&s;t thou think that Fortune is changed again&s;t thee? Thou art deceived: This was always her Cu&s;tom, and is her Nature: She hath rather, in this Mi&s;adventure of thine, pre&s;erved her Con&s;tancy in changing: Such &s;he was when &s;he deluded thee with her Blandi&s;h|ments and fal&s;e Shews of Felicity. Thou ha&s;t had before a full View of the direct Face of this blind Divinity, and thou ha&s;t al&s;o now be|held her Rever&s;e: She, who nicely conceals her &s;elf to others, is wholly di&s;played and open to thee. If thou approve&s;t of her Manners and Cu&s;toms, u&s;e them, and complain not: If thou do&s;t abominate her Perfidy and Fal&s;ene&s;s, con|temn and ca&s;t her off, who&s;e Sports are &s;o dan|gerous and hurtful: For that which occa&s;ions thy Melancholy, ought to have been a Cau&s;e of thy greate&s;t Joy and Comfort: For &s;he hath for&s;aken thee; of whom no Man can be &s;ecure but &s;he will leave him al&s;o. Do&s;t thou then e&s;teem that to be Happine&s;s which is ever pa&s;&s;ing, and will not &s;tay? Is that pre&s;ent For|tune &s;o dear to thee which is not permanent, and which, when it is gone, leaves Griefs and Di&s;contents to &s;ucceed in its place? So that if a Man at his plea&s;ure cannot retain her, and if when &s;he goeth away &s;he maketh him mi&s;era|ble,
<PB N="45" REF="39" MS="y">
what is &s;he, being &s;o ready to take her Flight, but a &s;ure Pre&s;age of future Calamity? But it is not enough to behold tho&s;e Objects which are placed before our Eyes; for Wi&s;dom hath a Pro&s;pect to the End and Event of things; and Fortune often changing from Adver&s;e to Pro&s;perous, and from Pro&s;perous to Adver&s;e, &s;hould make Men neither fear her Threats, nor de&s;ire her Favours. To be &s;hort, thou mu&s;t with Patience and Equality of Soul, bear whatever is acted by her upon the Scene of this World, when thou ha&s;t once &s;ubmitted thy Neck to her ponderous Yoke: For if thou do&s;t pretend to pre&s;cribe a certain time of Adobe and Rece&s;s to her, whom thou ha&s;t freely, and of thine own Accord, cho&s;en to be thy Soveraign and Mi&s;tre&s;s, art thou not injurious to her? and do&s;t thou not, by Impatience, imbitter thy Lot, too hard al|ready, which thou can&s;t not alter by thy mo&s;t vigorous Efforts? If thou once ha&s;t &s;pread thy Sails to the Winds, thou then can&s;t not choo&s;e thy Port, but mu&s;t go whi|ther they will blow thee. When thou com|mitte&s;t thy Seed to the Furrows, remember that &s;ometimes the Years are fruitful, often barren. Ha&s;t thou given up thy &s;elf to the Governance of Fortune? thou can&s;t then do no other thing than obey her Commands. Do&s;t thou endeavour to arre&s;t the forward Force of
<PB N="46" REF="40" MS="y">
the rolling<NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Wheel.]</HI> The Antients feigned Fortune not only to be blind, but placed her on a rolling Stone, becau&s;e &s;he &s;eemed not only ra&s;hly, but with a blinded Force to admini&s;ter ill things to good, and good things to ill Men; but al&s;o like a Wheel, or any &s;pherical or globular Machine, to be rolled and turned by a natural Ne|ce&s;&s;ity: Therefore it is the greate&s;t Folly to expect Con&s;tancy in her Actings.</NOTE> Wheel? O thou mo&s;t &s;otti&s;h of all Mortals! when Fortune once becomes &s;ta|ble and fixed, &s;he, in the Hour &s;he is &s;o, leaves off to be Fortune.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="I" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM I.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Haec, cum &s;uperb&acirc; verterit vices dextr&acirc;,</L>
<L>Exae&s;tuantis more fertur Euripi, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG N="1">
<HEAD>I.</HEAD>
<L>When with her Hand &s;he &s;hifts the Scene of Fate,</L>
<L>She like<NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Euripus.]</HI> There are two &s;orts of <HI>Euripi;</HI> one &s;ort is made by Art, the other is Natural: The fir&s;t &s;ort is of two kinds, as Water-pipes made that Water may mount in them; or Conduit-pipes, which turn round, u&s;ed in Fountains, Gardens, or the like: The others are In-lets of Water, Cuts, or Channels, for the Commodity of Merchandize or Travel, as we &s;ee them frequent|ly in &s;everal Countries. The natural <HI>Euripus</HI> is that which is now called by the Italians <HI>Il &s;tretto de negro ponto;</HI> by the French <HI>Le De&s;troit de negropont;</HI> or oftner, <HI>Le De&s;troit del' Euripe.</HI> It is a Strait of the Aegean Sea, &s;eparating <HI>Boetia,</HI> a Region of <HI>Achaia,</HI> and the I&s;land <HI>Eubaea,</HI> to which it is joined, to the City of <HI>Chalcis,</HI> by a wooden Bridg of 50 Paces only. <HI>Euripus</HI> is of the Extent of 60 Miles, and ebbs and flows &s;even times every Day, as <HI>Pliny</HI> and <HI>Mela</HI> te&s;tify.</NOTE> <HI>Euripus</HI> often ebbs and flows;</L>
<L>Rai&s;ing the Captive from his humble State,</L>
<L>She from his Throne the mighty Monarch throws.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="2">
<PB N="47" REF="40">
<HEAD>II.</HEAD>
<L>When the &V;nhappy weep, &s;he &s;lights their Tears,</L>
<L>Nor will &s;he hear the mi&s;erable Groan,</L>
<L>But cruelly &s;he doth &s;eal up her Ears</L>
<L>Again&s;t the Cries of tho&s;e &s;he hath undone.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="3">
<HEAD>III.</HEAD>
<L>Thus doth &s;he &s;port, and thus &s;he boa&s;ts her Power,</L>
<L>And treats her Followers with a plea&s;ing Show;</L>
<L>If in the running of a nimble Hour</L>
<L>She makes the mo&s;t exalted Hero low.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="II" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> II.</HEAD>
<P>BUT now I would di&s;cour&s;e thee a little in the Stile and Per&s;on of Fortune, and ob&s;erve whether her Que&s;tions be rea&s;onable or not. Fir&s;t; Why, O Man! do&s;t thou by thy daily Complaints accu&s;e me as guilty? What Injury have I done to thee? What Goods or Advantages have I withdrawn from thee? Im|plead me before what Judg thou plea&s;e&s;t, con|cerning the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of Wealth and Digni|ties, and if thou can&s;t prove that ever any Man had a true and fix'd Propriety in them, I will then readily grant, that tho&s;e things were thine which thou do&s;t &s;o earne&s;tly de&s;ire to be re&s;to|red to thee. When Nature fir&s;t brought thee
<PB N="48" REF="41" MS="y">
out of the Womb into this World, I received thee naked, nece&s;&s;itous, and &s;tripp'd of all things, and (which now is the Cau&s;e of thy Impatience again&s;t me) I indulgently educated thee, I heaped my Ble&s;&s;ings upon thee, and en|compa&s;&s;ed thee with Glory and Splendor, and with an Affluence of all things which were in my Power; now when I have a mind to with|draw my Bounty, and to &s;top the Current of my Favours, be thankful for the U&s;e of that which was not properly thine. Thou ha&s;t no ju&s;t Cau&s;e of Complaint, for thou ha&s;t lo&s;t no|thing which was thy own: Why then do&s;t thou mourn? I have done thee no Wrong. Riches, Honours, and all other things of that kind, are &s;ubject to me, and in my Power; they are my Servants, and acknowledg me their Mi&s;tre&s;s; they come with me, and when I depart they follow. I dare boldly affirm, that if tho&s;e things (the want of which thou do&s;t now deplore) had been thine own, thou had&s;t not lo&s;t them: Shall I alone be forbid to exerci&s;e my own Power, and to u&s;e my own Right? Heaven takes the liberty to ble&s;s the World with fair and &s;unny Days, and again to vail them in dark and cloudy Nights. The Year graces the Face of the Earth with Fruits, and bindeth her Head with Chaplets of Flow|ers; and again &s;he de&s;troys the&s;e with Rains and Fro&s;ts. 'Tis lawful al&s;o for the Sea now to
<PB N="49" REF="41" MS="y">
appear with a calm and &s;mooth Brow, and a|gain to rage in Storms and Tempe&s;ts: And &s;hall the boundle&s;s Covetou&s;ne&s;s, and other depraved Affections of Men, oblige me to Con|&s;tancy, which is &s;o contrary to my Nature and Cu&s;toms? This is my Power, and this my con|tinual Sport and Exerci&s;e. I turn with a flying Motion the rolling Wheel, plea&s;ing my &s;elf to exalt what was below, and to depre&s;s and humble what was on high: A&s;cend then, if thou plea&s;e&s;t, to the height, but upon this con|dition, that thou &s;halt not think I do thee an In|jury if I make thee de&s;cend when my Sport or Humour require it. But art thou not acquaint|ed with my Ways and Methods? Do&s;t thou not know that<NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Croe&s;us.]</HI> He was the la&s;t and the riche&s;t King of the Lydi|ans, who having been once overcome by <HI>Cyrus</HI> King of the Per&s;i|ans, and rebelling again&s;t him, he was condemned to be burnt: He being upon the Pile, cried out, <HI>O Solon, Solon, Solon: Cyrus</HI> asking him who <HI>Solon</HI> was, he an&s;wered, <HI>Solon</HI> was a very wi&s;e Man, who long &s;ince told me, that no one was happy in this Life, which I now find by experience. Then <HI>Cyrus</HI> con&s;idering the Changeablene&s;s of Fortune, ordered the Fire which was made for the Execution to be extingui&s;hed; but a Shower from Heaven fell down, and put it out before he could be obeyed.</NOTE> <HI>Croe&s;us</HI> King of the Lydians, who, not long before, having been formidable to <HI>Cyrus,</HI> and being taken by him, was led to the Flames, to be a mi&s;erable Sacrifice to his Fury; was delivered by a Shower, which in that Moment was poured down from Heaven?
<PB N="50" REF="42" MS="y">
Ha&s;t thou forgot how <HI>Paulus Aemilius,</HI> Con|&s;ul of <HI>Rome,</HI> when he had taken<NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Per&s;eus.]</HI> The Son of <HI>Philip,</HI> la&s;t King of the Macedoni|ans, was overcome by <HI>Paulus Aemilius,</HI> the Roman Con&s;ul, at <HI>Sa|mothrace,</HI> and with his Sons led in Triumph: When he was fir&s;t taken, and brought before <HI>Paulus,</HI> he, pitying his Fortune, wept, and commanded him to &s;it down by him.</NOTE> <HI>Per&s;eus</HI> King of the Macedonians, was grieved, and even wept for his Sorrows and Captivity? What doth the Tragick Buskin more exclaim again&s;t than Fortune, overturning with an un|di&s;tingui&s;hing Stroke the Happine&s;s and Peace of Kings and Common-wealths? Di&s;t thou not learn, when thou wert young, that <HI>Jupiter,</HI> at the Entry of his Palace of <HI>Olympus,</HI> doth al|ways re&s;erve<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> two great<NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="foot"><GAP DESC="foreign">.] This Doctrine of the Platoni&s;ts <HI>Boetius</HI> learnt when he was a young Student at <HI>Athens:</HI> For tho&s;e Philo&s;o|phers finding that the Souls of Men, which they believed were formed long before they were joined to the Bodies, did &s;ome of them live mi&s;erable, and &s;ome of them more happy, feigned that two great Ve&s;&s;els did &s;tand before the Gates of <HI>Jupiter</HI>'s Pa|lace; one of which was filled with Good, the other with Evil: of either of which, as the Souls which were to be infu&s;ed into Bodies did drink, they were to have an happy or a mi&s;erable Lot upon Earth.</NOTE> Tuns; out of the one of which he di&s;pen&s;es Good, out of the other Evil to the World? What if thou ha&s;t drunk too deep of the Ve&s;&s;el of Good? What if, for the pre&s;ent, I have only vailed my &s;elf, and am not wholly departed from thee? What if even this very
<PB N="51" REF="42" MS="y">
Mutability, &s;o much complained of, which is of my E&s;&s;ence, &s;hould give thee ju&s;t Cau&s;e to hope for, and expect better things? Yet do not de&s;pair, be not di&s;mayed; nor de&s;ire, whil&s;t thou art plac'd within the common Circum|&s;tances of Humanity, to live under a Law, to be calculated for thy Meridian, and to be ap|propriated to thy Complexion and Inclinations.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="II" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM II.</HEAD>
<Q><LG N="1">
<HEAD>I.</HEAD>
<L><HI>Si quantas rapidis flatibus incitus</HI></L>
<L><HI>Pontus ver&s;at arenas, &amp;c.</HI></L>
</LG></Q>
<LG>
<L>If Plenty from her teeming Horn,</L>
<L>As many Riches on the World, &s;hould pour,</L>
<L>As there are Sands upon the briny Shore,</L>
<L>Or Stars in Heaven before the purple Morn,</L>
<L>In the triumphal Chariot of Day,</L>
<L>All &s;een from far upon the Ea&s;tern Way;</L>
<L>Yet would not mi&s;erable Man</L>
<L>Cea&s;e to complain;</L>
<L>But with his cau&s;ele&s;s Cries</L>
<L>He would importune Heaven, and pierce the Skies.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="2">
<HEAD>II.</HEAD>
<L>Although his Prayers reach the Almighty's Ear,</L>
<L>Though with Succe&s;s he crown his Vow,</L>
<L>Though Wealth and Honour on him he confer,</L>
<L>Yet Cares his Mind, and Clouds po&s;&s;e&s;s his Brow:</L>
<L><PB N="52" REF="43" MS="y">He thinks his pre&s;ent Ble&s;&s;ings poor,</L>
<L>And wildly gapes, and ever calls for more.</L>
<L>What Curb, or what commanding Rein</L>
<L>Can Avarice within ju&s;t Bounds retain?</L>
<L>Since, when full Streams of Ble&s;&s;ings on us flow,</L>
<L>Our Thir&s;t doth &s;till increa&s;e, &amp; our de&s;ires &s;till grow.</L>
<L>The Man who thinks he's poor, though rich he be,</L>
<L>Doth truly labour under Poverty.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="III" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> III.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phi.</SPEAKER>
<P>IF therefore Fortune &s;hould &s;peak for her &s;elf to thee on this manner, I believe thou ha&s;t not any thing to an&s;wer; or if thou ha&s;t any thing by which thou can&s;t defend thy Complaint, offer it, and thou &s;halt have free Liberty to &s;peak.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>The&s;e things which thou urge&s;t are indeed &s;pecious, being enriched with all the Charms of Rhetorick and Mu&s;ick; yet their Sound then only affects and delights us, when they &s;trike our Ears: But the Mi&s;e|rable have a much deeper Sen&s;e of their Mi&s;|fortunes, which the&s;e Notes cannot remove; and when they leave off to entertain our Ears, their Sorrow, which is &s;ettled within, with greater Force attacks the Mind.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phi.</SPEAKER>
<P>So it is indeed; for the&s;e are not Specificks for thy Di&s;|ea&s;e which rebels again&s;t its Cure, but rather Nouri&s;hers of it: when time &s;erves I &s;hall ad|mini&s;ter
<PB N="53" REF="43">
tho&s;e things which will pierce to its bottom. But, neverthele&s;s, that thou may&s;t not number thy &s;elf among&s;t the Mi&s;erable, let me ask thee, ha&s;t thou forgot the mea&s;ure of thy Happine&s;s and Pro&s;perity? I &s;peak not of the Care which the Chief Men of the City took of thee, when thou wert left an Orphan, when thou wert grac'd with the Affinity of tho&s;e great Per&s;onages, and wert taken into their Af|fections, before thou wert received into their Alliance, which is the mo&s;t happy and e&s;tima|ble kind of Propinquity. Who did not account thee mo&s;t happy in the Noble Alliance of thy<NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="foot">The Fathers-in-law of <HI>Boetius</HI> were <HI>Fe&s;tus</HI> and <HI>Symmachus,</HI> of whom mention is made in the Life of <HI>Boetius.</HI></NOTE> Fathers-in-law; in the cha&s;te and exemplary Vertues of thy<NOTE N="(i)" PLACE="foot">Though <HI>Boetius</HI> had two Wives, <HI>Elpis</HI> and <HI>Ru&s;ticiana,</HI> yet I &s;uppo&s;e mention is made here only of <HI>Ru&s;ticiana,</HI> becau&s;e &s;he only was living at that time when this Book was compo&s;ed.</NOTE> Wife; and in the Noble Di&s;po&s;itions of thy<NOTE N="(k)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Boetius</HI> had four Sons; <HI>Patricius, Hypatius, Symmachus,</HI> and <HI>Boetius;</HI> that two of the&s;e were Con&s;uls is certain, but which they were I do not find.</NOTE> Sons? I pa&s;s by (for common things I will not mention) tho&s;e Dig|nities conferr'd upon<NOTE N="(l)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Boetius</HI> being young, was admitted into the Order of the <HI>Patricii,</HI> and perhaps he had been honoured with the <HI>Con&s;ulate,</HI> which Dignity was rarely conferr'd upon any one before the 30th Year of his Age.</NOTE> thee in thy Youth, which have often been denied to antient Men; for I am impatient to come to that which was
<PB N="54" REF="44">
the Crown of thy Felicity: If the Fruits of hu|mane Labours can have any Weight of Happi|ne&s;s, can the Memory of that Day, for any Evil which may &s;ince have befallen thee, ever pa&s;s out of thy Mind, in which thou &s;awe&s;t thy two Sons advanced to the Degree of Con&s;uls, carried from thy Hou&s;e, accompanied by &s;o great a Number of Senators, and with the Joys and Acclamations of the People? when thou &s;awe&s;t them in the Court placed in their<NOTE N="(m)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Curule Seats.]</HI> It was the Ivory Chair which was in the Chariot in which the Chief Magi&s;trates of <HI>Rome</HI> did ride. From hence they were called <HI>Magi&s;tratus Curules,</HI> who only had the Right of &s;etting up Images. <HI>Curulis, a curru dempto altero: nam Sena|tores qui Curulem magi&s;tratum, i. e. majorem bonorem gerebant, honoris grati&acirc;, in Curiam vehi &s;oliti erant Curru, in quo &s;ella erat Eburnea, &s;u|pra quam con&s;iderent.</HI> Gell.</NOTE> Cu|rule Seats, and thy &s;elf in the Prai&s;es of the ab|&s;ent King <HI>Theodorick</HI> did&s;t di&s;play the Trea&s;ures of thy Wit, and did&s;t de&s;erve the Crown of Eloquence? when in the<NOTE N="(n)" PLACE="foot"><HI>The Circus.]</HI> It was a Place of an Oval Figure, in which the Romans, by the Appointment of <HI>Tarquinius Pri&s;cus,</HI> one of their fir&s;t Kings, did exerci&s;e their Games: from whence tho&s;e Games were called <HI>Circen&s;es.</HI> Cu&s;tom required afterwards, that every one who was created Con&s;ul, &s;hould in this Place make a great Ex|pence in entertaining of the Roman People with the u&s;ual Games, otherwi&s;e they did not ingratiate them&s;elves with them, nor did &s;eem to &s;upport honourably their Character.</NOTE> <HI>Circus</HI> thou &s;itting betwixt the Con&s;uls, did&s;t &s;atisfy the Expectati|on of the Multitude, which &s;tood about thee, with a triumphal Large&s;s? Thou then did&s;t flatter Fortune by thy Expre&s;&s;ions, when &s;he
<PB N="55" REF="44" MS="y">
&s;eemed to hug and care&s;s thee as her Friend and Delight. Thou then received&s;t from her &s;uch a Gift as was never before made to any private Man. Wilt thou then come to an account with her? This is the fir&s;t time that &s;he hath looked unkindly upon thee; and if thou wilt equally weigh the Number of thy Ble&s;&s;ings and Affli|ctions, thou can&s;t not but in Ju&s;tice acknowledg that thou art yet happy: For if therefore thou do&s;t e&s;teem thy &s;elf unfortunate, becau&s;e the things which heretofore &s;eem'd plea&s;ing to thee are pa&s;&s;ed away, there is no rea&s;on for it, be|cau&s;e even tho&s;e things which do now afflict thee, do al&s;o pa&s;s. Art thou but ju&s;t now en|tred a Stranger upon the Scene of this World? Do&s;t thou but now appear in this Theatre? Believe&s;t thou that there can be any Con&s;tancy or Stability in humane Affairs, when thou &s;ee&s;t that an Hour, or a quicker Minute, di&s;&s;olves humane Nature, and &s;eparates the Soul from the Body? For although there is &s;eldom Hope that the things of Fortune will continue with us, yet the la&s;t Day of a Man's Life &s;eemeth to be the la&s;t al&s;o of that Pro&s;perity which re|mains with us. Where then is the great Diffe|rence? What doth it import then, whether thou by Death leave&s;t it, or it by Flight doth leave thee?</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="III" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="56" REF="45" MS="y">
<HEAD>METRUM III.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Cum Polo Phoebus ro&s;eis quadrigis</L>
<L>Lucem &s;pargere coeperit, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG N="1">
<HEAD>I.</HEAD>
<L>When <HI>Phebus</HI> from his ro&s;eal<NOTE N="(o)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Ro&s;cis quadrigis.]</HI> The Sun was feigned by the Poets to be drawn in a Coach by four Hor&s;es, <HI>viz. Pyrois, Aeous, Aethon,</HI> and <HI>Phlegon;</HI> by which Fire, Light, Heat and Flame, the four princi|pal Effects of the Sun, as al&s;o the four chief Hours of the Day, may be &s;ignified. <HI>Ovid. l.</HI> 2. <HI>Metamorph.</HI> <Q><L>Interea volucres Pyrois, Aeous &amp; Aethon</L>
<L>Solis equi, quartu&s;que Phlegon binnitibus auram</L>
<L>Flammiferis implent, pedibu&s;que repagula pul&s;ant.</L></Q></NOTE> Coach</L>
<L>Di&s;pen&s;es Light, and opens Day,</L>
<L>The Stars grow pale at his Approach,</L>
<L>And &s;hun the Glories of his Ray,</L>
<L>Hiding their Heads whil&s;t he's upon his way.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="2">
<HEAD>II.</HEAD>
<L>The Woods the Vernal Ro&s;es wear</L>
<L>When the Life-breathing<NOTE N="(p)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Zephyrs.] Zephyrus</HI> is a &s;oft and warm Wind blowing from the We&s;t, and by its Quality it makes the Earth fruitful; there|fore it is called by the Greeks <GAP DESC="foreign">, a bringer of Life: by the Latins it is termed, <HI>Favonius &agrave; fovendo,</HI> from che|ri&s;hing or keeping warm, as if it were the Genital or Elemental Spirit of the World, as <HI>Pliny</HI> &s;aith, <HI>l.</HI> 10. <HI>c.</HI> 25. <Q><L>Parturit almus ager, Zephyrique tepentibus auris</L>
<L>Laxant arva &s;inus. <HI>Virg. l. 2. Georg.</HI></L></Q></NOTE> <HI>Zephyrs</HI> blow;</L>
<L><PB N="57" REF="45" MS="y">If to the<NOTE N="(q)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Au&s;ter]</HI> Is the Wind blowing from the South, and is of a moi&s;t and warm Nature. It is e&s;teemed moi&s;t, becau&s;e it gathers again tho&s;e Humours which the North-wind had di&s;pelled and &s;cattered: Hence by <HI>Virgil</HI> it is called <HI>humidus;</HI> by <HI>Horace, &V;dus;</HI> by <HI>Ovid, Aquaticus;</HI> by St. <HI>Augu&s;tine, Pincerna pluviarum;</HI> and by <HI>Boetius, Nebulo&s;us.</HI> It is e&s;teemed hot and warm, becau&s;e it blow|eth from the South; or becau&s;e by its Moi&s;tne&s;s or its Heat, or by both, it is hurtful to living Creatures, and to Plants, but particu|larly to Flowers; from whence <HI>Virgil, l.</HI> 1. <Q>Arboribu&s;que &s;atis Notus, pecorique &s;ini&s;ter.</Q>
And <HI>Eclog.</HI> 2. <Q><L>Eheu quid volui mi&s;ero mihi, floribus Au&s;trum</L>
<L>Perditus, &amp; liquidis immi&s;i fontibus apros.</L></Q>
This Wind is a particular Enemy to Ro&s;es: Hence <HI>Statius l.</HI> 3. <HI>Sylvarum:</HI> <Q>Pubente&s;que ro&s;ae primos moriuntur ad Au&s;tros.</Q>
Therefore <HI>Au&s;ter,</HI> by our Author, is &s;aid, <HI>&s;pirare in&s;anum,</HI> to blow madly; and whil&s;t it blows, <HI>decus abire &s;pinis,</HI> that is, it makes the Ro&s;e to wither or die, which as it is the Queen of Flowers, and as it is produced from a Thorn, &s;o it is the Glory of that Vegetable. Hence <HI>Antonius Hallaeus,</HI> a Norman Writer, very elegantly ex|pre&s;&s;eth him&s;elf: <Q><L>&mdash; Ort&ucirc;s tamen ip&s;a memento</L>
<L>O Ro&s;a pulchralis: te informis &s;pina creavit.</L></Q></NOTE> South the Wind doth veer,</L>
<L>No more tho&s;e Beauties then they &s;how,</L>
<L>Which charm'd our Eyes when the gay Flowers did grow.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="3">
<HEAD>III.</HEAD>
<L>Sometimes I have the Ocean &s;een</L>
<L>Clear, undi&s;turb'd and free,</L>
<L>With Looks all radiant and &s;erene:</L>
<L>But if the Winds awaken'd be</L>
<L>The Waves then &s;well and roll outragiou&s;ly.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="4">
<PB N="58" REF="46" MS="y">
<HEAD>IV.</HEAD>
<L>If all things vary thus their Forms,</L>
<L>And nothing certain doth appear,</L>
<L>Wilt thou commit to the wild Storms</L>
<L>Thy Ve&s;&s;el, and let Fortune &s;teer?</L>
<L>'Tis &s;ure that nothing can be con&s;tant here!</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IV" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> IV.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>ALL this which thou recounte&s;t, O thou Source and Nouri&s;her of all Vertues, is mo&s;t true; nor can I deny the quick and early Arrival of my Pro&s;perity. But one thing, when I remember it, doth mo&s;t &s;en&s;ibly afflict me; for nothing doth more add to a Man's Infelicity, than the remembrance that he was once happy.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>That thou do&s;t yet groan under the Torment of thy ill-grounded Opinion, is not to be imputed to the evil E&s;tate of thy Affairs; for if this empty Name of un|certain Happine&s;s moves thee, do but recollect with me, what Plenty thou enjoye&s;t, and what is yet re&s;erved &s;afe to thee: And therefore if thou yet do&s;t po&s;&s;e&s;s that which in the be&s;t times thou did&s;t account mo&s;t precious, it being yet by the Hand of Heaven pre&s;erved &s;afe and in|violate, can&s;t thou ju&s;tly then complain of the Injuries of Fortune? <HI>Symmachus</HI> thy Father-in-law,
<PB N="59" REF="46" MS="y">
the Delight and Ornament of Mankind, who&s;e Welfare thou would&s;t readily purcha&s;e at the rate of thy Life; one, who by an admira|ble Temper and Mixture is wholly made up of Wi&s;dom and Vertue, is yet &s;afe, and fearle&s;s of his own Concerns; only laments thy Inju|ries, and grieves for thy Misfortunes. Thy Wife yet lives an Example of Mode&s;ty, and a Pattern of Cha&s;tity; and that I may in one Word include all her Endowments and Per|fections, the true Re&s;emblance of her Father: She lives, I &s;ay, and being weary of Life, breaths only for thy &s;ake, and (in which thing alone I will yield that thy Happine&s;s receives Diminution) &s;he pines away with Grief and Tears, and with the De&s;ire of once more en|joying thy &s;weet Conver&s;ation. Why &s;hould I mention thy Con&s;ular Sons, in whom, being yet &s;o young, &s;o much of the Wit and Spirit of the Grand-father and Father doth &s;hine? Since then it is the chief Care of Men to pre&s;erve Life, thou art mo&s;t happy, if thou would&s;t but know it, to whom &s;o many Advantages and Ble&s;&s;ings yet remain, which all Men value above Life. Wherefore dry up thy Tears, Fortune hath not expre&s;&s;ed her Rage and Malice again&s;t you all; nor hath the Tempe&s;t been too vio|lent, whil&s;t thy Anchors yet hold, and afford to thee Cau&s;e of pre&s;ent Comfort, and Hope of future Felicity.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>And may they ever hold!
<PB N="60" REF="47" MS="y">
for whil&s;t they are firm, however things go, I &s;hall &s;hift &s;o as to keep my Ve&s;&s;el above the Water, and perhaps to e&s;cape; but notwith|&s;tanding you may &s;ee from what Advantages and Dignities I am fallen.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>I &s;hould think that we had made a good Advance, if thou did&s;t not yet retain a Concern for the Diminuti|on of thy former E&s;tate. But I cannot &s;uffer that thou &s;houlde&s;t, with &s;o much Delight, mention thy Fortunes, and in &s;o much Anxiety bewail the Lo&s;s of &s;o &s;mall a part of them: For who&s;e Felicity is &s;o well grounded, who hath not in &s;ome things cau&s;e to quarrel with his Lot? The Condition of humane Goods is anxi|ous and incon&s;tant; for either they do not all at once arrive, or if they do, they make no &s;tay with us. One Man is ble&s;&s;ed with a great Afflu|ence of Wealth, but he is a&s;hamed of the Ba&s;e|ne&s;s of his Blood. The Nobility of that Man's De&s;cent makes him con&s;picuous, but being un|ea&s;y within the Bounds of a narrow E&s;tate, and &s;o unable to bear up the Port of his Ance&s;tors, he had rather live retired and unknown. Ano|ther abounds with Wealth, and is nobly born too, but he is unmarried, and to compleat his Happine&s;s he would have a Wife. Another is happy in Wedlock, but he wants Children, and is troubled that he mu&s;t gather Riches for ano|ther Man's Heir. Another hath the Joy of ma|ny Children, but is &s;oon again mortified by &s;ee|ing
<PB N="61" REF="47" MS="y">
the evil Cour&s;es which they take. There|fore we fee, that no Man can ea&s;ily agree with the State of his Fortune; for in all Conditions there is &s;omething which, untry'd, a Man doth not know, and which after trial he doth not ap|prove. Add al&s;o to this, that the Sen&s;es of the Happy are refined and delicate; and unle&s;s eve|ry thing happens to them as they de&s;ire, or when it plea&s;eth them, they are impatient: He who is not u&s;ed to Adver&s;ity, is overcome and thrown down by every cro&s;s Adventure; and the lea&s;t evil Acccidents di&s;compo&s;e him: upon &s;o minute and &s;lender things doth the Happine&s;s of the mo&s;t Fortunate depend. How many Men are there in the World, do&s;t thou believe, who would think them&s;elves advanced almo&s;t to Heaven, if they could attain but to the lea&s;t part of the Remainder of thy Fortunes? This very Place, which thou calle&s;t a Place of Ba|ni&s;hment, is their Country who inhabit it: And thy Mi&s;eries ari&s;e only from the ill-ground|ed Opinion that thou art mi&s;erable. And again, every Lot may be happy to that Man who can with Equanimity and Courage bear it. Who is he &s;o happy, who when once he grows impati|ent, doth not de&s;ire to change his State of Life? How much is humane Felicity imbittered! which though it may &s;eem &s;weet to the Enjoyer, yet is not to be retained, but when it plea&s;eth takes its Flight? So that hence it may appear;
<PB N="62" REF="48" MS="y">
how mi&s;erable even the greate&s;t Felicity of Men is, &s;ince it will not remain with tho&s;e, who with Equality bear every kind of Lot, nor will bring Comfort to tho&s;e who&s;e Minds are anxi|ous and oppre&s;&s;ed. Why therefore, O wretched Mortals, do ye &s;o indu&s;triou&s;ly &s;eek abroad for that Felicity which is placed at home within your &s;elves? Error and Ignorance mi&s;lead and confound you. But I, in &s;hort, will &s;hew you the very Hinge upon which the true&s;t Happi|ne&s;s doth turn. Is there any thing more preti|ous and e&s;timable to thee than thy &s;elf? No, thou wilt &s;ay. Then if thou wilt weigh things well, and gain the Command over thy &s;elf, thou wilt po&s;&s;e&s;s that which thou would&s;t ne|ver lo&s;e, and which Fortune can never take from thee. And that thou may&s;t &s;ee that Bea|titude cannot con&s;i&s;t in tho&s;e things which are in the Power of Fortune, only con&s;ider thus; If Happine&s;s be the Sovereign Good of Nature, living and &s;ub&s;i&s;ting by Rea&s;on, then that thing cannot be it, which can by any means be with|drawn from us, becau&s;e that which cannot be taken away is worthily e&s;teemed the mo&s;t ex|cellent. Hence it appears that In&s;tability of Fortune is not &s;u&s;ceptive of true Happine&s;s. Add to this, that he who is carried away by fading Felicity, doth either know that it is mu|table, or he doth not. If he knows it not, what Happine&s;s can he take in the Blindne&s;s of
<PB N="63" REF="48" MS="y">
his Ignorance? If he knows it, he mu&s;t nece&s;&s;a|rily be afraid le&s;t he &s;hould lo&s;e that which he knows is ea&s;ily to be lo&s;t; and in that ca&s;e his continual Fear will not &s;uffer him to be happy. Perhaps he cares not if he &s;hould lo&s;e it, and he would not be much troubled at its Lo&s;s. Even truly the Good is but very &s;mall and incon&s;idera|ble, the Lo&s;s of which a Man can bear with &s;uch Equanimity and Unconcernedne&s;s. And becau&s;e I know that thou art one who ha&s;t been fully per&s;waded, and by many Demon&s;trations convinced of the Immortality of the Souls of Men; it al&s;o being evident that the Goods of Fortune receive a Period with our Bodies by Death; it cannot then be doubted but if Death can put an end to our Happine&s;s, that all Men, when they die, are plunged into the Depths of Mi&s;ery. And &s;ince we know well, that many Men have endeavoured to obtain Felicity, not only by undergoing Death, but by &s;uffering the mo&s;t cruel Pains and Torments, how then can it be imagined that this pre&s;ent Life can make Men truly happy, &s;ince, when it is ended, Men do not become mi&s;erable?</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IV" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="64" REF="49" MS="y">
<HEAD>METRUM IV.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Qui&s;quis volet perennem</L>
<L>Cautus ponere &s;edem, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG>
<L>Who warily would fix his Seat,</L>
<L>On which no Ea&s;tern Winds &s;hould beat,</L>
<L>Nor Waves which rage against the Shore</L>
<L>Have any Power,</L>
<L>He mu&s;t not build upon the high</L>
<L>And lofty Hills, which brave the Sky;</L>
<L>Nor will his Hou&s;e &s;ecurely &s;tand</L>
<L>&V;pon the Sand.</L>
<L>Each Bla&s;t will one of them annoy,</L>
<L>And all its Force on it employ:</L>
<L>The other being loo&s;e and light,</L>
<L>Can't bear the Weight.</L>
<L>Seeing the Danger then is great</L>
<L>To him that loves a plea&s;ant Seat,</L>
<L>Lay thy Foundation upon</L>
<L>The firmer Stone;</L>
<L>And then though Air and Sea con&s;pire,</L>
<L>Contemn their Rage and &s;light their Ire:</L>
<L>So happily in thy &s;trong Hold</L>
<L>Thou may&s;t grow old.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="V" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="65" REF="49" MS="y">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> V.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phi.</SPEAKER>
<P>BUT fora&s;much as the Applications of my Rea&s;ons have &s;unk into thee, I think it is now time to u&s;e &s;ome more power|ful Medicines: Go to then, if the Gifts of For|tune were not fading and momentary, as they are, what is there to be found in them which may, at any time, be accounted thine? or which, if it be thorowly con&s;idered and looked into, will not appear to be vile and unworthy? Are Riches in their own Nature, or by the E&s;tima|tion of Men, pretious? What &s;ort of Riches is mo&s;t excellent? Gold, or a great Ma&s;s of Silver gathered together? But this appears more glo|rious by &s;pending it, than by trea&s;uring it up; for Avarice always makes Men odious, and Bounty makes them famous and renowned. And if that which is conferr'd upon another cannot continue with any Man, then certainly is Money mo&s;t pretious when it is tran&s;lated to others; and cea&s;es to be po&s;&s;e&s;s'd by him who hath given it. If all the Money that is in all Parts of the World were gathered into one Hand, the re&s;t of Mankind would be needful and want it. The Sound of a Voice, if it be entire, and not ob&s;tructed by any <HI>Medium,</HI> doth at the &s;ame time fill the Ears of many People;
<PB N="66" REF="50" MS="y">
but Riches, unle&s;s they be dimini&s;hed and can|ton'd, cannot meet the Nece&s;&s;ities of many; and that being done, they whom they have left mu&s;t unavoidably &s;ubmit to Poverty. O therefore (may I ju&s;tly &s;ay) narrow, mean, and even poor Riches! which cannot all be en|joyed by many at the &s;ame time, and which can|not be po&s;&s;e&s;s'd by one, without impoveri&s;hing and ruining the re&s;t of Mankind! Doth the Brightne&s;s of Jewels attract the Eye? But if there be any thing extraordinary in their Splen|dor, it is the Brightne&s;s of the Stones, and not of the Eye which beholds them; therefore I very much wonder that Men &s;hould admire them: For what is it which wants the Facul|ties and Motions of a Soul, and the Contexture of Joints, which can really &s;eem beautiful to a rational Nature? For although from the Hand of the great Workman, and for Di&s;tinction's &s;ake, they have derived &s;omething of an infe|riour Grace and Beauty, yet they are placed below thy Excellence, and by no means wor|thy to attract thy Admiration. Doth the Beau|ty of the Fields delight thee much?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boe.</SPEAKER>
<P>Why &s;hould it not? for it is a fair Part of the faire&s;t Work, the Creation of the Univer&s;e: So &s;ome|times we are delighted with the Clearne&s;s of the Sea's Face; &s;ometimes we admire the Hea|vens, the Stars, the Sun, and Moon.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phi.</SPEAKER>
<P>What do the&s;e things concern thee? Dare&s;t thou glo|ry
<PB N="67" REF="50" MS="y">
in the Splendor of the&s;e things? Art thou embeli&s;hed, or any way di&s;tingui&s;hed by the Flowers of the Spring? or doth thy Plenty &s;well in the fruitful Face of Summer? Why art thou carried away with empty Joys? Why do&s;t thou embrace that Good which is out of thy Power? for Fortune can never make that thine, which the Nature of things forbid to be &s;o. The Fruits of the Earth are doubtle&s;s for the Nouri&s;hment of living Creatures; and if thou would&s;t confine thy &s;elf to the &s;upply|ing only of the Nece&s;&s;ities of Nature, thou would&s;t not &s;o much &s;eek after the Affluence and Gifts of Fortune: For Nature is &s;atisfied with few things, and tho&s;e the lea&s;t: And if thou do&s;t, after &s;uch Satiety, overcharge her with Superfluities, that which thou do&s;t &s;u|peradd, becomes either unplea&s;ant or hurtful to her. To proceed, do&s;t thou think that it re|commends thee to the World to &s;hine in Varie|ty of co&s;tly Clothes? the Sight of which, if it be grateful to the Eye, the Matter or the Inge|nuity of the Workman is to be admired. Doth a great Retinue, and the Attendance of a nu|merous Train of Servants, make thee happy? If tho&s;e Servants be vitious, they are a great Burden to the Hou&s;e, and pernicious Enemies to the Ma&s;ter of it. But if they be good, why &s;hould the Vertue and Goodne&s;s of others be put to thy Account? From all which it plainly
<PB N="68" REF="51" MS="y">
appears, that none of the&s;e which thou did&s;t number among thy own Goods, were really to be e&s;teemed &s;o. In which, if there be no things de&s;irable, what Rea&s;on is there that thou &s;hould&s;t grieve for the lo&s;s of them, or rejoice at their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion? If they are fair or beautiful by Nature, what doth that concern thee? For &s;o by them&s;elves, wholly &s;eque&s;tred from thy Riches, they would plea&s;e: They therefore are not to be e&s;teemed pretious becau&s;e they are numbred among&s;t thy Goods, but becau&s;e they &s;eemed &s;o before thou wert de&s;irous to po&s;&s;e&s;s them. What is it then, that with &s;o much Noi&s;e, and &s;o much Addre&s;s, we de&s;ire of For|tune? It is, perhaps, to drive away the Fear of Poverty by a general Affluence of Wealth; but this often happens otherwi&s;e: for there is great need of many Helps even to keep &s;o great an Acce&s;&s;ion of Furniture, and Variety of things after they are obtained: And it is mo&s;t true, that they want mo&s;t things who po&s;&s;e&s;s the mo&s;t: And on the other &s;ide, they want the fewe&s;t who mea&s;ure their Abundance by the Nece&s;&s;ities of Nature, and not by the Extrava|gance of Excentrick and irregular De&s;ires. Is it &s;o then, that Men have no proper and genu|ine Good planted within them, but that they mu&s;t be forced to go abroad to &s;eek it? Are things &s;o changed, that Man, that excellent Creature, who&s;e Rea&s;on almo&s;t entitles him to
<PB N="69" REF="51">
Divinity, can be no other way &s;en&s;ible of his own Glories, than by the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of &s;oul-le&s;s and unnece&s;&s;ary things? All other Beings are content with their own Endowments, and you only (who are the Image of God) vainly &s;eek acce&s;&s;ional Ornaments for your excelling Na|ture, from things placed &s;o much below you, not under&s;tanding how great an Injury you do by it to your Maker. He ordained the Race of Men to excel all other earthly Creatures; and you depre&s;s your Dignity and Prerogative below the lowe&s;t Beings. For if that Good which be|longs to any thing be more pretious and worthy than that thing to which it belongs, &s;ince you e&s;teem'd the mo&s;t contemptible things to be your Good, you &s;ubmit your &s;elf, by that your E&s;teem, to them, and take the lower Place: And this is but what you de&s;erve. For &s;uch is the Nature of Man, that he doth then only excel other Beings, when he knows him|&s;elf: But he may be ranked below the Bea&s;ts that peri&s;h, when he once &s;lights that nece&s;&s;ary and important Knowledg&punc; For &s;uch Ignorance is natural to other Creatures; but to Man it is unnatural and a Vice. How weak and open an Error is it in Men, who imagine that any thing which is foreign to their Natures, can be an Or|nament to them? That cannot in Reality be &s;o; for if any thing look bright and glorious with that which is put upon it, that which co|vers
<PB N="70" REF="52" MS="y">
it is &s;aid to &s;hine, and is admired; but not|with&s;tanding the thing covered &s;till continues in its natural Impurity and Di&s;e&s;teem. I there|fore deny that thing to be good which is hurtful to him who po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es it. Am I deceived in this? Thou wilt &s;ay, no; for Riches have often hurt their Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors, &s;ince every ill Man is the more de&s;irous of other Mens Riches, and he thinketh him alone who is in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of &s;uch things, to be a Man of Worth, and to be e&s;teemed. Thou therefore who now &s;o much feare&s;t to be a&s;&s;aulted by the Spear or the Sword, if thou had&s;t entred into the Path of this Life not incumbred with Riches, thou might&s;t, like the way-faring Man, with an empty Pur&s;e have &s;ung before the Robbers. The Happine&s;s then derived from fading Riches is glorious indeed and great; by the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of which a Man lo&s;eth his Security and Quiet.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="V" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM V.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Felix nimium prior aetas</L>
<L>Contenta fidelibus arvis, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></L></Q>
<LG N="1">
<HEAD>I.</HEAD>
<L>Too happy they, and too much ble&s;s'd,</L>
<L>Who did in former Ages live</L>
<L>Content with what the faithful Earth did give,</L>
<L>Who Nature's kindly Products thought the be&s;t!</L>
<L><PB N="71" REF="52">They, yet not lo&s;t in Luxury,</L>
<L>Did with the Acorn Hunger &s;atisfy,</L>
<L>And the mo&s;t carving Stomach fill.</L>
<L>They knew not <HI>Hypocras</HI> nor <HI>Hydromel,</HI></L>
<L>Nor could the differing Elements join</L>
<L>Of Honey and of racy Wine;</L>
<L>Nor did the<NOTE N="(r)" PLACE="foot"><P><HI>Serian.]</HI> The <HI>Seres</HI> were People who, <HI>Oro&s;ius</HI> &s;aith, <HI>L.</HI> 3. <HI>C.</HI> 23. did inhabit a Country betwixt the Rivers <HI>Hyda&s;pes</HI> and <HI>In|dus,</HI> in who&s;e Territories groweth a Tree covered with a &s;mall Down, according to &s;everal Authors, as <HI>Virgil. Georg. l.</HI> 2.</P>
<Q>Veileraque ut foliis depectant tenuia Seres.</Q>
<P>And <HI>Seneca</HI> in <HI>Oct. v.</HI> 667.</P>
<Q><L>Nec Moeni &acirc; di&s;tinguit acu</L>
<L>Quae Phoebeis &s;ubditus Euris</L>
<L>Legit eois Ser arboribus.</L></Q>
<P><HI>Claudian</HI> al&s;o, <HI>Car. v.</HI> 179.</P>
<Q>Stamine quod molli tondent de &s;tipite Seres.</Q>
<P>This Down is produced from the Bowels of the Silk worm, which Worm is elegantly de&s;cribed in the following Ver&s;es by <HI>Antonius Hallaeus,</HI> mentioned before: <Q><L>E&s;t Olli mater &s;anies, dat frondea Nutrix</L>
<L>Pabula, Thysbaeo Morus polluta cruore.</L>
<L>Queis avidam ut clau&s;us latebro&s;o in carcere pavit</L>
<L>Ingluviem, totoque Satur jam corpore turget.</L>
<L>Vi&s;cera dum vacuans paulatim huic molle figurat</L>
<L>Lanicium; illuviemque modis in tenuia miris</L>
<L>Nec fila, &amp; teretem glomerans convolvit in orbem.</L>
<L>&V;t ver&ograve; emeritus perfecit nobile pen&s;um</L>
<L>Exanimo &s;imilis, pretios&acirc; ut conditus &V;rn&acirc;.</L>
<L>Hic jacet, at luci mox redditur; induit alas,</L>
<L>Jam&abque; avis, &amp; vermis, neutrum&abque; &amp; deni&abque; mon&s;trum e&s;t.</L></Q></P></NOTE> Serian Fleece in<NOTE N="(s)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Tyrian]</HI> Is the Purple with which Silks are died, and it is called <HI>Tyrium venenum,</HI> becau&s;e it is a Liquor drawn from a Shell|fi&s;h, and enters into and infects the Wool, or the Silk, as Poi&s;on doth the Bowels and Veins of tho&s;e who take it: It has the Epithet of <HI>Tyrium,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>Tyre,</HI> a City of <HI>Phoenicia,</HI> was famous for the Fi&s;hery of the <HI>Murex,</HI> which was the Shell-fi&s;h yielding this Purple Liquor.</NOTE> Tyrian Colours &s;hine.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="2">
<PB N="72" REF="53" MS="y">
<HEAD>II.</HEAD>
<L>Our Fathers on their gra&s;&s;y Beds did &s;leep,</L>
<L>Had &s;miling Vi&s;ions and in&s;piring Dreams,</L>
<L>The pa&s;&s;ing Rivulets and lucid Streams</L>
<L>Gave whol&s;om draughts. &V;nder the &s;preading Shade</L>
<L>Of the tall Pine, through which no Ray could peep,</L>
<L>The gentle Mortal carele&s;s lay,</L>
<L>Shunning the Heats of the Meridian Ray.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="3">
<HEAD>III.</HEAD>
<L>No Man did plow the Deep, or &s;tem the Floods</L>
<L>With &s;welling Canva&s;s and with bu&s;y Oar:</L>
<L>Nor did the Merchant then expo&s;e his Goods</L>
<L>To &s;ale upon an unknown Shore.</L>
<L>The threatning Notes of the hoar&s;e Trumpet then</L>
<L>Did not the Man of War awake;</L>
<L>Ambition did no hateful Quarrels make,</L>
<L>Nor &s;hining Blades wich Purple &s;tain:</L>
<L>For headlong Fury never could</L>
<L>Move Men to go to War,</L>
<L>When what was got was but a Wound or Scar,</L>
<L>And there was no Reward for &s;hedding Blood.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="4">
<HEAD>IV.</HEAD>
<L>O that tho&s;e Days would come again</L>
<L>Which long ago went floating by,</L>
<L>And &s;wallowed in the mighty Gulf of Time,</L>
<L>Make now an u&s;ele&s;s part of va&s;t Eternity!</L>
<L><PB N="73" REF="53" MS="y">The Love of Wealth doth all engage,</L>
<L>And more than<NOTE N="(t)" PLACE="foot"><P><HI>Aetna.]</HI> The Love of Riches is fitly here compared to the Fire of <HI>Aetna,</HI> for <HI>Aetna</HI> is a Mountain in the I&s;land of <HI>Sicily,</HI> called now by the Italians <HI>il Mont Gibello,</HI> which always burns and flames, and is celebrated by mo&s;t of the antient Po|ets. <HI>Virg.</HI> 1. <HI>Georg.</HI></P>
<Q><L>Vidimus undantem ruptis fornacibus Aetnam,</L>
<L>Flammarumque globos, liquefactaque volvere &s;axa.</L></Q>
<P>And by &s;everal others, who&s;e De&s;criptions of it are common.</P></NOTE> <HI>Aetna</HI>'s Flames doth rage,</L>
<L>And nothing can the burning Thir&s;t a&s;&s;wage.</L>
<L>Ill fare the Man who broke the deep</L>
<L>And &s;ecret Clo&s;ets of the Earth,</L>
<L>And gave to Gold and Diamonds a Birth,</L>
<L>Which in their Cau&s;es did de&s;ire to &s;leep;</L>
<L>And whence a thou&s;and Troubles Men do daily reap!</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VI" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD>PROSA <HI>VI.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BUT why &s;hould I di&s;cour&s;e of Digni|ties and Powers, which Men (wholly ignorant of the true Nature of Dignity and Power) advance and extol to the Skies? which, if they are conferr'd upon a wicked Man, not the raging Flames of <HI>Aetna,</HI> nor the mo&s;t impetuous Deluge ravage &s;o much, nor do &s;o much harm as tho&s;e Weapons in &s;uch an hand. I believe you remem|ber, your Ance&s;tors de&s;ired to aboli&s;h the
<PB N="74" REF="54" MS="y">
<NOTE N="(u)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Con&s;ular.] Tarquinius Superbus,</HI> the la&s;t of the Roman Kings, being become hateful by his Tyranny to the People, who were al&s;o the more inraged by the impious Violence of <HI>Sextus</HI> his Son committed upon the Cha&s;tity of <HI>Lucretia,</HI> was expelled, by the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of <HI>Brutus,</HI> after he had reigned twenty five Years: Then <HI>Lucius Junius Brutus,</HI> and <HI>Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus,</HI> were fir&s;t created Con&s;uls. At length as the Form of the Roman Go|vernment had changed from Regal to be Con&s;ular, &s;o, according to <HI>Livy,</HI> it was again changed from that of Con&s;uls to that of the <HI>Decem-viri:</HI> For the Pride of the Con&s;uls every Day encrea&s;ing, or rather the Fiercene&s;s of the People being not wholly &s;ubdued, which had derived its Original from <HI>Shepherds,</HI> and other &s;avage People, who at fir&s;t for their Defence had gathered into a Body, the Con&s;uls were laid a&s;ide, and the <HI>Decem-viri</HI> &s;ucceeded; who&s;e Power, becau&s;e they had acted many things very tyrannically, was condemned, and taken away the third Year after it had been introduced into the Government.</NOTE> Con&s;ular Government, which gave begin|ning to the Roman Liberty, becau&s;e of the Pride of the Con&s;uls; as their Ance&s;tors before, for the &s;ame Con&s;ideration, had bani&s;hed Kings out of their City. But if &s;ometimes (which &s;eldom happens) good Men arrive at them, what other thing is there plea&s;ing in them, be|&s;ides the Probity of tho&s;e who u&s;e and enjoy them? So it comes to pa&s;s that Vertue receives not Honour from Dignities, but Dignities derive Honour from Vertue. But what is this Power &s;o much celebrated, and &s;o much de|&s;ired? O ye terrene Animals! do you not con|&s;ider who they are over whom you &s;eem to ex|erci&s;e Authority? If thou &s;hould&s;t &s;ee an am|bitious Mou&s;e, claiming a Superiority with her
<PB N="75" REF="54">
&s;elf over the re&s;t of her Species, would&s;t thou not almo&s;t bur&s;t with Laughter? So then, if thou con&s;idere&s;t the Contexture and Tempera|ment of his Body, what can&s;t thou find in the World more feeble than Man, or more &s;ubject to Ca&s;ualties and Misfortunes, to whom even a Fly (one of the &s;malle&s;t Products of Nature) by a Bite, or by creeping into the &s;ecret Re|ce&s;&s;es of his Body, may be the Cau&s;e of Death? But why &s;hould any Man exerci&s;e Au|thority over another, unle&s;s it be over his Body, or what is yet inferiour to that, over his Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;i|ons, which are the Gifts of Fortune? Shalt thou ever gain an A&s;cendant over a free and clear Soul? Shalt thou ever move the high-born Mind, con&s;i&s;tent with it &s;elf, and knit together by the Bands of Rea&s;on, from the proper Cen|tre of its Quiet? When a certain Tyrant once thought by Torments to compel a<NOTE N="(w)" PLACE="foot">Philo&s;ophy &s;peaks here of <HI>Anaxarchus</HI> the Philo&s;opher, a Follower of <HI>Democritus:</HI> This <HI>Anaxarchus</HI> having incurred the Di&s;|plea&s;ure of <HI>Nicocreon</HI> King of <HI>Cyprus,</HI> was ordered by him to be put into a Mortar, and to be pounded with great brazen Pe&s;tles: He bore it with &s;o great Courage and Patience, that he &s;aid to the Tyrant, Beat on, beat on the Back of <HI>Anaxarchus,</HI> thou can&s;t not hurt him. The Tyrant &s;aid he would pluck out his Tongue; he hearing that, pre&s;ently bit it off, and &s;pit it in the Tyrant's Face.</NOTE> Free Man to di&s;cover &s;ome Per&s;ons who had con|&s;pired again&s;t his Life, the Man bit off his own Tongue, and &s;pit it in his Face &s;welling and bloated with Rage: &s;o by his Wi&s;dom di&s;ap|pointing
<PB N="76" REF="55">
the Tyrant, and making tho&s;e Tor|ments which his Cruelty had de&s;igned, Matter of Triumph to his Heroick Courage. To go further, what is it that any Man may do to ano|ther, which another may not do again to him? We are told, that it was the Cu&s;tom of<NOTE N="(x)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Bu&s;iris.]</HI> He was the Son of <HI>Neptune</HI> by <HI>Lydia</HI> the Daughter of <HI>Epaphus,</HI> and a mo&s;t cruel Tyrant of the Egyptians: He &s;acri|ficed his Gue&s;ts to <HI>Jupiter,</HI> not &s;paring the Prie&s;t from whom he had received the Coun&s;el to do it: but whil&s;t he prepared to give the &s;ame Treatment to <HI>Hercules,</HI> he was, with <HI>Amphidama</HI> his Son, and his Mini&s;ters and Officers, killed by <HI>Hercules</HI> at the Altar.
<Q><L>&mdash;Quis aut Eury&s;tea durum:</L>
<L>Aut illaudati ne&s;cit Bu&s;iridis aras. <BIBL><HI>Virg. Georg. l. 3.</HI></BIBL></L></Q></NOTE> <HI>Bu|&s;iris</HI> to kill his Gue&s;ts, and him&s;elf at la&s;t was killed by <HI>Hercules</HI> his Gue&s;t.<NOTE N="(y)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Regulus.]</HI> He was Con&s;ul, and having vanqui&s;hed the <HI>Salen|tini,</HI> who inhabited that Country near the Apennine Mountains, which is now called <HI>Parte dela Terra d' Otranto,</HI> he triumphed at <HI>Rome,</HI> and was the fir&s;t of the Roman Generals who conducted a Fleet into <HI>Africa;</HI> and being him&s;elf taken by the Carthaginians whom he had conquered, he was put to Death by them by cutting off his Eye-lids.</NOTE> <HI>Regulus</HI> after a Victory put many of the Carthaginians into Chains, but him&s;elf &s;oon after was forced to yield to their Fetters. Do&s;t thou therefore think that the Power of that Man ought to be mag|nified, who cannot hinder another from com|mitting that upon him which he lately com|mitted upon another? Con&s;ider too, that if there were any thing of proper or natural Good in the&s;e Dignities and Powers, they would ne|ver be attained by wicked Men, for di&s;agreeing
<PB N="77" REF="55" MS="y">
things do not u&s;e to unite; and Nature forbids that contrary things &s;hould join: So that &s;eeing wicked Men do often execute Offices of Digni|ty and Tru&s;t, it appears that they are not good in them&s;elves, becau&s;e they can re&s;ide in &s;uch Subjects. The &s;ame may al&s;o be mo&s;t ju&s;tly &s;aid of all the Gifts of Fortune which are mo&s;t commonly &s;hewed in greate&s;t Plenty upon the wor&s;t of Men. It ought al&s;o to be con&s;idered, that no Man doubteth him to be valiant, in whom he hath &s;een the Vertue of Fortitude &s;hine: nor him to be &s;wift of foot, in whom he hath &s;een Swiftne&s;s. So Mu&s;ick maketh a a Mu&s;ician; the Science of Phy&s;ick a Phy|&s;ician; and Rhetorick a Rhetorician. The Nature of every thing acts properly accord|ing to its End, nor is mix'd with foreign Effects of differing Beings, but of its own Ac|cord repels what is contrariant to it, or may be de&s;tructive of it. Riches cannot extingui&s;h the unquenchable Thir&s;t of Avarice; nor can Power give him Command of him&s;elf, who is already the Slave of his Vices, and bound in the in&s;oluble Chains of his Lu&s;ts. So Dignities con|ferr'd upon ill Men do not only not make them worthy, but rather &s;hew their Unworthine&s;s by laying them open, and di&s;covering their Shame. But how comes this to pa&s;s? you are plea&s;ed to impo&s;e upon things fal&s;e Names, and differing from their Natures, which are often
<PB N="78" REF="56" MS="y">
laid open, and appear by the Effects of tho&s;e very things: &s;o that even the&s;e Riches, and this Power, and that Dignity, ought not of right to be called by tho&s;e Names. And la&s;tly, the &s;ame thing may be &s;aid of all the Gifts of For|tune, in which it is manife&s;t, that nothing is de&s;irable, nor is there any thing of native Good in them, &s;ince they are not always the Lot of good Men, nor make them good to whom they are allotted.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VI" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM VI.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Novimus quantas dederit ruinas</L>
<L>Urbe flammat&acirc;, patribu&s;&abque; caecis, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>We know what Ruine<NOTE N="(z)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Nero.]</HI> He governed the Roman Empire about the Year of Chri&s;t 57. So long as he u&s;ed the Advice of his Ma&s;ter <HI>Seneca</HI> he governed well; but he being removed, he fell into a Cour&s;e of all Wickedne&s;s and Impiety, and became a great Example of Infamy, Luxury, Avarice and Cruelty. Fir&s;t he appeared upon the Thea|tre not only as an Actor, but as an Harper: Next, he would wear no Habit twice; he would never travel without a thou&s;and Car|riages, and all the Shoes of his Mules were of Silver: He fi&s;hed al|ways with a Golden Net, and with purple and &s;carlet Cords: He gaping after all Mens Goods, did only de&s;ire to appear rich. La&s;t|ly, having ordered <HI>Rome</HI> to be burnt, he laid it to the Charge of the Chri&s;tians, and put to Death the Chief of them, <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>Paul</HI> the Apo&s;tles; as al&s;o <HI>Seneca</HI> his Ma&s;ter, <HI>Antonia</HI> his Aunt, and <HI>Britannicus</HI> his Brother, <HI>Octavia</HI> his Wife, <HI>Agrippina</HI> his Mother; and at la&s;t he killed him&s;elf. <HI>Vid. Sueton. l.</HI> 6.</NOTE> <HI>Nero</HI>'s Rage did cau&s;e,</L>
<L>When he<NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="foot">Burnt <HI>Rome.]</HI> He did not burn the whole City, only a Part of it, where the wor&s;t Buildings were; which he did for a Je&s;t, that he might by it repre&s;ent the Siege of <HI>Troy. Sueton. l.</HI> 6.</NOTE> burnt <HI>Rome,</HI> &amp; triumph'd o'r its Laws,</L>
<L><PB N="79" REF="56">When all the<NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="foot"><HI>The Con&s;cript Fathers.]</HI> A blazing Star, &s;aith <HI>Suetonius,</HI> which is thought to portend De&s;truction to Governments and Potentates, began now for &s;everal Nights to appear. <HI>Nero</HI> being troubled at this, con&s;ulted <HI>Babylus</HI> an A&s;trologer; he an&s;wered, that Princes were wont to expiate the&s;e kind of Portents by &s;ome illu&s;trious Slaughter, and to avert their Effects from them&s;elves, by throw|ing them upon the Heads of their Mini&s;ters and the Magi&s;trates: upon which Advice he &s;entenced all the Nobility and Senators to Death.</NOTE> Con&s;cript Fathers he did kill;</L>
<L>When yet his<NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="foot"><HI>His Brother.] Britannicus</HI> who was the Son of <HI>Claudius</HI> by <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> as he him&s;elf was by <HI>Agrippina,</HI> he poi&s;oned him.</NOTE> Brother's Blood, which he did &s;pill,</L>
<L>Was warm, his<NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="foot"><HI>His Mother.] Agrippina</HI> was Daughter to <HI>Germanicus,</HI> Si&s;ter to <HI>Caligula,</HI> Wife, fir&s;t of <HI>Domitianus,</HI> afterwards of <HI>Claudius,</HI> whom &s;he poi&s;oned that &s;he might make <HI>Nero</HI> her Son (who re|warded her with Death) Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or of the Empire. When &s;he was dead, he went to view her Body, made Ob&s;ervations of all the Parts of it, and &s;ome he prai&s;ed, &s;ome he di&s;prai&s;ed. <HI>Adduntur praedictis atrociora,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Suetonius, nec incertis autoribus, Neronem ad vi&s;endum interfectae matris cadaver accurri&s;&s;e; contrect&acirc;&s;&s;e membra, alia vituper&acirc;&s;&s;e, &s;itique interim obort&acirc; bibi&s;&s;e.</HI></NOTE> Mother a &s;ad Victim fell.</L>
<L>Then whil&s;t the Body cold and breathle&s;s lay,</L>
<L>Without a Tear the Tyrant did &s;urvey</L>
<L>Its Parts, each Fault, each Beauty did e&s;py;</L>
<L>The&s;e he did prai&s;e, and the&s;e he did decry.</L>
<L>This Mon&s;ter yet to all tho&s;e<NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="foot"><P><HI>All tho&s;e Lands.]</HI> He governed the Roman Empire which &s;tretcheth it &s;elf to the four Quarters of the World, Ea&s;t, We&s;t, North and South. Thus <HI>Virg. Aen. l.</HI> 6.</P>
<Q><L>En! hujus, nate, au&s;piciis illa inclyta Roma</L>
<L>Imperium terris, animos aequabit Olympo:</L>
<L>Hic vir, hic e&s;t, tibi quem promitti &s;aepius audis</L>
<L>Augu&s;tus Cae&s;ar, Div&ucirc;m genus, aurea condet</L>
<L>Saecula qui rur&s;us Latio, regnata per a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">va</L>
<L>Saturno quondam: &s;uper &amp; Garamantas, &amp; Indos</L>
<L>Proferet imperium: jacet extra &s;ydera tellus,</L>
<L>Extra anni &s;oli&s;que vias, ubi coelifet Atlas</L>
<L>Axem humero torquet &s;tellis ardentibus aptum.</L></Q></NOTE> Lands gave Law,</L>
<L>Which <HI>Phebus</HI> in his daily Voyage &s;aw,</L>
<L><PB N="80" REF="57">Stretching along from the remote&s;t Ea&s;t</L>
<L>To th' utmo&s;t Point of the Sea-beaten We&s;t;</L>
<L>And all tho&s;e other Countries did controul</L>
<L>Which tow'rds the South reach from the Northern Pole.</L>
<L>Could <HI>Nero</HI>'s Power remove his Pa&s;&s;ions Sway,</L>
<L>Or force his Rage his Rea&s;on to obey?</L>
<L>Power &s;hould not added be to him who&s;e Will</L>
<L>Before did prompt and urge him to do ill.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VII" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD>PROSA <HI>VII.</HI></HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boe.</SPEAKER>
<P>THOU knowe&s;t well that I did the lea&s;t of any Man covet mortal and fading Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions; I only de&s;ired an honoura|ble Occa&s;ion of being employed in Bu&s;ine&s;s and fit Matter to exerci&s;e my Vertue, le&s;t it &s;hould &s;ilently grow u&s;ele&s;s and old.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phi.</SPEAKER>
<P>This is one thing which may tempt, I had almo&s;t &s;aid de|bauch, &s;ome Minds naturally well inclin'd and endowed, though not yet arrived at the Per|fection of Vertue, I mean the De&s;ire of Glory, and the Fame of having de&s;erved well of ones Country and the Common-wealth: but how
<PB N="81" REF="57" MS="y">
&s;mall, and how truly void of Weight even that is, do but from hence ob&s;erve: Thou ha&s;t learnt from A&s;trological Demon&s;trations, that the whole Circuit of the Earth bears the Pro|portion only of a Point to the Greatne&s;s of the Heaven; that is, if it be compar'd to the Mag|nitude of the Cele&s;tial Globe, it may be judged to have no Space or Compa&s;s. And of this &s;mall Region of the World, almo&s;t the fourth Part is inhabited by living Creatures, known to us, as <HI>Ptolomy</HI> hath &s;eemed to prove. And if thou &s;halt abate al&s;o all which is overflown by the Sea, and Mar&s;hes, and Lakes, and al&s;o all that Space of the Globe which is de&s;art and over&s;pread with Sands, or burnt up by the too near Vicinity of the Sun, thou wilt find that what is left for the Habitation of Men, is but a very &s;mall Proportion. And do you who are placed in, and confined to the lea&s;t Point of this Point, think of nothing but of propagating your Fame, and exerting your Names, and making your &s;elves renowned? What is there augu&s;t or magnificent in Glory, confined to &s;o &s;mall and narrow Bounds? Add to this, that this little Enclo&s;ure is inhabited by &s;everal Na|tions differing in Tongue, in Manners, and in way of Life: to whom, as well by rea&s;on of the Difficulties and Inconveniencies of Journy|ing, as by the Diver&s;ity of Languages, and the Unfrequency of Commerce, not only the Fame
<PB N="82" REF="58">
of particular Men, but even the Names of great Cities, cannot arrive. In the time of <HI>Marcus Tullius,</HI> as him&s;elf in his Writings tells us, the Fame of the Roman Common-wealth, which was then well grown and robu&s;t, and redou|bled by the Parthians and &s;everal other Nations in the&s;e Parts, was not yet known to tho&s;e who inhabited beyond the Mountain <HI>Cauca&s;us.</HI> Thou &s;ee&s;t then how narrow and &s;trait that Glory is which thou laboure&s;t &s;o much to propagate and dilate. Do&s;t thou think that the Glories of a Roman Man &s;hall reach tho&s;e Places where the Fame and Story of the illu&s;trious Roman Common-wealth would never reach? Do not the Cu&s;toms and In&s;titutions of &s;everal Coun|tries di&s;agree among them&s;elves; &s;o that that which with &s;ome is adjudged to be Prai&s;e-wor|thy, with others is thought to de&s;erve Di&s;grace and Puni&s;hment. Hence it appears, that it is not the Intere&s;t of any Man who de&s;ires Re|nown, to have his Name &s;pread through many Countries, and divers People, but that he &s;hould be content with that Glory and Fame which he can arrive at among&s;t his Country|men, and not care to have the Immortality of it extended beyond the Bounds of one Coun|try. But how many Men, great and famous in their Generations, hath the Carele&s;ne&s;s and Neglect of Writers pa&s;&s;ed by in Silence? Al|though indeed one may ju&s;tly ask, what can
<PB N="83" REF="58" MS="y">
&s;uch Memorials profit a Man, which with their Authors mu&s;t at length yield to the Powers of Age, and be with them buried in Oblivion? But Men imagine that they have obtained Im|mortality if their Names &s;hall but live in future Ages. But if they would compare this to the infinite Progre&s;s of Eternity, what have they which &s;hould make them plea&s;ed at the Diuturnity of their Fame? For if the Duration of one Moment be compared with that of ten thou&s;and Years, the Spaces of both being defi|nite, it hath &s;ome, though a very little Portion of it. (But yet this very Number of Years, and as many more as can by Numbers be multipli|ed, cannot at all be compared to endle&s;s Du|ration: For there may be &s;ome Compari&s;on betwixt finite Beings among&s;t them&s;elves, but there can be none at all betwixt Infinite and Fi|nite. Hence it is that Fame (however durable and la&s;ting) con&s;idered with infinite Eternity, will &s;eem not only to be little, but indeed no|thing. But you think you cannot do well, un|le&s;s you have the empty Applau&s;e of the Peo|ple; and forgoing the Plea&s;ures of a good Con|&s;cience, and the Con&s;ideration of the innate Worth of Vertue, and the Plea&s;ure of Actions re&s;ulting from it, you look for a Reward from the partial Breath, and vain Di&s;cour&s;es of the <HI>Many.</HI> Ob&s;erve now how one once ingeniou&s;ly plaid upon the Lightne&s;s and Folly of &s;uch Ar|rogance.
<PB N="84" REF="59">
A certain Per&s;on acco&s;ted another with contumelious Language, who had a&s;&s;umed to him&s;elf the Name of a <HI>Philo&s;opher,</HI> not out of a Principle of Vertue, but for the itch of Vain-glory: and he added, that he &s;hould now know if he were a true Philo&s;opher, by bear|ing patiently the Injuries offered to him; he putting on for a while a counterfeit Patience, &s;aid then to the other, Do&s;t thou now believe me to be a Philo&s;opher? He an&s;wered &s;martly again, I had indeed believed it, if thou could&s;t &s;till have held thy Tongue. What then is it that great and worthy Men (for of &s;uch I &s;peak) who would by vertuous ways acquire Glory; what is it (I &s;ay) of Advantage which they receive by a great Name after the Body is re&s;olved into Du&s;t? For if (which our Rea&s;on and Religion forbids us to believe) the whole Fabrick of Man, Body and Soul, is di&s;&s;olv'd, and dies together, then is there no Glory; nor can there be when he (to whom it belongs) doth no more exi&s;t. But if the Soul which hath de&s;erved well, when it's enlarg'd from its earthly Pri&s;on, doth take a &s;wift and unim|peach'd Flight to Heaven, will it not de&s;pi&s;e the Earth and its Bu&s;ine&s;&s;es; and being wrapt in the Joys of Heaven, rejoice that it is wholly exempt from &s;ublunary Con&s;iderations and Concerns?</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VII" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="85" REF="59" MS="y">
<HEAD>METRUM VII.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Quicunque &s;olam mente praecipiti petit,</L>
<L>Summumque credit gloriam, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG N="1">
<HEAD>I.</HEAD>
<L>Who Glory vainly doth pur&s;ue,</L>
<L>And dreams it is the Sovereign Good,</L>
<L>Let him the &s;tarry Countries view,</L>
<L>And then 'twill &s;oon be under&s;tood</L>
<L>How &s;mall Earth is, compar'd to that va&s;t Frame;</L>
<L>And then he will de&s;pi&s;e, not &s;eek a glorious Name.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="2">
<HEAD>II.</HEAD>
<L>Why to be freed from Death &s;hould Man de&s;ire?</L>
<L>For though his Fame doth widely fly,</L>
<L>Though &s;plendid Titles he acquire,</L>
<L>At la&s;t the mighty thing mu&s;t die;</L>
<L>And in the Grave is no Di&s;tinction made</L>
<L>Betwixt the Great &amp; Low, the Scepter &amp; the Spade.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="3">
<PB N="86" REF="60">
<HEAD>III.</HEAD>
<L>Where is the good<NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="foot"><P><HI>Fabritius.]</HI> He was a Roman Con&s;ul, and celebrated by both Orators and Poets, e&s;pecially for his Fidelity and Truth: Fir&s;t becau&s;e he was tempted with the Offer of great Gifts by <HI>Pyr|rhus</HI> King of the <HI>Epirotes,</HI> and even of the Promi&s;e of the fourth part of his Kingdoms, if he would leave the Intere&s;t and Service of his Country, which he refu&s;ed: And al&s;o becau&s;e he &s;ent back to the &s;ame King <HI>Pyrrhus Tymochares</HI> his Phy&s;ician, who offered, for a Reward, to give Poi&s;on to his Prince. Which generous Acti|on was &s;o admired by that King, that he &s;aid, it was more ea&s;y to divert the Sun from its Cour&s;e, than <HI>Fabritius</HI> from the Paths of Hone&s;ty. From whence <HI>Claud. Carm.</HI> 26. <HI>v.</HI> 130.</P>
<Q><L>&mdash;Et nulli pervia culpae</L>
<L>Pectora Fabritii donis invicta vel armis.</L></Q></NOTE> <HI>Fabritius</HI> now?</L>
<L>And where the noble<NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Brutus.]</HI> This was <HI>Lucius Brutus,</HI> &s;o called for the Stupidi|ty which he acted for fear of the Tarquins. It was he, who after the Expul&s;ion of the Tarquins for the Rape committed upon <HI>Lu|cretia,</HI> did a&s;&s;ert the Roman Liberty, together with <HI>Collatinus;</HI> for which Rea&s;on they were con&s;tituted the fir&s;t Con&s;uls.</NOTE> <HI>Brutus?</HI> Where</L>
<L>Is<NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="foot"><P><HI>Cato.]</HI> As <HI>Brutus</HI> had his Name impo&s;ed from his feigned Stupidity, &s;o <HI>Cato</HI> derived his from his Wi&s;dom, becau&s;e <HI>catus</HI> &s;ig|nifieth Wi&s;e; from whence <HI>Cato.</HI> There were two excellent Men who were famous by this Sir-name; of one or both of whom Philo&s;ophy may here &s;peak, <HI>viz. Cato major</HI> and <HI>Cato minor,</HI> &s;prung both, at different times, from the Portian Stock, &s;ettled at <HI>Tu&s;cu|lum,</HI> now called <HI>Tra&s;cat,</HI> within a few Miles of <HI>Rome,</HI> where there are many plea&s;ant Villa's, magnificent Palaces, Gardens adorned with Grotto's, Ca&s;cades, and other Water-works belonging to the Roman Princes and Nobility. The fir&s;t, who was called the <HI>Cen|&s;or,</HI> flouri&s;hed about the Year 570 from the building of the City, and arrived at a great old Age. <HI>Cato minor,</HI> who was called <HI>Prae|torius,</HI> lived in the very time of the Civil Wars betwixt <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> and <HI>Pompey;</HI> of whom <HI>Lucan</HI> &s;ingeth &s;omething too profanely, Regard being had to the Heatheni&s;h Super&s;tition of tho&s;e times, thus; <Q>Victrix cau&s;a Deis placuit, &s;ed victa Catoni.</Q>
<HI>Horace</HI> al&s;o, <HI>l.</HI> 2. <HI>Carm. Ode</HI> 1. thus; <Q><L>Audire magnos jam videor duces</L>
<L>Non indecoro pulvere &s;ordidos;</L>
<L>Et cuncta terrarum &s;ubacta,</L>
<L>Praeter atrocem animum Catonis.</L></Q></P></NOTE> <HI>Cato</HI> with his rugged Brow?</L>
<L>'Tis little of them doth appear:</L>
<L>In a few Letters now their Fame doth live,</L>
<L>But nothing of their Per&s;ons can the knowledg give.</L>
</LG>
<LG N="4">
<PB N="87" REF="60">
<HEAD>IV.</HEAD>
<L>Men lie in dark Oblivion's Shade,</L>
<L>Nor are their Vertues &s;pread by Fame;</L>
<L>Nor can they think t'outlive their Fate</L>
<L>By a poor airy dying Name:</L>
<L>To conquering Time that fancied Life mu&s;t yield;</L>
<L>So Death will twice victoriou&s;ly have won the Field.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VIII" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD>PROSA <HI>VIII.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BUT le&s;t thou &s;hould&s;t believe that I am an inexorable Enemy to Fortune, and wage an endle&s;s War again&s;t her, I &s;hall con|fe&s;s, that there are &s;ometimes when that faith|le&s;s One may de&s;erve well of Men; then I mean when &s;he opens and di&s;covers her &s;elf, and free|ly confe&s;&s;es her &s;elf to be what &s;he really is. Thou do&s;t not perhaps yet under&s;tand what I
<PB N="88" REF="61" MS="y">
am about to &s;ay. The thing is wonderful which I de&s;ire to tell thee, and therefore I almo&s;t want Words to expre&s;s this Paradox, to wit, that adver&s;e Fortune doth more profit and truly more advantage Men than pro&s;perous: For this, under the Cloak and Shew of Happine&s;s, when &s;he &s;mileth and care&s;&s;es, lies and deceives; the other always fairly and openly declares her En|mity, and &s;hews her In&s;tability by her con&s;tant Changes: That deceives, this in&s;tructs; that by a precious Shew of Good binds the Minds of tho&s;e &s;he favours; this by the Knowledg of her Ficklene&s;s frees and ab&s;olves them: there|fore thou may&s;t ob&s;erve the one always faith|le&s;s, airy, wavering, and ignorant of its own Condition; the other &s;ober, &s;tay'd, and even prudent in managing and making the be&s;t u&s;e of Adver&s;ity. La&s;tly, pro&s;perous Fortune, by her Allurements and Blandi&s;hments, draws Men from the right, a&s;ide, and out of the di|rect way, leading to that which is the &s;overeign Good; whil&s;t, for the mo&s;t part, the other doth not only lead Men, but as it were draw them with a Hook to true and genuine Happi|ne&s;s. Further, thinke&s;t thou that it is to be e&s;teemed the lea&s;t Good which we receive from this hard, and at the fir&s;t &s;ight, horrible For|tune, that &s;he doth di&s;cover to thee the Hearts of thy faithful Friends, &s;ince &s;he di&s;tingui&s;heth between the con&s;tant and doubtful Counte|nances
<PB N="89" REF="61">
of thy Companions and Acquaintance; and when &s;he departeth, that &s;he taketh away her Friends and leaves thine. At what rate would&s;t thou have bought the knowledg of this, when thou wert (as it &s;eemed to thee) in thy pro&s;perous E&s;tate? Forbear then to deplore the Lo&s;s of thy Riches and Honours, &s;ince thou ha&s;t found the mo&s;t valuable Jewel, the mo&s;t pretious kind of Riches, I mean the Knowledg of thy unalterable and &s;incere Friends.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VIII" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM VIII.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Quod mundus &s;tabili fide</L>
<L>Concordes variat vices, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<Q><L>That this great Fabrick of the &V;niver&s;e</L>
<L>Doth by a con&s;tant Order &s;uffer Change;</L>
<L>That Elements, which by Nature di&s;agree,</L>
<L>Are by a Line perpetual firmly bound;</L>
<L>That <HI>Phebus</HI> in his Chariot brings the Day,</L>
<L>And that the Moon doth rule the &s;able Night,</L>
<L>Which <HI>He&s;perus</HI> officiou&s;ly leads on;</L>
<L>That the &s;alt Waves are kept within their Bounds,</L>
<L>Le&s;t they &s;hould on the Right of Earth encroach,</L>
<L>Is all the Effect of Love, which rules the Sea,</L>
<L>Which doth command the many-peopled Earth,</L>
<L>And even to Heaven its Empire doth extend.</L>
<L><PB N="90" REF="62">If he his Reins &s;hould carele&s;ly remit,</L>
<L>Tho&s;e things which now affectionately love</L>
<L>Would pre&s;ently declare an open War:</L>
<L>And would the well-mov'd Machine &s;oon di&s;&s;olve.</L>
<L>This, People of a different Lip doth bind</L>
<L>With &s;acred Cords: this ties the Nuptial Knot,</L>
<L>And with cha&s;te Vows does what is bound confirm:</L>
<L>This doth to Friend&s;hip dictate binding Laws.</L>
<L>O happy Men if Love, which rules in Heaven,</L>
<L>Had an A&s;cendant o'r your noble Minds.</L></Q>
<TRAILER>The End of the Second Book.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="book">
<PB N="91" REF="62">
<HEAD>ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS BOETIUS, OF THE Con&s;olation of Philo&s;ophy. BOOK the Third.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<HEAD>The ARGUMENT.</HEAD>
<P>Philo&s;ophy now urgeth &s;tronger Arguments, to wit, that all Men do &s;eek after Happine&s;s; but that they do very much err in the way of obtaining it, whil&s;t &s;ome believe to find it in Riches, others in Dignities, in the Favour of Kings, in the Glory of great Atchievements, in Nobi|lity, or in the Plea&s;ures of the Body: She de|mon&s;trates clearly, that it is in none of the&s;e, becau&s;e they are &s;o far from being to be account|ed Goods, that they are accompanied with a great many Evils; but in God, who is the So|vereign and only Good, and that by his Order the World is governed.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="I" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="92" REF="63">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> I.</HEAD>
<P>BY this time &s;he had ended her Song, when I, de&s;irous to hear more, was &s;o charmed by the plea&s;antne&s;s of it, that I &s;tood long expecting that &s;he would proceed: but at la&s;t &s;aid I, O thou chief Support and Stay of lan|gui&s;hing Minds, how much ha&s;t thou refre&s;hed me either with the weight of thy Sentences or the &s;weetne&s;s of thy Numbers! &s;o that now I almo&s;t think my &s;elf an equal Match for For|tune, and able to re&s;i&s;t her Blows. Therefore I do not only not fear the Applications of tho&s;e Remedies, which thou did&s;t &s;ay a little before were &s;harp, but I earne&s;tly de&s;ire to hear what they are. I well perceived that, returned &s;he, when with &s;ilence and attention thou did&s;t re|ceive my Words; and I did then expect &s;uch a State of Mind in thee, or what is more true, I did then create in thee &s;uch an one. And indeed what yet remains to be &s;aid is of &s;uch a Nature, that when it is fir&s;t ta&s;ted, it &s;eems to bite, and is unplea&s;ant; but when it is once &s;wallowed it turns &s;weet, and is mo&s;t grateful to the Sto|mach. But becau&s;e thou &s;ay&s;t thou would&s;t now gladly hear, with what De&s;ire would&s;t thou burn, if thou could&s;t imagine whither I am now about to lead thee? Whither is that I
<PB N="93" REF="63" MS="y">
pray thee? (&s;aid I). To that true genuine Feli|city, an&s;wered &s;he, which thy Mind doth ap|prehend as if it were in a Dream, and of which thou &s;eeme&s;t to have &s;ome Foreta&s;te. But thy Sight is &s;o clouded with fal&s;e Forms, and light Appearances, that it cannot bear the Lu&s;tre of that Object. Then I intreat thee without Delay, &s;hew me that true Happine&s;s. I will mo&s;t willingly, at thy De&s;ire, do it, replied &s;he: but I will endeavour to de&s;cribe that fal&s;e and adulterate Cau&s;e which is better known to thee; and that being fully laid open, thou wilt be better able to comprehend that exact Model of true Felicity which I &s;hall draw by ca&s;ting thine Eye upon its contrary.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="I" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM I.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Qui &s;erere ingenuum volet agrum,</L>
<L>Liberat arva prius fruticibus,</L>
<L>Falce rubos filicemque re&s;ecat, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG>
<L>He who the grateful Field would &s;ow,</L>
<L>Mu&s;t Shrubs and Fern out of it throw,</L>
<L>That &s;o the Corn may put away and grow.</L>
<L>To him who with offen&s;ive Meat</L>
<L>Did once his Palate vitiate,</L>
<L>The Labour of the bu&s;y Bee is &s;weet.</L>
<L><PB N="94" REF="64" MS="y">When the<NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="foot"><HI>The South-wind.]</HI> It is of its Nature to bring Rain, and to drive on the wateri&s;h Clouds.</NOTE> South-wind, affecting Peace,</L>
<L>Doth its Storm-breathing Noi&s;es cea&s;e,</L>
<L>The radiant Glories of the Stars increa&s;e.</L>
<L>When<NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Lucifer.]</HI> It is the Morning-Star, which is called <HI>Venus:</HI> by the Greeks it is called <GAP DESC="foreign">, and by the Latins <HI>Lucifer</HI> when it goes before the Sun, and when it followeth him <HI>He&s;perus.</HI> So <HI>Virgil. Eclog.</HI> 8. <HI>v.</HI> 17. <Q>Na&s;cere praeque diem veniens age Lucifer almum.</Q></NOTE> <HI>Lucifer</HI>'s victorious Ray</L>
<L>Hath chac'd Night's darker Shades away,</L>
<L>Then cloth'd in gay Apparel comes the Day.</L>
<L>So if thou can&s;t thy &s;elf retrieve</L>
<L>From that which did thy Eyes deceive,</L>
<L>Thy Mind will &s;oon the true&s;t Good perceive.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="II" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> II.</HEAD>
<P>THEN fixing her Eye a little, and as it were withdrawing her &s;elf into the mo&s;t inward Cabinet of her Mind, &s;he thus began; All the Care and manifold Studies of Men do indeed proceed in differing Paths, but they tend to one only End, which is Happine&s;s: And Happine&s;s is that compleat Good, of which when a Man is once po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, he hath nothing more to de&s;ire. This indeed is the Sovereign
<PB N="95" REF="64">
Good of all, and contains all others in it: To which, if any thing were wanting, it could not be the chief, becau&s;e there would be &s;ome|thing without it &s;elf, &s;ome foreign Advantage which were to be de&s;ired. It is therefore ap|parent that Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s or Happine&s;s is that per|fect State in which all other Goods meet and centre; which, as I have &s;aid, all Men endea|vour to arrive at by differing Ways and Means: For in the Minds of Men there is naturally in|&s;erted a De&s;ire of the true Good, but wan|dring Error leads them to the fal&s;e and fictiti|ous one; &s;o that &s;ome, believing it to be the chief of Goods to want nothing, labour for an abundance of Riches: Others again believing Happine&s;s to con&s;i&s;t in being reverenced and e&s;teemed by their Country-men, endeavour all they can after Honours. There are al&s;o tho&s;e who place it in Power, and the&s;e endeavour ei|ther to rule them&s;elves, or to be Favourites to tho&s;e who actually govern. There are tho&s;e al&s;o who fancy an high Renown to be the height of Happine&s;s; and the&s;e, by all the Arts of War and Peace, ha&s;ten to propagate their Names, and to arrive at Glory. Many mea|&s;ure the Fruits of this Good by Joy and Chear|fulne&s;s, and they think it the happie&s;t thing in the World to abound in Luxury, and to be di&s;|&s;olved in Plea&s;ures. Some there are who u&s;e the&s;e Cau&s;es and Ends interchangeably; as they
<PB N="96" REF="65">
who de&s;ire Riches as a Means to obtain Power and Plea&s;ures; or as they who de&s;ire Power, ei|ther that by it they may get Money or pur|cha&s;e a Name: About the&s;e and &s;uch like things the Intention of all humane Actions and De&s;ires is ver&s;ed and employed, as Nobility and popular Applau&s;e are &s;ought after by &s;ome, which Men think do make them famous, and Wives and Children by others are de&s;ired for the &s;ake of Plea&s;ure. Only Friend&s;hip, which is a &s;acred kind of Tie, is not to be reckoned among&s;t the Goods of Fortune, but among&s;t tho&s;e of Vertue: but all other things are de|&s;ired either for the Power or the Plea&s;ure which they afford. Now for the Goods of the Body, they are to be referred to the things mentioned before: For Strength, and the large Proportion of Parts, &s;eem to give Power and Worthine&s;s, Beauty and Swiftne&s;s, to afford Glory and Fame; and Health and Indolence of Body yield Joy and Plea&s;ure. In all the&s;e things it appears that Happine&s;s is only wanting; for whatever any one de&s;ireth above other things, he judgeth that to be the chief Good: But we have already defined Happine&s;s to be the So|veraign of Goods; wherefore every one judgeth that to be the happie&s;t State, which he de&s;ires above all others. Thou ha&s;t now therefore be|fore thine Eyes an exact Scheme and Form of humane Felicity, that is, Riches, Honours,
<PB N="97" REF="65">
Powers, Glory and Plea&s;ure, which la&s;t was only con&s;idered by<NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Epicurus.] Epicurus</HI> was a Philo&s;opher known enough: In <HI>Phy&s;icks,</HI> he taught that Bodies were compounded of <HI>Atoms;</HI> and in <HI>Ethicks,</HI> that the chief or &s;overeign Good did con&s;i&s;t in Plea&s;ure: and argued thus; Since there are no other Goods except <HI>Riches, Honours, Power, Glory and Plea&s;ures;</HI> that Good among&s;t the&s;e which excels the others ought to be e&s;teemed the <HI>Sovereign Good;</HI> but Plea&s;ure &s;eems to excel all the others, becau&s;e the re&s;t are not &s;ought after, but becau&s;e they &s;eem to bring Joyfulne&s;s and Plea|&s;ure to the Mind. Voluptuous Men are from him u&s;ually called <HI>Epicures.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Epicurus;</HI> and con&s;e|quently he did declare that Happine&s;s con&s;i&s;ted in that alone, becau&s;e he imagined that other things did withdraw Joy and Chearfulne&s;s from the Heart and Spirits. But I return to the Stu|dies and Inclinations of Men, who&s;e Minds are always bent upon the chief Good, and are ever &s;eeking after it, though it &s;eemeth to be as with a darkned Under&s;tanding, and like a drunken Man reeling about, and not knowing which Path to take which may lead him home. Do they, let me ask thee, &s;eem to wander who en|deavour to put them&s;elves into a Condition of wanting nothing? Certainly there is no State doth &s;o much afford Happine&s;s as that of having Plenty and Affluence of all good things, of be|ing out of need of being beholden to another, but having &s;ufficient for one's &s;elf. Or are they guilty of Folly who think that what is the be&s;t doth de&s;erve E&s;teem and Reverence? Certain|ly
<PB N="98" REF="66">
no; for that thing is &s;urely not vile and con|temptible, which all Men with &s;o much Inten|tion labour after. Is not Power to be num|bred among&s;t Goods? why not? for is that to be e&s;teemed feeble and without Strength, which is apparently better than all other things? Is Renown not to be regarded? but it cannot be denied, but that whatever is mo&s;t excellent &s;eemeth al&s;o to be mo&s;t renowned. For to what purpo&s;e &s;hall we &s;ay that Happine&s;s is not an anxious and melancholy thing, nor &s;ubject to Grief and Trouble, &s;ince even in the lea&s;t things Men &s;eek for what may delight and plea&s;e them? The&s;e are the things which Men de|&s;ire to obtain and po&s;&s;e&s;s, and for this Cau&s;e do they labour after Riches, Dignities, Com|mands, Glory, and Plea&s;ure, that they may have Sufficiences and Abundance within them|&s;elves, that &s;o they may arrive at E&s;teem, Pow|er and Fame. It mu&s;t therefore be a Good, of which all are in que&s;t by &s;o divers Ways and different Studies: And from hence it may ea|&s;ily appear how great the Power and Force of Nature is, &s;ince notwith&s;tanding that all Men differ very much in their Opinions of Good, yet they All agree in the choice of the End of it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="II" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="99" REF="66">
<HEAD>METRUM II.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Quantas rerum flectat habenas</L>
<L>Natura potens, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG>
<L>I'll take my Harp, and touch each warbling String,</L>
<L>And I, her Bard, will &s;ing</L>
<L>Of Nature's powerful Hand,</L>
<L>Which doth with Reins the &V;niver&s;e command.</L>
<L>My Song &s;hall comprehend each Law,</L>
<L>By which &s;he doth all Beings bind and awe,</L>
<L>I'll read her mighty<NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Pandects.]</HI> I &s;tile the Book of Nature &s;o here, becau&s;e the Etymology of <HI>Pandectae</HI> is from <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>omne,</HI> and <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>capio,</HI> as containing all &s;orts of Learning and Things: But properly the Volumes or Body of the Civil Law called <HI>Dige&s;ts,</HI> gathered and compiled from 37 Civilians, were called <HI>Pandectae.</HI></NOTE> Pandects o'r,</L>
<L>My Eye into each Page &s;hall look</L>
<L>Of the<NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Elephantine.] Libri Elephantini</HI> were the Books wherein the Orders and Decrees of the Senate of <HI>Rome</HI> were written: They were called &s;o from the Largene&s;s of them.</NOTE> Elephantine Book,</L>
<L>And I her choice&s;t Secrets will explore.</L>
<L>Although the<NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Punick.]</HI> African, or of <HI>Africk</HI> and particularly of that Part of it near <HI>Carthage.</HI></NOTE> Punick Lion &s;hould forget</L>
<L>Him&s;elf, and to a &s;ervile Chain &s;ubmit;</L>
<L>Though the &s;ame Hand which gave him Meat,</L>
<L>Pre&s;umes the noble Bea&s;t to beat;</L>
<L>Although he meanly then looks low,</L>
<L>And &s;eems to dread his haughty Keepers Brow,</L>
<L><PB N="100" REF="67">Yet if the Blood his Face o'r-&s;pread,</L>
<L>Which that imperious Blow did &s;hed,</L>
<L>His waken'd Courage doth ari&s;e,</L>
<L>And he remembers that by Right he is</L>
<L>The powerful Monarch of the Lawns &amp; Wood:</L>
<L>A&s;ham'd of his ba&s;e Fears, he loud doth cry,</L>
<L>His Plaints invade the Sky,</L>
<L>He breaks his Chain, and meets his Liberty;</L>
<L>And his pre&s;uming Keeper &s;hall</L>
<L>A bloody Victim to his Fury fall.</L>
<L>When<NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Philomel.]</HI> The Text is, <HI>quae canit altis garrula ramis Ales,</HI> I have rendred by <HI>Philomel,</HI> becau&s;e &s;he partakes of the common Nature of all of her kind. The Story of <HI>Philomela,</HI> Daughter of <HI>Pandion</HI> King of <HI>Athens,</HI> and the Fiction upon it by the Poets, is &s;o well known that I need not in&s;ert it at length here; She was ra|vi&s;hed by <HI>Tereus</HI> King of <HI>Thrace</HI> (who married her Si&s;ter <HI>Progne.</HI>) He cut out her Tongue that &s;he might not di&s;cover the Rape, but &s;he wrought the whole Story in Embroidery, and &s;ent it to her Si|&s;ter out of Pri&s;on: Now at the Fea&s;t of <HI>Bacchus</HI> they were all met together; <HI>Progne</HI> therefore took her Si&s;ter out of Pri&s;on, and made her kill her Son <HI>Itys,</HI> and dre&s;s him and &s;erve him up at Ta|ble to <HI>Tereus,</HI> who being enraged, would have killed them; but pur&s;uing his Wife, &s;he was metamorpho&s;ed into a <HI>Swallow, Tere|us</HI> into a <HI>Lapwing, Itys</HI> into a <HI>Phea&s;ant,</HI> and <HI>Philomel</HI> into a <HI>Nigh|tingal,</HI> who with warbling Notes is &s;till feigned to lament the Misfortunes of her Family. <HI>Ovid. Metam. lib.</HI> 6. <HI>ver.</HI> 510.</NOTE> <HI>Philomel,</HI> which from the Wood</L>
<L>The &s;leeping Sun was wont to &s;erenade,</L>
<L>Into her Pri&s;on is betray'd;</L>
<L>Although &s;he have the choice&s;t Food</L>
<L>Which Man can for his Ta&s;te invent,</L>
<L>Yet that will not prevent;</L>
<L>But, if &s;he from the Pri&s;on view the Shade</L>
<L><PB N="101" REF="67" MS="y">Of that delightful Grove,</L>
<L>Where &s;he had often mourn'd her Tragick Love,</L>
<L>The Meats prepar'd &s;he doth de&s;pi&s;e,</L>
<L>Charm'd with the Woods which entertain her Thoughts and Eyes,</L>
<L>She nothing but the Woods affects,</L>
<L>And to their Prai&s;e her choice&s;t Notes directs.</L>
<L>The Sapling forc'd by a &s;trong Hand,</L>
<L>His tender Top doth downward bend:</L>
<L>But if that Hand doth it remit,</L>
<L>It &s;trait towards Heaven again lifts up its Head.</L>
<L>The Sun in the<NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="foot"><HI>He&s;perian.] Philo&s;ophy</HI> takes this Argument from the <HI>Sun,</HI> whom the Poets fable to hide him&s;elf in the Sea when he &s;ets, that by &s;o doing, having purged and wa&s;hed off the Filth and Du&s;t which he hath contracted in his Cour&s;e in the Day time, he might in the Morning appear more pure and &s;plendid. The <HI>He&s;perian</HI> Sea is denominated from that Star which appeareth fir&s;t to us after the &s;etting of the Sun.</NOTE> He&s;perian Main</L>
<L>At Night his Royal Bed doth make,</L>
<L>But by<NOTE N="(i)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Secret Path.]</HI> Becau&s;e the way by which the Sun returns from the We&s;tern to the Ea&s;tern Part of Heaven is wholly un|known; for all Countries have tho&s;e other Countries placed on the part of the Globe contrary to them for <HI>Antipodes,</HI> the Sun not appearing to them at the &s;ame time.</NOTE> a &s;ecret Path again</L>
<L>His wonted Journey towards the Ea&s;t doth take.</L>
<L>All things regard their Origine,</L>
<L>And gladly thither would retreat;</L>
<L>To nothing certain Order doth remain,</L>
<L>But that which makes the End to meet</L>
<L>With its Beginning, and a Round to be</L>
<L>Fix'd on the Ba&s;is of Stability.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="III" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="102" REF="68">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> III.</HEAD>
<P>AND you, O Men, who&s;e Thoughts are &s;o employed upon things below, that I may fitly call you earthly Animals, do think ever of your Beginning, though it be but with a dreaming and darkned Imagination, and you have always the true end of Happine&s;s in view, although you have no clear and perfect Notion of it: So that though your natural Intention leads you to the true Good, yet indirect and manifold Error draws you from it. Con&s;ider now if Men can by tho&s;e Means by which they endeavour to attain Happine&s;s, arrive at their de&s;ired End. For if Riches, if Honours, and other the like Acce&s;&s;ions can place one in &s;uch a State, that he &s;hall &s;eem to want no other thing to make him happy, then will I confe&s;s that Fe|licity may be derived from &s;uch Acqui&s;itions. But if &s;o it be that the&s;e cannot make good what they &s;eem &s;o fairly to promi&s;e, and that tho&s;e who po&s;&s;e&s;s them in the greate&s;t mea&s;ure, do yet want many other Advantages and good things, will not the counterfeit and mi&s;taken Face of Happine&s;s be clearly di&s;covered in them? Fir&s;t of all therefore I ask thee, who not long &s;ince did&s;t abound in Riches, whether &s;ometimes in that great abundance thy Mind
<PB N="103" REF="68" MS="y">
was not anxious and di&s;compo&s;ed upon the re|ceiving of any notable Injury?</P>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>Truly I never remember that in my mo&s;t numerous Pro|&s;perity my Spirits were &s;o free as not to be op|pre&s;&s;ed with &s;ome Trouble or other.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>And was not that becau&s;e &s;omething was ab&s;ent which thou did&s;t de&s;ire, or &s;omething pre&s;ent which thou would&s;t have had away?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>So it was truly.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>Why then thou de&s;ired&s;t the Pre&s;ence of that, and the Ab&s;ence of this.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>I confe&s;s it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>Every Man wanteth that which he de&s;ireth.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>Doubtle&s;s he doth.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>Can that Man then who wanteth any thing be &s;aid to have all things within him|&s;elf &s;ufficient for his Nece&s;&s;ities?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>No.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>And did&s;t not thou in all thy Plenty la|bour under this want?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>What then?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>Then hence it follows that Riches cannot put a Man beyond all want, nor make him &s;elf-&s;ufficient, although this was it which they &s;eem'd to promi&s;e. And this al&s;o I think of great Moment to be con&s;idered, that Money hath nothing in its own Nature which can hin|der its being taken from the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or, though again&s;t his Will.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>I confe&s;s that.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>It ought to be confe&s;s'd, when we &s;ee every Day that the &s;tronger takes it from the weaker. From whence &s;pring all Debates at Law, and all Complaints in Courts of Judicature, but from this, that Men de&s;ire to recover their
<PB N="104" REF="69">
E&s;tates and Goods, of which they have been bereft either by Force or Fraud?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>It is plain.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>Then every Man needeth foreign Helps to maintain the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of his Money.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>Who denies it?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>But he would not want &s;uch Help unle&s;s he were the Owner of Money, which he is in a po&s;&s;ibility of lo&s;ing.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>That is unque&s;tionable.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>Then is the thing turned into its contrary; for Riches, which were thought to have made a Man &s;elf-&s;ufficient, do rather make him have need of Aid from others. By what way do Riches drive away Nece&s;&s;ity? Can rich Men be neither hun|gry nor thir&s;ty? Are not the Bodies of the Rich &s;en&s;ible of Winter's Cold? But perhaps thou may&s;t &s;ay, &s;uch Men have wherewith to &s;ati&s;|fy this, and to quench that, and to keep out the other. By the&s;e Means it's true that Riches may comfort and &s;upport tho&s;e who &s;uffer the&s;e things, but they cannot wholly free them from &s;uch Inconveniences. But if the&s;e Nece&s;&s;ities, which are ever gaping and asking for more, cannot be &s;upplied with Wealth, then there &s;till remains &s;omething which &s;hould be &s;atisfi|ed. I &s;hall not now urge that the &s;malle&s;t things are &s;ufficient for Nature, and that no|thing is enough for Avarice. But if Riches cannot remove Want, but rather create it, why &s;hould Men vainly imagine that they can meet and &s;upply all humane Nece&s;&s;ities?</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="III" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="105" REF="69" MS="y">
<HEAD>METRUM III.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Quamvis fluente dives auri gurgite</L>
<L>Non expleturas cogat avarus opes, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG>
<L>The rich Man's Avarice with his Wealth would grow,</L>
<L>Tho golden<NOTE N="(k)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Tagus.]</HI> A great River in <HI>Spain,</HI> which having run 400 Miles, falls into the Sea two Leagues below <HI>Lisbon;</HI> it is called by the Inhabitants of the Country <HI>Taio,</HI> by the Portugue&s;e <HI>d' Teio,</HI> by the French <HI>le Tage:</HI> It is &s;aid to carry Gold-&s;and in the bottom of it; which, it is believed, it wa&s;heth from &s;ome Hills, where Mines of that Metal are engendred, which it pa&s;&s;eth by in its Cour&s;e.</NOTE> <HI>Tagus</HI> thr&ocirc; his Meads &s;hould flow;</L>
<L>Though Chains of Pearl grace his Neck and Arms,</L>
<L>Though with an hundred Yoak he tills his Farms:</L>
<L>Care &s;hall his bu&s;y Life unquiet make,</L>
<L>And at his Death his Gold &s;hall him for&s;ake.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IV" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> IV.</HEAD>
<P>BUT it may be &s;aid that Dignities render tho&s;e Men honoured and e&s;teem'd who po&s;&s;e&s;s them. I &s;hall only then ask, if they have the Power to place Vertue in the Minds of tho&s;e who enjoy them, and clear them from Vice? Surely no, for it hath been found by experience, that they are &s;o far from expelling vitious Ha|bits,
<PB N="106" REF="70">
that they rather make them more con&s;pi|cuous. Hence it is that we often &s;o much di&s;|dain their being conferr'd upon unde&s;erving Men. For which Rea&s;on,<NOTE N="(l)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Catullus.]</HI> He was a noted Poet, who was &s;o &s;atyrical in his Ver&s;es, that he did not &s;pare the Emperor him&s;elf; he might therefore well reflect upon <HI>Nonius,</HI> though &s;o great a Magi&s;trate. <HI>Carm.</HI> 53. <Q><L>Quid e&s;t Catulle, quid moraris emori?</L>
<L>Sell&acirc; in Curuli Struma Nonius &s;edet:</L>
<L>Per Con&s;ulatum pejerat Vatinius.</L>
<L>Quid e&s;t Catulle, quid moraris emori?</L></Q></NOTE> <HI>Catullus</HI> called<NOTE N="(m)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Nonius.]</HI> Many Criticks believe that <HI>Boetius</HI> did not know that <HI>Struma</HI> was the Sir-name of <HI>Nonius,</HI> as <HI>Jo&s;eph Scaliger</HI> and others: but certainly, as the French Commentator well ob&s;erves, and as it may be obvious to others who will con&s;ider well, he is not accu&s;able either of Ignorance or Mi&s;take; for though <HI>Struma</HI> was the <HI>Cognomen</HI> of <HI>Nonius</HI> his Family, it is not yet plain here that he was &s;tiled &s;o in Contempt by <HI>Catullus:</HI> for a Sir-name was of|ten impo&s;ed upon tho&s;e who fir&s;t did bear it from &s;ome notable Defect either of Body or Mind; as upon him who was fir&s;t called <HI>Servius &agrave; Servo,</HI> a Slave; <HI>Spurius &agrave; Spurio,</HI> a Ba&s;tard; <HI>Brutus &agrave; Bruto,</HI> a <HI>brutal &s;tupid Per&s;on.</HI> Add to this, that this &s;ort of Sirname is never found to be joined among&s;t the antient Romans with the Name of any Per&s;on to whom Di&s;grace was not de&s;igned by it: <HI>Struma</HI> was the Sirname of <HI>Nonius,</HI> which doubtle&s;s was impo&s;ed on him or &s;ome of his Ance&s;tors, who were infected with the <HI>Struma,</HI> which is a Di&s;ea&s;e cau&s;ed by a W<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">n or Swelling on the Neck or Arm|holes, or on both, and is taken by &s;ome now to be the King's Evil. It is the likelier al&s;o that <HI>Catullus</HI> did intend a Reflection upon <HI>Nonius,</HI> and made his Allu&s;ion to the Di&s;ea&s;e, as I have rendred it, becau&s;e he joins <HI>Nonius</HI> the <HI>Praetor</HI> in the afore&s;aid Ver&s;es to <HI>Vati|nius</HI> the <HI>Con&s;ul,</HI> who labouring under that Di&s;ea&s;e, was often called by his Enemy <HI>Cicero, Strumae</HI> aut <HI>Strumo&s;i humoris.</HI> Pro Se&s;tio, <HI>me|dentur civitati, qui ex&s;ecant pe&s;tem aliquam tanquam Strumam:</HI> In Va|tin. <HI>Strumae denique Ebore improbo demigr&acirc;runt;</HI> and el&s;ewhere, <HI>humi|dum habemas Oratorem.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Nonius</HI> the Con&s;ul, even when he was
<PB N="107" REF="70">
&s;itting in his Ivory Chair, the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Strumam appellat.</NOTE> Botch or Impo&s;tume of the State. Do&s;t thou not &s;ee what great Inconveni|ences Dignities have wrought to wicked Men? Their Deformities would le&s;s appear if they were more ob&s;cure, and could be content to be with|out honourable Titles. And let me now ask thee, if thou thy &s;elf (notwith&s;tanding the Dangers which hang over thee) could&s;t conde&s;cend to be Colleague with<NOTE N="(n)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Decoratus.]</HI> This is the Per&s;on to whom <HI>Theodorick</HI> in <HI>Ca&s;&s;io|dorus</HI> writes, <HI>Var. l.</HI> 5. <HI>Ep.</HI> 31. <HI>That he &s;hould compel &s;ome Men to pay the Money demanded of them, if he &s;hould truly find that they were Deb|tors, becau&s;e he was an A&s;&s;e&s;&s;or to the Ma&s;ter of the Offices:</HI> which how|ever did not hinder but that he might be called <HI>nequi&s;&s;imus Scurra &amp; Delator. (Scurra,</HI> becau&s;e he followed great Men, and by Scoffing and Taunting did gain his Living: <Q><L>Mimum agit ille</L>
<L>&V;rbani qualem foecundus Scurra Catulli.</L></Q>
A <HI>Delator,</HI> i. e. an Informer, becau&s;e he had &s;ecretly accu&s;ed other Men.) <HI>Domitian</HI> did order that this &s;ort of Men &s;hould be pu|ni&s;hed, &s;aying, as <HI>Suetonius</HI> doth relate it, <HI>Qui delatores non ca&s;tigat, invitat.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Decoratus</HI> in the Magi&s;tra|cy, who hath di&s;covered him&s;elf to be a &s;aucy Buffoon and an officious Informer? For it is not rea&s;onable to reverence tho&s;e Men who have ar|rived at Honours without de&s;erving them: but if thou &s;ee&s;t a Man endowed with Wi&s;dom, thou could&s;t not but think him worthy of Re|verence and E&s;teem, and of the Wi&s;dom with which he is endowed.</P>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>No &s;urely, for Vertue hath her proper Worth, which &s;he
<PB N="108" REF="71">
transfers to tho&s;e who are her Votaries. And fora&s;much as Honours conferr'd by the People cannot make a Man worthy of them, it is clear that they do not contain the genuine Beau|ty of true Worth and Dignity: In this Men al&s;o ought to be wary; for if a Man be &s;o much the more abject, by how much the more he is de&s;pi&s;ed of every one; then Dignities which can|not procure Reverence or E&s;teem to ill Men, whom they expo&s;e to the World, do nece&s;&s;arily make them more the Subjects of Contempt and Scorn. Nor do Dignities them&s;elves come off clear; for impious Per&s;ons are reveng'd on them, &s;ince they fully and &s;tain the Brightne&s;s of them by their contagious Villanies. And that thou may&s;t know that E&s;teem and Reve|rence cannot be purcha&s;ed by the&s;e tran&s;itory and empty Dignities, con&s;ider, that if a Man who hath often been Con&s;ul, and run through many other honourable Degrees of Magi&s;tracy, &s;hould perchance arrive in a barbarous Nation, would his Honours, do&s;t thou think, make him be reverenced by tho&s;e Barbarians? Further, if it were of the Nature of Dignities to make Men venerable and reverenc'd, it would perform that Office in all Places, among&s;t all Nations, and at all times; as Fire, where-ever it is, ne|ver parts with its innate Quality of being hot. But becau&s;e Honours do not proceed from any Power in them&s;elves, but ari&s;e from the fal&s;e
<PB N="109" REF="71">
Opinion of Men, they immediately vani&s;h, when they chance to be among&s;t tho&s;e who do not e&s;teem them to be Dignities. But this is among&s;t foreign Nations. Let me then ask thee, if they always endure even with tho&s;e from whom they have their Beginnings? The<NOTE N="(o)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Pretor&s;hip.]</HI> The Roman Pretors, as their Lawyers relate, at the Beginning were the Magi&s;trates who propo&s;ed only the Edicts, and the Matter of which the Senate was to con&s;ult; but in proce&s;s of time they obtained, by the Con&s;ent of the People, the Power of making Edicts and Laws them&s;elves. Afterwards much of their Bu&s;ine&s;s was to take care of, and to exhibit, at their own Ex|pence, the <HI>Circen&s;ian</HI> and <HI>Scenick</HI> Plays: From hence the <HI>Pretorian Dignity</HI> is here called by our Author, <HI>Inane Nomen &amp; gravis Sarcina.</HI></NOTE> Pretor&s;hip heretofore was a great and ho|nourable Employ, and much &s;ought after, but now it is only an empty Name, and an heavy Addition to the Senator's Expence, who ever heretofore had the<NOTE N="(p)" PLACE="foot">The <HI>Praefectus annonae,</HI> or he who provided the publick Corn, was heretofore &s;o great an Officer among&s;t the Romans, that <HI>Augu&s;tus</HI> him&s;elf accepted of that <HI>Prefecture,</HI> and either held it &s;o long as he lived, or but a little before his Death he did &s;ub|&s;titute <HI>C. Turrianus:</HI> but in the time of <HI>Boetius</HI> that Office was &s;o emba&s;ed, that it only had the In&s;pection of the Bakers and Sellers of Swine, as <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodorus</HI> relates, <HI>lib.</HI> 6. <HI>variar. form.</HI> 18.</NOTE> Superintendency of the Markets, and was to provide Corn for the People, and had the Care of the publick Victuals, and was e&s;teemed great and honourable; but now what is there more vile and abject than that Employ? So that what I &s;aid a little before is very clear, that the thing which hath no proper innate Beauty, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily &s;ometimes be
<PB N="110" REF="72">
&s;plendid and admired, and &s;ometimes underva|lued and &s;lighted, as the Opinion of the People flows or ebbs. If Dignities therefore cannot give Men Reverence and E&s;teem, if they become vile by the Contagion of ill Men, if they lo&s;e their Lu&s;tre by the Change of times, if they are e&s;teemed worthy, or otherwi&s;e according to the E&s;timation of Men, what Beauty then is there in them which &s;hould make them de&s;i|rable, or what Dignity can they confer on others?</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IV" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM IV.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Quamvis &s;e Tyrio &s;uperbus O&s;tro</L>
<L>Comeret &amp; niveis Lapillis, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG>
<L><HI>Nero,</HI> with Purple and with Pearl adorn'd,</L>
<L>Was hated, and by all Men loath'd and &s;corn'd;</L>
<L>The Senators with<NOTE N="(q)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Curule.]</HI> This, as was &s;aid before, was the Chair made of Ivory, and carved, in which the Chief Magi&s;trates were carried to the Senate-hou&s;e. <Q><L>Cuilibet his fa&s;ces dabit: eripietque Curule,</L>
<L>Cui volet importunus Ebur, frater, pater, adde.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Hor. l. 1. Ep. 6.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q><L>Sigua quoque in &s;ell&acirc; n&ocirc;&s;&s;em formata Curuli</L>
<L>Et totum Numidae &s;culptile dentis opus.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Ovid. l. 4. de Pont. Ec. 9.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q><L>Praetor ade&s;t vacuoque loco ce&s;&s;ere Curules.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Lucan. lib. 3.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<HI>Nero</HI> did confer this and other En&s;igns of Dignity upon tho&s;e Sena|tors whom he favoured mo&s;t: and becau&s;e they were di&s;po&s;ed ra|ther at the Will of the Emperor than upon the Con&s;ideration of De&s;ert in tho&s;e who po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed them, they are &s;tiled by our Au|thor <HI>indecoros Curules.</HI></NOTE> Curule Chairs he grac'd,</L>
<L>Which Gift the Giver's Luxury yet embas'd:</L>
<L><PB N="111" REF="72" MS="y">Who then can think that true Felicity</L>
<L>Re&s;ides in Honours, which we daily &s;ee</L>
<L>An impious Tyrant's gaudy Donatives to be?</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="V" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> V.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>CAN Kingdoms or the Familiarity of Princes make a Man mighty?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>How can it be otherwi&s;e, &s;ince their Fe|licity doth always endure?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But mi&s;take not, for both Antiquity and the pre&s;ent Times abound with Examples of Kings and Potentates who have been forced to change an happy for a calamitous E&s;tate. And then we may ju&s;tly cry out, how great and glorious a thing is Power, which is not of Ability to pre&s;erve even it &s;elf? But if Dominion and the Rule over many People be the efficient Cau&s;e of Happine&s;s, doth not it follow, that if it be defective in any Part, it mu&s;t ne|ce&s;&s;arily dimini&s;h that Happine&s;s and intro|duce Mi&s;ery? But although humane Empires extend them&s;elves far and wide, there mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be many People over which eve|ry King can have no Command; and on what|&s;oever Hand this Power which con&s;titutes Hap|pine&s;s &s;hall fail, there mu&s;t Impotence enter, which cau&s;es Mi&s;ery. Hence therefore it is na|tural to aver, that Princes mu&s;t have a larger
<PB N="112" REF="73">
Portion of Mi&s;ery than of its contrary. A<NOTE N="(r)" PLACE="foot"><HI>A Tyrant.]</HI> He means <HI>Diony&s;ius</HI> King of <HI>Sicily,</HI> who hath been noted by all &s;ucceeding Ages for his tyrannical Government. His Hi&s;tory is &s;o well known, that I need only mention here, that one <HI>Damocles</HI> flattering <HI>Diony&s;ius,</HI> and extolling the Happine&s;s which he thought he did enjoy in the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of great Power and Wealth, the Tyrant attired him one Day as a King, and or|dered a Royal Table and Service to be prepared for him, that he might have a Ta&s;te of that Felicity which he &s;o much applauded: but whil&s;t <HI>Damocles</HI> was in his Royal Robes with delicious Fare be|fore him, Orders were given to hang a naked Sword with the Point downwards ju&s;t over his Head, and only fa&s;tned by an Hair; which when <HI>Damocles</HI> perceived, he could not eat nor take any Plea&s;ure in his Royal Attendance. By which <HI>Diony&s;ius</HI> made him perceive that the Life of a Prince (though living in great State and Plenty) is very uncomfortable, &s;ince he is continually wre&s;t|ed and tormented with Cares and Fear. <Q><L>Di&s;trictus En&s;is cui &s;uper impi&acirc;</L>
<L>Cervice pendet, non Siculae dapes</L>
<L>Dulcem elaborabunt &s;aporem.</L>
<L>Non avium citharaeque cantus</L>
<L>Somnum reducent.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Hor. l. 3: Carm. Ode 1.</HI></BIBL></Q></NOTE> certain Tyrant who well under&s;tood the Danger of his Condition, did well expre&s;s the Fears and Cares which attend Government by the Terror of a naked Sword hanging over a Man's Head. What then is this thing call'd Power, which cannot expel Care, nor bani&s;h Fear? Men de&s;ire to live &s;ecure, but cannot; and yet they glory in and boa&s;t of their Power. Can&s;t thou believe him to be powerful, whom thou &s;ee&s;t not able to do what he would? or him mighty, who goes &s;urrounded with a Guard, to terrify tho&s;e of whom he him&s;elf is
<PB N="113" REF="73">
more afraid, and who&s;e Power is &s;eated in the Number of his Attendance? And now why &s;hould I trouble my &s;elf to di&s;cour&s;e of the Favourites of Princes, when I have &s;hew'd even Kingdoms them&s;elves to be &s;ub|ject to &s;o much Imbecility? e&s;pecially &s;ince the&s;e gaudy things are often di&s;graced and ruined, as well when the Prince is fortunate as when he is unhappy. <HI>Nero</HI> would allow<NOTE N="(s)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Seneca.]</HI> He was a Philo&s;opher of the Sect of the Stoicks, and born at <HI>Corduba</HI> in <HI>Spain;</HI> he was Uncle to <HI>Lucan</HI> the Poet, and Tutor to the Emperor <HI>Nero, (anno Ch.</HI> 60.) who afterwards &s;en|tenced him, that he might po&s;&s;e&s;s his Wealth, to drink Poi&s;on, which working not its Effect with him, he ordered him to be put into an hot Bath, and his Veins to be opened, out of which the Blood flowing, he gently expired. <HI>Tacitus</HI> &s;aith, that when one of the Centurions was &s;ent to him to denounce the Certainty of his Death, he &s;aid, <HI>Neque aliud &s;upere&s;&s;e po&s;t matrem fratremque inter|fectos, quam ut educatoris, praeceptori&s;que necem adjicere;</HI> That there was nothing now left for him to do after the Murder of his Mo|ther and Brother, but to add that of his Teacher and Ma&s;ter to them.</NOTE> <HI>Seneca</HI> his Friend and Tutor this only Fa|vour, to chu&s;e the manner of his Death after he had condemned him. The Emperor<NOTE N="(t)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Antoninus.]</HI> He was &s;irnamed <HI>Caracalla,</HI> and was Succe&s;&s;or to <HI>Severus</HI> in the Roman Empire, having killed his Brother <HI>Geta.</HI> The Impiou&s;ne&s;s of which Fact he ordered <HI>Papinian</HI> to excu&s;e or wipe off to the Senate and the People: <HI>Papinian</HI> refu&s;ed to do it, &s;aying, that <HI>Parricide</HI> was &s;ooner committed than con|cealed; and that it was another kind of Parricide to accu&s;e an innocent Per&s;on murdered: which Refu&s;al &s;o irritated <HI>Antoninus,</HI> that he commanded he &s;hould be killed by his Soul|diers.</NOTE> <HI>An|toninus</HI>
<PB N="114" REF="74" MS="y">
expo&s;ed<NOTE N="(u)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Papinian.]</HI> He was a mo&s;t famous Lawyer, and is &s;aid to have excelled all tho&s;e who preceded and followed his time in the Knowledg of his Profe&s;&s;ion: He &s;ucceeded to <HI>Scaevola,</HI> who&s;e Di&s;|ciple he was in the Admini&s;tration of the Affairs relating to the Trea&s;ury of the Emperor <HI>Severus,</HI> to whom he was related by his &s;econd Wife; and was &s;o well e&s;teemed by that Emperor, that when he died he left his Sons to his Care.</NOTE> <HI>Papinian,</HI> who had long been great at Court, to fall by the Swords of his Souldiers. Both of them would willingly have renounced their Authority; and <HI>Seneca</HI> was willing to have given his whole E&s;tate, and all his Riches into the Hands of <HI>Nero,</HI> and to have retired: but whil&s;t the Force of Fate pu&s;hed them on towards their Fall, neither of them could accompli&s;h what they de&s;ired to have done. What then is this Power, of which Men, even when they enjoy it, are afraid? of which, when they are de&s;irous, they are not &s;ure nor &s;afe? and which, when they would lay it down, they cannot be acquitted of it? Are tho&s;e Friends to be tru&s;ted to in time of need, who&s;e Friend&s;hip is not founded upon Vertue, but upon thy Fortune? Believe it, they whom thy happy E&s;tate have made &s;o, will change when that is altered; and when thou art mi&s;erable, they will be thy Enemies. And what Plague in the World can be greater, or hurt thee more than &s;uch an Enemy who hath gain'd an Intimacy with thee?</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="V" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="115" REF="74">
<HEAD>METRUM V.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Qui &s;e volet e&s;&s;e potentem,</L>
<L>Animos domet ille feroces, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG>
<L>He to his Pa&s;&s;ions Laws mu&s;t give,</L>
<L>Who would at Fame and Power arrive;</L>
<L>He mu&s;t not too him&s;elf forget,</L>
<L>And to Lu&s;t's &s;ervile Yoak &s;ubmit.</L>
<L>Although thy Laws and Power extend</L>
<L>To fruitful<NOTE N="(w)" PLACE="foot"><HI>India.]</HI> 'Tis &s;o called from the River <HI>Indus,</HI> and is a va&s;t Territory terminating <HI>A&s;ia</HI> towards the Ea&s;t, although here it is taken for the Ea&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>India</HI>'s di&s;tant Land;</L>
<L>Though frozen<NOTE N="(x)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Thule]</HI> Was the la&s;t of the I&s;lands which the Romans had di&s;covered, and lay the mo&s;t Northerly of all towards the We&s;t; wherefore here it is taken for the We&s;t. It is generally believed to be <HI>Iceland,</HI> and depends upon the King of <HI>Denmark</HI> as King of <HI>Norway.</HI> About the End of the 9th Century it began to be fre|quented by the Europeans.</NOTE> <HI>Thule</HI>'s &s;tubborn Brow</L>
<L>Should to thy dreadful Scepter bow;</L>
<L>Yet if black Care invades thy Brea&s;t,</L>
<L>If Grief and Plaints do thee mole&s;t,</L>
<L>Thou neither powerful art, nor ble&s;s'd.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VI" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="116" REF="75" MS="y">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> VI.</HEAD>
<P>BUT O how deceitful oft, and how de|formed is the thing called Glory! Hence not without Rea&s;on did the Tragedian exclaim; <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>O Glory, Glory, there are thou&s;ands of Men who have de&s;erved nothing, who&s;e Lives neverthele&s;s thou ha&s;t rendred famous!</HI> for many have &s;urreptitiou&s;ly gotten to them|&s;elves great Names by the fal&s;e and mi&s;taken Opinions of the Vulgar, than which nothing can be more mean and ba&s;e: For they who are prai&s;ed and applauded unde&s;ervingly, mu&s;t needs, if they have any Mode&s;ty, be a&s;hamed and blu&s;h at the Recital of their own Prai&s;es. But if E&s;teem and Prai&s;e be purcha&s;ed by De|&s;ert, what Satisfaction yet can they add to the Mind of a wi&s;e Man, who mea&s;ures not his Good by popular Rumour, but by the ju&s;t Rules of Truth and Con&s;cience? And if it &s;eem a fair and noble thing for a Man to have made him&s;elf famous, and to have propagated his Name, then by Con&s;equence it mu&s;t be ad|judged the contrary, not to have done &s;o. But &s;ince, as I have before demon&s;trated, there mu&s;t be many People in the Earth whom the Renown of one Man could never reach, then of
<PB N="117" REF="75" MS="y">
nece&s;&s;ity it mu&s;t follow, that he whom thou ac|counte&s;t glorious, mu&s;t to the greate&s;t part of the World be inglorious and ob&s;cure. Among&s;t the&s;e things I do not think popular Favour to be worthy to be taken notice of, which is nei|ther the Product of Judgment, nor ever was or can be of Duration. And now who doth not &s;ee how vain, how empty, and how uncertain Titles of Nobility are? which if referred to Renown, they are wholly foreign to it: For Nobility &s;eems to be that Fame and Prai&s;e which proceedeth from the Merits of Ance&s;tors. Now if Prai&s;e can give Nobility, they nece&s;&s;a|rily are noble who are prai&s;ed. Then it follows thou can&s;t derive no Splendor from the Nobili|ty of another, if thou ha&s;t none of thine own. But if there be any Good and Advantage in No|bility, I think it is only this, that it &s;erves to impo&s;e a kind of Nece&s;&s;ity upon tho&s;e who po&s;|&s;e&s;s it, of not degenerating from the Vertues of their Progenitors.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VI" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM VI.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Omne hominum genus in terris</L>
<L>Simili con&s;urgit ab ortu, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>The many Nations of the teeming Earth</L>
<L>Do from the &s;ame Beginning &s;pring;</L>
<L>To the &s;ame fruitful Loins they owe their Birth,</L>
<L>They have one Father and one King:</L>
<L><PB N="118" REF="76" MS="y">He to the Moon gave Horns, and gave the Ray</L>
<L>To <HI>Phebus,</HI> which adorns the welcome Day:</L>
<L>His Love and Bounty gave the Earth to Men,</L>
<L>The&s;e did with Stars adorn the Sky;</L>
<L>He in the Body did the Soul in&s;hrine,</L>
<L>Which noble Part he &s;ent from high.</L>
<L>All Beings therefore from this Source do flow,</L>
<L>Out of this Root the&s;e noble Branches grow.</L>
<L>If Men con&s;ider then from whence they ri&s;e,</L>
<L>Why &s;hould they boa&s;t of Pedigree?</L>
<L>On God their Maker let them ca&s;t their Eyes,</L>
<L>And no one can ignoble be</L>
<L>But he who meanly doth to Vice &s;ubmit,</L>
<L>And doth his noble Origine forget.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VII" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> VII.</HEAD>
<P>WHY &s;hould I here di&s;cour&s;e of the Plea|&s;ures of the Body, the De&s;ire of which is full of Anxiety, and the &s;atisfying of them, of Repentance? What dangerous Di&s;ea&s;es, what intolerable Pains, being like-Fruits of Iniquity, do they bring to the Bodies of tho&s;e who enjoy them? and what Joys are to be found in the Motions of them, I confe&s;s I know not. But this I know, that whoever will call to mind his Luxury and Lu&s;ts, &s;hall find much Bitterne&s;s in the I&s;&s;ue of them. If the&s;e things can make Men happy, I &s;ee no Cau&s;e why Bea&s;ts al&s;o may
<PB N="119" REF="76" MS="y">
not be &s;aid to be in a po&s;&s;ibility of obtaining Happine&s;s, &s;ince by their In&s;tinct they are urged to intend and pur&s;ue bodily Delights. The Sa|tisfaction of having a Wife and Children were great, but it hath been &s;aid, though again&s;t Nature, that &s;ome in their Children have found Tormentors: How biting and unea&s;y the Con|dition of &s;uch is, it is not nece&s;&s;ary to tell thee, who ha&s;t before this tried it, and who art now under &s;o great a Di&s;compo&s;ure. In this I ap|prove the Opinion of<NOTE N="(y)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Euripides.]</HI> Though he was a Poet, yet he was al&s;o a Philo|&s;opher, and Di&s;ciple to <HI>Anaxagoras,</HI> and in his <HI>Andromache</HI> he hath the Expre&s;&s;ion which our Author quotes above.</NOTE> <HI>Euripides,</HI> who &s;aid, that he who hath no Children is happy in his Misfortune.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VII" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM VII.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Habet omnis hoc voluptas,</L>
<L>Stimulis agit fruentes, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>Tho&s;e who do Plea&s;ures court, mu&s;t find</L>
<L>That they will leave a Pain behind:</L>
<L>And as the bu&s;y Bee</L>
<L>Away doth fly when &s;he</L>
<L>Hath Honey given; &s;o they</L>
<L>Will with no Per&s;on &s;tay;</L>
<L>And like that angry In&s;ect &s;o</L>
<L>They &s;orely wound th' Enjoyer too.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VIII" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="120" REF="77" MS="y">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> VIII.</HEAD>
<P>FROM what I have &s;aid then it may with|out doubt appear, that all the&s;e mentioned Ways are wrong and deceitful, and cannot lead Men to that Happine&s;s which they promi&s;e: And with how many Evils and Inconveniences they are perplexed, I &s;hall &s;oon &s;hew thee. Con|&s;ider then thus; Ha&s;t thou a mind to ama&s;s Wealth? then thou mu&s;t bereave the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or of it. Would&s;t thou &s;hine in Dignities and Titles? thou mu&s;t &s;upplicate him who is the Fountain of them, and who only can confer them; and &s;o thou who de&s;ire&s;t to out-go others in Honour, &s;hall by meanly asking it be|come contemptible. Do&s;t thou affect Power? thou wilt expo&s;e thy &s;elf to Danger, by &s;ub|jecting thy &s;elf to the Traps and Snares of tho&s;e who are under thee. Art thou de&s;irous of Glo|ry? being di&s;tracted by &s;harp and &s;evere Di&s;|pen&s;ations, thou &s;halt forgo thy Security and Quiet. Would&s;t thou lead a voluptuous Life? think then that all Men will &s;corn and contemn him who is a Slave to that vile and frail thing, his Body. And now upon how weak a Foun|dation do they build, upon how uncertain a Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion do they rely, who value and affect corporal Delights? Can&s;t thou &s;urpa&s;s the Ele|phant
<PB N="121" REF="77" MS="y">
in Bulk, or the Oxe in Strength? Can&s;t thou excel the Tigers in Swiftne&s;s? Behold the va&s;t Space and Extention of the Heavens, their Firmne&s;s, and the Swiftne&s;s of their Motions, and then at length cea&s;e to admire vile or le&s;s things. Nor is the Heaven more to be admired for the&s;e Qualities mentioned, than for tho&s;e ex|act Orders and Methods by which it is govern|ed. How fleeting, and of how &s;hort Duration is Beauty and Exactne&s;s of Feature, how &s;wift|ly it pa&s;&s;eth, fading &s;ooner than a vernal Flow|er! For as <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> &s;aith, if a Man had the Eyes of a<NOTE N="(z)" PLACE="foot"><HI>A Lynx.]</HI> It is a Proverb now to &s;ee with the Eyes of a <HI>Lynx,</HI> which did ari&s;e thus; <HI>Linceus</HI> is &s;aid to have been the fir&s;t who found out Mines of Bra&s;s, of Silver, and of Gold: from hence it was fabled that he was &s;o &s;harp-&s;ighted, that he could with his Eyes pierce through the Earth, and &s;ee what was done in Hell. <Q><L>Non po&s;&s;is oculo quantum contendere Linceus,</L>
<L>Non tamen idcirco contemnas Lippus inungi.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Horat. Epi&s;t. l. 1. Ep. 1.</HI></BIBL></Q></NOTE> <HI>Lynx,</HI> that &s;o he might pierce through every Medium which &s;hould oppo&s;e him, would not he, if he looked into the in|ward Rece&s;&s;es of the Body of<NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Alcibiades.]</HI> He was General of the Athenians, one of great Endowments, and very beautiful: At fir&s;t his Life was very vitious, but afterwards, by the In&s;tructions and Per&s;wa&s;ions of <HI>Socrates,</HI> he changed his Manners and became vertuous.</NOTE> <HI>Alcibiades,</HI> who&s;e outward Form was &s;o fair and charm|ing, find it noi&s;om and foul? And therefore thy Nature doth not make thee appear beauti|ful,
<PB N="122" REF="78" MS="y">
but the Infirmity of the Eyes of thy Be|holders. E&s;teem bodily Goods as much as thou wilt, but con&s;ider, that what thou &s;o much ad|mire&s;t may in three Days be &s;haken and di&s;|&s;olved by the raging Fires of a Fever. From all which we may gather this, that tho&s;e things which cannot confer tho&s;e Goods which they promi&s;e, nor are perfect and con&s;ummate by a general Meeting of all Goods in them&s;elves, can neither always conduct to Happine&s;s, nor by them&s;elves make any one happy.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VIII" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM VIII.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Eheu quae mi&s;eros tramite devios</L>
<L>Abducit ignorantia, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG>
<L>Alas! what Ignorance doth blindly lead</L>
<L>Poor Mortals from the noble Paths of Good!</L>
<L>And doth with vain Imaginations feed</L>
<L>Their Minds of that which is not under&s;tood!</L>
<L>&V;pon the bearing Tree we find not Gold,</L>
<L>Nor will the Vine a Diamond afford;</L>
<L>Who would his Nets upon the Hills unfold,</L>
<L>Hoping with Fi&s;h &s;o to &s;upply his Board?</L>
<L><PB N="123" REF="78">The early Hunter who de&s;igns to cha&s;e</L>
<L>The Royal Hart, or the &s;wift-footed Roe,</L>
<L>To the wide Fore&s;t will him&s;elf addre&s;s,</L>
<L>And will not to the<NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Tyrrhene.]</HI> The <HI>Tyrrhene</HI> Sea is that part of the <HI>Mediterranean</HI> Sea which wa&s;heth the Southern Coa&s;t of <HI>Italy,</HI> as the Adriatick doth the Northern. <Q><L>Gens inimica mihi Tyrrhenum navigat aequor.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Virgil. Aeneid. l. 1.</HI></BIBL></Q></NOTE> <HI>Tyrrhene</HI> Waters go.</L>
<L>Some Men the Sea's profounde&s;t Bottom &s;ound,</L>
<L>And do the Clo&s;ets of the Deep de&s;cry,</L>
<L>Can tell where the mo&s;t Orient Pearls are found,</L>
<L>And where that Fi&s;h which yields the Purple Die.</L>
<L>They know the Shores which mo&s;t frequented are</L>
<L>By all the tendre&s;t of the &s;caly Fry,</L>
<L>They can de&s;cribe the Coa&s;t exactly where</L>
<L>The fierce<NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Sea-&V;rchine.]</HI> It is a Fi&s;h covered with a Shell, and &s;aid to be of a fierce Nature; and, as <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> witne&s;&s;eth, was often eat|en by the Antients. <Q><L>Sed non omne mare e&s;t genero&s;ae fertile te&s;tae,</L>
<L>Murice Bajano melior Lucrina Peloris:</L>
<L>O&s;trea Circaeis, Mi&s;eno oriuntur Echini;</L>
<L>Pectinibus patulis jactat &s;e molle Tarentum.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Horat. Satyr. l. 2. Sat. 4.</HI></BIBL></Q></NOTE> Sea-&V;rchine and his young ones lie.</L>
<L>Yet they, becau&s;e the &s;overeign Good lies hid,</L>
<L>Are idely willing ever to be blind;</L>
<L>And what above the Pole conceals its Head</L>
<L>They vainly think upon the Earth to find.</L>
<L>What Wi&s;h can to their Folly equal be?</L>
<L>Honours and Riches may &s;uch Men pur&s;ue,</L>
<L>And the&s;e fal&s;e Goods obtain'd, then may they &s;ee,</L>
<L>Too late the Worth and Value of the true.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IX" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="124" REF="79">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> IX.</HEAD>
<P>LET it &s;uffice that I have hitherto de&s;cribed the Form of counterfeit Happine&s;s: So that if thou con&s;idere&s;t well, my Method will lead me to give to thee a perfect Draught of the true.</P>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>I now &s;ee plainly that Men cannot arrive at a full Satisfaction by Riches, nor at Power by enjoying Principalities or Kingdoms, nor at E&s;teem and Reverence by the Acce&s;&s;ion of Dignities, nor at Nobility by Glory, nor at true Joy by carnal Plea&s;ures.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thou &s;aye&s;t well, but knowe&s;t thou the Cau&s;es of all the&s;e?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I perceive them by the &s;mall Light I can af|ford to my &s;elf, but I &s;hould be very glad to know them more fully from thee.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>The Rea&s;on is mo&s;t obvious, for humane Error doth &s;eparate and divide that which is &s;imple, and by Nature indivi&s;ible, and doth tran&s;port it from that which is true and perfect to their contrary. Let me ask thee, can that, do&s;t thou think, which needeth nothing want Power?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No, I am not of that Opinion.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thou thinke&s;t right indeed; for if there be any thing which, upon any occa&s;ion of Performance, doth &s;hew a Weakne&s;s or want of Power, it mu&s;t, as to that, nece&s;&s;arily need foreign Aid.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>So it is.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And therefore Sufficiency and Pow|er are of one Nature.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>So it truly &s;eems.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<PB N="125" REF="79">
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And thinke&s;t thou that things of this kind are to be undervalued and contemn'd, or rather to be reverenced of all?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>They are doubt|le&s;s worthy of Reverence.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Let us then add to Sufficiency and Power Reverence, and &s;o then judg of the&s;e three as one.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Let us join them then, becau&s;e the Truth mu&s;t be con|fe&s;s'd.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>What do&s;t thou think then? Is that an ob&s;cure and ignoble thing which is grac'd with the&s;e three great Attributes of Self-&s;ufficiency, Power and Reverence, or other|ways is it noble and worthy of Fame? Con&s;i|der then, as we have granted before, that he who wants Gifts of Fortune; who is mo&s;t pow|erful, and mo&s;t worthy of Renown, if he, I &s;ay, want Fame, which he cannot give to him|&s;elf, he may on that hand, in &s;ome mea&s;ure, &s;eem more weak and abject.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I cannot in|deed deny it, but aver as it is, that Renown at|tends the afore&s;aid things.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Then by con|&s;equence Renown differs nothing from the three above-mention'd Attributes.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I grant it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Mu&s;t not then that thing which wants not the Help of another, which can by its own Strength perform every thing which is famous and reverend, of nece&s;&s;ity be joyful al&s;o, and always plea&s;ant?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I cannot indeed well com|prehend how any Grief or Trouble can po&s;&s;e&s;s the Brea&s;t of one in tho&s;e Circum&s;tances.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Then we may well grant that &s;uch are al|ways
<PB N="126" REF="80">
in a State of Joy, if what I have &s;aid be true. And then may we al&s;o grant Self-&s;uffi|ciency, Power, Nobility, Reverence and Plea|&s;ure, do differ only in Name, but not in E&s;&s;ence or Sub&s;tance.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>It is nece&s;&s;arily &s;o.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Then therefore that which is one &s;imple Nature is torn violently a&s;under by the Pravity of Men; and whil&s;t they endeavour for a part of a thing which wants Parts, they neither get that Part, nor the entire thing which they &s;o much de&s;ire.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>How can that be?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Why thus; He who in ama&s;&s;ing Riches propo&s;eth only to him|&s;elf the end of avoiding Poverty, is no way &s;o|licitous to obtain Power; he had rather be un|known and ob&s;cure, and chu&s;eth rather to withdraw from him&s;elf many natural Plea&s;ures, than run the hazard of lo&s;ing that Money which he hath gathered. But &s;urely &s;uch an one by this means doth not purcha&s;e Self-&s;uffici|ency, when he lo&s;eth Power, when he is prick'd with Trouble, when his &s;ordid Ways make him be looked upon as an Out-ca&s;t, when he is hidden in Ob&s;curity. If we come to the Per&s;on who only aims at Power, he &s;quanders away Riches, he de&s;pi&s;eth Plea&s;ures, he &s;lights Honour which is not accompanied with Power, and contemns Glory. So then thou &s;ee&s;t how many things that Man wanteth. For often he mu&s;t &s;tand in need of Nece&s;&s;aries, he mu&s;t be &s;ubject to great Anxieties; and when he can|not
<PB N="127" REF="80">
drive away the&s;e things, he &s;hews clearly his want of that which he did mo&s;t affect, I mean Power. One may al&s;o rea&s;on thus of Honours, of Glory, and of Plea&s;ures. For whil&s;t every one of the&s;e is the &s;ame with the re&s;t, whoever endeavours to obtain any of the&s;e without the other, lo&s;eth that which he de&s;ireth.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What then if a Man &s;hould de&s;ire to gain all the&s;e things together?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>I would then &s;ay, that he hath a mind to arrive at the &s;overeign Good; but can it be thought that it &s;hall ever be found in the&s;e Acqui&s;itions, which I have &s;hewed already, not to be able to perform any thing they promi&s;e?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No &s;ure|ly.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>In the&s;e things therefore which are believed able to &s;atisfy our De&s;ires, we mu&s;t by no means &s;eek for Happine&s;s.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I confe&s;s it, and nothing can be &s;aid more truly than this.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thou ha&s;t now then the Form and Cau&s;es of that adulterate &s;ophi&s;ticate Felicity: now turn again the Eyes of thy Con&s;ideration upon the contrary Pro&s;pect, and thou &s;halt &s;oon com|prehend that true and genuine Happine&s;s which I &s;o long have promi&s;ed thee.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>That a blind Man may &s;ee, and who runs may read it, for thou &s;hewed&s;t it to me before, when thou did&s;t endeavour to open to me the Cau&s;es of its Coun|terfeit: for if I be not mi&s;taken, that is the true con&s;ummate Felicity which makes a Man &s;elf-&s;ufficient, powerful, reverenced, noble and plea|&s;ant. And that thou may&s;t know that thy Say|ings
<PB N="128" REF="81" MS="y">
have &s;unk deep into my Under&s;tanding, I &s;ay, I know that that which one of the&s;e (for they are all one) can truly perform is, without doubt, the chief Good and true Happine&s;s.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>O my Pupil, thou art mo&s;t happy in this Opinion, provided thou wilt add this to it, which I &s;hall offer to thee.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What is that?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thinke&s;t thou that any thing on this &s;ide Heaven can confer that Good of which thou &s;peake&s;t.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I think not indeed; and thou ha&s;t already &s;hewed me, that nothing can be de&s;i|red beyond &s;uch a State of Perfection.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>The&s;e things then above-mentioned either confer the Likene&s;s of the true Good, or el&s;e they &s;eem to give me &s;ome imperfect Good; but the true and perfect one this can by no means afford.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I a|gree with you.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Seeing then thou knowe&s;t already which is the true Happine&s;s, and which the fal&s;e one, it remains thou &s;hould&s;t be inform|ed from what Fountain to derive that true one.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>That I indeed expect with much Impatience.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But as <HI>Plato</HI> &s;ays in his<NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Timaeus.] Timaeus</HI> among&s;t his Ver&s;es mentions this Precept of <HI>Pythagoras:</HI> <Q><L>&mdash;<GAP DESC="foreign">,</L>
<L><GAP DESC="foreign">.</L>
<L>&mdash;Finem dein ante precatus</L>
<L>Numina, opus facito.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Pythag. in aur. Carm.</HI></BIBL></Q>
From whence <HI>Plato</HI> &s;aith in his Book which he nameth <HI>Timaeus,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">
That every one who hath but the lea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2+ letters"> more of a good Mind and Inclination when he beginneth any thing, be it great or &s;mall, is always wont to call upon God.</NOTE> <HI>Timaeus,</HI> that
<PB N="129" REF="81" MS="y">
even in the lea&s;t things the Divine A&s;&s;i&s;tance ought to be implored, what do&s;t thou think is fit to be done, that we may de&s;erve to find the true Source and Seat of the &s;overeign Good?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I think we ought to invoke the Father and Governour of all things, for with|out &s;uch an Invocation no Work is well be|gun.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thou &s;aye&s;t right. And then &s;he warbled out this Divine Ori&s;on.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IX" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM IX.</HEAD>
<Q>O qui perpetua mundum ratione gubernas, &amp;c.</Q>
<LG>
<L>O thou who with perpetual Rea&s;on rul'&s;t</L>
<L>The World, great Maker of the Heaven and Earth!</L>
<L>Who do&s;t<NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="foot"><HI>From Ages.]</HI> Philo&s;ophy makes a difference betwixt Eter|nity, Age, and Time, which are &s;everal kinds of Duration. E|ternity belongs to that Being which was without a Beginning, and will be without an End, as God. An Age or <HI>Aevum</HI> is of that thing which is indeed without an End, but not without a Beginning, <HI>viz.</HI> of a created thing, &s;uch as is the Mind and Body, of which there is no other than an exteriour Cau&s;e; for tho&s;e being created by God, &s;hall endure for ever. Time is of that thing which is neither without Beginning nor with|out End, as of a Corporeal Form, &s;uch as is the Form of a Bea&s;t, the Form of a Plant, and the Form of inanimate Bo|dies.</NOTE> from Ages make &s;wift Time proceed,</L>
<L>And fix'd thy &s;elf, mak'&s;t all things el&s;e to move!</L>
<L><PB N="130" REF="82">Whom<NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Exteriour.]</HI> Philo&s;ophy u&s;ually a&s;&s;igneth four Cau&s;es, <HI>viz.</HI> the Final, the Efficient, the Material, and the Formal; the two former are called Exteriour, the two latter Interiour Cau&s;es. The Bodies which they call Phy&s;ical or Natural, &s;uch as are the Heaven and the Earth, have both interiour and exteriour Cau&s;es; and crea|ted Minds have not interiour but only exteriour ones. But God hath neither interiour nor exteriour Cau&s;es; therefore he could not be compelled to create this World either by a final or an effi|cient Cau&s;e.</NOTE> exteriour Cau&s;es did not force to frame</L>
<L>This Work of<NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Floating Matter.]</HI> The word is rightly called Matter, be|cau&s;e it is a thing extended every way, as Matter is. It is well al&s;o called <HI>fluitous</HI> or floating, &s;ince the Heaven, the Earth, and all other Bodies of which the World con&s;i&s;ts, are perpetually moved, if not in all, yet in mo&s;t of their Parts.</NOTE> floating Matter, but the Form</L>
<L>Of &s;overeign Good,<NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Above black Envy.]</HI> God is rightly &s;aid here, <HI>livore carere,</HI> becau&s;e being not forced to create the World by any external Cau&s;e, but by the Form of the chief Good which was fixed in his Mind, that is, by his Will and his infinite Wi&s;dom. <HI>Livor</HI> in our Author means no other than Envy, and God is rightly &s;aid to want Envy, having no Being which he can envy, him&s;elf being the chief Good by whom and for whom the World was made; and there can be nothing better than the chief Good.</NOTE> above black Envy plac'd,</L>
<L>Within thy Brea&s;t: thou every thing do&s;t draw</L>
<L>From the &s;upreme Example; faire&s;t thy &s;elf,</L>
<L>Bearing the World's Figure in thy Mind,</L>
<L>Thou formedst this after that Prototype,</L>
<L>And didst command it &s;hould have perfect Parts.</L>
<L>Thou by harmonious Mea&s;ures fa&s;t do&s;t bind</L>
<L>The Elements, that cold things may with hot,</L>
<L>And moi&s;t with dry agree, le&s;t &s;ubtil Fire</L>
<L>Should fly too high, or Weight &s;hould pre&s;s the Earth</L>
<L><PB N="131" REF="82">And Water lower than they now are plac'd.</L>
<L>Thou do&s;t the<NOTE N="(i)" PLACE="foot"><HI>The Middle Soul.]</HI> Here our Philo&s;opher meaneth the Spirit or Soul of the Univer&s;e, which was born with the Law of Nature, after the Production of the Elements of the World. It is rightly al&s;o by our Author called, 1. <HI>Anima.</HI> 2. <HI>Triplicis naturae media.</HI> 3. <HI>Cuncta movere.</HI> 4. <HI>A Deo connecti.</HI> 5. <HI>Per con&s;ona membra re&s;olvi.</HI> 6. <HI>Secta circuire.</HI> Fir&s;t this Univer&s;al Spirit or Soul is acknow|ledged not only by the &s;acred Authors, but al&s;o by the profane, as <HI>Plato, Ari&s;totle,</HI> and many others.
<Q><L>Principio coelum &amp; terras campo&s;que liquentes,</L>
<L>Lucentemque globum Lunae, Titaniaque a&s;tra</L>
<L>Spiritus intus alit: totamque infu&s;a per artus</L>
<L>Mens agitat molem; &amp; magno &s;e corpore mi&s;cet.</L>
<L>Inde hominum pecudumque genus, vitaeque volantum,</L>
<L>Et quae marmoreo fert mon&s;tra &s;ub aequore pontus.</L>
<L>Igneus e&s;t ollis vigor &amp; coele&s;tis origo</L>
<L>Seminibus: quantum non noxia corpora tardant,</L>
<L>Terrenique hebetant artus, moribundaque membra.</L>
<L>Hinc metaunt, cupiuntque, dolent, gaudentque: nec auras</L>
<L>Re&s;piciunt, clau&s;ae tenebris &amp; carcere caeco.</L></Q>
<HI>Virgil. Aeneid. l.</HI> 6. <HI>v.</HI> 724. Secondly, this Soul is &s;aid to be of a threefold Nature; not that it con&s;i&s;ts of three Elements, as &s;ome think, but becau&s;e it is one, and the middle one al&s;o, of three things, which by our natural Light we can know and di&s;tingui&s;h; to wit, it is placed betwixt the Mind, which we cannot perceive by our Sen&s;es, and the Body which we may. Thirdly, it is &s;aid, <HI>cuncta movere,</HI> not becau&s;e all Bodies are moved by this Spirit or Soul; for many are &s;olid, who&s;e Parts do therefore re&s;t and are quiet; but becau&s;e no Bodies may be moved unle&s;s this do move. Fourthly, it is &s;aid, <HI>a Deo connecti,</HI> becau&s;e as no Body doth move but by Touch or Contact, &s;o this Soul or Spirit of the World cannot move unle&s;s it be connected with the Body to be moved; but it was connected by God, by whom, when it was fir&s;t made, it was moved by tho&s;e Laws of Nature which God him&s;elf did con|&s;titute. Fifthly, it is &s;aid, <HI>per con&s;ona membra re&s;olvi,</HI> becau&s;e this <HI>anima mundi</HI> is a mo&s;t liquid Body, who&s;e Parts, as they are mo|ved and re&s;olved into divers Places, &s;o they enter the different Members of the informed Body. But the&s;e Members are agreeing as among&s;t them&s;elves, &s;o with this Soul or Spirit, by which they are to be moved; &s;o that the le&s;&s;er Members have Motion fir&s;t from the Soul, then the greater from the le&s;&s;er Members, and al&s;o from the Soul. La&s;tly, it is &s;aid, <HI>&s;ecta circuire,</HI> becau&s;e joining its End to the Beginning of its Motion, it may &s;eem to form that Motion into a round: And it is cut or divided, becau&s;e it being liquid, as Water or Air, it is a Ma&s;s or <HI>Congeries</HI> of &s;everal little Bodies, which, as they are moved, are &s;eparated one from the other. This Soul is &s;aid to circulate through the Body in which it doth re&s;ide, becau&s;e every Body, unle&s;s it be re&s;i&s;ted, continueth its Motion: So the Sap of a Tree doth rather chu&s;e to a&s;cend to the Top of it, than to pre&s;s it &s;elf through the Bark: and it is ea&s;ier for this Spirit or Soul to circulate in its Body, than to go out of it, &s;everal Bodies being ready every where to re&s;i&s;t it.</NOTE> Middle Soul firmly connect</L>
<L>Of th' threefold Nature, which each thing doth move,</L>
<L>Then by agreeing Numbers it re&s;olv'&s;t;</L>
<L><PB N="132" REF="83">When that is done, and cut into two Orbs,</L>
<L>It moves about returning to it &s;elf,</L>
<L>And then incompa&s;&s;ing the Mind profound,</L>
<L>Doth by that fair Idea turn the Heaven.</L>
<L>Thou by &s;uch Cau&s;es do&s;t produce all Souls</L>
<L>And<NOTE N="(k)" PLACE="foot"><HI>All Souls and le&s;&s;er Lives.]</HI> Our Philo&s;opher meaneth by this humane Souls, and tho&s;e al&s;o of vegetative and &s;en&s;itive Creatures; and he giveth to them the Epithet of <HI>Minores,</HI> becau&s;e they are in|cluded in le&s;&s;er Vehicles or Machines; putting this Difference how|ever between Man and other Creatures, that there is in him, be|&s;ides this corporeal Spirit which is &s;ub&s;ervient to principal Form, a Mind which hath the Faculty of thinking: from whence it is that this corporeal Spirit lo&s;eth in a Man its Name and Dignity, and therefore it may be &s;aid that in a Man there is only one Soul, and that endowed with Rea&s;on. <Q><L>E&s;&s;e apibus partem divinae mentis, &amp; hau&s;tus</L>
<L>Aetherios dix&ecirc;re: Deum namque ire per omnes</L>
<L>Terra&s;que, tractu&s;que maris, coelumque profundum.</L>
<L>Hinc pecudes, armenta, viros, genus omne ferarum,</L>
<L>Quem&abque; &s;ibi tenues na&s;centem arce&s;&s;ere vitas.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Virg. l 4. Georg. <HI>v.</HI> 220.</HI></BIBL></Q></NOTE> le&s;&s;er Lives, thou mak'&s;t them to be fit</L>
<L><PB N="133" REF="83" MS="y">To their light Vehicles, and them do&s;t &s;ow</L>
<L>In Heaven and Earth: they then again to thee</L>
<L>By a kind Law, and Ordinance benign,</L>
<L>Like a recoiling Flame gladly revert.</L>
<L>O Father, let our Minds a&s;cend on high,</L>
<L>And view thy Throne augu&s;t! let them behold</L>
<L>The Fountain of all Good; and when we have</L>
<L>Found the true Light, may our Minds, Eyes on thee,</L>
<L>The noble&s;t Object, be for ever fix'd!</L>
<L>Di&s;pel the Mi&s;ts, remove the mighty Bulk</L>
<L>Of Earth-bred-weight, and in thy Splendor &s;hine,</L>
<L>For thou art ever clear! thou to the Good</L>
<L>Art Peace and Re&s;t; whoever &s;eeth thee,</L>
<L>Sees End, Beginning, Bearer, Leader, Path, in one!</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="X" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> X.</HEAD>
<P>NOW that thou ha&s;t had the Character of the true, and al&s;o of the fal&s;e Felicity truly repre&s;ented to thee, I think it time to &s;hew thee in what the Perfection of Happine&s;s is placed. And whil&s;t we are in que&s;t of this, I think our be&s;t Method will be to examine, whether there can in Nature be &s;uch a Good as that which thou ha&s;t before defin'd, le&s;t the Vanity of Imagination, and Heat of Thought, &s;hould deceive us, and carry us beyond the Truth of the Matter &s;ubjected to our Inquiry. But that &s;uch a thing doth exi&s;t, and that it is as
<PB N="134" REF="84" MS="y">
it were the Fountain of all Good, cannot be de|nied; for every thing which is &s;aid to be im|perfect is proved to be &s;o by the Diminution of that which is perfect. Hence it is that if any thing in any kind be &s;aid to be imperfect, it is pre&s;ently under&s;tood that in it there is al&s;o &s;ome|thing perfect. For if Perfection be taken a|way, no Man can tell in what that which is &s;aid to be imperfect can exi&s;t. For Nature doth not derive her Origine from things dimini&s;hed and incon&s;ummate, but proceeding from an intire and ab&s;olute Sub&s;tance, &s;he extends her &s;elf in the remote&s;t and mo&s;t fruitle&s;s Beings. So that if, as before I have demon&s;trated, there be a certain imperfect Felicity, a fading Good, there mu&s;t al&s;o be, without doubt, a &s;olid and perfect one. It is mo&s;t logically and truly con|cluded (&s;aid I). But where this doth re&s;ide (continued &s;he) thus con&s;ider; That God the Governour of all things is good, is proved by the univer&s;al Opinion of all Men. For &s;ince nothing can be found out which is better than God, who will deny Him to be good, than whom nothing can be better? Rea&s;on then doth &s;o clearly demon&s;trate that God is good, that at the &s;ame time it evinceth the &s;overeign Good to be in him. For if it were not &s;o, he could not be the Ruler of all things; for there would be &s;ome Being excelling him, which would po&s;|&s;e&s;s the perfect Good, and in this World &s;eem
<PB N="135" REF="84" MS="y">
to excel him, and be antienter than he. We have already &s;hewn that all perfect things excel tho&s;e which are le&s;s perfect. Wherefore that we may not infinitely produce our Rea&s;ons, it mu&s;t be confe&s;s'd that the great God is full of the greate&s;t and mo&s;t perfect Goodne&s;s. But we have already &s;hewn that perfect Goodne&s;s is true Happine&s;s. Therefore it nece&s;&s;arily fol|lows that true and con&s;ummate Happine&s;s re|&s;ides only in the great and mo&s;t perfect God. This (returned I) I apprehend aright, nor can I by any means &s;ay again&s;t it. Then I pray thee (&s;aith &s;he) &s;ee how well and irrefragably thou can&s;t prove what I have &s;aid, to wit, that God is wholly repleni&s;hed with the &s;overeign Good. How &s;hall I do that? (replied I). Do&s;t thou pre&s;ume (&s;aid &s;he) that the Father of all things hath received this &s;overeign Good, with which he is proved to abound, from any thing without him&s;elf, or that he hath it &s;o naturally that thou &s;hould&s;t imagine that He po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing it, and Happine&s;s po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, are of different Sub|&s;tances? If thou do&s;t think that he received it from any foreign Hand, thou mu&s;t imagine the Giver to be more excellent than the Receiver. But that God is the mo&s;t excellent of all Beings, mo&s;t worthily we confe&s;s, if we own then that the &s;overeign Good is in him by Nature; and yet we may conceive that it is not the &s;ame that he is, &s;ince we &s;peak of God, who is the Prince
<PB N="136" REF="85">
of Nature, let him who can find out who it was that joined the&s;e &s;o differing things. La&s;t|ly, whatever doth e&s;&s;entially differ from any thing, it cannot be &s;aid to be that from which it is under&s;tood to differ. Therefore that which is in its Nature differing from the chief Good, cannot be &s;aid to be the Good it &s;elf: which to think of God would be mo&s;t impious and pro|fane, &s;ince nothing can excel him in Goodne&s;s and Worth. Nothing that ever was can in its Nature be better than that from which it draw|eth its Beginnings. Wherefore that which is the Principle of all things mu&s;t, as to its Sub|&s;tance, with the true&s;t rea&s;on be concluded to be the chief of Goods.</P>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>Mo&s;t right.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>But Happine&s;s was before granted to be the chief of Goods.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>So it was.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>There|fore it mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be confe&s;s'd that God is the very Happine&s;s.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I cannot oppo&s;e the Rea&s;ons you have given, and I confe&s;s you have drawn a very right Conclu&s;ion from your Pre|mi&s;es.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Look then a little further, and &s;ee if this Truth can be proved more firmly thus, to wit, that there cannot be two &s;overeign Goods which differ in them&s;elves: For it is clear, that of the Goods which differ, one can|not be what the other is; wherefore neither can be perfect when one wants the other. But it is evident, that that which is not perfect can|not be &s;overeign; therefore tho&s;e which are the
<PB N="137" REF="85">
chief Goods can by no means be diver&s;e in their Natures. But I have rightly concluded that Good and Happine&s;s are the chief Good: where|fore the highe&s;t Divinity mu&s;t certainly be the highe&s;t Happine&s;s.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Nothing can be truer than this; nothing by the Cour&s;e of Rea&s;oning more firm; nor can any Conclu&s;ion be made more becoming of the Divine Maje&s;ty.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Up|on the whole Matter then, as Geometricians, after they have demon&s;trated their Propo&s;itions, are wont to infer and draw their <GAP DESC="foreign"> or Con&s;equences, in the &s;ame manner &s;hall I de|duce to thee &s;omething like a Corollary, thus: Becau&s;e by the attaining of Beatitude Men are happy, and Beatitude is Divinity it &s;elf, by the attaining of Divinity it is manife&s;t that Men are made happy. But as from Mens being endow|ed with the Vertue of Ju&s;tice, they are deno|minated Ju&s;t; and from that of Prudence they are pronounced Wi&s;e, &s;o &s;hould they who are po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of Divinity by parity of rea&s;on be e&s;teemed Gods. Every happy Man then is a God; but by Nature there is only One, yet by &s;uffering others to participate of the Divine E&s;|&s;ence nothing hinders but there may be Many.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>This truly is a very fair and mo&s;t pretious, call it Deduction or Corollary, which you plea&s;e.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But there can be nothing nobler than that which Rea&s;on commands us to &s;ub|join to this.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What is that?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>It is this,
<PB N="138" REF="86">
Since Happine&s;s &s;eems to comprehend in it ma|ny things, to con&s;ider whether they all, by the Variety of Parts conjoined, do con&s;titute the Body of Happine&s;s; or whether there may be any one among&s;t them which may compleat the Sub&s;tance of it, and to which all the re&s;t may be referr'd.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I could wi&s;h that thou would&s;t open the&s;e things to me by recounting them.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Do not we account Happine&s;s a Good?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yes certainly, and the chiefe&s;t.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Add then that Good to all the afore&s;aid things, for that Happine&s;s which is Self-&s;ufficiency is al&s;o the Height of Power, of Reverence, of Nobi|lity, of Plea&s;ure. What &s;ay&s;t thou then, are all the&s;e things, as Self-&s;ufficiency, Power, and the re&s;t, Members and con&s;tituting Parts of Happine&s;s; or are they, as all other things are, to be referr'd to the Sovereign Good as their Source and Principle?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I well under&s;tand what thou do&s;t aim to &s;earch for, but I de&s;ire to hear what thou do&s;t propo&s;e.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Ob&s;erve then the thing thus &s;ifted and di&s;tingui&s;hed up|on. If all the&s;e things were Members of Hap|pine&s;s, they would differ among&s;t them&s;elves; for it is of the Nature of differing Parts to com|po&s;e one Body: But it is already demon&s;trated that all things are the &s;ame, therefore they are not Parts; for if &s;o, even out of one of them Happine&s;s might be compo&s;ed, which is ab|&s;urd.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>This I doubt not; but I de&s;ire to
<PB N="139" REF="86">
hear that which remains.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>It is clear that all other things are brought to be tried by Good as the Rule and Square: For Self-&s;ufficiency is therefore de&s;ired, becau&s;e it is thought to be Good: So al&s;o it may be &s;aid of Power, E&s;teem, Nobility, Plea&s;ure. Good then is the Cau&s;e why all things are de&s;ired; for that which nei|ther in Reality nor Shew doth retain any thing of Good, is by no means to be de&s;ired: On the contrary, whatever by Nature is not good, if yet it &s;eems to be &s;o, is de&s;ired as if it really were &s;o. Hence it is that Goodne&s;s, ju&s;tly looked upon, is the Cau&s;e, the Sum, the Hinge from which all our De&s;ires ari&s;e, in which they centre, and upon which they turn. That which is the Cau&s;e of our de&s;iring any thing, &s;eems it &s;elf mo&s;t to be de&s;ired. For if any Man de|&s;ires to ride abroad becau&s;e of his Health, he doth not &s;o much de&s;ire the Motion of Riding as the Effect of his Health. Since therefore all things are &s;ought after for the &s;ake of Good, they cannot be more de&s;irable than Good it &s;elf. But we have before &s;hewed that it is Happine&s;s for which all the&s;e above&s;aid things are de&s;ired, where it is clear that only Happine&s;s is &s;ought for. He then who con&s;iders this cannot deny that Good and Happine&s;s are of one and the &s;ame Sub&s;tance.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I &s;ee no Cau&s;e why any Man &s;hould di&s;&s;ent from your Opinion.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And we have &s;hewed that God and Happine&s;s are
<PB N="140" REF="87" MS="y">
in&s;eparably joined in E&s;&s;ence.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>You have &s;o done.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>We may then &s;ecurely conclude that the Nature and Sub&s;tance of God re&s;ides in Good, and can be &s;ought for no whe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e el&s;e.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="X" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM X.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Huc omnes pariter venite capti,</L>
<L>Quos fallax ligat improbis catenis</L>
<L>Terrenas habitans libido mentes, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG>
<L>Come hither all! O come to me,</L>
<L>Whom in her impious Chains</L>
<L>Imperious Lu&s;t detains,</L>
<L>Which in an earthly Mind affects to be.</L>
<L>Here Ea&s;e from Labours you &s;hall find;</L>
<L>This is the Port of Re&s;t,</L>
<L>Which Storms cannot mole&s;t;</L>
<L>Here's Refuge for the &s;icke&s;t Mind.</L>
<L>Whatever <HI>Tagus</HI> golden Sand,</L>
<L>Or<NOTE N="(l)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Hermus.]</HI> It is a River of the Le&s;&s;er <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> called now <HI>le Sa|rabat:</HI> It hath its Source in <HI>Phrygia</HI> the greater, and taking its Cour&s;e We&s;tward, and being increa&s;ed by &s;everal Rivers, among&s;t the re&s;t <HI>Pactolus,</HI> it enters into the Aegean Sea by the Bay of <HI>Smyrna,</HI> and is &s;aid to have Golden Sands. <Q><L>Nec pulcher Ganges, atque auro turbidus Hermus.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Virgil. Georg. l. 1. v. 151.</HI></BIBL></Q></NOTE> <HI>Hermus</HI> in his yellow way,</L>
<L>Can to the World convey,</L>
<L>Or <HI>India</HI> with its warmer Hand,</L>
<L><PB N="141" REF="87">Which Diamonds yields, and Pearls both,</L>
<L>Can never clear the Mind,</L>
<L>But rather doth it blind;</L>
<L>And in thick Darkne&s;s doth it clothe.</L>
<L>That which doth rai&s;e our Thoughts &s;o high,</L>
<L>The mighty &s;hining Bait,</L>
<L>Which &s;o doth captivate,</L>
<L>Doth in Earth's lowe&s;t Caverns lie.</L>
<L>But the gay Light which Heaven doth rule,</L>
<L>From which its Force it hath,</L>
<L>Doth in no ob&s;cure Path,</L>
<L>But by clear Light conduct the Soul.</L>
<L>He then who &s;ees that Source of Light,</L>
<L>And will it comprehend,</L>
<L>Compar'd to it, he'll find</L>
<L>That the Sun's Rays are wrap'd in Night.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="XI" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> XI.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>I A&s;&s;ent, and am overcome by the Strength of thy Rea&s;ons.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>At how great a rate would&s;t thou value this Good, if thou did&s;t rightly know it?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>At an infi|nite rate; if at the &s;ame time I might attain to the Knowledg of God, who is the true Good.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>That thou &s;halt do &s;o, I &s;hall make clear to thee by undeniable Rea&s;ons, if thou wilt but grant me tho&s;e things which a little before I have laid down as Conclu&s;ions.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I grant
<PB N="142" REF="88">
them all.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Have not I made it clear that tho&s;e things which are de&s;ired by mo&s;t are not therefore true and perfect Goods, becau&s;e they differ among&s;t them&s;elves; and that when one is ab&s;ent, the other cannot confer ab&s;olute Hap|pine&s;s? And then that they are the perfect Good when they are molded up into one Form, that is to &s;ay, when Self-&s;ufficiency, Power, Vene|ration, Renown and Plea&s;ure collectively meet. For if they be not one and the &s;ame thing, they have nothing to recommend them, or to make them to be numbred among&s;t de&s;irable things?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I grant thou ha&s;t demon&s;trated the&s;e things, nor can they by any means be doubted of.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>The&s;e things then when they are di&s;tinct not being Goods, and when they meet immedi|ately being made Goods, do not they owe their Beings of Good to Unity?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>So it &s;eems to me.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But wilt thou yield that every thing which is good, is &s;o by the Participation of the &s;overeign Good, or not?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>It is cer|tainly &s;o.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thou mu&s;t then by the &s;ame Rea&s;on acknowledg Unity and Good to be the &s;ame thing: for the Sub&s;tance of tho&s;e things mu&s;t be the &s;ame, who&s;e Effects do not natu|rally differ.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I cannot deny it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Know|e&s;t thou then that every Being doth &s;o long en|dure and &s;ub&s;i&s;t as it is entire and knit together by Unity; but that as &s;oon as it loo&s;es that Bond it is di&s;&s;olv'd, and Privation follows?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>How
<PB N="143" REF="88">
do&s;t thou make out that?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thus; As in Animals or &s;en&s;itive Creatures it is plain, the Soul and Body being united and continuing to|gether, the Being then is called Animal, a living Creature: but &s;o &s;oon as this Unity is di&s;&s;olved by the Separation of the&s;e, it immediately pe|ri&s;heth, cea&s;ing to be what it was before. The Body al&s;o it &s;elf, which whil&s;t it remains in one Form by the Conjunction of its Members, re|tains the Form and Re&s;emblance of a Man; but if by di&s;&s;evering and &s;egregating the Parts that Onene&s;s is di&s;tracted, it is no more what before it was. In the &s;ame manner, if we run through all other Beings, it will &s;urely appear, that every thing, as long as it pre&s;erveth Unity doth &s;ub&s;i&s;t; and if that dies, the other mu&s;t al|&s;o die with it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Though I con&s;ider never &s;o long, yet I can &s;ee no other thing.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Is there then any thing, which ina&s;much as it lives natu|rally, doth forgo its De&s;ire of Sub&s;i&s;ting, and affect Corruption and Annihilation?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>If I con&s;ider tho&s;e living Creatures which have any Power of willing or refu&s;ing, I do not in Na|ture find any thing, which without &s;ome fo|reign Impul&s;e, or the Concurrence of outward Accidents, doth ca&s;t away its Intention and De|&s;ire of &s;ub&s;i&s;ting, and willingly ha&s;ten to De|&s;truction; for every Animal is endowed with that great Principle of Self-pre&s;ervation, and pur&s;ues it, and doth e&s;chew Mi&s;chief and
<PB N="144" REF="89">
Death. But if I, ca&s;ting an Eye upon the Ve|getative World, con&s;ider Herbs and Trees, and other inanimate things, I confe&s;s I am under a doubt, and know not well what to think of them.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But even of the&s;e there is no Cau&s;e that thou &s;hould&s;t doubt; for behold Herbs and Trees fir&s;t choo&s;e a convenient Place to grow in, where their Nature, as much as it can, hin|ders them from withering and peri&s;hing &s;oon; for &s;ome &s;pring in the Fields, others upon Mountains, others ri&s;e in Lakes and Mar&s;hes, o|thers put forth among&s;t the Stones; &s;ome choo&s;e the mo&s;t barren Sands for the Place of their Birth; and all the&s;e, if any Hand &s;hould en|deavour to tran&s;plant them to any other place, would forthwith wither. But Nature gives to every thing that which is agreeable to, and convenient for them, and endeavours that they &s;hould not peri&s;h before their time. Do&s;t thou not know that all Herbs and Trees, as if their Mouths were fa&s;tned downward in the Earth, do draw up their Nouri&s;hment by the Root, and diffu&s;e their Strength and Bark as through their Marrow? And al&s;o that the &s;ofte&s;t and mo&s;t tender Matter, as the Pith or Marrow is, is always laid up in the mo&s;t inward Cabinet, and covered by a &s;trong Coat of Wood; and the uppermo&s;t Garment of Bark is oppo&s;ed to the Storms and Weather, as being fitted be&s;t to endure them? And can&s;t thou not here behold
<PB N="145" REF="89">
and admire the Diligence and Care of Nature, which propagates all things by a Multiplicity of Seeds, which all Men know are as a Foundation for a Building not to remain for a time, but as if it were for ever? And even tho&s;e things which are thought to be inanimate, do not they by the &s;ame Rea&s;on de&s;ire that which properly belongs to them, and to pre&s;erve their Beings? For why &s;hould Levity carry the Flames up|ward, and Gravity make the Earth tend down|wards towards its Centre, but that the&s;e Places and Motions agree with their &s;everal Bodies? Furthermore, what&s;oever is agreeable to the Nature of any thing, that pre&s;erves that thing, as that which hath an Abhorrency from it cor|rupts and de&s;troys it. Now that which is hard, as a Stone, doth mo&s;t tenaciou&s;ly adhere together in all its Parts, and re&s;i&s;ts an ea&s;y Di&s;&s;olution; but what things are liquid or flowing, as Air and Water, yield ea&s;ily to tho&s;e who would &s;eparate them, but &s;oon again return and &s;lide back to tho&s;e things from which they were divided: but Fire doth utterly refu&s;e any &s;uch Divi&s;ion. And now I do not treat of the voluntary Motions of a knowing and di&s;cerning Soul, but of natural Intention and In&s;tinct. Thus we &s;wallow our Meat without thinking of it, and draw our Breath in our Sleep without perceiving it: For the Love of Life is not derived to living Crea|tures from the Inclinations and Bent of their
<PB N="146" REF="90">
Souls, but only from the Principles of Nature; for the Will, often pu&s;hed on by urgent Cau&s;es, affects and imbraces that Death which Nature fears and abhors: And on the contrary, we &s;ee that the Works of Generation, by which alone the Race of Men is propagated, and which Nature always affects, often re&s;trained by the Will. Therefore this Love which every thing beareth to it &s;elf, doth not proceed from the Motions of the Soul, but from the Intentions of Nature: For Providence hath given to all things created by it, this greate&s;t Cau&s;e and Principle of Duration, to wit, a De&s;ire of ex|i&s;ting as long as it can. Therefore doubt not but every Being hath a natural Appetite towards Living, and an Abhorrence of Di&s;&s;olution.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I now confe&s;s that plainly, and without doubting, I &s;ee tho&s;e things which before &s;eem|ed uncertain to me.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>I go on then; What|ever doth de&s;ire to &s;ub&s;i&s;t and endure, doth al&s;o de&s;ire Unity; for if this be taken away, its E&s;|&s;ence is di&s;&s;olved.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>That is mo&s;t true.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Then all things de&s;ire one thing.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I a&s;&s;ent.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But I have before demon&s;trated that that one thing mu&s;t be that which is good.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>You have &s;o.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>All things therefore de|&s;ire Good; which Good you may de&s;cribe to be that which is de&s;ired of all.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Nothing is truer: For either all things mu&s;t be reduced to nothing, and &s;o being de&s;titute of an Head,
<PB N="147" REF="90">
float and rove about without Governance and Order; or if there be any thing to which all things do tend, that mu&s;t be the chief of all Goods.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>I rejoice but too much, O my Pupil; for thou ha&s;t fixed in thy Mind the very middle and manife&s;t Note of Truth: but this thing hath been di&s;covered to thee, becau&s;e a little before thou &s;aid&s;t thou wert ignorant of it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What is that?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thou did&s;t not know what was the End of all things: And this is it which every one de&s;ires. And becau&s;e we have from our former Arguments gathered, that Good is that which is the Subject of all Mens De&s;ires, we mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily confe&s;s that Good is the End of all things.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="XI" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM XI.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Qui&s;quis profunda mente ve&s;tigat verum,</L>
<L>Cupitque nullis ille deviis falli, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></L></Q>
<L>Who into Truth doth deep Re&s;earches make,</L>
<L>And would not in his Que&s;t his way mi&s;take,</L>
<L>Let him into him&s;elf revolve his Eye,</L>
<L>Collect his Thoughts, each Property e&s;py</L>
<L>Of Beings; let him too in&s;truct his Mind,</L>
<L>That what &s;he &s;eeks without &s;he in her &s;elf may find:</L>
<L>Then that which cloudy Error did o'r &s;pread,</L>
<L>Will, like the Sun, exalt its radiant Head.</L>
<L><PB N="148" REF="91" MS="y">For when Oblivion did the Mind invade,</L>
<L>It did not wholly Light exterminate.</L>
<L>The generous Seeds of Truth lie clo&s;e beneath,</L>
<L>And ri&s;e when Learning's gentle <HI>Zephyrs</HI> breath;</L>
<L>El&s;e how could Truth in thy Di&s;cour&s;e appear,</L>
<L>&V;nle&s;s its hidden Principles lay there?</L>
<L>So if what<NOTE N="(m)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Plato</HI> in his <HI>Phaedo</HI> toucheth upon <GAP DESC="foreign"> or Remi|ni&s;cence. It is &s;aid there that <HI>Socrates</HI> had frequently this Saying in his Mouth, <GAP DESC="foreign">; that is, that to learn is no other thing than to remember what had been forgotten before.</NOTE> <HI>Plato</HI>'s Mu&s;e did &s;ing is true,</L>
<L>To learn is but Remembrance to renew.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="XII" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> XII.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>I Now very much a&s;&s;ent to <HI>Plato,</HI> &s;ince this &s;econd time thou ha&s;t brought the&s;e things to my remembrance. At fir&s;t when my Memory was drowned by the contagious Conjunction of my Body with my Soul, and then when I afterwards lo&s;t it in tho&s;e Pre&s;&s;ures of Sorrow under which I laboured.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>If thou wilt a little recollect what thou ha&s;t grant|ed above, thou wilt not be far from remem|bring that thing of which a little before thou did&s;t confe&s;s thy Ignorance.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What thing was that?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>It was, by what Power the U|niver&s;e is governed.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I confe&s;s I did in that
<PB N="149" REF="91">
own my want of Knowledg; but although I have a Pro&s;pect of what thou wilt infer, yet I de&s;ire to hear it made more plain from thy Mouth.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>A little time before thou did&s;t think that there was no Rea&s;on to doubt but that this World was governed by God.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Nor do I think otherwi&s;e now, nor &s;hall I ever think that it ought to be doubted; and I will briefly recount to you the Rea&s;ons which lead me to this Opinion. The differing and contrariant Parts of which this World is compos'd, had ne|ver been brought together into one beautiful Form, without the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of a powerful Hand to join them: And even after &s;uch a Con|junction the di&s;agreeing Qualities of their Na|tures had di&s;&s;ociated the Parts, and ruined the Fabrick, if the &s;ame conjoining Hand had not kept them together: For the Order and Me|thods of Nature could not &s;o certainly proceed, nor produce &s;o regular Motions, di&s;po&s;ed and limited according to Times, Places, Actings, Spaces, and Qualities, unle&s;s there were one remaining, fix'd and immovable Being to me&s;|nage &s;o great Varieties of Change. I give this excellent Being, whatever it is, by which all things created endure, and are actuated and in|formed, the known Denomination of God.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Seeing that thou ha&s;t &s;o right a Sentiment of the&s;e things, there is but little more to be done now that thou may&s;t once more be happy
<PB N="150" REF="92">
and &s;afe, and that thou may&s;t revi&s;it thy own Countrey: But let us reflect a little upon what we have before propo&s;ed. Have not we agreed that Sufficiency is of the Nature of true Happine&s;s? And have we not granted that God is that true Happine&s;s?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>We have.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And that towards the Government of this World he &s;hall need no Helps or foreign In&s;truments? for if he &s;hould, he &s;hould not then be &s;elf-&s;uffici|ent.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>That nece&s;&s;arily follows.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>There|fore by him&s;elf alone he di&s;po&s;eth of all things.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>It cannot be denied.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And I have &s;hew|ed that God is the real Good.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I remem|ber it well.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>By that Good then doth he order every thing, becau&s;e he governs all things by him&s;elf, whom we have granted to be the Sovereign Good; and he is that great and cer|tain Rule and Method of Government which keeps the Machine of the World together, gi|ving it Stability, and pre&s;erving it from Cor|ruption.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I entirely agree to this, and I did fore&s;ee before that this was it which thou wert about to &s;ay.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>I believe it; and now I be|lieve thy Eyes are more intent upon the&s;e great Truths. But what I &s;hall &s;ay is not le&s;s open to thy View.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What is that.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Since God is rightly believed to govern all things by his Goodne&s;s, and all tho&s;e things, as I have be|fore taught, to ha&s;ten by a natural Bent and In|tention towards Good, can it be doubted but
<PB N="151" REF="92">
that they voluntarily &s;ubmit to his Govern|ment, and that of their own Accord they wil|lingly comply with, and yield up them&s;elves to him their Ruler?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>That mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be, otherwi&s;e the Government could not &s;ub&s;i&s;t: if People were &s;uffered to draw different ways, there would be no Safety for tho&s;e who obey.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Is there any Being then, which follows the Dictates of Nature, that endeavours to go con|trary to the Laws of God?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No &s;urely.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But if there &s;hould be &s;o prepo&s;trous an one, &s;hall it ever be able to prevail again&s;t him, whom by the Right of true Happine&s;s we have granted to be mo&s;t powerful?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>If there were &s;uch an one, certainly it could never prevail.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Then there is nothing that either will or can re&s;i&s;t this Sovereign Good.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I think in|deed there is nothing.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>It is then the Sove|reign Good which ruleth all things powerfully, and di&s;po&s;eth them &s;oftly and harmoniou&s;ly.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>How am I delighted not only with this Sum and Conclu&s;ion of thy Rea&s;ons and Argu|ments, but much more al&s;o with thy very Words! &s;o that at length tho&s;e wicked People who impiou&s;ly have reprehended the Govern|ment of God, may blu&s;h and be a&s;hamed of their Folly.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thou ha&s;t read, among&s;t the Mythologi&s;ts, the Story of the Giants who &s;tormed Heaven; but the Divine Arms, ac|cording to their Demerits, repell'd and pu|ni&s;hed
<PB N="152" REF="93">
them: But wilt thou now that we com|mit and compare our Rea&s;ons together? Per|haps by &s;o doing &s;ome clear Spark of Truth may break out.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Do as it plea&s;eth thee.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>No Body then will doubt but that God is Omnipotent.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No Man in his Sen&s;es doubt|eth of that.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And that there is nothing which he who is Almighty cannot do.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No|thing &s;urely.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Can God then do Evil?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Is Evil nothing? &s;ince he can|not do it who can do all things.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Do&s;t thou play with me, leading me by thy Rea&s;ons into an inextricable Labyrinth, which &s;ometimes thou entre&s;t where thou goe&s;t out, and &s;ome|times thou goe&s;t out where thou entre&s;t? Do&s;t thou endeavour then to amu&s;e me by thy intri|cate Rea&s;onings, enclo&s;ing me in a wonderful Circle of Divine Simplicity? For a little be|fore, beginning at Happine&s;s, thou did&s;t de|clare it to be the Sovereign Good, and that it did re&s;ide in God; then that God him&s;elf was that Good, and the Fulne&s;s of Happine&s;s: And hence thou did&s;t infer, and give to me as a Mark of thy Bounty, that no Body could be happy, unle&s;s he were God. Again thou &s;aid&s;t, that the very Form of Good was the Sub&s;tance of God and Happine&s;s; and did&s;t teach that that was the only genuine Good which was de|&s;ired by all things in Nature. Thou further did&s;t argue and demon&s;trate, that God by his
<PB N="153" REF="93">
Goodne&s;s did govern the World, and that all things willingly obeyed him, and that Evil had not any Nature and Exi&s;tence which might be properly &s;o called: and the&s;e things thou did&s;t explain by no &s;trained or far-fetch'd Rea&s;ons, but by &s;trong and natural Truths, one thing &s;till confirming and verifying another.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>I have not deluded thee, for by the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of God, for which we lately prayed, we have run through our chief Work: For &s;uch is the Nature and Form of the Divine Sub&s;tance, that it neither communicates it &s;elf to foreign things, nor receives &s;uch into its own Nature; but, as <HI>Parmenides</HI> &s;aith of it,
<Q><L><GAP DESC="foreign">.</L>
<L>God is like to a Sphere which is every way round.</L></Q></P>
<P>He rolleth the moving Globe of the World, whil&s;t him&s;elf remains immovable: And if I have not drawn my Rea&s;ons from things with|out, but tho&s;e within the Compa&s;s of my Sub|ject, wonder not at it; for as <HI>Plato</HI> before hath taught us, there ought to be a Con&s;onancy and Alliance betwixt the Word and Matter which we handle.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="XII" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="154" REF="94" MS="y">
<HEAD>METRUM XII.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Felix qui potuit Boni</L>
<L>Fontem vi&s;ere lucidum, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>Too happy were that Mortal who</L>
<L>The lucid Springs of Truth could view!</L>
<L>Ah too too happy would he be,</L>
<L>Who from Earth's Bonds him&s;elf could free!</L>
<L>Though the<NOTE N="(n)" PLACE="foot"><HI>The Threician Poet]</HI> was <HI>Orpheus</HI> the Son of <HI>Apollo</HI> and <HI>Ca|liope:</HI> he received his Harp either from <HI>Apollo</HI> or <HI>Mercury,</HI> and was &s;aid to play &s;o charmingly, that the Woods and Stones moved, that the Floods &s;topp'd their Cour&s;e when he plaid, and the wild Bea&s;ts, by the Sweetne&s;s of his Notes, were made more mild and tame. He had a Wife named <HI>Euridice,</HI> who whil&s;t &s;he fled through a Wood from <HI>Ari&s;teus,</HI> (who was in love with her, and pur&s;ued her) was bitten by a Serpent, and died. The &s;ad Acci|dent did &s;o much affect <HI>Orpheus,</HI> that he went to the infernal Shades, and with the Sweetne&s;s of his Notes did &s;o charm <HI>Pluto,</HI> that he re&s;tored to him his Wife, but upon this condition, that he &s;hould not look upon her till he did reach the higher Regions; but <HI>Orpheus</HI> his Love not permitting him to ob&s;erve this condition, <HI>Euridice</HI> died again, and de&s;cended to the Place which &s;he had &s;o lately left. The Moral of this Fable is, that <HI>Orpheus,</HI> by the Ci|vility of his Manners, and the Goodne&s;s of his Temper and Exam|ple, did civilize the barbarous People of <HI>Thrace.</HI></NOTE> Threician Poet's Song</L>
<L>Did make the Woods about him throng;</L>
<L>Though the light Touches of his Hand</L>
<L>Did make the rolling Rivers &s;tand,</L>
<L><PB N="155" REF="94">And made the Hind fearle&s;s abide</L>
<L>Clo&s;e by the Lion's cruel Side;</L>
<L>And made the timerous Hare not fear</L>
<L>Before the keener Hound t' appear;</L>
<L>Yet when the warmer Fires of Love</L>
<L>About his Brea&s;t did briskly move,</L>
<L>Tho&s;e Numbers which did all things tame</L>
<L>Could not a&s;&s;wage their Ma&s;ter's Flame.</L>
<L>He of the Gods above complain'd,</L>
<L>And to the Shades he did de&s;cend:</L>
<L>There he did &s;trike his tuneful Strings,</L>
<L>And with his choice&s;t Art he &s;ings,</L>
<L>Whil&s;t weeping out whatever he</L>
<L>Had learned from fair <HI>Caliope,</HI></L>
<L>What Grief could dictate, or what Love,</L>
<L>All that th' infernal Powers could move,</L>
<L>He draws his dolorous Song t' improve,</L>
<L>Whil&s;t he tho&s;e Deities doth implore</L>
<L>His dead <HI>Euridice</HI> to re&s;tore.</L>
<L>The<NOTE N="(o)" PLACE="foot"><HI>The three-jaw'd Porter.] Cerberus,</HI> a Dog feigned by the Poets to have three Heads, and to keep the Gates of Hell.</NOTE> three-jaw'd Porter, grim and fierce,</L>
<L>Struck with the Glories of his Ver&s;e,</L>
<L>Did &s;tand amaz'd: the Furies who</L>
<L>Torment the guilty Souls below,</L>
<L>Did weep, and Tears down their Cheeks did flow.</L>
<L><PB N="156" REF="95"><NOTE N="(p)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Ixion.]</HI> He was Father of the Centaurs; he &s;lew his Father-in-law: <HI>Jupiter</HI> took him up into Heaven, where he would have ravi&s;hed <HI>Juno;</HI> which being known to <HI>Jupiter,</HI> he put a Cloud in the Place of <HI>Juno,</HI> in her Shape, of which the Centaurs were be|gotten: and being thrown down to the Earth again, for boa&s;ting that he had lain with <HI>Juno, Jupiter</HI> ca&s;t him into Hell, where he was fa&s;tned to a Wheel, with which he was turned about conti|nually. <Q>Volvitur Ixion, &amp; &s;e &s;equitur&abque; fugitq. <HI>Ovid. Metam.</HI></Q></NOTE> <HI>Ixion</HI> now no more did reel</L>
<L>&V;nder the Motion of his Wheel,</L>
<L>Whil&s;t thir&s;ty<NOTE N="(q)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Tantalus.]</HI> He was the Son of <HI>Jupiter</HI> and <HI>Plota</HI> the Nymph, and Grandfather to <HI>Agamemnon</HI> and <HI>Menelaus.</HI> He once entertain|ing the Gods, to make a Trial of their Power, did dre&s;s and &s;erve up to the Fea&s;t his Son <HI>Pelops;</HI> which Fact was &s;o abhorred by the Gods, that for his Puni&s;hment he was &s;et in Water up to the Chin, and Apples touched his Mouth, yet he had not Power to &s;toop to quench his Thir&s;t, nor to take tho&s;e Apples to &s;atisfy his Hunger.</NOTE> <HI>Tantalus</HI> did &s;hun</L>
<L>The River which did by him run:</L>
<L>And the<NOTE N="(r)" PLACE="foot"><HI>The charm'd Vulture.] Tityus</HI> was a Giant. When <HI>Jupiter</HI> had lain with his Mother <HI>Elara,</HI> for fear of <HI>Juno</HI> he put her into a Cave till &s;he was delivered of her Son <HI>Tityus;</HI> but when he was at Age, <HI>Juno,</HI> to revenge her &s;elf, per&s;waded him to ravi&s;h <HI>Latona;</HI> which he attempting, <HI>Jupiter</HI> &s;truck him dead with a Thunder|bolt, and &s;ent him to Hell, where a Vultur feeds upon his Liver, which groweth with the Moon.</NOTE> charm'd Vulture now no more</L>
<L>The growing Liver did devour.</L>
<L>At length the infernal Judg cry'd out,</L>
<L>We are o'rcome; he now hath bought,</L>
<L>At the Expence of Ver&s;e, his Wife,</L>
<L>Therefore &s;he &s;hall return to Life:</L>
<L><PB N="157" REF="95">Yet this Injunction I will lay</L>
<L>&V;pon him, whil&s;t he's on his way,</L>
<L>That he his Eyes &s;han't backward ca&s;t</L>
<L>Till the infernal Bounds are pa&s;t.</L>
<L>But who, alas! can give a Law</L>
<L>Which Lovers and their God &s;hall awe?</L>
<L>Since Love to its own Law's confin'd,</L>
<L>Which doth its Maker firmly bind:</L>
<L>For having left the Realm of Night,</L>
<L>And almo&s;t reach'd the Land of Light,</L>
<L><HI>Orpheus</HI> him&s;elf did turn to &s;ee</L>
<L>His too much-lov'd <HI>Euridice,</HI></L>
<L>Lo&s;t by his fatal Curio&s;ity.</L>
<L>This Fable doth belong to you</L>
<L>Who&s;e Minds the Sovereign Good would view;</L>
<L>For he who all his Thoughts doth throw,</L>
<L>And fix on things terrene and low,</L>
<L>The Noble Good mu&s;t &s;urely leave,</L>
<L>Which from above he did receive.</L>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>The End of the Third Book.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="book">
<PB N="158" REF="96">
<HEAD>ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS BOETIUS, OF THE Con&s;olation of Philo&s;ophy. BOOK the Fourth.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<HEAD>The ARGUMENT.</HEAD>
<P>Philo&s;ophy teacheth <HI>Boetius,</HI> who wondered why evil things happen to the good, and good things to evil Men, that the good are powerful, and the other impotent; that Rewards are ap|pointed for tho&s;e, and Puni&s;hments for them; that impious Men are more mi&s;erable, if they do Injuries and remain unpuni&s;hed. Af|terwards &s;he defines what Providence is, and what Fate. Then &s;he demon&s;trates, that all Fortune, whether pro&s;perous or adver&s;e, is good.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="I" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="159" REF="96">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> I.</HEAD>
<P>WHen Philo&s;ophy, pre&s;erving the Dig|nity and the Gravity of her Coun|tenance, had in &s;oft and &s;weet Strains &s;ung the&s;e things, I not having wholly forgot my Grief, and the Di&s;temper of my Mind remaining, did thus interrupt her, being now ready to have continued her Di&s;cour&s;e. Tho&s;e things, O thou Fore-runner and Giver of the true Light! which thou ha&s;t hitherto deli|vered, are evidently clear and unan&s;werable, as well from that Divine Te&s;timony which they bear about them, as from thy irrefragable Rea&s;ons: and although I had forgotten them, through the Prevalency of Grief for the many Injuries which I have endured, yet, as thou ha&s;t &s;aid, I was not wholly ignorant of them: But this one thing, I mu&s;t own, is the greate&s;t Cau&s;e of my Sorrow, to wit, that whil&s;t there is one good Ruler of all things, there &s;hould be any Evil at all, or at the lea&s;t, that it &s;hould pa&s;s unpuni&s;hed. And how worthy this is of Admiration thou may&s;t con&s;ider. To this al&s;o another greater Mi&s;chief is adjoined: For whil&s;t Impiety doth bear Command and flouri&s;h, Vertue doth not only want its Re|ward, but is al&s;o trampled upon by wicked
<PB N="160" REF="97" MS="y">
Men, and bears the Puni&s;hment due to its Ene|my. No Man therefore can enough wonder and complain that Affairs &s;hould move &s;o un|der the Governance of a God all-knowing, al|mighty, and willing nothing but what is the be&s;t. And it would indeed, returned &s;he, be a thing not only of infinite Wonder, but al&s;o horribly mon&s;trous, if in the well-regulated Fa|mily of &s;o great a Ma&s;ter, the worthle&s;s Ve&s;|&s;els, as thou imagine&s;t, &s;hould be honoured, and the more pretious ones be de&s;pi&s;ed: But thou art mi&s;taken, it is not truly &s;o: For if the&s;e Conclu&s;ions which I have drawn be a lit|tle re&s;erved entire, thou &s;halt well know by the Authority of God, of who&s;e Reign and Government I now &s;peak, that the Good are always powerful and mighty, the evil Men ever Ca&s;t-aways and weak; that Vice never pa&s;&s;eth without its Puni&s;hment, nor Vertue without its Rewards; that Happine&s;s always attends good Men, and Misfortunes the wick|ed. The&s;e and many other things of this kind &s;hall be proved to thee, which may put an end to thy Complaints, and &s;trengthen thee with all Firmne&s;s and Solidity. And becau&s;e I have lately &s;hewn to thee, with a full Face, the Fi|gure of true Happine&s;s, and al&s;o in what it is placed, and all things being run through which I think nece&s;&s;ary to be premi&s;ed, I &s;hall now chalk out to thee that direct way which will
<PB N="161" REF="97">
lead thee again to thy own Habitation. I will al&s;o affix Wings to thy Mind, by which it may rai&s;e it &s;elf on high, that &s;o all Trouble being done away, and all Ob&s;tacles remov'd, thou may&s;t by my Direction, by my Way, by my Conveniences of travelling, return &s;afe into thy own Country.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="I" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM I.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Sunt etenim pennae volucres mihi</L>
<L>Quae cel&s;a con&s;cendant Poli, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>For I have nimble Wings which can</L>
<L>Tran&s;cend the Polar Height;</L>
<L>Which when the &s;wifter Mind puts on,</L>
<L>She from the hated Earth doth take her Flight:</L>
<L>Above the<NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="foot"><HI>The Globe of Air.]</HI> The Air is defined by its own Bounds; and becau&s;e it is &s;o diffu&s;ed that it &s;urrounds the Globe of Earth on all its Parts, it is called by our Philo&s;opher <HI>Aeris Globus.</HI></NOTE>Globe of Air doth go,</L>
<L>And leaves the Clouds below.</L>
<L>Above that Region &s;he doth fly,</L>
<L>In which<NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Perpetual Flames.]</HI> Here, it is &s;uppo&s;ed, is meant no other thing than that part of the <HI>Aether</HI> which is called by <HI>Cicero,</HI> in his Book <HI>de Nat. Deor. Ardor ultimus, e&s;t&abque; tenuis, ac perlucens, &amp; aequa|bili calore &s;uffu&s;us:</HI> where the <HI>Vertex</HI> or top of the <HI>Aether</HI> being con|&s;idered, the Mind being carried higher, doth contemplate fir&s;t the Planets which are placed below the Sun, as <HI>Venus, Mercury,</HI> and the <HI>Moon;</HI> then the Sun it &s;elf, then tho&s;e which move in Orbs higher than the Sun, as <HI>Saturn, Jupiter</HI> and <HI>Mars;</HI> then the Fixed Stars, and then God him&s;elf.</NOTE> perpetual Flames appear,</L>
<L>(Which gently warm the Sky)</L>
<L>Caus'd by the Motion of the rolling Sphere:</L>
<L><PB N="162" REF="98">And till &s;he reach tho&s;e Spheres, &s;he doth not &s;tay,</L>
<L>Which Stars adorn, but with the Sun's will join her way.</L>
<L>Or el&s;e along by<NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Saturnus.]</HI> He is here called <HI>Gelidus Senex,</HI> the cold old Man: <HI>Senex,</HI> becau&s;e the Poets feigned him to be the mo&s;t antient of the Gods, and becau&s;e his Motion is &s;low, like that of an old Man. He is &s;aid al&s;o to be <HI>gelidus,</HI> becau&s;e he being the highe&s;t of all the Planets, doth give the lea&s;t Heat and Refre&s;hment to the Earth.</NOTE> aged <HI>Saturn</HI>'s &s;ide,</L>
<L>Or as a<NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="foot"><HI>A Souldier.] Miles Coru&s;ci Sideris.</HI> The Mind then con|templates <HI>Mars,</HI> another Planet below <HI>Saturn</HI> and above the Sun, and is here called his Souldier, becau&s;e <HI>Mars</HI> was <HI>by the Antients</HI> called the God of War; and tho&s;e who accompanied him were called his Souldiers. He is called <HI>Coru&s;cum Sidus,</HI> the bright or &s;hining Star, becau&s;e he &s;hines more bright than <HI>Saturn.</HI></NOTE> Souldier with &s;tern <HI>Mars</HI> &s;he'll ride:</L>
<L>Through every Sphere &s;he runs, where Night</L>
<L>Mo&s;t cloudle&s;s is, and bright.</L>
<L>And when this &s;patious Cour&s;e is run,</L>
<L>She to the outmo&s;t Sphere doth come,</L>
<L>And doth its Limits pa&s;s,</L>
<L>And then the Convex back &s;he'll pre&s;s</L>
<L>Of the &s;wift Aether, then &s;he'll be</L>
<L>Prepar'd th'<NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Empyrean.]</HI> This is the <HI>Coelum Empyraeum &s;ive Beatorum,</HI> the highe&s;t Heaven, where is &s;uppo&s;ed to be the Pre&s;ence of God, Angels, and of ble&s;&s;ed Spirits departed.</NOTE> Empyrean Source of Light to &s;ee.</L>
<L>Here the Great King his mighty Scepter bears,</L>
<L>And holds the Reins of th' &V;niver&s;e:</L>
<L>Here the great Judg in &s;hining Robes doth &s;tand,</L>
<L>And firm his moving Chariot doth command.</L>
<L>If wandring long, at length thou &s;halt arrive</L>
<L>At this ble&s;s'd Place, thou then wilt &s;oon perceive</L>
<L><PB N="163" REF="98">The Country which thou long ha&s;t left, and &s;ay,</L>
<L>From hence I &s;prung, and here I'll gladly &s;tay.</L>
<L>If looking then beneath the Realms of Light,</L>
<L>Thou once again would&s;t view Earth's di&s;mal Night,</L>
<L>Thou'lt &s;ee tho&s;e Tyrants whom the People dread,</L>
<L>Far from tho&s;e &s;hining Borders bani&s;hed.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="II" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> II.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>O Wonderfull thou promi&s;e&s;t great things indeed! nor do I doubt but thou can&s;t perform them: therefore I intreat thee, without delay, to &s;atisfy my Expectati|on.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Fir&s;t then thou &s;halt know that ver|tuous Men are always armed with Power, and that the wicked are always de&s;titute of Strength; and the&s;e A&s;&s;ertions do mutually de|mon&s;trate each other: For &s;ince Good and E|vil are contrary, if Good be powerful, Evil mu&s;t be weak and frail; and if thou knowe&s;t the Frailne&s;s of Evil, the Firmne&s;s of Good mu&s;t al&s;o be known to thee. But that the Credit and Truth of my Opinion may appear more abundantly, I will proceed in both ways, confirming what is propo&s;ed now on this, now on that part. There are two Poles upon which all humane Actions do turn, that is to &s;ay, the Will and Power; if either of the&s;e be ab&s;ent, nothing can be done: For the Will being want|ing,
<PB N="164" REF="99">
no Man attempts to do that which he will not do; and if Power faileth, the Will is of no Effect. Hence it is, that if thou &s;ee&s;t any Man de&s;irous to obtain that which he doth not com|pa&s;s, thou need&s;t not doubt but he wanted the Power of obtaining that which he would have.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>That's clear, nor can it be denied.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Whom then thou &s;ee&s;t do that which he had a mind to do, can&s;t thou doubt that he had a Power to do it?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No &s;urely.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And in that a Man is able to do a thing, Men e&s;teem him mighty; and in that he is not able, he is looked upon as weak.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I confe&s;s it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Do&s;t thou remember then that it was collected from former Rea&s;ons; that every Intention of Man's Will, however actuated by different Studies, doth ha&s;ten towards Happine&s;s?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I remem|ber well that that was demon&s;trated.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Can&s;t thou call to mind that it hath been &s;hewed, that Happine&s;s is the Sovereign Good, and that when Happine&s;s is &s;ought for, Good is de&s;ired of all?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I need not call it to mind, becau&s;e it is al|ways fixed in my Memory.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>All Men then, the good as well as the bad, with one and the &s;ame Intention, endeavour to arrive at Good.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>It naturally follows.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And it is certain when Men have obtained Good, they are made good.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>It is mo&s;t certain.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Do good Men obtain then what they de&s;ire?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>It &s;eems &s;o.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But if evil Men obtain
<PB N="165" REF="99">
the Good which they de&s;ire, they may not &s;till be evil?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>So it is.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Since therefore then both Parties are in que&s;t of Good, but the&s;e only obtain it and the other lo&s;e it, it is not at all to be doubted but that good Men are powerful, and the wicked weak and feeble.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Whoever doubts of this, does neither rightly con&s;ider the Nature of things, nor under&s;tand the Con&s;equences of Rea&s;oning.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Again, if there be two, who, according to Nature, propo&s;e to them&s;elves the &s;ame thing, and one of them acts naturally, and performs his Intention, but the other cannot admini&s;ter the natural Office, but imitates him by another Method than what is agreeable to Nature, who did accompli&s;h his Purpo&s;e, yet this Man doth not attain his End; which of the&s;e do&s;t thou judg to be mo&s;t powerful?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Although I gue&s;s at what thou &s;ay&s;t, yet I de&s;ire thou would&s;t further explain thy &s;elf.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thou wilt not deny but the Motion of Walking is natural to Men?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No, I cannot.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And thou doubte&s;t not, but to perform this Motion is the natural Office of the Feet?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Nor will I deny it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>If then he who is able to u&s;e his Feet walks, and if another to whom this natural Office of the Feet is wanting, creeping upon his Hands, doth endeavour to walk, which of the&s;e, by right, ought to be e&s;teemed more able?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Proceed with what remains; for no
<PB N="166" REF="100">
one doubteth but he who is able to move natu|rally upon his Feet, is more powerful than he who cannot.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But the Sovereign Good, which even the Vertuous and Impious propo&s;e to them&s;elves as their End, by the one Party is &s;ought by the natural means of Vertue, whil&s;t the other endeavours after it by various and dif|fering De&s;ires of earthly things, which is not the natural way of obtaining it; do&s;t thou think otherwi&s;e?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No; for the Con&s;equence is plain, and it appears out of that which before I granted, which was, that the Good were en|dowed with Power and Might, and that the evil Men were de&s;titute of it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thou do&s;t rightly run before me; and it is a good Sign, as Phy&s;icians ob&s;erve, when Nature exerts her &s;elf, and re&s;i&s;ts the Malady. But becau&s;e I perceive thou art quick of Apprehen&s;ion, and ready to under&s;tand, I &s;hall continue to thee my Rea&s;ons: Behold then how plainly the In|firmity and Weakne&s;s of vitious Men lies open, who cannot even attain to that to which their natural Intention leads them, and which it al|mo&s;t compels them to &s;eek. And what do&s;t thou think would become of the&s;e Men, if they were de&s;erted by this almo&s;t unconquera|ble Bent and Help of Nature, which always goes before them? Con&s;ider with thy &s;elf how great the Impotence of wicked Men is: Nor are they &s;light and empty things to which they
<PB N="167" REF="100">
a&s;pire, and which they have not Power to ob|tain: But they attempt the chief and highe&s;t of all things, and there they fail; nor can bring that to effect after which they by Day and Night endeavour; and in the obtaining of which the Might of the Vertuous is eminent. For as thou may&s;t deem him a good Walker, who hath been able to go &s;o far on his Feet, that no way doth lie beyond the Place at which he is arrived; &s;o mu&s;t thou nece&s;&s;arily judg him to be mo&s;t mighty, who hath attained that thing beyond which nothing is to be de&s;ired. True then it is, that wicked Men are wholly de&s;titute of tho&s;e Powers which the Good am|ply po&s;&s;e&s;s: For why do they leave Vertue and pur&s;ue Vice? Is it becau&s;e they know not Good? But what is more weak and ba&s;e than the Blindne&s;s of Ignorance? or are they per|haps acquainted with the way which they ought to follow? But Lu&s;t, or &s;ome inordinate De&s;ires do lead them a&s;ide; &s;o doth al&s;o Intem|perance to weak Natures, which cannot re&s;i&s;t Vice. But do they knowingly and willingly de&s;ert Good, and turn to Evil? But this way they do not only cea&s;e to be mighty, but al&s;o even to be. For tho&s;e who neglect the com|mon End of all Beings, do al&s;o leave off to be. Which thing perhaps to &s;ome may &s;eem won|derful, that the Vitious, who make up the mo&s;t numerous Part of Mankind, &s;hould not
<PB N="168" REF="101">
be Men; but it is mo&s;t truly &s;o. And thus it is. I do not deny but that the Wicked are wicked; but that they have any Being, pure|ly and &s;imply, I deny: For as thou may&s;t call a Carca&s;e a dead Man, but &s;imply thou can&s;t not call it a Man; &s;o will I grant that the Viti|ous are vitious Men, but ab&s;olutely that they exi&s;t I cannot confe&s;s. That thing is or hath a Being which ob&s;erveth its Order, and retains its Nature; but that which faileth in this, de&s;erteth its natural Being. But thou may&s;t &s;ay, that even the Wicked have a Power to act: Nor will I deny it; but this their Power is not de|rived from Strength but Weakne&s;s. They can do Evil, 'tis true, but they could not do that if they per&s;evered in doing Good; which Po&s;&s;i|bility doth clearly demon&s;trate that they can do nothing: For if, as we have before gather|ed, Evil be nothing, it is clear that whil&s;t fla|gitious Men can only do ill, they can do no|thing. And that thou may&s;t under&s;tand what is the Bent and Force of this Power, we have before determined that nothing is more power|ful than the Sovereign Good.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>That's true.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And that Sovereign Good can do no ill.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>It can do none.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Is there then any one who thinks that Men can do all things?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No Man &s;urely who is not mad.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But they may do Evil.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I wi&s;h they could not.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Then &s;ince he who can only do Good, can
<PB N="169" REF="101" MS="y">
do all things, and tho&s;e who are powerful to do Evil cannot do all things, it is mo&s;t evident that tho&s;e who do Evil are le&s;s powerful. And yet it further a&s;&s;i&s;ts me towards the proving of what I have &s;hewed, that all Power is to be reckoned among&s;t things to be de&s;ired; and that all things are to be referr'd to the chief Good, as the Height and Eminency of their Nature: But the Power of committing Wick|edne&s;s cannot be referred to that Good; there|fore it is not de&s;irable: but all Power is de&s;ira|ble. It is therefore clear that the Power of do|ing Evil is not Power. Upon the whole Mat|ter, from hence the Power of good Men, and the undoubted Weakne&s;s of evil Men may well appear. Hence al&s;o is the Opinion of <HI>Plato</HI> verified, That only wi&s;e Men can at|tain to that which they de&s;ire, whil&s;t the Wicked, let them endeavour what they will, can never accompli&s;h what they de&s;ire to them|&s;elves, that is, to aim at Happine&s;s; for they do what they li&s;t, whil&s;t by tho&s;e Actions in which they delight, they think they &s;hall ob|tain the Good which they de&s;ire; but they can never be Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors of it, for Impiety can never be crown'd with Happine&s;s.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="II" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="170" REF="102">
<HEAD>METRUM II.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Quos vides &s;edere cel&s;os</L>
<L>Solii Culmine Reges, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>Who the vain Coverings could withdraw</L>
<L>Of Princes cloth'd in Purple, who</L>
<L>Surrounded with their Guards do go,</L>
<L>And from their powerful Thrones give Law:</L>
<L>Who&s;e &s;terner Looks fierce Threatnings wear,</L>
<L>Who&s;e boiling Brea&s;ts doth Fury breath,</L>
<L>Shall find tho&s;e mighty Men beneath</L>
<L>Their Robes, do heavy Fetters bear.</L>
<L>For Lu&s;t on this &s;ide doth infu&s;e</L>
<L>Her Poi&s;ons, on the other Ire</L>
<L>Blows up and &s;ets the Mind on Fire,</L>
<L>Or Grief or Hope doth it amu&s;e.</L>
<L>Since then &s;o many Tyrants have</L>
<L>Over one &s;ingle Head the Sway,</L>
<L>His Actions can't his Will obey,</L>
<L>Who to &s;o many is a Slave.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="III" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> III.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>DOST thou &s;ee then in what a Pud|dle of Filth Impiety doth wallow, and with what Rays of Light Goodne&s;s doth &s;hine out? By which it is clear, that good Men
<PB N="171" REF="102" MS="y">
never go without a Reward, and evil Men without Puni&s;hment; for that which cau&s;es any thing to be undertaken and done, may ju&s;t|ly be &s;aid to be the Reward of that thing which is done; as the Crown which is won is the Reward of him who runs in the Race for it. But we have already &s;hewn that Happi|ne&s;s is that Good for which all Matters are un|dertaken. Therefore Happine&s;s is the Reward propos'd to all humane Actions; and of this the Vertuous can by no means be deprived, nor can any Man by right be called Good who wanteth Goodne&s;s; therefore Vertue can never want its Reward. But however evil Men may be unquiet or rage, yet the Crown &s;hall never fall from the Head of the wi&s;e Man, nor wi|ther upon it. Nor can the Impiety of another Man bereave a worthy Soul of its Honour: But if a Man be carried away by the Enjoy|ment of any foreign Good, he may be deprived even of this, either by him who gave it to him, or by any other. But becau&s;e every Man's proper Good procureth to him his Reward, who&s;oever cea&s;eth to be good lo&s;eth that Re|ward. La&s;tly, &s;ince a Reward is de&s;ired, be|cau&s;e it is &s;uppo&s;ed to be a Good, who will judg him who is capable of Good to be uncapable of a Reward? But thou wilt &s;ay, of what Re|ward is he worthy? Of the faire&s;t, certainly, and mo&s;t con&s;iderable. Call to mind that re|markable
<PB N="172" REF="103">
Corollary, which a little before ga|thered, I gave to thee, and con&s;ider thus: Since the Sovereign Good is Happine&s;s, it ap|pears that all good Men, in that they are good, become happy; and tho&s;e who are good, are as it were Gods. Therefore is the Reward of vertuous Men &s;uch, that no time &s;hall impair it, no Power dimini&s;h it, nor any Impiety darken it. Since the&s;e things then are thus, a wi&s;e Man cannot at all doubt of the Puni&s;h|ment which in&s;eparably attends wicked Men: For &s;ince Good and Evil are Contraries, &s;o are Rewards and Puni&s;hments: therefore as we &s;ee that Rewards follow good Actions, there mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily al&s;o, on the other hand, be the Pu|ni&s;hment for Evil. Then as Vertue it &s;elf is a Reward to vertuous Men, &s;o Vice is a Puni&s;h|ment to the Wicked: whoever then is puni&s;hed with Pain and Unea&s;ine&s;s, it is not to be doubt|ed is affected with Evil. If therefore they will rightly weigh them&s;elves, can they &s;eem to be free from Puni&s;hments, whom Wickedne&s;s, the mo&s;t extreme Evil, doth not only affect, but even vehemently infect? But now behold, on the other hand, what Puni&s;hment attends evil Doers; for thou ha&s;t learnt a little before, that every Being is one, and that that one is Good. Hence it follows, that every thing which is, or hath a Being, &s;eems to be good: What&s;o|ever then fails to be good, fails to be: So that
<PB N="173" REF="103">
it appears that evil Men cea&s;e to be what they were; but the remaining Form of the Body &s;hews that the&s;e evil Men were before how|ever Men; wherefore when they lo&s;e their Vertue, they al&s;o lo&s;e their humane Nature. But &s;ince only Vertue can carry Men above the common Pitch of Humanity, it is &s;ure that tho&s;e whom Vice hath depo&s;ed from the common Condition of Mankind, it mu&s;t al&s;o throw be|low the Merit of Men. Then it happens that you cannot e&s;teem him to be a Man, whom you &s;ee thus transform'd by his Vices. Doth the violent Oppre&s;&s;or, and the Ravi&s;her of other Mens Goods, burn with Avarice? Thou may&s;t &s;ay that he re&s;embles the Wolf. Is he fierce; and doth he give him&s;elf over to Controver&s;ies and Chiding? Thou may&s;t compare him to the Dog. Is he treacherous, and one who delights to deceive? He is then like the young Foxes. Is he intemperate in his Anger? He &s;eems to carry about with him the Fury of the Lion. Is he timorous and fearful of what ought not to be fear'd? He is like the Hart. Is he light, and doth he incon&s;tantly change his Purpo&s;es? He differs nothing from the Birds of the Air. Doth he wallow in filthy and unclean Lu&s;ts? He rolls him&s;elf in the Mire like the na&s;ty Sow. So that who&s;oever leaves off to be vertuous, cea&s;es to be a Man; and &s;ince he cannot attain to a Divine Nature, he is turn'd into a Bea&s;t.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="III" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="174" REF="104">
<HEAD>METRUM III.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Vela Neritii Ducis,</L>
<L>Et vagas pelago rates</L>
<L>Eurus appulit In&s;ulae, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>Whilst he on unknown Seas did widely rove,</L>
<L>The ea&s;tern Winds at length to that I&s;le drove</L>
<L>The wi&s;e<NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Neritian Captain.] &V;ly&s;&s;es,</HI> he was the Son of <HI>Laertes</HI> and <HI>Anticlea,</HI> an eloquent and wi&s;e Captain of the Grecians, who, af|ter the Siege of <HI>Troy</HI> was ended, was driven into many Dangers at Sea, during the Time of ten Years, before he could arrive at <HI>Ithaca,</HI> of which I&s;land he was King, as al&s;o of <HI>Dulichium,</HI> both in the <HI>Ionian</HI> Sea: <Q><L><GAP DESC="foreign"></L>
<L><GAP DESC="foreign">.</L>
<BIBL>Homer. lib. 1. Ody&s;&s;.</BIBL></Q>
<HI>Ithaca</HI> is &s;ituated betwixt <HI>Zephalonia</HI> to the We&s;t, and the <HI>Echina|des</HI> to the Ea&s;t, which I&s;lands are now called by the Italians <HI>Le Curzolari,</HI> and by the French <HI>Les Cur&s;olaires.</HI> The modern Name of <HI>Ithaca</HI> is now, by the Italians, <HI>Valle di Compare,</HI> and its Circuit is not of above twenty Miles. <HI>Dulichium</HI> is one of the <HI>Echinades</HI> I&s;lands, it is very &s;mall, and is rather to be called a Rock, and lies betwixt the Coa&s;t of <HI>Aetolia</HI> and <HI>Zephalonia.</HI> It is now by the Italians called <HI>Dolichio.</HI> He is here called the <HI>Neritian Captain,</HI> from the Mountain <HI>Neritus,</HI> which is a Mountain in <HI>Ithaca,</HI> with which Title he went to the Trojan War.</NOTE> Neritian Captain's wandring Sail,</L>
<L>Where<NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Circe.]</HI> She is &s;aid to have been the Daughter of the Sun and of <HI>Per&s;e</HI> a Nymph, and to have been very skilful in Magick and Sorcery: She was married to the King of the <HI>Sarmatians,</HI> and having poi&s;oned her Husband, &s;he fled to <HI>Italy,</HI> and inhabited a Mountain there, where &s;he led a vitious Life, and entertained her Gue&s;ts with all &s;orts of Debaucheries; therefore &s;he is fabled to have turned Men into Wolves, Tigers, and other &s;orts of Bea&s;ts.
<Q><L>&mdash; Accipimus &s;acr&acirc; data pocula dextr&acirc;,</L>
<L>Quae fimul arenti &s;itientes hau&s;imus ore,</L>
<L>Et tetigit virg&acirc; &s;ummos Dea dira capillos,</L>
<L>Et pudet, &amp; referam, &s;etis horre&s;cere coepi;</L>
<L>Nec jam po&s;&s;e queri; pro verbis edere raucum</L>
<L>Murmur, &amp; in terram toto procumbere vultu,</L>
<L>O&s;que meum &s;en&s;i pando occalle&s;cere ro&s;tro;</L>
<L>Colla tumere toris; &amp; qua modo pocula parte</L>
<L>Sumpta mihi fuerant, ill&acirc; ve&s;tigia &s;eci.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Ovid. Metam. l. 14.</HI></BIBL></Q></NOTE> <HI>Circe</HI> Daughter of the Sun doth dwell;</L>
<L><PB N="175" REF="104">Where, with enchanted Draughts, &s;he entertains</L>
<L>Her new-come Gue&s;ts, &amp; binds them with her Chains.</L>
<L>Whil&s;t into various Forms her Magick Hand</L>
<L>Doth turn tho&s;e Men, and doth all Herbs command;</L>
<L>One the Re&s;emblance of a Boar doth bear,</L>
<L>He the<NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Marmarick.] Marmarica</HI> is a Country of <HI>Africa,</HI> lying towards <HI>Egypt,</HI> where the greate&s;t and &s;tronge&s;t Lions are found, as <HI>India</HI> is the Place where the fierce&s;t Tigers are.
<Q><L>Mille Lupi, mi&s;tique Lupis &V;r&s;ique Leaeque,</L>
<L>Occur&s;u fec&ecirc;re metum: &s;ed nulla timenda,</L>
<L>Nullaque erat no&s;tro factura in corpore vulnus;</L>
<L>Quinetiam blandas movere per acra caudas,</L>
<L>No&s;traque adulantes comitant ve&s;tigia, donec</L>
<L>Excipiunt Famulae. <BIBL><HI>Ovid. Metam. lib. 14. ver. 260.</HI></BIBL></L></Q></NOTE> Marmarick Lion's Paw doth wear,</L>
<L>And like the Wolf another doth appear,</L>
<L>Who, when he would with Tears his Fate lament,</L>
<L>Doth clothe in dreadful Howlings his Complaint:</L>
<L>The Indian Tyger's Looks another &s;hows,</L>
<L>And round the Palace mild and calmly goes:</L>
<L><PB N="176" REF="105">But the<NOTE N="(i)" PLACE="foot"><P><HI>The Arcadian God.]</HI> Our Philo&s;opher &s;tiles <HI>Mercury, Numen Arcadis alitis: Numen</HI> becau&s;e he was feigned to be the Son of <HI>Apollo</HI> and <HI>Maia;</HI> and al&s;o the God of Eloquence. <HI>Ales,</HI> becau&s;e he was feigned to have Wings upon his Head and Feet, becau&s;e Eloquence, over which he was &s;aid to pre&s;ide, takes its Cour&s;e &s;wiftly through the Air, and diffu&s;eth it &s;elf through the World: and <HI>Arcas,</HI> becau&s;e he was born in <HI>Arcadia.</HI> Hence <HI>Virgil. Ae|neid. lib.</HI> 8.</P>
<Q><L>Vobis Mercurius pater e&s;t, quem candida Maia</L>
<L>Cyllenes gelido conceptum vertice fudit.</L></Q>
<P><HI>Mercury</HI> was &s;aid to have given an Herb to <HI>&V;ly&s;&s;es,</HI> after he had run through &s;o many Hazards, and been to&s;s'd upon &s;o many Seas, by the Help of which he was freed from the Charms of <HI>Circe.</HI></P>
<Q><L>Pacifer huic dederat florem Cyllenius album,</L>
<L>Moly vocant Superi; nigr&acirc; radice tenetur.</L>
<L>Tutus eo, moniti&s;que &s;imul coele&s;tibus, intrat</L>
<L>Ille domum Circes, &amp; ad in&s;idio&s;a vocatus</L>
<L>Pocula, conantem virg&acirc; mulcere capillos</L>
<L>Reppulit, &amp; &s;tricto pavidam deterruit en&s;e. <BIBL><HI>Ovid. Metam. lib. 14.</HI></BIBL></L></Q></NOTE> Arcadian God when he had found</L>
<L>His lov'd <HI>Uly&s;&s;es</HI> in the&s;e Fetters bound,</L>
<L>Releas'd him &s;oon from all the&s;e poi&s;onous Harms</L>
<L>Which he deriv'd from the Circean Charms.</L>
<L>Yet had the Mariners ju&s;t now drunk a-cheer,</L>
<L>And into Swine &s;oon metamorphos'd were:</L>
<L>They deeply ta&s;ted of th' infected Bowl,</L>
<L>Drunk with their Fate, about they madly roll;</L>
<L>And now they change their wonted humane Food,</L>
<L>And range about for Acrons in the Wood;</L>
<L>Body and Members lo&s;t, the Voice doth fail,</L>
<L>Only the nobler Mind doth &s;till prevail,</L>
<L>And doth the Sadne&s;s of the Change bewail.</L>
<L><PB N="177" REF="105" MS="y">But O! too weak are <HI>Circe</HI>'s Force and Hand,</L>
<L>Again&s;t who&s;e Power Vertue can bravely &s;tand.</L>
<L>She in her Fortre&s;s plac'd, de&s;pi&s;eth all</L>
<L>The &s;trong Efforts of both. Vice doth enthral</L>
<L>Mens &s;tronge&s;t Powers; and where it entrance finds,</L>
<L>(The Body &s;afe) it wounds the &s;tronge&s;t Minds.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IV" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> IV.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>I Confe&s;s that vitious Men are not un|ju&s;tly called Bea&s;ts, for although they retain the Form and Shapes of an humane Bo|dy, yet the Qualities of their Souls &s;hew them to be changed into them. But I would not have it in the Power of tho&s;e vitious Per|&s;ons, who even rage with a De&s;ire of de&s;troy|ing ju&s;t Men, to do &s;o.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Nor is it in their Power, as &s;hall be &s;hewed in a convenient Place; but if this Power which People think ill Men to have, were taken away from them they would be ea&s;ed of the greate&s;t part of their Puni&s;hment: For it would almo&s;t &s;eem incredible to any one, and it is yet true, that evil Men mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be more unhappy when they have compa&s;&s;ed what they de&s;ire, than when they cannot do &s;o: For if it be a mi&s;erable thing but to have a Will to do an ill thing, it mu&s;t be much wor&s;e to have a Power to do it, without which the wretched De&s;ire
<PB N="178" REF="106">
would langui&s;h without effect. Since then each of the&s;e things hath its Unhappine&s;s, it mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be, that a threefold Misfor|tune mu&s;t urge tho&s;e Men who both will, can, and do commit Wickedne&s;s.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I grant it, but I &s;hould much de&s;ire that evil Men were &s;oon depriv'd of this Misfortune, I mean of the Power of doing ill.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>They &s;hall be di&s;|poil'd of it &s;ooner than perhaps thou would&s;t have them, or than they think they &s;hall: For there is nothing of &s;o late a Beginning within the narrow Bounds of this Life, that can conti|nue long, or expect Immutability; and the great Hopes and &s;ubtle Machinations of ill Men are by a &s;udden and unfore&s;een End ruinated and de&s;troyed; which thing puts an End to their Wickedne&s;s. For if Vice &s;ubjects Men to Mi&s;ery, the longer they are vitious, the longer they mu&s;t be mi&s;erable; whom I &s;hould judg the mo&s;t unhappy of all Beings, if their Unhappine&s;s were not ended at lea&s;t by Death: For if I have made a true Conclu&s;ion concern|ing the Misfortune which attends Impiety, that Mi&s;ery mu&s;t be without end which certainly is Eternal.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>This is a mo&s;t wonderful Con|&s;equence, and difficult to be granted; yet I mu&s;t acknowledg it doth but too much agree with tho&s;e things which we have concluded before.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thou do&s;t rightly judg: but he who thinks it hard to a&s;&s;ent to a Conclu&s;ion, it
<PB N="179" REF="106">
is fit he &s;hould demon&s;trate that the Premi&s;es are untrue, or that from the Collation of the Propo&s;itions a nece&s;&s;ary Conclu&s;ion is not to be drawn; otherwi&s;e if the Premi&s;es be granted, he hath no Rea&s;on to blame the Inference from them: for this which I am now about to &s;ay will not &s;eem le&s;s wonderful, but it nece&s;&s;arily follows from what hath been before propo&s;ed.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What is that?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>That wicked Men are more happy when they are puni&s;hed according to their Demerits, than if they &s;hould e&s;cape the Hand of Ju&s;tice. Nor do I now offer to thee that which every Man can think, that the Manners of ill Men are corrected by Venge|ance, and that by fear of Torment they are re|duced to the right way, and that they are Ex|amples to other Men to fly from things which are blame worthy: but I, after another manner, believe the&s;e Wretches if they e&s;cape Puni&s;h|ment to be unhappy, although no Regard be had to the Correction and Example.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>And what other manner is there be&s;ides tho&s;e above-mentioned?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Have we not granted alrea|dy that the Good are happy, and the Impious mi&s;erable?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>We have.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>If then there be any Addition of Good to any Man's Mi&s;ery, is not he happier than another, who&s;e Mi&s;ery is pure and &s;imple, without the mixture of any manner of Good?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>It &s;eemeth &s;o to be.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>And if to the &s;ame mi&s;erable Per&s;on, who
<PB N="180" REF="107">
wants all manner of Goods to tho&s;e Evils which have already made him mi&s;erable, another &s;hould be annexed, is not he to be e&s;teemed much more unhappy than he who&s;e Misfortune is relieved by the participation of Good?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What will follow then?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Evil Men then, even when they are puni&s;hed, have &s;omething of Good annexed, to wit, the Pu|ni&s;hment it &s;elf, which, as it is the Effect of Ju&s;tice, is good: And there is al&s;o annexed to the &s;ame Per&s;ons, when they go unpuni&s;hed; &s;omething more of Ill, that is to &s;ay, Impunity it &s;elf, which before thou ha&s;t de&s;ervedly granted to be an Evil.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I cannot deny it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Much more unhappy then are impi|ous Wretches when they meet with an unju&s;t Impunity, than when they fall un|der a merited Vengeance. But it is manife&s;t, that nothing can be more ju&s;t than that evil Men &s;hould be puni&s;hed, and unju&s;t than that they &s;hould e&s;cape Puni&s;hment.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Who de|nies it?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Nor will any Man deny but that every thing which is ju&s;t, is good; and on the other hand, what&s;oever is unju&s;t, is ill.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>The&s;e are con&s;equential to our former Conclu&s;ions: But I pray thee tell me, do&s;t thou believe that there are any Puni&s;hments allotted to Souls af|ter the Death of the Bodies?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Great ones mo&s;t certainly; &s;ome of which I believe to be exerci&s;ed and applied by Sharpne&s;s of Pain,
<PB N="181" REF="107" MS="y">
others by a kind of<NOTE N="(k)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Purgative Clemency.]</HI> Here (&s;aith <HI>Vallinus) Boetius</HI> acknow|ledgeth not only as a Chri&s;tian, but as a Catholick one al&s;o, that &s;ome evil Men are condemned to eternal Puni&s;hments; and others, by long Pains and Torments for their Sins, are clean&s;ed and purged by Fire. The French Commentator, the Sieur <HI>Cally,</HI> the Royal Profe&s;&s;or of Eloquence and of Philo&s;ophy in the Univer&s;ity of <HI>Caen</HI> in <HI>Normandy,</HI> and Principal of the College of the Arts there, &s;aith, that Philo&s;ophy would here perhaps expre&s;s the Opinion of the Platoni&s;ts, or of the Pythagoreans, which was, that &s;ome Souls, who&s;e Impieties had been &s;o great that they could not be effaced by any Purgations, were condemned to eternal Puni&s;h|ments; and that others, who&s;e Crimes were not &s;o great, did either enjoy the eternal Plea&s;ures of <HI>Ely&s;ium</HI> without any Purgati|on, or being partly purged, were tran&s;muted and put into the Bo|dies of Bea&s;ts.
<Q><L>Ergo exercentur poenis; veterumque malorum</L>
<L>Supplicia expendunt: aliae panduntur inanes</L>
<L>Su&s;pen&s;ae ad ventos: aliis &s;ub gurgite va&s;to</L>
<L>Infectum eluitur &s;celus, aut exuritur igni:</L>
<L>Qui&s;que &s;uos patimur manes: Exinde per amplum</L>
<L>Mittimur Ely&s;ium, &amp; pauci laeta arva tenemus. <BIBL><HI>Virg. lib. 6. Aeneid.</HI></BIBL></L></Q></NOTE> Purga|tive Clemency:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Purgatoria Clementia.</NOTE> But we will not at this time di&s;cour&s;e of the&s;e. But our Bu&s;ine&s;s hitherto hath been, to let thee &s;ee that the Power which thou did&s;t imagine to be mo&s;t unworthily be&s;towed upon evil Men, is indeed none at all: And al&s;o that thou might&s;t be &s;a|tisfied that evil Men, who as thou did&s;t com|plain went unpuni&s;hed, do never indeed e&s;cape Puni&s;hment: And al&s;o that thou might&s;t learn that that Licence of doing Evil, which thou prayed&s;t might &s;oon end, is not long; and that the Enjoyers would be more unhappy if it were
<PB N="182" REF="108">
longer, and mo&s;t wretched of all if it were perpetual. After this I &s;hewed that ill Men are more unhappy if they be di&s;mi&s;s'd with an unju&s;t Impunity, than if puni&s;h'd with a ju&s;t Revenge. From which Opinion it follows, that then they are urg'd and afflicted with the greate&s;t Puni&s;hments when they are believed to e&s;cape free.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>When I con&s;ider intently thy Rea&s;ons, I think nothing can be &s;aid more truly. But if we look upon the Judgments of Men, who is there to whom the&s;e things &s;eem not only not to be bel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">eved, but al&s;o not to be heard?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>So it is indeed: for they who have long been accu&s;tomed to Darkne&s;s can|not lift up their Eyes to the Light of per&s;pi|cuous Truth without difficulty; and they re|&s;emble tho&s;e Birds which &s;ee well by Night, but are blind in the Day-time: For whil&s;t they do not regard the Order of things, but only their own di&s;ordered Affections, they vainly imagine the Power of doing Evil, or Impunity after it is acted, to be an Happine&s;s. But now, behold what the Law Eternal delivereth! Con|form thy Mind to the be&s;t things, and then thou &s;halt have no need of a Judg to confer up|on thee a Reward, &s;ince thou ha&s;t adjoined thy &s;elf to the mo&s;t excellent things. But if thou art inclined to Impiety, and do&s;t imbrace wick|ed Practices, &s;eek for no Avenger without, for thou ha&s;t &s;orfeited thy Advantages, and a&s;&s;o|ciated
<PB N="183" REF="108">
thy &s;elf with the wor&s;t of things: as if thou &s;hould&s;t by turns &s;ometimes behold the Heavens, &s;ometimes the &s;ordid Earth; and that all other things cea&s;ing from without, thy Eye &s;hould &s;eem to carry thee now above the Stars, and that again thou &s;hould&s;t be placed upon the Earth. But the Multitude doth not con&s;ider this. What then? Shall we put our &s;elves into the Company of tho&s;e which I have before &s;hewed to re&s;emble Bea&s;ts? What wilt thou &s;ay, if a Man who hath quite lo&s;t his Sight, and hath al&s;o forgotten that ever he &s;aw, and &s;hould think that he wants nothing to render him perfect, &s;hould we therefore judg tho&s;e who retain their Sight to be blind al&s;o? Either will the <HI>Many</HI> acquie&s;ce in what I &s;hall &s;ay, al|though it is &s;upported by as firm Rea&s;ons, to wit, that tho&s;e are more unhappy who do, than they who &s;uffer Injuries.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I would wil|lingly hear tho&s;e Rea&s;ons.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Can&s;t thou deny but that all ill Men de&s;erve Puni&s;hment?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No, I cannot.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But I am throughly &s;atisfied that impious Men are many ways un|happy.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Certainly they are &s;o.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Then thou doubte&s;t not that tho&s;e who de&s;erve Pu|ni&s;hment are mi&s;erable.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I agree.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>If therefore thou wert to be Judg, to which do&s;t thou think thou would&s;t adjudg Puni&s;hment, to him who hath done, or to him who hath &s;uf|fered the Injury?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I doubt not but that I
<PB N="184" REF="109">
&s;hould adjudg Satisfaction to the Sufferer, by puni&s;hing the Doer of Wrong.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>The in|juring Per&s;on then would &s;eem more mi&s;erable to thee than him who had receiv'd the Wrong.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>That follows.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>From this then, and from &s;everal other Rea&s;ons founded on the &s;ame bottom, it appears, that Impiety, properly and by its own Nature, makes Men mi&s;erable; and that an Injury done to any Man is the Mi&s;ery of the Doer, and not of the Sufferer. But now Orators and Advocates run a Cour&s;e contrary to this: For they endeavour the Pity and Com|pa&s;&s;ion of the Judges for tho&s;e who &s;uffered any thing bitter or grievous, when the ju&s;ter Pity is due to them who did the Wrong; who &s;hould be led to Judgment, as the Sick are to the Phy&s;ician, not by angry but by merciful and compa&s;&s;ionate Accu&s;ers; that &s;o they may, by the Application of Puni&s;hment, as a fit and proper Remedy, be cured of the Malady of the Crime. By this means the Employment of this kind of Defenders would either wholly cea&s;e, or el&s;e, that it may be more to the Ad|vantage of Mankind, it would be turned into an Habit of Accu&s;ation, and would always be forward to accu&s;e, and not to excu&s;e ill Men: and even tho&s;e Wretches them&s;elves, if they could through the lea&s;t Hole or Chink behold that Vertue which they have for&s;aken, and &s;ee that they &s;hould be in &s;ome way of clean&s;ing
<PB N="185" REF="109" MS="y">
them&s;elves from their filthy Vices, by receiving the Pains and Torments which are due to them, they ought, for the Recompence of regaining the Vertue from which they have fallen, not to e&s;teem them &s;o, but &s;hould chearfully refu&s;e the Defence of their Advocates, and give them|&s;elves up wholly to their Accu&s;ers and Judges. Hence it is that the Wi&s;e hate no Body&punc; For who but the mo&s;t fooli&s;h would hate good Men? and it is irrational to hate the mo&s;t pro|fligate: For if a depraved Temper be, as it were, the Sickne&s;s of the Soul, &s;ince we do not think tho&s;e who&s;e Bodies are di&s;tempered to be worthy of our Hate, but rather of our Compa&s;&s;ion, much le&s;s are tho&s;e over whom Vice, more cruel than any bodily Di&s;temper, hath gain'd the A&s;cendant to be adjudged &s;o, but are rather to be looked upon as Subjects of our Pity.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IV" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM IV.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Quid tantos juvat excitare motus,</L>
<L>Et propria fatum &s;ollicitare manu? &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>Why &s;hould vain Man &s;o great Commotions rai&s;e?</L>
<L>Why with his Hand &s;hould he his Fate convey?</L>
<L>If Death be &s;ought, that comes, and never &s;tays</L>
<L>For winged Steeds to help it on its way,</L>
<L><PB N="186" REF="110">They whom the Lion and the rugged Bear,</L>
<L>The Indian Tiger, and the foaming Boar,</L>
<L>With eager Teeth, and with arm'd Claws do tear,</L>
<L>Do &s;tain their Swords in their own reeking Gore.</L>
<L>Is it becau&s;e their Manners diff'ring are,</L>
<L>And that their many Cu&s;toms di&s;agree,</L>
<L>That they unju&s;tly thus engage in War,</L>
<L>And fiercely urge each others De&s;tiny?</L>
<L>This Rea&s;on is not ju&s;t for &s;hedding Blood.</L>
<L>Would&s;t thou to each Man give what he de&s;erves;</L>
<L>Love, as by Right thou art oblig'd, the Good,</L>
<L>And pity him who from fair Vertue &s;werves.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="V" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> V.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>HERE I plainly &s;ee what Happine&s;s or Mi&s;ery is placed in the De&s;erts of good and of evil Men. But in this &s;ame com|mon E&s;tate of Fortune I perceive &s;omething both of Good and Evil: For no wi&s;e Man had rather be expos'd to Bani&s;hment, Poverty, and Ignominy, than excel in Riches, Honours, Pow|er, and continue in a flouri&s;hing E&s;tate in his own Country. For in this the more clearly and openly the Duty of Wi&s;dom doth appear, when the Happine&s;s of the Governours is in &s;ome mea&s;ure diffu&s;ed, and communicated to Subjects; whil&s;t Impri&s;onment, and all legal Puni&s;hments are only due to tho&s;e pernicious
<PB N="187" REF="110">
and profligate Citizens, for whom they were at fir&s;t in&s;tituted and appointed. Why then &s;hould things &s;uffer &s;o unnatural a Change? Why &s;hould Puni&s;hments due to Crimes, op|pre&s;s the Good, and the Rewards of Vertue be born only by wicked and flagitious Men? The&s;e things I much wonder at, and I de&s;ire to learn from thee what may be the Rea&s;on of &s;o unju&s;t a Di&s;tribution. For my Wonder would be le&s;s, did I believe all things to be governed by Chance. But now even God, the Governour of all things, doth heighten my A&s;toni&s;hment, who whil&s;t he doth often di&s;tribute good things to the Good, and evil things to the Wicked, yet doth &s;ometimes give to the Vertuous an hard Portion, and to the impious Man he grants his Heart's De&s;ire. What Difference then is there to be found, unle&s;s Men may be acquainted with the Cau&s;e betwixt his Proceedings and the Actings of Chance?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Nor is it at all to be admired if Men fancy &s;omething ra&s;h and con|fus'd in the&s;e Methods of Acting, if they are ignorant of the Rea&s;on of that Order by which God proceeds. But although thou art ignorant of the Cau&s;e of this great Di&s;po&s;al of things, yet becau&s;e the good Governour of all things doth temper and inform the World, never doubt but that all things are done rightly and as they ought to be.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="V" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="188" REF="111">
<HEAD>METRUM V.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Siquis Arcturi &s;idera ne&s;cit</L>
<L>Propinqua &s;ummo Cardine labi, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>Who knows not that<NOTE N="(l)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Arcturus.]</HI> Vide&s;is Annotat. in l. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Arcturus</HI> moves</L>
<L>Near to the Arctick Pole, nor why</L>
<L><NOTE N="(m)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Bootes.]</HI> Or <HI>Bubulcus,</HI> is called &s;o becau&s;e it is a Con&s;tella|tion framed of Stars, which re&s;emble the Form of a Cart and Ox|en. This Con&s;tellation is very near to the North Pole; and be|ing placed &s;o high, it always appears in our Hemi&s;phere. It is &s;aid al&s;o to drown its Flames late in the Sea, becau&s;e it never de|&s;cends below our Horizon.</NOTE> <HI>Bootes</HI> &s;low pa&s;&s;eth his Wain,</L>
<L>Drowning i'th Sea his later Flame,</L>
<L>When he unfolds his quicker Ri&s;e,</L>
<L>Will wonder at the Laws of Heaven.</L>
<L>And if he know not why the Horns</L>
<L>Of the<NOTE N="(n)" PLACE="foot"><P><HI>Full-Moon.]</HI> It often happens that the Earth is &s;o interpo&s;ed betwixt the Sun and the Full-Moon, that the Moon being ob&s;cured by the terre&s;trial Shadows, doth lo&s;e the round Splendor which it borrowed from the Sun; and that the Stars, who&s;e Light was before ob&s;cured by the greater Brightne&s;s of the Moon, begin to &s;hine out: From whence the Antients, who&s;e Super&s;tition made them believe that that Decrea&s;e was occa&s;ioned by Charms, did think they might deliver her from it by the tinkling of brazen Ve&s;&s;els or Cymbals: From whence <HI>Tibullus,</HI> <Q><L>Cantus &amp; &egrave; curru Lunam deducere tentat</L>
<L>Et faceret, &s;i non aera repul&s;a &s;onent.</L>
<L><NOTE PLACE="marg">And <HI>Juven. Sat.</HI> 6.</NOTE> Tot pariiter pelves, tot tintinnabula dicas</L>
<L>Pul&s;ari: jam nemo tubas at&abque; aera fatiget,</L>
<L>&V;na laboranti poterit &s;uccurrere Lunae.</L>
<L><NOTE PLACE="marg">And <HI>Virg. Eclog.</HI> 8.</NOTE>Carmina vel Coelo po&s;&s;unt deducere Lunam.</L></Q></P>
<P>All the&s;e things, &s;aith <HI>Boetius,</HI> make the Admiration of the Vul|gar, becau&s;e they know not the Cau&s;es of them.</P></NOTE> Full-Moon grow pale, whil&s;t they</L>
<L><PB N="189" REF="111">Are dipp'd within the Bounds of Night,</L>
<L>And how the Moon, confus'd and dark,</L>
<L>Di&s;plays tho&s;e Stars which &s;he before</L>
<L>Had in her brighter Glories hid.</L>
<L>A vulgar Error is retain'd</L>
<L>By many People, who do think</L>
<L>To re&s;cue <HI>Luna</HI> from Eclip&s;e</L>
<L>With brazen Cymbals, and with Strokes</L>
<L>On Ba&s;ins, which do rend the Air.</L>
<L>Yet none admire when<NOTE N="(o)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Corus]</HI> Or <HI>Caurus,</HI> the North-we&s;t Wind. Philo&s;ophy having &s;hewed that Men wonder at many things becau&s;e they know not the Cau&s;es of them, doth now &s;hew that they wonder not at things of which they know the Cau&s;es: As why <HI>Corus</HI> doth beat the Waves fiercely again&s;t the Sea-Coa&s;ts, they knowing that Wind is a moved Body, and that any Body which hath Motion doth naturally &s;trike again&s;t any other Body which meets it in its way. As al&s;o Men do not admire why an Heap of Snow hardened and congealed by Cold, &s;hould be melted by the Heat of the Sun, becau&s;e they know that the quiet Parts of the hardened Snow may be di&s;&s;olved by the moved Particles of the warm Sun.</NOTE> <HI>Corus</HI> blows,</L>
<L>And makes the Waves a&s;&s;ault the Shore;</L>
<L>Nor when the Sun's refre&s;hing Heat,</L>
<L>Di&s;&s;olves va&s;t Heaps of congeal'd Snow.</L>
<L>For here the Cau&s;es open lie:</L>
<L>But tho&s;e which clo&s;ely are wrapt up,</L>
<L>Di&s;quiet much the Thoughts and Mind.</L>
<L>The giddy People &s;tand amaz'd</L>
<L>At that which rarely or by chance arrives.</L>
<L>But if that cloudy Error would depart,</L>
<L>Which &s;tupid Ignorance doth rai&s;e,</L>
<L>The&s;e things no more by Men would be admir'd.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VI" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="190" REF="112">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> VI.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>SO it is; but becau&s;e it is thy Province to unfold the hidden Cau&s;es of things, and to lay open tho&s;e Rea&s;ons which are now invelop'd in Darkne&s;s, I intreat thee to give me thy Judgment in this Matter, and to di&s;cour&s;e upon it, for this Wonder troubles me very much. Philo&s;ophy then a little &s;miling, &s;aid to me, O thou call'&s;t upon me to declare to thee the greate&s;t thing which could be asked, and which indeed can &s;carce be an&s;wered: For &s;uch is the Matter of it, that one Doubt being re|moved, innumerable others, like the Heads of <NOTE N="(p)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Hydra.]</HI> This was a Mon&s;ter feigned by the Poets to have fifty, or, as others will, an hundred Heads; one of which being cut off, two did ari&s;e in its Place, till <HI>Hercules</HI> having cut off one of the Heads, did &s;ear the Wound with hot Iron.</NOTE> <HI>Hydra,</HI> grow up. Nor would there indeed be any End of them, unle&s;s they were re&s;train|ed by the Quickne&s;s and lively Fire of the Mind: For in this Matter Men are wont to make Que&s;tions of the &s;imple Actings of Pro|vidence, of the Order and Cour&s;e of De&s;tiny, of &s;udden Chance, of Knowledg, of Divine Pre|de&s;tination, and of Free-will: And of what Weight the&s;e things are, thou thy &s;elf may&s;t perceive. But becau&s;e it is part of thy Medi|cine,
<PB N="191" REF="112">
and it will contribute much to thy Cure to know the&s;e things, although I am confined within the narrow Bounds of Time, I &s;hall en|deavour to give thee &s;ome Ta&s;te of them. And although the Charms and Mu&s;ick of my Ver&s;e may delight thee, yet thou mu&s;t defer that Plea&s;ure a little, whil&s;t I in order weave toge|ther my Rea&s;ons, which may tend to the So|lution of thy Doubts.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Ob&s;erve thy own Method as it plea&s;eth thee. Then taking her Beginning as from another Principle, &s;he thus di&s;cour&s;ed.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>The Generation of all things, and every Progre&s;&s;ion of changeable Natures, and all things which are any way moved, re|ceive their Cau&s;es, Order and Forms out of the Stability or Con&s;tancy of the Divine Mind. And this being placed in the Height of its own Purity or Simplicity, doth e&s;tabli&s;h a manifold Mode or Way in doing things; which Mode or Manner of Proceeding, when Men behold it in the Purity of the Divine Under&s;tanding, is called Providence; but being apply'd and re|ferr'd to that which it moveth, and of which it di&s;po&s;eth, it was called Fate or De&s;tiny. And if any one &s;hall throughly weigh in his Mind the Force and Energy of the one and of the other, he &s;hall &s;oon find them to be diffe|rent things: For Providence is that Divine Rea|&s;on &s;ettled in the chief Governour of the World, by which he di&s;po&s;eth all things; but Fate or
<PB N="192" REF="113">
De&s;tiny is a Di&s;po&s;ition inherent in moveable Beings, by which Providence knits them toge|ther in their Orders. Providence embraces and comprehends all things, although divers, al|though infinite; but Fate orders and dige&s;ts all &s;ingle things into Motion, and di&s;tributeth them according to Place, Form and Time: So that the Explication of this temporal Order being joined or folded up, in regard to the Divine Mind, may be called Providence; and being unfolded and dige&s;ted according to Time, and the other Circum&s;tances, it may be called Fate. And although the&s;e things be different, yet one of them depends upon the other; for the Or|der of Fate proceeds from the pure Simplicity of Providence: For as the Artificer forming in his Mind the Shape of the thing which he is about to make, moves to effect his Work, and doth in proce&s;s of time draw out that which before he had &s;ingly in his Imagination de&s;igned; &s;o God by his Providence &s;imply and firmly doth di&s;po&s;e the things which are to be done; and he doth in &s;everal Ways, and according to Time, admini&s;ter by Fate tho&s;e very things which he hath &s;o di&s;po&s;ed. So then, whether Fate be exerci&s;ed and moved by &s;ome Divine Spirits which attend upon Providence, or by &s;ome Soul, or by the Mini&s;try of the whole Body of Nature, or by the Cele&s;tial Motions of the Stars, or by Angelick Vertue, or by the ma|nifold
<PB N="193" REF="113">
Subtlety of Demons, whether good or bad, or if by any of the&s;e, or if by all of them the Series of Fate is woven: This certainly is manife&s;t, that the immovable and &s;imple way of doing things is Providence; and that the movable Contexture and temporal Order of tho&s;e things which the Divine Purity fore-di&s;|po&s;ed and ordered to be done, is Fate. Hence it is that all things which are under the Domi|nion of Fate, are al&s;o &s;ubject to Providence, which commands even Fate it &s;elf. But &s;ome things which are placed under the Guidance and Protection of Providence, are wholly exempt from the Juri&s;diction of Fate, and &s;urmount the Series of it; and tho&s;e are &s;uch things as are &s;tably fixed near to the Divinity, and are above the Order of fatal Mobility. For even as a|mong&s;t &s;everal Circles turning about the &s;ame Centre, that which is innermo&s;t approacheth mo&s;t to the Simplicity of the middle Point, and is as it were a Centre, round which they may turn, to tho&s;e placed without it; and that which is outermo&s;t, rolling in a greater Cir|cuit, the further it departs from the middle In|dividuity of the Point, &s;o much the more Space it doth fill; but yet if any thing &s;hould join and fa&s;ten it &s;elf to the Point, it is con&s;trained to be immovable, and cea&s;eth to be dilated. By pa|rity of Rea&s;on the further any thing departeth from the fir&s;t Mind, that is from God, it is &s;o
<PB N="194" REF="114">
much the more embara&s;&s;ed, and fa&s;ter bound in the Bonds of De&s;tiny; and every thing is by &s;o much the freer from Fate, by how much it approacheth nearer to the Centre of all things. And if it clo&s;ely adheres to the Firmne&s;s of the &s;upreme Mind, without moving, it goes beyond the Nece&s;&s;ity and Power of De&s;tiny. As Ratiocination then is to the Intellect, as that which is begotten is to that which hath a proper Being, as Time is to Eternity, as the Circle is to the Centre; &s;o is the movable Order of Fate to the &s;table Simplicity of Providence. This Order moveth the Heavens and the Stars, tem|pereth the Elements, and maketh them agree among&s;t them&s;elves, and by an alternative Change transforms them. It reneweth all things which are born, and which die by the like Progre&s;&s;ions of Sexes and Seeds. This binds together the Actions and Fortunes of Men by an indi&s;&s;oluble Connection of Cau&s;es; which, &s;ince they proceed from the Origine of immo|vable Providence, mu&s;t al&s;o them&s;elves nece&s;&s;a|rily be unchangeable: For &s;o things are always be&s;t governed, if that pure Simplicity or Sin|glene&s;s, dwelling in the Divine Nature, may produce that unalterable Order of Cau&s;es; for this Order, by its own Unchangeablene&s;s and Con&s;tancy, may re&s;train tho&s;e things which in their Nature are mutable, and which would otherwi&s;e ra&s;hly and irregularly float about.
<PB N="195" REF="114">
Hence it is that although things may &s;eem con|fu&s;ed and di&s;turbed to Men who cannot aright con&s;ider this Order, neverthele&s;s the proper Manner and Cour&s;e of every thing directs and di&s;po&s;eth it to the true Good: For there is no|thing done for the &s;ake of Evil, no not by the mo&s;t flagitious Wretches; who, as I have fully before demon&s;trated, are in their Re&s;earches after Good diverted by crooked Error, whil&s;t the Order proceeding from the Centre of Sove|reign Good doth not mi&s;lead any from its Prin|ciples. But thou may&s;t &s;ay, what greater Con|fu&s;ion can there be, that both pro&s;perous and adver&s;e things &s;hould by times happen to good Men, and that evil Men can enjoy what their Hearts can de&s;ire, and yet be afflicted too with things which they hate? Do People live now a-days &s;o vertuou&s;ly, and with &s;o much Inte|grity, that tho&s;e whom Men think good or bad, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be either? But in this the Judgments of Men di&s;agree much: For tho&s;e whom &s;ome judg worthy of a Reward, others think to de&s;erve Puni&s;hment. But let us grant, that it is po&s;&s;ible that &s;ome one may be able to di&s;tingui&s;h betwixt the Good and the Bad; Is it po&s;&s;ible therefore that he &s;hould look into the inward Temperament of the Mind, and pro|nounce of it as one may of the Body? But it is miraculous to him who knows it not, why &s;weet things &s;hould be agreeable to &s;ome Bo|dies,
<PB N="196" REF="115">
and bitter to others; and why &s;ome &s;ick People are ea&s;ed by Lenitives, others are helped by &s;harper Medicines. But it is no wonder to the Phy&s;ician, who knoweth the Mea&s;ure and Temperament of Health and Sickne&s;s. But what other thing is it that makes the Mind healthful and &s;trong than Goodne&s;s? And what is its Sickne&s;s but Vice? Who is the Pre&s;erver of Good, and the Driver away of Evil, other than God the great Ruler and Phy&s;ician of the Mind? who, when he looks about him from the high Ob&s;ervatory of his Providence, &s;ees and knows what is convenient for every one, and then accommodates him with the Conve|nience. Hence then proceeds that remarkable Miracle of the Order of De&s;tiny, &s;ince the all-knowing God doth that at which the Ignorant are a&s;toni&s;hed. But now that I may glance at a few things concerning the Depth of the Di|vine Knowledg, which humane Rea&s;on may comprehend, that Man whom thou believe&s;t to be mo&s;t ju&s;t, and the greate&s;t Ob&s;erver and Maintainer of Equity, of that Man, I &s;ay, the all-knowing Providence doth think otherwi&s;e. And<NOTE N="(q)" PLACE="foot"><HI>My Familiar Lucan.] Lucan</HI> is here &s;tiled by Philo&s;ophy <HI>Fami|liaris no&s;ter Lucanus,</HI> becau&s;e he was a Philo&s;opher, and a Vein of Phi|lo&s;ophy &s;eems to run through the whole Work of his <HI>Phar&s;alia.</HI></NOTE> my Familiar <HI>Lucan</HI> told us, that the vanqui&s;hing Cau&s;e was plea&s;ing to the Gods, but the vanqui&s;h'd to <HI>Cato:</HI> Know this then,
<PB N="197" REF="115" MS="y">
that what&s;oever thou &s;ee&s;t done contrary to thy Hope or Expectation, that notwith&s;tanding the Order of things is pre&s;erved right and entire; but to thy perverted Opinion it &s;eemeth Confu|&s;ion. But let us &s;uppo&s;e that a Man may have behaved him&s;elf &s;o well, that the Approbation of God and Man may both agree in him; but he is perhaps of a weak Courage: &s;o that if any thing cro&s;s &s;hould befal him, he will forgo his Innocence, &s;ince with it he cannot retain his Fortune. The wi&s;e Di&s;pen&s;ation of Provi|dence then &s;pareth him whom Adver&s;ity may make wor&s;e, le&s;t he &s;hould be put to labour and travel, who is not able to undergo &s;uch Hard|&s;hip, nor to bear Afflictions. Another Man is Ma&s;ter of all Vertues, is holy, and one who draws nigh to God: Providence judgeth it In|ju&s;tice that that Man &s;hould be oppre&s;&s;ed by any Adver&s;ity; &s;o that it will not &s;uffer him to labour even under any bodily Di&s;temper: But as<NOTE N="(r)" PLACE="foot"><HI>One more excellent than I.]</HI> It is &s;uppo&s;ed that our Philo&s;o|pher meaneth here <HI>Hermes Tri&s;megi&s;tus:</HI> He was an Egyptian Phi|lo&s;opher, and called <HI>Tri&s;megi&s;tus,</HI> that is, <HI>ter maximus,</HI> becau&s;e he is &s;aid to have &s;poken of a Trinity in the Godhead, by <HI>Suidas;</HI> or becau&s;e he was both a King, a Prie&s;t, and a Philo&s;opher: He fir&s;t di&s;tingui&s;hed Time into Hours; he lived in the time of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> about the Year of the World 2440.</NOTE> one more excellent than I &s;aid, <GAP DESC="foreign">&punc; <HI>Vertues do build up the Body of the Holy Man.</HI> But it often comes to pa&s;s that good Men have the Government of
<PB N="198" REF="116">
things committed to them, that the exuberant Improbity of ill Men may be repell'd and aba|ted. To &s;ome, according to the Qualities of their Minds, he gives a kind of Mixture of Fortune, chequered with Good and Evil: Up|on &s;ome he lays grievous heavy Cro&s;&s;es, le&s;t they &s;hould grow luxurious by too long a Cour&s;e of Felicity: Upon others he &s;ometimes lays al&s;o heavy Cro&s;&s;es, that their Vertues may be confirmed by the U&s;e and Exerci&s;e of Pati|ence: Some fear more than they ought that thing which they can bear: Others de&s;pi&s;e more than they ought that which they cannot; and tho&s;e, that by the Experiment they may come to the Knowledg of them&s;elves, he &s;ometimes afflicts. And many there are who have pur|chas'd a great Name in the World, at the Ex|pence of a glorious Death. And &s;ome Men who&s;e Courage hath not yielded to Torment, have given a noble Example to others, that Vertue is not to be overcome by Adver&s;ity. And there is no doubt but that all the&s;e things are done ju&s;tly and in order, and for the Good of tho&s;e to whom they happen. It al&s;o pro|ceeds from the &s;aid Cau&s;es that &s;ometimes Ad|ver&s;ity, &s;ometimes Pro&s;perity, comes to be the Lot of ill Men. And it is the Wonder of no Man, that flagitious Per&s;ons &s;hould be afflicted, becau&s;e they are always thought to de&s;erve what comes upon them; and that their
<PB N="199" REF="116">
Puni&s;hment doth deter others from &s;uch Aims, and often work a Reformation in tho&s;e on whom they are inflicted: But the Pro&s;perity of &s;uch yields a great Argument to the Good, and directs them what to judg of this kind of Hap|pine&s;s, which they &s;o often &s;ee to fall to the &s;hare of the wor&s;t of Men. In which thing I think often there is a Di&s;pen&s;ation, becau&s;e the Nature of &s;ome Men may be &s;o forward and importunate, that Poverty, and the want of Ne|ce&s;&s;aries, would rather urge them to do ill. But this Di&s;ea&s;e Providence doth cure by ap|plying the powerful Medicine of Money. One Man finding his Con&s;cience deeply &s;potted with Crimes, and comparing him&s;elf and his For|tune, fears perhaps that the Happine&s;s which he enjoyed by the U&s;e of it, &s;hould be wholly done away by its Lo&s;s; he will therefore change his Manners, and whil&s;t he fears to lo&s;e his E&s;tate he will leave his Impiety. Upon another Happine&s;s is conferr'd without De&s;ert, and that precipitates him into a merited De&s;truction. To &s;ome there is a Power of Puni&s;hing granted, that it may exerci&s;e the Vertues of the Good, and may be Cau&s;e of Puni&s;hment and Torment to the Evil. For as there is no Covenant or Agreement betwixt the Vertuous and the Wicked, &s;o neither can wretched Men agree among&s;t them&s;elves. And why &s;hould they? for they di&s;agree among&s;t them&s;elves by rea&s;on
<PB N="200" REF="117">
of their Vices, which rend and tear the Con|&s;cience; and they often do tho&s;e things, which when they are over, they judg they ought not to have done them. From whence Providence hath often produced a &s;ignal Miracle, to wit, that evil Men have oft made other ill Men good: For when &s;ome of the&s;e find that they have &s;uffered an Injury from others of them, urged by the Hate of tho&s;e that have offended them, they have returned to the Ways of Vertue, &s;tudying nothing more than to be un|like to tho&s;e Per&s;ons whom they hate. It is on|ly the great Power of God which can make Evil turn to Good, when by u&s;ing them agree|ably and conveniently he draws out of them the Effect of &s;ome Good: For a certain Order embraceth all Beings, &s;o that what&s;oever doth depart from the Rea&s;on and Laws of that Or|der which is a&s;&s;igned to it, yet it pa&s;&s;eth into and under the Laws of another Order; for no|thing is left in the Power of Chance or Uncer|tainty in the Realm of Providence. <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>It is hard for me to expre&s;s how God rules and di&s;po&s;eth all things by his Providence.</HI> Nor is it lawful for a Man (if he could) to comprehend all the Machines and Movements of the Divine Work, even in his Thought, much le&s;s to declare and de&s;cribe them in Words. Let it &s;uffice to have &s;een on|ly this, that God, the Framer of all Natures,
<PB N="201" REF="117" MS="y">
orders and di&s;po&s;eth every thing towards Good; and whil&s;t he endeavours to retain tho&s;e things which he hath made in his own Likene&s;s, he bani&s;heth all Evil by the Cour&s;e of De&s;tiny, without the Bounds of his Commonwealth. Hence it is that if thou do&s;t but regard the all-di&s;po&s;ing Providence, thou may&s;t ea&s;ily &s;ee, that there are not tho&s;e Evils which Men be|lieve do abound upon the Face of the Earth. But now I &s;ee that thou do&s;t almo&s;t lie down under the Weight and Prolixity of my Rea|&s;oning; and that thou do&s;t expect the Mu&s;ick of my Ver&s;e: receive then this Draught with which when thou art refre&s;h'd, thou may&s;t more &s;trong|ly proceed to other Matters which yet remain.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VI" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM VI.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Si vis cel&s;i jura tonantis</L>
<L>Pur&acirc; &s;olers cernere mente,</L>
<L>A&s;pice &s;ummi culmina Coeli, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>If with a Mind well-clear'd thou wouldst</L>
<L>Weigh well the Laws of the high Thunderer,</L>
<L>Behold the Height of th' Empyrean Heaven;</L>
<L>There by a ju&s;t and certain Bound the Stars</L>
<L>Pre&s;erve their antient Peace and Amity.</L>
<L>The Sun being mov'd by his re&s;plendent Flame</L>
<L>Doth not impede pale <HI>Phoebe</HI>'s colder Sphere.</L>
<L>Nor doth the Northern Bear, which proudly round</L>
<L>The towring Battlements of th' &V;niver&s;e</L>
<L>Inclines his head long Cour&s;e, ever de&s;ire</L>
<L><PB N="202" REF="118">To drench his Flames in the va&s;t Ocean,</L>
<L>Although he &s;ees the other Stars do &s;o.</L>
<L><HI>Ve&s;per</HI> ob&s;erving Time, exactly leads</L>
<L>The Horns of Night, and <HI>Lucifer</HI> again</L>
<L>Brings on the Day, which cheri&s;heth the Earth.</L>
<L>So mutual Love doth all things ever move:</L>
<L>And from the &s;tarry Regions cruel War</L>
<L>Is bani&s;h'd far. This beauteous Concord &s;o</L>
<L>In equal Mea&s;ures tempers th' Elements;</L>
<L>That when things moi&s;t and dry begin to fight,</L>
<L>They do attack and do retreat by turns;</L>
<L>That Cold with Heat a la&s;ting Peace doth make;</L>
<L>That the a&s;piring Flame may mount on high,</L>
<L>And that the Earth may tow'rds its Centre tend.</L>
<L>By the&s;e &s;ame Cau&s;es in the warming Spring</L>
<L>The flowring Year doth grateful Sweets breath out,</L>
<L>The hotter Summer ripeneth the Corn:</L>
<L>Loaden with Apples then <HI>Autumnus</HI> comes,</L>
<L>And Winter wets the Earth with many Showers.</L>
<L>This Temperature doth nouri&s;h and bring forth</L>
<L>Whatever in the &V;niver&s;e doth breath:</L>
<L>And this doth al&s;o take away and bide,</L>
<L>And doth by Death efface whatever has been born,</L>
<L>Whil&s;t the World's Creator &s;its on high,</L>
<L>And ruling me&s;nageth the Reins of things,</L>
<L>The mighty King and Lord, Fountain and Source,</L>
<L>The Law, and the wi&s;e Judg of Equity,</L>
<L>Tho&s;e things to which he did a Motion give</L>
<L>He &s;tops, and thus being mov'd, he doth confirm.</L>
<L>For if their direct Motions he did not</L>
<L><PB N="203" REF="118">Revoke, and forc'd them in a Round to move,</L>
<L>Tho&s;e things which now by Order do endure</L>
<L>Would &s;traight from their Beginning fall, and &s;oon</L>
<L>Would into nothing be re&s;olv'd.</L>
<L>This Love to every thing is common then,</L>
<L>And all things do propo&s;e Good as their End;</L>
<L>For otherwi&s;e they could not la&s;t, unle&s;s</L>
<L>By Love's kind Circulation they revert</L>
<L>To that fir&s;t Cau&s;e, which gave them Being, God.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VII" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> VII.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>DOST thou not &s;ee now what fol|lows from all the things which I have &s;poken.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What is the Con&s;equence?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>That all Fortune is good.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>And how, I prithee, can that be?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Ob&s;erve then that &s;ince all Fortune is either pro&s;perous or adver&s;e, it is given either to reward or exerci&s;e the Good, or to puni&s;h or correct the Bad; and all For|tune is good which appears to be either ju&s;t or profitable.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>The Rea&s;on is mo&s;t true, and if I con&s;ider the Doctrine either of Providence or Fate, which a little before thou taughte&s;t me, thy Opinion is founded upon a firm Ground. But let us range it, if thou plea&s;e&s;t, among&s;t tho&s;e Po&s;itions which, a little before, thou &s;aid&s;t were not commonly believed by the People.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Why &s;o?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Becau&s;e it is the common and frequent Phra&s;e of Men, that the Fortune
<PB N="204" REF="119">
of &s;uch an one is bad.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Wilt thou then that I &s;hall for a while draw nearer to the Peoples way of Di&s;cour&s;e, le&s;t we &s;hould &s;eem too much to have receded from the U&s;ages of Man|kind?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>As thou plea&s;e&s;t.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thinke&s;t thou not then that every thing which is profi|table is good?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yes &s;urely.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But what|&s;oever doth either exerci&s;e or correct is profita|ble.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I confe&s;s it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Therefore 'tis good.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Why &s;hould it not?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But this is the Fortune of them who are either fixed in Vertue, and wage a con&s;tant War again&s;t Adver&s;ity, or of tho&s;e who, abandoning Vice, take the way of Vertue.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>I cannot deny it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But what &s;ay&s;t thou of that plea&s;ant Fortune which is given as a Reward to good Men, do the <HI>Many</HI> conceive it to be ill?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Certainly no, but ra|ther they believe it to be very good, as it is in|deed.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But what &s;ay&s;t thou of that other, which although it be &s;harp, and inflicts ju&s;t Puni&s;hment upon the Wicked, do Men take it to be good?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No &s;ure, but rather the mo&s;t wretched and tormenting thing that can be thought upon.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Behold then, and mark well, if we, following the Opinion of the Peo|ple, have not concluded &s;omething which is ve|ry contrary to the common Opinion.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What is that?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>It followeth clearly to the things before granted, that what&s;oever the Fortune of all tho&s;e who are either in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of, or
<PB N="205" REF="119" MS="y">
growing in Vertue, or otherwi&s;e in &s;earch after her, may be, it is good; but that the Fortune of tho&s;e who live in Impiety and Sin mu&s;t be the wor&s;t of any thing.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>That is true, although no one dare confe&s;s it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Why &s;o, for the wi&s;e Man ought not to be ca&s;t down when he is brought into the Field to wage War with Fortune, no more than the valiant Man ought to be di&s;mayed when he hears the Trumpet &s;ound to Battel: For Difficulty and Hard&s;hip giveth the Occa&s;ion to one that he may encrea&s;e and propagate his Glory; and to the other, that he may confirm and improve his Wi&s;dom. From hence is Vertue denominated, becau&s;e leaning upon its own Strength, and confiding in its proper Force, it is not to be overcome by Adver&s;ity: Nor thou who art &s;o far advanced in the Cour&s;e of Vertue, art not to be carried away by Delights, and to wallow in Lu&s;t; thou mu&s;t engage valiantly and fiercely again&s;t every Fortune. And le&s;t Adver&s;ity &s;hould oppre&s;s thee, or Pro&s;perity corrupt thee, po&s;&s;e&s;s thy &s;elf of the Golden Mean, and retain it with all thy Strength: For what&s;oever is below, or goeth beyond that, implies a Contempt of true Hap|pine&s;s, and lo&s;eth the Reward of its Labour. It lieth in thy own Hand to choo&s;e what For|tune thou like&s;t; for all Fortune which &s;eemeth &s;harp and grievous, unle&s;s it exerci&s;e the Ver|tues of the Good, or cha&s;ti&s;e the Impiety of the Wicked, is a Puni&s;hment.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VII" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="206" REF="120">
<HEAD>METRUM VII.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Bella bis quinis operatus annis</L>
<L>Ultor Atreides Phrygiae ruinis</L>
<L>Fratris ami&s;&s;os thalamos piavit, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG>
<L>By ten Years bloody War, and<NOTE N="(&s;)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Phrygia.]</HI> It is a Region of the Le&s;&s;er <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> &s;ituated to|wards the We&s;t, according to <HI>Ptolomy</HI> and <HI>Strabo.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Phrygia</HI>'s Fate</L>
<L><NOTE N="(t)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Atreides] Agamemnon. Paris</HI> the Son of <HI>Priam</HI> King of <HI>Troy</HI> having equipped a Fleet, went into <HI>Greece</HI> to vi&s;it <HI>Menelaus</HI> King of <HI>Sparta,</HI> and again&s;t the Laws of Ho&s;pitality &s;tole away his Wife; which <HI>Agamemnon</HI> the Son of <HI>Atreus,</HI> and Brother of the afore&s;aid <HI>Menelaus,</HI> very much re&s;enting, he did call together the Grecian Chieftains, and &s;ailing into <HI>Phrygia,</HI> be&s;ieged <HI>Troy;</HI> and having ta|ken it, after a Siege of ten Years, de&s;troyed it with Fire and Sword. The &s;ame <HI>Agamemnon</HI> when he was going upon this Expe|dition, when he arrived at <HI>Aulis</HI> a Port of <HI>Boeotia,</HI> and had made a Review of his Army, did ignorantly kill an Hart which had been con&s;ecrated to <HI>Diana;</HI> with which the Godde&s;s being offended, did &s;end a Pe&s;tilence, and &s;uppre&s;&s;ed the Winds, &s;o that he laid Wind-bound in the Haven. He con&s;ulted in this Exigence the O|racle, which gave for An&s;wer, that the Gods would not be ap|pea&s;ed till he had &s;acrificed <HI>Iphigenia</HI> his Daughter; <HI>Agamemnon</HI> obeyed, and him&s;elf performed the Office of the Prie&s;t, by &s;acri|ficing his Daughter; &s;o that after many Labours and Perils he ac|compli&s;hed his Enterprize. Hence <HI>Virgil. Aeneid. lib.</HI> 2.
<Q><L>Saepe fugam Danai Troja cupiere relict&acirc;</L>
<L>Moliri, &amp; longo fe&s;&s;i di&s;cedere bello,</L>
<L>Feci&s;&s;ent&abque; utinam! &s;aepe illos a&s;pera Ponti</L>
<L>Interclu&s;it byems, &amp; terruit Au&s;ter <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ letters">untes.</L>
<L>Praecipu&egrave; cum jam hic trabibus contextus acernis</L>
<L>Staret equus, toto fonuerunt aethere nimbi:</L>
<L>Su&s;pen&s;i Eurypylum &s;citatum Oracula Phoebi</L>
<L>Mittimus; i&s;&abque; adytis haec tri&s;tia dicta reportat:</L>
<L>Sanguine placa&s;tis ventos, &amp; virgine caes&acirc;.</L>
<L>Cum primum Iliacas Danai veni&s;tis ad oras, &amp;c.</L></Q></NOTE> <HI>Atreides</HI> did revenge, and expiate</L>
<L><PB N="207" REF="120">His Brother's Lo&s;s. Whilst his unquiet Mind</L>
<L>Pre&s;s'd him to &s;ail, with Blood he buys a Wind</L>
<L>For the Argolick Fleet, he puts off all</L>
<L>Compa&s;&s;ion, and vows his Daughter &s;hall</L>
<L>A Victim to the injur'd Godde&s;s fall.</L>
<L>The wi&s;e <HI>Uly&s;&s;es</HI> did with Tears lament</L>
<L>His &s;laughtered Friends, whom<NOTE N="(u)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Polyphemus.]</HI> Feigned to be one of the <HI>Cyclops,</HI> and the Son of <HI>Neptune,</HI> a huge Giant, who had but one Eye, and that feigned to be in his Forehead: He took <HI>&V;ly&s;&s;es</HI> and four of his Company, and kept them in his Den; he devoured his Companions, but <HI>&V;ly&s;&s;es</HI> having a Bottle of &s;trong Wine, he gave it to him to drink, which ca&s;t him into a deep Sleep; &s;o that <HI>&V;ly&s;&s;es</HI> with his Staff put out his Eye, and made his E&s;cape.</NOTE> <HI>Polyphemus</HI></L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>Devour'd by him down to the Shades; but he &s;ent</L>
<L>Appeas'd their <HI>Manes,</HI> putting out the Eye</L>
<L>Of that great Mon&s;ter, whil&s;t he in his Den</L>
<L>Did lie at Ea&s;e, buried in Sleep and Wine.</L>
<L>His many Labours con&s;ecrate to Fame</L>
<L>The Great<NOTE N="(w)" PLACE="foot"><HI>Alcides.]</HI> Philo&s;ophy proveth by the Example of <HI>Hercu|les,</HI> that Heaven and Immortality are not to be attained to but by the undergoing of many afflicting Labours upon Earth. He was feigned to be the Son of <HI>Jupiter</HI> and <HI>Alcmena,</HI> and therefore hated by <HI>Juno,</HI> who exerci&s;ed him &s;till with new Toils and Adven|tures.</NOTE> <HI>Alcides,</HI> and his mighty Name.</L>
<L><PB N="208" REF="121">The<NOTE N="(x)" PLACE="marg"><HI>The Centaurs.]</HI> This was the fir&s;t Labour of <HI>Hercules.</HI> The Centaurs were People of <HI>The&s;&s;aly,</HI> inhabiting the Country joining upon the Mountain <HI>Pelion,</HI> who fir&s;t attempted to make Hor&s;es tame, and to fight upon them: For this Rea&s;on they were looked upon by their Neighbours to be Mon&s;ters, and to have the Parts both of Men and Hor&s;es. <HI>Hercules</HI> &s;etting upon the&s;e People, over|came and &s;lew many of them.</NOTE> Centaurs, and the<NOTE N="(y)" PLACE="marg"><HI>The Lion.]</HI> In the <HI>Nemaean</HI> Wood, which was a wild Part of the Country of <HI>Achaia,</HI> there was a Lion of an extraordinary Greatne&s;s, which was invulnerable by any Weapon made either of Iron or Bra&s;s: but <HI>Hercules</HI> attacking him, kill'd him with his Hands, and clothed him&s;elf with his Skin. This was his &s;econd Labour.</NOTE> Lion he o'rethrew,</L>
<L>And took the Spoil; he the foul<NOTE N="(z)" PLACE="marg"><HI>The Harpies.]</HI> They were feigned to be Birds of &s;o great Dimen&s;ion, hovering always about a Town called <HI>Stymphalus</HI> in <HI>Arcadia,</HI> that they darkned the Sun; and &s;o ravenous, that they &s;poiled the whole Country about. <HI>Hercules</HI> is &s;aid to have invented a Timbrel or &s;ounding In&s;trument of Bra&s;s, and to have driven them all away: which was his third Labour. <Q><L>&mdash;&V;nci&s;que timendae</L>
<L>&V;nguibus Arcadiae volucres Stymph&acirc;la colentes.</L>
<BIBL><HI>Lucret. lib. 5.</HI></BIBL></Q></NOTE> Harpies &s;lew:</L>
<L><NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Though in the Door,</HI> &amp;c.] His fourth Labour was this: The <HI>He&s;perides,</HI> Daughters of <HI>He&s;perus,</HI> who was Brother of <HI>Atlas,</HI> viz. <HI>Egle, Arethu&s;a</HI> and <HI>He&s;perethu&s;a,</HI> were feigned to have po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed <HI>Gar|dius,</HI> lying near to <HI>Lixa,</HI> called now by the Europeans <HI>L'arache,</HI> a Town of <HI>Mauritania Tingitana,</HI> which takes its Denomination from <HI>Tingis,</HI> now <HI>Tangier,</HI> which were planted with Trees which pro|duced Golden Fruit, and which were guarded by a waking Dra|gon; which Dragon <HI>Hercules</HI> &s;lew, and carried the Fruit to <HI>Eu|ri&s;theus</HI> his Father-in-law.</NOTE> Though in the Door the watchful Dragon lay,</L>
<L>He boldly took the Golden Fruit away:</L>
<L><PB N="209" REF="121">He made grim<NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Cerberus.] Pirithous,</HI> the Son of <HI>Ixion:</HI> his Wife <HI>Hippodame</HI> being dead, made an Agreement with <HI>The&s;eus,</HI> that they &s;hould marry none who were not de&s;cended from <HI>Jupiter.</HI> Upon this <HI>The&s;eus</HI> &s;tole away <HI>Helena;</HI> and <HI>Pirithous</HI> de&s;igning to take away <HI>Pro&s;erpina</HI> the Wife of <HI>Pluto,</HI> went down to Hell, <HI>The&s;eus</HI> and <HI>Hercu|les</HI> accompanying him; but <HI>Pirithous</HI> upon his fir&s;t Attempt was kill'd by <HI>Cerberus,</HI> whom <HI>The&s;eus</HI> endeavouring to help, was taken alive by <HI>Pluto,</HI> and was bound by him till <HI>Hercules</HI> bound <HI>Cerberus</HI> in a threefold Chain. This was his fifth Labour.</NOTE> <HI>Cerberus</HI> to a Chain &s;ubmit;</L>
<L>He overthrew the mighty<NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Diomedes.]</HI> He was King of <HI>Thracia,</HI> and fed his Hor&s;es with Man's Fle&s;h; <HI>Hercules</HI> &s;lew him, and gave him to his Hor&s;es to be eaten. This was his &s;ixth Labour. From whence <HI>Ovid,</HI> <Q><L>Non tibi &s;uccurrit crudi Diomedis imago</L>
<L>Efferus human&acirc; qui dape pavit equos.</L></Q></NOTE> <HI>Diomede,</HI></L>
<L>And made his fiery Hor&s;es on him feed.</L>
<L>He burnt the Poi&s;on, and did<NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="marg">The &s;eventh Labour of <HI>Hercules</HI> was the killing of <HI>Hydra. Vide&s;is Litt. (p) &s;upra.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Hydra</HI> tame,</L>
<L>The headlong<NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Achelous.]</HI> The eighth Labour of <HI>Hercules</HI> was this: <HI>Ache|lous,</HI> feigned to be the Son of <HI>Oceanus</HI> and <HI>Tethys,</HI> fought with <HI>Her|cules</HI> for <HI>Deianira</HI> the Daughter of <HI>Oeneus</HI> King of <HI>Caledonia;</HI> but <HI>Achelous</HI> being unequal in Strength to him, turned him&s;elf fir&s;t in|to a Serpent, then into a Bull, but <HI>Hercules</HI> cut of his Horn, which became the <HI>Cornu copiae,</HI> or Horn of Plenty, which made <HI>Achelous,</HI> being a&s;hamed to appear with one Horn, to hide him&s;elf in a Ri|ver of his Name.</NOTE> <HI>Achelous</HI> he o'recame,</L>
<L>Blu&s;hing within his Banks he hid his Head.</L>
<L>On Libyan Sands he left<NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Antaeus.]</HI> He was feigned to be the Son of <HI>Neptune</HI> and the Earth, and to be of &s;o large Dimen&s;ions that he was &s;aid to be of the Height of &s;ixty four Cubits: He engaging in Fight with <HI>Hercu|les,</HI> &s;o often as his Strength failed him touched the Earth, and re|covered Strength, which when <HI>Hercules</HI> perceived, he lifted him up into the Air, and &s;o killed him, which was his ninth Labour.</NOTE> <HI>Antaeus</HI> dead:</L>
<L><PB N="210" REF="122">He by the Death of<NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Cacus.]</HI> The tenth Labour which <HI>Hercules</HI> did accompli&s;h was killing of <HI>Cacus,</HI> feigned to be the Son of <HI>Vulcan,</HI> and who in|fe&s;ted all <HI>Italy</HI> with his Robberies, and did not &s;pare <HI>Hercules</HI> him|&s;elf; for he &s;tole his Oxen; and that he might not be di&s;covered by their Foot&s;teps, he drew them by the Tails into his Cave: but <HI>Hercules</HI> di&s;covering them by their Lowing, recovered his Cattel, and killed <HI>Cacus,</HI> revenging an Injury which <HI>Cacus</HI> had done to <HI>Evander,</HI> who&s;e Gue&s;t or Servant he had been.</NOTE> <HI>Cacus</HI> did appea&s;e</L>
<L><HI>Evander</HI>'s Wrath: the foaming<NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="marg"><HI>The Boar.]</HI> The <HI>Erymanthian</HI> Boar in <HI>Arcadia,</HI> which was &s;o large and fierce that it almo&s;t had depopulated the whole Coun|try: <HI>Hercules</HI> brought this Boar to <HI>Eury&s;theus</HI> King of <HI>Micene</HI> in <HI>Greece,</HI> which was his eleventh Labour.</NOTE> Boar did &s;eize:</L>
<L>Tho&s;e Shoulders which the<NOTE N="(i)" PLACE="marg"><HI>The Spheres.] Atlas</HI> is an high Hill of <HI>Mauritania,</HI> which &s;tretcheth it &s;elf through a great Part of <HI>Africa,</HI> from the <HI>Atlantick</HI> Ocean, called &s;o from this Mountain, as far Ea&s;tward as the Con|fines of the De&s;arts of <HI>Barca:</HI> It is called now by the Spaniards <HI>Los Montes Claros;</HI> by other Europeans the Mountain <HI>Atlas.</HI> It received its Name from <HI>Atlas</HI> a King of <HI>Mauritania,</HI> who becau&s;e he was a great A&s;tronomer, and, as it is &s;aid, Inventor of A&s;tro|logy, was feigned to bear the Heavens upon his Shoulders, by maintaining and propagating the Science of it. <HI>Hercules</HI> is fabled for one Day to have ea&s;ed <HI>Atlas</HI> of that Weight, for which he merited an <GAP DESC="foreign">, and to be admitted into the Society of the Gods. From whence therefore this is called his la&s;t and noble&s;t Labour.</NOTE> Spheres were &s;oon to pre&s;s,</L>
<L>That both his la&s;t and noble&s;t Labour was;</L>
<L>And he did merit to be call'd a God,</L>
<L>Who did &s;upport &s;o glorious a Load.</L>
<L>Go then, ye noble Souls, di&s;dain Delay,</L>
<L>Follow the great Example in his way:</L>
<L>Why, O ye &s;lothful, do ye ba&s;ely fly?</L>
<L>Who conquers Earth doth gain Eternity.</L>
</LG>
<TRAILER>The End of the Fourth Book.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="book">
<PB N="211" REF="122">
<HEAD>ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS BOETIUS, OF THE Con&s;olation of Philo&s;ophy. BOOK the Fifth.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<HEAD>The ARGUMENT.</HEAD>
<P>In this Book <HI>Boetius</HI> defineth Chance: He de|clareth whether there be Free-will or not, and what is the Order of Providence; and he de|&s;cribeth the Methods of De&s;tiny in the Admini|&s;tration of things. He then proveth that the Pre&s;cience of God doth not take away the Liberty of Men; which whole Que&s;tion he handles and &s;olves with mo&s;t &s;olid Rea&s;ons.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="I" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> I.</HEAD>
<P>THUS &s;he had &s;poken, and turned her Di&s;cour&s;e to handle and di&s;patch &s;ome other Matters; when I thus be&s;pake her. Thy Exhortation is mo&s;t ju&s;t and right,
<PB N="212" REF="123">
and mo&s;t worthy of thy Authority: But what thou but now &s;ay&s;t, to wit, that the Que&s;tion concerning Providence was intangled with ma|ny others, I find by Experience to be true: Therefore I now ask, if Chance be any thing at all, and if it be, what thou take&s;t it to be?</P>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>I ha&s;ten to pay the Debt of my Promi&s;e, and to open that way to thee which may lead thee back to thy Country. But although it may be very profitable, and much to thy Ad|vantage to know the&s;e things, yet they lead us out of our de&s;igned way: And it is to be feared that if thou &s;hould&s;t be tired by pur&s;uing the&s;e By-paths, that is, by di&s;cu&s;&s;ing Que&s;tions fo|reign to our Subject, thou would&s;t not be able to perform thy Journey in following the right Road.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Fear not that at all; for it will as much refre&s;h me as Re&s;t, to know tho&s;e things in which I am mo&s;t delighted, &s;ince there is no Rea&s;on to doubt of the things following, when every part of thy Di&s;putation &s;hall have been grounded upon undoubted Truth and Certain|ty.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>I will then comply with thee: If any Man doth define Chance to be an Event pro|duced by a ra&s;h Motion, and without any con|nection of Cau&s;es, I then affirm that Chance is nothing, and I pronounce it to be an empty Word, without any &s;ignification of the &s;ubject Matter; for who can imagine, that God re|&s;training all things by Order, there &s;hould be
<PB N="213" REF="123">
any Place left for ra&s;h Folly and Di&s;order? For it is a great Truth, that nothing can &s;pring out of nothing; which none of the Antients ever oppos'd, although they under&s;tood it not of God, the operating Principle, the chief Begin|ner, and Worker of all things; but they made a kind of a Foundation of a material Subject, that is, of the Nature of all Rea&s;on: But if any thing doth ari&s;e from no Cau&s;es, that will &s;eem to &s;pring out of nothing. But if this can|not be done, it is impo&s;&s;ible that Chance &s;hould be any &s;uch thing as it is before defined.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What then is there nothing which may rightly be called Chance or Fortune? Or is there any thing, although concealed from the Vulgar, to which the&s;e Words may be applied?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>My <HI>Ari&s;totle,</HI> in his Phy&s;icks, gives this a brief Definition, and with a Rea&s;on near to Truth.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>How I pray thee doth he define it?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>So often as a Man doth any thing, for the &s;ake of any other thing, and another thing than that he intended to do, is produced by other Cau&s;es, that thing &s;o produced is called Chance: As if a Man break up the Earth upon the ac|count of Tillage, and find there Gold hidden, this is believed to happen by Chance, although it be not &s;o: for it hath its proper Cau&s;es; the unfore&s;een and unexpected Concour&s;e of which &s;eemeth to have brought forth Chance: for if the Husband-man had not plowed his Field,
<PB N="214" REF="124">
and if the Hider of the Gold had not hid it in that Place, the Gold had not been found. The&s;e are therefore the Cau&s;es of a fortuitous Gain and Advantage, which proceed from a Conflux of encountring Cau&s;es, and not from the In|tention of the Doer: For neither he who hid the Gold, nor he who tilled the Field, intended or under&s;tood that that Trea&s;ure &s;hould be found there: But, as I &s;aid, it happened that the one did dig where the other had hid his Money; and &s;o the&s;e Actions concurring, the mentioned Effect was produc'd. Therefore Chance may be defined to be an unthought-of Event of Cau&s;es flowing together in things which are done to attain &s;ome other end: But that Or|der which proceeds by an unavoidable Con|nection of things, &s;treaming from the Fountain of Providence, and which ranks all things ac|cording to Place and Time, maketh all Cau&s;es a&s;&s;emble and meet together.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="I" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="215" REF="124">
<HEAD>METRUM I.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Rupis Achaemeniae &s;copulis, ubi ver&s;a &s;equentum</L>
<L>Pectoribus figit &s;picula pugna fugax, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<LG>
<L>Swift<NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Tygris</HI> and <HI>Euphrates.] Tygris</HI> is denominated from its &s;wift Flowing, its Name in the Per&s;ian Language &s;ignifying an Arrow. It is a River which ri&s;eth in the greater <HI>Armenia: Virgil</HI> mention|eth it in his 6th Eclogue.
<Q><L>Ante pererratis amborum finibus exul</L>
<L>Aut Ararim Parthus bibet, aut Germania Tigrim.</L></Q>
<HI>Euphrates</HI> is another River &s;o called from the Plea&s;ure and Profit it occa&s;ions to the Inhabitants of tho&s;e Countries through which it pa&s;&s;eth, by over-flowing the Fields, and making them fruitful. If the&s;e Rivers do not ari&s;e out of the &s;ame Head, they certainly &s;pring from one Mountain; and having for a great way taken their &s;everal Cour&s;es, they at la&s;t encompa&s;s <HI>Me&s;opotamia,</HI> and then join|ing their Streams they flow together into the Per&s;ian Gulph.</NOTE> <HI>Tygris</HI> and <HI>Euphrates</HI> flow</L>
<L>From th'<NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Achemenian.] Achemenia</HI> by &s;ome here is under&s;tood to be <HI>Armenia,</HI> and the Mountain out of which the&s;e Rivers flow is a Part of <HI>Mount Taurus.</HI></NOTE> Achemenian Mountains rocky Brow,</L>
<L>Where in his Flight the<NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Parthians.]</HI> The Parthians were a People who de&s;cended from the Scythians, and &s;tretched the Bounds of their Country to tho&s;e Parts of <HI>A&s;ia</HI> which were wa&s;hed by the Rivers <HI>Tygris</HI> and <HI>Euphrates.</HI> The&s;e People were famous Archers, and u&s;ed in their Battels, when they fled, to &s;hoot their Arrows backward, and &s;o to gall their Enemies; then turning their Hor&s;es, they would re|new the Fight. Hence <HI>Virg. Georg. l.</HI> 3. <Q>Fidentemque fug&acirc; Parthum, ver&s;i&s;que &s;agittis.</Q></NOTE> Parthians nimble Dart</L>
<L>Doth backward pierce the keen Pur&s;uer's Heart,</L>
<L>And &s;oon again the&s;e mighty Rivers part.</L>
<L><PB N="216" REF="125">But if they in their Cour&s;e &s;hould meet again,</L>
<L>Whatever things do &s;wim on either Stream</L>
<L>Would flow together; Ships together &s;teer,</L>
<L>Trees float, which from their Banks the Waters tear,</L>
<L>The mingled Floods would the&s;e together bear.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>Yet the declining Earth, and good</L>
<L>Order, which in its Cour&s;e directs the Flood,</L>
<L>Governs the&s;e things. So though we often &s;ee</L>
<L>Chance &s;eem to wander unconfin'd and free,</L>
<L>It owns a providential Law which curbs its Liberty.</L>
</LG>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="II" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> II.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>I Under&s;tand this well, and I agree that what thou &s;ay&s;t is true: But is there, I pray thee, any Freedom allowed to our Wills in this long Train of cohering Cau&s;es, or doth the Chain of De&s;tiny al&s;o bind the Motions of Mens Souls?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>There is a Freedom of the Will, nor was there ever any rational Nature which was not accompanied with it: For that which naturally hath the U&s;e of Rea&s;on, hath al&s;o a Judgment by which it may judg of, and di&s;cern every thing. Of it &s;elf then it knoweth what things are to be avoided, and what to be de&s;ired: Now that thing which a Man judgeth to be de&s;irable he &s;eeks, and he refu&s;eth that which he deems ought to be avoided; therefore whoever is endowed with Rea&s;on is al&s;o po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ed
<PB N="217" REF="125">
of a Liberty of de&s;iring and refu&s;ing. But I do not hold that this Liberty is equal in all Beings; for in &s;upernal and divine Sub&s;tances, &s;uch as Spirits and Angels are, there is a clear Judgment, and an incorrupt Will, and a ready and efficacious Power of doing things which are de&s;ired: But the Souls of Men mu&s;t nece&s;&s;a|rily be more free when they continue to exer|ci&s;e them&s;elves in the Contemplation of the Di|vine Mind; and they mu&s;t be le&s;s &s;o when they are withdrawn from that noble Speculation, and &s;lide into corporal Sub&s;tances; and yet le&s;s free when they are incompa&s;&s;ed by, and clo&s;ely bound up in earthly Members. But the la&s;t and meane&s;t Slavery is, when they give them&s;elves over to Vice, and &s;o fall from the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of their proper Rea&s;on: for as &s;oon as they remove their Eyes from the Light of the highe&s;t Truth, and fix them upon low, dark and ba&s;e Ob|jects, they are immediately wrapt in a Cloud of Ignorance, are di&s;turbed with pernicious De|&s;ires and Affections; to which when they approach and agree, they help forward and increa&s;e that Servitude which they bring up|on them&s;elves; and in &s;ome manner, even un|der the Liberty proper to them, they are Captives. But yet the Eye of Providence, which beholds all things from Eternity, &s;ees this, and di&s;po&s;eth, according to their Me|rits, all things as they are prede&s;tinated;
<PB N="218" REF="126">
<GAP DESC="foreign"> that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Homer. Iliad. &ggr;.</NOTE> <HI>He &s;eeth and heareth all things.</HI></P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="II" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM II.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Puro clarum lumine Phoebum</L>
<L>Melliflui canit oris Homerus, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>The &s;weet-tongu'd <HI>Homer</HI>'s flowing Ver&s;e</L>
<L>Doth &s;ing of <HI>Phebus,</HI> and his purer Light;</L>
<L>Yet the Sun's Rays can never pierce</L>
<L>Into Earth's Bowels, nor his Sight</L>
<L>Reach to the &s;ecret Chambers of the Deep,</L>
<L>Where <HI>Thetis</HI> doth her choice&s;t Trea&s;ure keep.</L>
<L>But with the World's great Maker 'tis not &s;o;</L>
<L>He all things from the Heights of Heaven doth &s;ee,</L>
<L>Nor Earth nor Clouds impede, he'l know</L>
<L>What is, what was, and what &s;hall be:</L>
<L>Since God doth every Being then alone</L>
<L>Clearly behold, call him the Only Sun.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="III" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> III.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Boet.</SPEAKER>
<P>NOW I am di&s;tracted with a more difficult Doubt than ever.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>What is that I pray thee? for I do conjecture at what thou art troubled.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>It &s;eems to be repug|nant and adver&s;e to Rea&s;on, that God &s;hould have a Fore-knowledg of all things, and at the
<PB N="219" REF="126">
&s;ame time there &s;hould be any &s;uch thing as Free-will: For if God fore&s;ees all things, and can in no manner be deceived, then that which Providence hath fore&s;een mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily come to pa&s;s. Wherefore if from Eternity God doth not only fore-know the Deeds, but al&s;o the Coun&s;els and Wills of Men, there can be no Liberty of Will; nor can there be any other Deed, or any other Will than that which Di|vine Providence, which can by no means be deceived, hath fore&s;een or forethought. For if things may fall out contrary to &s;uch Fore|&s;eeing, and be wre&s;ted another way, there can be no firm Pre&s;cience of Futurities, but rather an uncertain Opinion of them; and I take it to be impious to believe this of God. Nor do I approve of that Rea&s;on by which &s;ome think them&s;elves able to unloo&s;e the Knot of this Que&s;tion: For they &s;ay that a thing is not ne|ce&s;&s;arily to happen, becau&s;e God hath fore&s;een that it will be; but rather on the contrary, be|cau&s;e a thing is to happen, it cannot lie hid from the Divine Providence; and &s;o the Nece&s;&s;ity &s;lides upon the other &s;ide, it not being nece&s;&s;ary that tho&s;e things &s;hould happen which are fore|&s;een, though it be &s;o that tho&s;e things &s;hould be fore&s;een which are to happen: And it is ju&s;t as if Men bu&s;ied them&s;elves to enquire which thing is the Cau&s;e of which thing, as whether Pre&s;cience be the Cau&s;e of the Nece&s;&s;ity of
<PB N="220" REF="127">
things to come, or otherwi&s;e the Nece&s;&s;ity of things to come were the Cau&s;e of Providence. But I &s;hall now endeavour to evince by Demon|&s;tration, that however the Order of Cau&s;es may &s;tand, the Event of things fore&s;een is nece&s;&s;ary, although Pre&s;cience doth not &s;eem to impo&s;e a Nece&s;&s;ity upon future things to fall out. For if a Man &s;it, the Opinion of him that con|jectures that he doth &s;it, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be true. And again, on the contrary, if that O|pinion be true of any one, becau&s;e he &s;its, it is of nece&s;&s;ity true that he doth &s;it. In both of the&s;e then there is a Nece&s;&s;ity lodged; for in one is the Nece&s;&s;ity of Sitting, and in the other is that of Truth: But a Man doth not there|fore &s;it becau&s;e the Opinion of his &s;itting is true; but the Opinion is rather true, becau&s;e the Man did &s;it before. So that although the Cau&s;e of Truth ari&s;eth from the other part, yet there is in both a common Nece&s;&s;ity &s;eated. Thus may we rea&s;on al&s;o concerning Providence and fu|ture Events: For if therefore becau&s;e things are future they are fore&s;een, they are not there|fore becau&s;e they are fore&s;een to arrive: Never|thele&s;s it is nece&s;&s;ary that things to come &s;hould be fore&s;een of God; or if fore&s;een, that they &s;hould happen: and this thing alone is enough to de&s;troy the Doctrine of Free-will. But how prepo&s;terous a thing is it now, that the Event of temporal things &s;hould be &s;aid to
<PB N="221" REF="127">
be the Cau&s;e of eternal Pre&s;cience? For what other thing is it to imagine that God doth fore|&s;ee future things becau&s;e they are to happen, than to imagine that what hath happened be|fore hath been the Cau&s;e of God's all-&s;earching Providence? Add al&s;o to this, that when I know that any thing is, it is nece&s;&s;ary that it &s;hould be. So al&s;o when I know that &s;uch a thing &s;hall come, that mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity arrive. Hence it therefore follows that the Event of a foreknown thing cannot be avoided. La&s;tly, if any Man doth think otherwi&s;e of a thing than it really is, that is not only not Knowledg, but a fal&s;e Opinion, differing far from the Truth of Knowledg. Wherefore if any thing be &s;o to come that its Arrival be not certain and ne|ce&s;&s;ary, how can it be fore&s;een that it will come? For as pure Knowledg is not mingled and con|founded with Fal&s;ity; &s;o al&s;o that thing which is conceived by it, and derived from it, can be no otherwi&s;e than according to its Conception. And this is the Cau&s;e that Science abhors Lies and Fal&s;ity, and cannot be mi&s;taken in what it knows, becau&s;e it is nece&s;&s;ary that every thing &s;hould be &s;o as that comprehends it to be. What follows then? In what manner doth God know the&s;e uncertain Contingencies? For if he be|lieves that a thing &s;hall inevitably fall out, which po&s;&s;ibly may not fall out, he is deceived; but to believe or to &s;peak this, is impiou&s;ly to
<PB N="222" REF="128">
bla&s;pheme. But if Providence di&s;cerneth that &s;o as things are to come; they &s;hall come; &s;o that he knows that many may or may not be done, what then is this Fore-knowledg, which comprehends nothing certain, nothing &s;table? Or what doth this differ from the ridiculous Di|vination of<NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Tire&s;ias.]</HI> He was a Prophet of <HI>Thebes,</HI> who was feigned to be made blind by <HI>Juno,</HI> and to be endowed with the Faculty of Pro|phe&s;ying by <HI>Jupiter.</HI> Hence <HI>Hor. l.</HI> 2. <HI>Sermon. Sat.</HI> 5. <Q><L>Hoc quoque, Tire&s;ia, praeter narrata, petenti</L>
<L>Re&s;ponde: quibus ami&s;&s;as reparare queam res</L>
<L>Artibus atque modis.</L>
<L>&mdash;O nulli quicquam mentite, vides, ut</L>
<L>Nudus inop&s;que domum redeam, te vate.</L></Q>
This Prophet u&s;ed to &s;peak ambiguou&s;ly, as others who pretended to that Gift did, and was u&s;ed to &s;ay, <HI>Quicquid dicam aut erit, aut non:</HI> When <HI>Horace</HI> in the &s;ame Place; <Q><L>O Laertiade, quicquid dicam aut erit, aut non:</L>
<L>Divinare etenim magnus mihi donat Apollo.</L></Q></NOTE> <HI>Tire&s;ias?</HI> who &s;aid, <HI>Quicquid dicam aut erit aut non:</HI> All that I &s;hall &s;ay &s;hall either happen or &s;hall not. Or how much doth Divine Providence differ from humane Opinion, if it make uncertain Judgments of things, as Men do, the Events whereof are not cer|tain. But if there can be nothing of Uncer|tainty in him who is the &s;ure Fountain of all things, the Event of tho&s;e things mu&s;t be cer|tain which he firmly did know before would happen. Whence it follows that Men have no Freedom in their Coun&s;els and Actions; which the Divine Mind, fore&s;eeing all things, without
<PB N="223" REF="128">
Fal&s;ity or Error, doth &s;trongly bind, and ne|ce&s;&s;arily oblige to one Event. And if it be once granted that there is no Freedom of Will, it is very evident how great the Confu&s;ion, and how mighty the Di&s;traction will be of humane Affairs: For in vain are Rewards and Puni&s;h|ments propos'd to the Vertuous and Flagitious, which have not been de&s;erved by any free and voluntary Motion of the Soul. And that which is now adjudged to be the mo&s;t ju&s;t, will be e&s;teemed the mo&s;t unequal thing in the World, which is, that evil Men &s;hould be puni&s;hed, and the good rewarded, whom their proper Will doth not incline either to Vertue or Vice, but who are by a certain Nece&s;&s;ity impo&s;ed upon Futurities, compell'd and thru&s;t forwards towards both. Nor would there be &s;uch things as Vertue or Vice, but rather an undi&s;tingui&s;h|ed Mixture and Confu&s;ion of all Rewards. And from this al&s;o it will follow, that &s;ince all Order is derived from Providence, and that no|thing is left free to the Coun&s;els and Intentions of Men, that al&s;o our Vices &s;hall be referr'd to the Author of all Good, than which no Opinion can be more impious. And of this it will al&s;o be a Con&s;equence, that Men &s;hall have no Rea|&s;on either to hope for any thing from God, or to pray to him: For, for what &s;hould any Man either hope or pray, &s;ince the Series and the unalterable Cour&s;e of De&s;tiny knitteth all things
<PB N="224" REF="129">
together which are de&s;irable? Therefore that only Commerce and Alliance which is betwixt God and Men, I mean the Liberty of Hoping and Praying, &s;hall be aboli&s;hed, and quite ex|tingui&s;hed. For at the ju&s;t Price of Humility and Vertue we de&s;erve the ine&s;timable Reward of Divine Grace: And the&s;e are the only Means, to wit, Hope and Prayer, by which Men &s;eem to have Power to &s;peak with God, and to be advanced and joined to the inacce&s;&s;i|ble Light, even before they obtain their Re|que&s;ts. And if Men believe that Hope and Prayer have no Power, becau&s;e of the Nece&s;&s;i|ty of future Events, what thing is there then by which we may be united, and may hold fa&s;t to God the Prince and Director of all things? Wherefore Mankind mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity, as thou did&s;t &s;ing a little before, be di&s;&s;evered and di&s;|joined from its Good, and mu&s;t &s;hrink from its Beginning.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="III" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM III.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Quaenam di&s;cors foedera rerum</L>
<L>Cau&s;a re&s;olvit? &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>Tell me what di&s;agreeing Cau&s;e</L>
<L>Loo&s;ens the Bands, and from their Laws</L>
<L>All Beings frees? what powerful Hand</L>
<L>Doth make the two<NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Great Truths.]</HI> They are the Divine Providence, and the Free Will of Man.</NOTE> great Truths contend,</L>
<L><PB N="225" REF="129">Which &s;eparate, &s;ub&s;i&s;t, and be,</L>
<L>Yet when they're join'd do di&s;agree?</L>
<L>Tell me, can Truths then never differ,</L>
<L>And do they &s;till agree together?</L>
<L>The Mind, with Members cloth'd, and Night,</L>
<L>Can never, with her darkned Sight,</L>
<L>Bring the clo&s;e Bonds of things to light.</L>
<L>But why doth Man di&s;turb his Mind</L>
<L>The hidden Notes of Truth to find?</L>
<L>Knows he what he to know de&s;ires?</L>
<L>But who for what is known inquires?</L>
<L>If not, what blindly &s;eeks he? Who</L>
<L>Wi&s;heth for that he doth not know?</L>
<L>Or in pur&s;uit of it why doth he go?</L>
<L>Or if he &s;eek, where &s;hall he find</L>
<L>The Thing? or if Chance be &s;o kind</L>
<L>To &s;hew it to him, how &s;hall he</L>
<L>When found, know what its Form &s;hould be:</L>
<L>Or when the Soul doth God behold,</L>
<L>Can it all Principles unfold?</L>
<L>But whil&s;t in Fle&s;h it now is hid,</L>
<L>It doth not quite it &s;elf forget;</L>
<L>With it the Sums of things remain,</L>
<L>Though it Particulars doth not retain.</L>
<L>Who to &s;eek Truth then doth advance,</L>
<L>Is not in either Circum&s;tance:</L>
<L>For every thing he knoweth not,</L>
<L>Nor hath he wholly all forgot:</L>
<L>But of what to his Thought doth come</L>
<L>He recollects and weighs the Sum,</L>
<L><PB N="226" REF="130" MS="y">That he may add tho&s;e Parts which he</L>
<L>Hath lo&s;t, to tho&s;e kept in his Memory.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IV" TYPE="prosa">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> IV.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>THIS is the old Complaint again&s;t Providence, and the Que&s;tion hath been much agitated and canvas'd by<NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="foot">M. T. Cicero.] Videas lib. <HI>2.</HI> de Divinatione.</NOTE> <HI>Marcus Tullius Cicero,</HI> in his Book of Divination; and thou thy &s;elf ha&s;t con&s;idered it much and long, and made deep Re&s;earches into it, but it hath not yet been diligently and thorowly determin|ed by any of you. And the Cau&s;e of the&s;e Difficulties is, that the Motions of humane Ra|tiocination and Di&s;cour&s;e cannot approach to the Purity of the Divine Pre&s;cience, which if Men would any way comprehend, there would be no doubt or &s;cruple left: Which Difficulties I &s;hall endeavour to clear to you, and remove, when I have explained and an&s;wered tho&s;e Rea|&s;ons by which thou ha&s;t been moved. For I ask why thou do&s;t not think the Rea&s;ons of tho&s;e who attempt to &s;olve this Que&s;tion effica|cious and &s;atisfactory; which becau&s;e they can|not maintain that Pre&s;cience is a nece&s;&s;ary Cau&s;e of things to come, think that Free-will is nothing hindered by Pre&s;cience? Let me ask,
<PB N="227" REF="130">
do&s;t thou draw an Argument of the Nece&s;&s;ity of future things from any other Topick than this, that tho&s;e things which are foreknown cannot but come to pa&s;s? If therefore Fore|knowledg impo&s;eth no Nece&s;&s;ity upon future things, as thou thy &s;elf a little before did&s;t con|fe&s;s, what is it which may con&s;train the volun|tary End of things to a certain Event? Now for Argument-&s;ake, that thou may&s;t better un|der&s;tand what Will follow, let us &s;uppo&s;e that there is no Pre&s;cience: Shall therefore, as much I mean as in that lies, tho&s;e things which pro|ceed from Free-will, be con&s;trained to &s;ubmit to the Laws of Nece&s;&s;ity?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No certainly.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Let us then again &s;uppo&s;e that there is &s;uch a thing as Pre&s;cience, but that it doth not bind things by Nece&s;&s;ity; the &s;ame entire and ab&s;o|lute Liberty of the Will will, I think, remain. But thou wilt &s;ay, that although the Pre&s;cience of things to come doth not intimate a Nece&s;&s;ity of their coming, yet it is a Sign that they will nece&s;&s;arily happen. In this manner although Pre&s;cience had never been, the Events of future things would certainly be nece&s;&s;ary: For eve|ry Sign &s;ignifieth only what a thing may be, but it doth not effect the thing which it de&s;ign|eth. Wherefore it mu&s;t fir&s;t be demon&s;trated; that nothing happeneth but of Nece&s;&s;ity, that it may appear that Pre&s;cience is a Sign of that Nece&s;&s;ity. Otherwi&s;e if there be no Nece&s;&s;ity,
<PB N="228" REF="131">
that Fore-knowledg can be no Sign of that which is not. And now it appears that this Proof is &s;upported with firm Rea&s;on, and not by Signs and Arguments drawn from without, but from agreeing and nece&s;&s;ary Cau&s;es. But how can it then happen, that tho&s;e things which are fore&s;een &s;hould not fall out? As if we &s;hould not believe that tho&s;e things will happen which Providence foreknows are to come; and that we &s;hould not rather think, that though they do happen, yet there is nothing in their own Nature of Nece&s;&s;ity which makes them to do &s;o; which thou may&s;t ea&s;ily perceive by what I &s;hall &s;ay. We &s;ee many things when they are done before our Eyes; as what we &s;ee the Cha|rioteer do in turning and winding of his Chariot; and &s;o thou may&s;t imagine it is in all other things. Now is there any Nece&s;&s;ity which compels the&s;e things to be done?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No cer|tainly, for the Working and Effect of Art were vain if all things were moved by Compul&s;ion.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>The things then which are done are under no Nece&s;&s;ity that they &s;hould be done; then fir&s;t before they were done, they were to have ar|rived without Nece&s;&s;ity. Wherefore &s;ome things come to pa&s;s who&s;e Ends are ab&s;olved from all Nece&s;&s;ity: For I do not think that any Man will &s;ay this, that what is done now, be|fore it was done, was not to have happened. The&s;e things therefore, although foreknown,
<PB N="229" REF="131">
have free Events: For as the Knowledg of pre|&s;ent things doth impo&s;e no Nece&s;&s;ity upon things which are now done, no more doth the Fore-knowledg of Futurities upon tho&s;e which are to come. But of this very thing thou may&s;t &s;ay there is a doubt, as whether there can be any certain Prenotion of things which have no certain and nece&s;&s;ary Events: for they &s;eem to di&s;cord, &s;ince thou do&s;t think that if they be fore&s;een, they mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily fall out; and if that Nece&s;&s;ity fail, they cannot be fore&s;een; and that nothing can be comprehended by Science but what is certain. And if tho&s;e things which are attended by no certain Event, are fore&s;een as if they were certain, that would create a Dark|ne&s;s and Ob&s;curity of Opinion, but not a &s;tea|dy true Knowledg. And thou thinke&s;t it not to be according to the Integrity and Manner of Science, to judg of things otherwi&s;e than they are. The Cau&s;e of which Error is, that what|&s;oever Man knows, he thinks his Knowledg is derived from the Power and Nature only of that which is known, whil&s;t is quite the con|trary: For every thing which is known, is com|prehended not after the Power and Force of the thing, but rather after the Faculty of the Know|er. And that this may be cleared by a &s;hort Example, the Sight doth one way perceive the &s;ame Roundne&s;s of a Body, and the Touch ano|ther. The Eye which is placed at a Di&s;tance
<PB N="230" REF="132">
beholds the whole together, and comprehend|eth it at the &s;ame time with its Rays: But the other cleaving and being join'd to the Orb, and moving about the Circuit, findeth out the Roundne&s;s by the Parts. And Man him&s;elf is one way looked upon by Sen&s;e, another way by the Imagination, another by Rea&s;on, another by the Under&s;tanding; for the Sen&s;e con&s;iders the Figure as it is con&s;tituted and directed in the &s;ubject Matter: The Imagination judgeth of the Figure alone without the Matter: But Rea|&s;on tran&s;cends the other, and weighs with an univer&s;al Con&s;ideration the &s;ingle Species; but the Eye of the Under&s;tanding &s;oareth higher, for it &s;urmounteth the univer&s;al Bounds, and runs di&s;tinctly over the very &s;imple Form by Purity and Subtlety of Thought. In which that is mo&s;tly to be con&s;idered, that the &s;uperi|our Power of Comprehending doth embrace the inferiour, but the Inferiour can by no means mount up to the Superiour: For the Sen&s;e can comprehend nothing which is not of Matter, nor doth the Imagination regard the univer&s;al Species, nor doth Rea&s;on comprehend the &s;im|ple Form; but the Under&s;tanding which look|eth as it were from above, when it hath con|ceived the Form, it judgeth al&s;o of all things which are under it, but it knows them in the &s;ame manner by which it comprehended the Form, which can be known to none of the
<PB N="231" REF="132">
other: For it knoweth the whole of Rea&s;on, the Figure of the Imagination, the &s;en&s;ible Matter, neither u&s;ing Rea&s;on, the Imagination, nor the Sen&s;es; but, as I may &s;ay, with one Effort of Mind it bringeth all things formally within the Compa&s;s of its View. Rea&s;on al&s;o when &s;he looketh upon any univer&s;al thing, u&s;ing neither the Imagination nor the Sen&s;es, doth yet comprehend all imaginable and &s;en&s;i|ble things: For it is &s;he who defineth the Uni|ver&s;ality of her Conception thus: Man is a ra|tional Creature with two Feet; which though it be an univer&s;al Notion, no one yet is igno|rant of Man's being an imaginable and &s;en&s;ible thing, which &s;he con&s;idereth not by Imaginati|on or Sen&s;e, but by a rational Conception. The Imagination al&s;o, although it deriveth its Pow|er of &s;eeing and forming Figures from the Sen&s;es, yet in the Ab&s;ence, and without the U&s;e of the Sen&s;es, it con&s;iders and comprehends all &s;en&s;ible things, not by a &s;en&s;ible, but by an imaginative way of Judging. Do&s;t not thou &s;ee then, that all things in knowing u&s;e rather their own proper Faculties, than the Force or Powers of tho&s;e things which are to be known? Nor is it unrea&s;onable that it &s;hould be &s;o; for &s;ince every Judgment is the Act of the Judger, it is nece&s;&s;ary that every one &s;hould do his own Work by the Help of his own Faculties, and not by the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of foreign Power.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="IV" TYPE="metrum">
<PB N="232" REF="133">
<HEAD>METRUM IV.</HEAD>
<Q><L>Quondam porticus attulit</L>
<L>Ob&s;curos nimium &s;enes, &amp;c.</L></Q>
<L>The<NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="marg"><HI>The Porch.]</HI> There was a Porch in <HI>Athens</HI> where &s;ome Philo|&s;ophers did u&s;ually meet to di&s;pute, and other People to hear News. <HI>Zeno,</HI> among&s;t the Antients, was the fir&s;t who took occa|&s;ion to teach Philo&s;ophy in this Place; from whence his Di&s;ci|ples were called Stoicks; <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the Greek Language &s;ignifying Porch.</NOTE> Porch did heretofore produce</L>
<L>A kind of dark Philo&s;ophers,</L>
<L>Who ignorantly did believe</L>
<L>That all the Images of things,</L>
<L>Obvious to Sen&s;e, imprinted were</L>
<L>By outward Objects on the Mind:</L>
<L>As heretofore with a &s;wift Stile</L>
<L>Men us'd on waxen Tables &s;mooth,</L>
<L>And free from any Characters,</L>
<L>Letters and Figures to ingrave.</L>
<L>But by its proper Motions if the Mind</L>
<L>Can nothing do, nor yet explain,</L>
<L>But only pa&s;&s;ively doth lie</L>
<L>From outward Objects taking all</L>
<L>Idea's, and its Figures, and pre&s;ents,</L>
<L>Like &s;ome dull Mirror to the Eye,</L>
<L>The fainter Images of things;</L>
<L>Whence doth the Knowledg then proceed</L>
<L><PB N="233" REF="133">By which the Mind doth all things comprehend?</L>
<L>Whence is the Force which doth behold</L>
<L>Each Being then? or whence is that</L>
<L>Which doth divide tho&s;e things when known?</L>
<L>Or that again which recollects</L>
<L>Divided things, changing its way</L>
<L>Alternately, for &s;ometimes it</L>
<L>Rai&s;eth its Head to higher things,</L>
<L>Then to the lowe&s;t doth de&s;cend?</L>
<L>And when t' it &s;elf it doth return,</L>
<L>Confuteth fal&s;e things by the true?</L>
<L>This Cau&s;e now efficacious is,</L>
<L>More powerful too than that which doth</L>
<L>Admit the Characters impre&s;s'd</L>
<L>Like &s;ervile Matter; yet the Sen&s;e,</L>
<L>Which in the living Body doth remain,</L>
<L>Doth go before, and doth excite</L>
<L>And move the Forces of the Mind:</L>
<L>As when the Light doth &s;trike the Eye,</L>
<L>Or as the Voice doth &s;trike the Ear:</L>
<L>Then is the Force of Thought awak'd,</L>
<L>Calls out the Species which it hath within</L>
<L>It &s;elf, to move about and act,</L>
<L>Applies them to the outward Notes,</L>
<L>Mingling and joining all tho&s;e Images</L>
<L>Fix'd in it &s;elf in foreign Forms.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="V" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="234" REF="134">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> V.</HEAD>
<P>BUT if in knowing and perceiving of Bo|dies, although the Qualities objected from without may affect the In&s;truments or Or|gans of the Sen&s;es, and the Pa&s;&s;ion or Suffering of the Body may go before the Strength and Vigour of the acting Soul, which may call forth the Act of the Mind or Thought re&s;iding within it &s;elf, and may in the mean time excite the Forms which lie quietly within: If, I &s;ay, in the perception of bodily things the Soul is not by the Impre&s;&s;ion of Pa&s;&s;ion made to know the&s;e things, but by its own Power judgeth of the Pa&s;&s;ion and Suffering of the Body, how much more then &s;hall tho&s;e things which are ab&s;olved and free from the Pa&s;&s;ions and Affecti|ons of Bodies, and from any Commerce with them, not in di&s;cerning, be guided by outward Objects, but accompli&s;h and execute purely the Acts of their own Minds and Thoughts? By this Rea&s;on then there are &s;everal &s;orts of Knowing, to &s;everal and differing Sub&s;tances: For Sen&s;e, which is alone de&s;titute of all other Knowledg, is allotted to tho&s;e Creatures which cannot move; &s;uch as are Shells of the Sea, and other things which are nouri&s;hed by &s;ticking to the Rocks. But the imaginative Power is po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ed
<PB N="235" REF="134">
by Bea&s;ts, which can move of them|&s;elves, and who &s;eem to have &s;ome kind of Fa|culty of de&s;iring or refu&s;ing things; but Rea&s;on is the Talent of Mankind alone, as Intelligence only appertains to the Divine Nature. Hence it is that that Knowledg exceeds all other, which by its own Nature is not only acquainted with the Matter of that which properly be|longs to it, but al&s;o with that which is &s;ubject|ed to all others. But how will it then fall out, if Sen&s;e and Imagination oppo&s;e and are con|trary to Rea&s;on, affirming that that Univer&s;al is nothing which Rea&s;on thinks it &s;o perfectly &s;ees? For Sen&s;e intimates that that which is &s;en&s;ible and imaginable, cannot be univer&s;al: Then therefore the Judgment of Rea&s;on mu&s;t be true, that nothing can be &s;en&s;ible: Or el&s;e, becau&s;e &s;he knows that many things are &s;ub|ject to Sen&s;e and Imagination, the Concep|tion of Rea&s;on mu&s;t be vain, which con&s;ider|eth that which is &s;en&s;ible and &s;ingular as an Univer&s;al. But if Rea&s;on &s;hould again an|&s;wer to tho&s;e things, and &s;ay, that &s;he truly comprehends what is &s;en&s;ible and imaginable within the Compa&s;s of Univer&s;ality; but yet &s;he cannot a&s;pire to the Knowledg of Uni|ver&s;ality, becau&s;e Knowledg of the former cannot exceed corporeal Figures: But as to the Knowledg of things, we ought to give Belief to the more firm and perfect Judg|ment
<PB N="236" REF="135">
of them. In a Conte&s;t of this kind therefore, ought not we who have in us all the Powers of Rea&s;on, Imagination, and Sen&s;e, rather to approve and &s;upport the Cau&s;e of Rea&s;on? Like this it is, when humane Rea|&s;on imagines that the Divine Under&s;tanding beholdeth or knoweth not things to come, but ju&s;t as they are beheld or known by her. For thus thou argue&s;t; What things do not &s;eem to have certain and nece&s;&s;ary Events, they cannot be foreknown certainly to happen. Of the&s;e things therefore there is no Fore-know|ledg; or if we believe that there be any, then is there nothing which doth not happen of Nece&s;&s;ity. If therefore we might have the Judgment of the Divine Mind, as we are Par|takers of Rea&s;on, we &s;hould judg as we have already judged, that Imagination and Sen&s;e ought to yield to Rea&s;on, and al&s;o judg that it is mo&s;t ju&s;t that humane Rea&s;on ought to &s;ubmit it &s;elf to the Mind of God. Where|fore, if we may, let us advance our &s;elves to the Height of the highe&s;t Intelligence, and there Rea&s;on &s;hall &s;ee that which &s;he cannot find in her &s;elf; and that is, in what manner the Pre&s;cience of God &s;eeth and defineth all things, although they have no certain Event; nor let this be looked upon as an Opinion, but rather the Puri|ty and Simplicity of the Supreme Know|ledg,
<PB N="237" REF="135">
which can be included within no Bounds.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="V" TYPE="metrum">
<HEAD>METRUM V.</HEAD>
<Q>Quam variis terras animalia permeant figuris! Nam&abque; alia extento &s;unt corpore, pulverem&abque; verrunt, &amp;c.</Q>
<L>In Shapes how differing Creatures wander thr&ocirc; the Earth!</L>
<L>Some with extended Bodies go, and &s;weep the Du&s;t,</L>
<L>And by th' Impre&s;&s;ion of their Brea&s;ts a Furrow make.</L>
<L>Some beat the yielding winds with nimblene&s;s of wing,</L>
<L>And with a moi&s;ter Flight &s;wim through the Air;</L>
<L>Some with their Feet affect to pre&s;s the &s;ofter ground,</L>
<L>Or in the verdant Meads, or in green Woods to walk.</L>
<L>Yet th&ocirc; thou &s;ee&s;t them differ in their various Forms,</L>
<L>They do in this together centre and agree,</L>
<L>That their Looks downward bent, their heavier Sen&s;e makes dull.</L>
<L>But Man alone doth rai&s;e his noble Head on high,</L>
<L>Light, and erect he &s;tands, and doth de&s;pi&s;e the Earth.</L>
<L>Thou art admoni&s;h'd by this Figure then, unle&s;s</L>
<L>Thy earthly Mind doth thee deceive, that whil&s;t towards</L>
<L>The Heavens thy Face thou rai&s;e&s;t, and thy Forehead do&s;t</L>
<L>Advance, thou &s;hould&s;t advance thy Mind on high,</L>
<L>Le&s;t, whil&s;t thy Body tow'rds the &s;tarry Regions looks,</L>
<L>Thy noble Mind &s;hould tow'rds the Centre be depre&s;t.</L>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="VI" TYPE="prosa">
<PB N="238" REF="136">
<HEAD><HI>PROSA</HI> VI.</HEAD>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Phil.</SPEAKER>
<P>BEcau&s;e therefore, as I have demon|&s;trated a little before, that every thing which is known, is not by its own Na|ture known, but by that of him who com|prehendeth it, let us now behold, as far as it is lawful for Philo&s;ophers, what the E&s;tate is of the Divine Sub&s;tance, that we may bet|ter &s;ee what this Knowledg is. It is the com|mon Judgment then of all tho&s;e who live by the Rules of Rea&s;on, that God is Eternal: Let us then con&s;ider what Eternity is, for this would lay open to us, at the &s;ame time, the Nature of God and his Knowledg. Eternity therefore is a total and a perfect Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of a Life which &s;hall never have an End; which appears more clearly from the Compari&s;on of temporal things: For what&s;oever liveth in time, proceedeth to the pre&s;ent, from what is pa&s;t to what is to come: And there is nothing under the Laws of Time, which can at once comprehend the whole Space of its Life. For a Man doth not yet po&s;&s;e&s;s to Morrow; and what was Ye&s;terday he hath already lo&s;t; and in the Life of this Day you live no more but as in this pa&s;&s;ing and tran&s;itory flowing Mo|ment. Whatever therefore is &s;ubject to a tem|poral
<PB N="239" REF="136">
Condition, although, as <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> thought of the World, it never began to be, nor &s;hall ever have end, but its Life &s;hall be drawn out to an Infinity of Time, yet it is not that which Men may rightly judg to be Eternal: for although it comprehends the Space of an infinite Life, yet it doth not embrace altogether at the &s;ame time; for it wants the future things which are not yet ar|rived. What&s;oever then comprehends and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es together, and at the &s;ame time the Fulne&s;s of an endle&s;s Life, which wants nothing of Futurity, and from which nothing that is pa&s;t is e&s;caped, ought ju&s;tly to be e&s;teemed Eternal: For it is nece&s;&s;ary that that &s;hould always be pre&s;ent to it &s;elf, and Ma&s;ter of it &s;elf, and that it have always with it the In|finity of movable Time. Therefore they err, who when they heard that <HI>Plato</HI> believed that this World neither had Beginning, nor &s;hall have End, in this manner they make that which is created, Coeternal with its Crea|tor: For it is one thing to be led on through an interminable Life, which <HI>Plato</HI> granted to the World, and another to comprehend at the &s;ame time together the Pre&s;ence of &s;uch an one, which it is manife&s;t is only proper to God. Nor ought it to &s;eem to us that God is antienter than the created World by quan|tity of Time, but rather by the &s;imple Pro|priety
<PB N="240" REF="137">
of his Nature. The infinite Motion of temporal things imitates the pre&s;ent State of immovable Life: and &s;ince it can neither coun|terfeit nor equal it, from Immobility it pa&s;&s;eth into Motion; from the Simplicity of a pre|&s;ent, it goeth into an infinite Quantity of fu|ture and pa&s;t Time: And &s;ince it cannot toge|ther po&s;&s;e&s;s the Fulne&s;s of it &s;elf; yet in this, &s;ince it never cea&s;eth in &s;ome mea&s;ure to be, it &s;eems faintly to emulate that, to who&s;e Per|fection it cannot attain, and which it cannot fully expre&s;s, binding it &s;elf to &s;ome kind of Pre&s;ence of this &s;mall and &s;wift Moment; which, becau&s;e it bears &s;ome Re&s;emblance of that durable and pre&s;ent Time, it giveth to tho&s;e things to which it happens a &s;eeming Exi&s;tence. And becau&s;e this &s;mall Moment may not &s;tay, it doth therefore proceed in the infinite way of Time. And hence it is that it continues it &s;elf in Progre&s;&s;ion, to the Fulne&s;s of which it could not attain by being fixed. If then we would, following <HI>Plato,</HI> impo&s;e Names &s;utable to things, let us &s;ay, that God is only Eternal, and the World is Perpetual. Since then every Judgment comprehends tho&s;e things which are &s;ubject to it, according to its own Nature, there mu&s;t always be allowed to God an eternal and ever pre&s;ent State: His Knowledg al&s;o exceeding all the Motions of Time, remaineth in the Purene&s;s and Simpli|city
<PB N="241" REF="137">
of its Pre&s;ence, containing the infinite Spaces of pre&s;ent and pa&s;t Time, and con&s;ider|eth all things by the Purity of that Know|ledg, as if they were now doing. If there|fore thou would&s;t rightly con&s;ider of that Pre&s;cience by which he fore-knoweth all things, thou &s;halt not e&s;teem it as a Fore-knowledg of what is to come, but more rightly thou wilt find it to be the Knowledg of the pre|&s;ent, and never failing NOW. Therefore it is not to be called <HI>Praevidentia,</HI> but rather <HI>Pro|videntia;</HI> which being placed far above all in|feriour things, doth as it were behold all from the very Heights of the World. What is it then that thou would&s;t have, that the&s;e things &s;hould be attended by a nece&s;&s;ary Event, which are view'd by the Divine Eye, &s;ince Men do not make tho&s;e things nece&s;&s;ary which they behold? For doth thine Eye which be|holdeth a pre&s;ent thing, add any thing of Ne|ce&s;&s;ity to it?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>No, it doth not.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>But if Men do make a ju&s;t Compari&s;on betwixt the Divine and Humane Pre&s;cience, then as you &s;ee &s;omething by your temporal one, God &s;eeth all things by his eternal one. Therefore this Divine Fore-&s;ight doth not change the Nature and Property of things, but only be|holds tho&s;e things as pre&s;ent to him, which &s;hall in time be produced: Nor doth it con|found the Judgment of things, but know|eth
<PB N="242" REF="138">
at one View what is nece&s;&s;arily, and what is not nece&s;&s;arily to arrive. So you, when at the &s;ame time you &s;ee a Man walk upon the Earth, and the Sun to ri&s;e in the Heaven, although both were &s;een at the &s;ame time, yet you di&s;cern and judg that the Acti|on of the one was voluntary, and that of the other was a nece&s;&s;ary one: So therefore the Eye of God looking down and beholding all things under him, doth not at all di&s;turb the Qualities of things, which to him are pre&s;ent, but, in re&s;pect of Time, to you are future. Hence it is that this is not an Opinion, but a certain Knowledg grounded upon Truth, that when God knoweth that any thing is to be, at the &s;ame time he knoweth it not to be un|der a Nece&s;&s;ity of exi&s;ting. And here if thou &s;ay&s;t, that what God doth fore&s;ee &s;hall hap|pen, it cannot but happen; and that which cannot do otherwi&s;e than happen, mu&s;t of Nece&s;&s;ity come to pa&s;s, and &s;o mu&s;t bind me to a Nece&s;&s;ity: I will confe&s;s that this is a mo&s;t &s;olid Truth, but it is &s;uch an one that &s;carce any one can attain to, unle&s;s he be ac|quainted with the Mind of God. For I will an&s;wer thee thus; That the Thing which is to arrive, being referr'd to the Divine Know|ledg, becomes nece&s;&s;ary; but if it be taken ac|cording to its own Nature, it &s;eems altoge|ther ab&s;olute and free: For there are two
<PB N="243" REF="138">
kinds of Nece&s;&s;ities; one &s;imple, as that it is nece&s;&s;ary for all Men to die; the other is con|ditional, as if thou knowe&s;t any one doth walk, it is nece&s;&s;ary that he do walk. What then any one knows, it cannot be otherwi&s;e than it is known to be: But this Condition doth not at all draw that &s;imple one along with it. For its pro|per Nature doth not con&s;titute this Nece&s;&s;ity, but the Addition of the Condition: For no Nece&s;&s;ity compels a Man to walk, who walks voluntarily, although it mu&s;t be nece&s;&s;ary that he &s;hould walk when he doth. Therefore, in the &s;ame manner, if Providence &s;eeth any thing pre&s;ent, it is nece&s;&s;ary that it &s;hould be, al|though in its own Nature there be nothing to con&s;titute that Nece&s;&s;ity: but all Futurities, which proceed from Free-will, God &s;ees as pre&s;ent to him. The&s;e things therefore, Re|lation being had to the Divine Sight, are made nece&s;&s;ary by the Condition of the Divine Knowledg; but being con&s;idered by them|&s;elves, they do not recede from the ab&s;olute Liberty of their Nature. All things there|fore &s;hall come to pa&s;s, which God fore&s;ees &s;hall have a Being, but many of them pro|ceed from Free-will; which, although they do happen, yet they do not by exi&s;ting lo&s;e any thing of their Nature; by which it was in their Power before they did happen, not to have happened.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>What then, is it to the
<PB N="244" REF="139">
purpo&s;e if things be not nece&s;&s;ary in their own Nature, &s;ince by the Condition of the Di|vine Knowledg they fall out together, as if they lay under a Nece&s;&s;ity?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>This is the Difference, that tho&s;e things which a little before I propo&s;ed to thee, to wit, the Sun ri&s;ing, and a Man going, which, when they are done, cannot but be done: But yet it was nece&s;&s;ary that one of the&s;e before it was done &s;hould exi&s;t, but it was not &s;o with the other. So then tho&s;e things which God doth &s;ee at pre|&s;ent, do without doubt exi&s;t; but &s;ome of them proceed from the Nature of things, as is in&s;tanced in the ri&s;ing of the Sun; and others from the Will and Power of the Doer, as it is in the other In&s;tance.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Bo.</SPEAKER>
<P>Therefore I did not &s;ay ami&s;s when I &s;aid, that &s;ome things, being referred to the Divine Knowledg, are nece&s;&s;ary; but if con&s;idered by them&s;elves, they are ab&s;olved from the Bonds of Nece&s;&s;i|ty. Ju&s;t as every thing which is an Object of the Sen&s;es, if it be con&s;idered by Rea&s;on, it is univer&s;al; but if by it &s;elf, it is &s;ingular. But thou may&s;t &s;ay, that if it be in my Pow|er to change my purpo&s;e, I &s;hall de&s;troy Pro|vidence, and make it to &s;ignify nothing, if perchance I &s;hould change that which &s;he hath fore&s;een.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Ph.</SPEAKER>
<P>Thus I will an&s;wer thee, That thou may&s;t perchance alter thy purpo&s;e; but becau&s;e the pre&s;ent Truth of the Divine
<PB N="245" REF="139">
Providence fore&s;eeth that thou may&s;t change it; but whether thou do&s;t it or not, or which way &s;oever thou may&s;t turn it, thou can&s;t not avoid the Pre&s;cience of God; no more than thou can&s;t fly from the Sight of his Eye, al|though by the Freedom of thy Will thou do&s;t turn thy &s;elf to never &s;o great a Diver|&s;ity of Actions. But what then may&s;t thou &s;ay? Shall the Divine Knowledg be changed according to the Mutability of my Di&s;po&s;iti|on; &s;o that when I would now do that, and now do this, that al&s;o &s;hould &s;eem to vary its turns of Knowing? No certainly; for the Divine Eye foreruns all future things, and re|turns and brings them back to the Pre&s;ence of God's proper Knowledg. Nor doth he, as thou thinke&s;t, change his turns of Fore|knowing, now this, now that; but he re|mains fixed, and at once fore&s;ees and compre|hends all the Variations and Changes. Which pre&s;ent Faculty of comprehending and &s;ee|ing all things, God doth not receive from the Events of future things, but from the proper Simplicity of his own Nature. Hence al&s;o that is re&s;olved which thou did&s;t lay down a little before, which was, that it is unfit to be thought that our future Actions and Events are the Cau&s;es of the Pre&s;cience of God: For this Strength of the Divine Mind which em|braceth and comprehends all things with a
<PB N="246" REF="140" MS="y">
pre&s;ent Knowledg, hath it &s;elf appointed a Method and Bounds to all things, and is not beholden to Futurities. Since then things are thus, there remains to Men an inviolable Free|dom of Will. Nor are the Laws to blame when they propo&s;e Rewards and Puni&s;hments to tho&s;e who&s;e Wills are free from the Yoke of Nece&s;&s;ity. That God al&s;o who foreknow|eth all things remains above, and the always-pre&s;ent Eternity of his Sight agreeth with the future Quality of our Actions, di&s;pen&s;ing Re|wards to good, and Puni&s;hments to evil Men. Nor are our Hopes and Prayers lodged and addre&s;&s;ed to God in vain, which when they are &s;incere and hone&s;t cannot be un&s;uc|ce&s;sful, nor without Effect. Hate Vice then, and turn from it; love, honour and adore Vertue; advance your Minds and Thoughts to the true&s;t Hope, and let your humble Prayers mount on high: for there is a great Nece&s;&s;ity of being good and vertuous im|po&s;ed upon you, if you will not di&s;&s;emble, &s;ince you act in the Sight of a Judg that &s;eeth all things.</P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>The End of the Fifth and la&s;t Book.</TRAILER>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<PB REF="140">
<HEAD>ERRATA.</HEAD>
<P>PAge 4. lin. 24. for <HI>Theoric</HI> read <HI>Theory.</HI> P. 5. l. <HI>ult.</HI> f. <HI>Bankey Coa&s;ts</HI> r. <HI>Banks.</HI> P. 18. l. 21. f. <HI>&s;ole</HI> r. <HI>&s;olo.</HI> P. 19. in Margin r. <HI>adver&s;us praefectum praetorio.</HI> P. 24. l. 9. dele <HI>&amp;c.</HI> P. 27. l. 23. f. <HI>un|happy</HI> r. <HI>happy.</HI> P. 30. l. 11. f. <HI>Scyrius</HI> r. <HI>Seirius;</HI> and f. <GAP DESC="foreign"> r. <GAP DESC="foreign">. P. 31. l. 20. r. <HI>Behold poor.</HI> P. 34. l. 2. for <HI>the&s;e</HI> r. <HI>tho&s;e.</HI> P. 39. l. <HI>ult.</HI> r. <HI>&s;eems.</HI> P. 40. l. 5. f. <HI>&s;he</HI> r. <HI>it.</HI> l. 6, &amp; 7. f. <HI>her</HI> r. <HI>its.</HI> P. 45. l. 11. f. <HI>Scene</HI> r. <HI>Theatre.</HI> P. 46. l. 25. r. <HI>Negroponte.</HI> l. 27. r. <HI>Baeotia.</HI> P. 50. l. 8. r. <HI>did&s;t.</HI> P. 51. l. 16. f. <HI>all</HI> r. <HI>is.</HI> P. 57. l. <HI>ult.</HI> f. <HI>pulchralis</HI> r. <HI>pulchra tui.</HI> P. 67. l. 8. r. <HI>Natures.</HI> P. 71. l. 3. r. <HI>craving.</HI> l. 28. f. <HI>nec</HI> r. <HI>net.</HI> P. 72. l. 15. r. <HI>with.</HI> P. 76. l. 23. r. <HI>Amphidamas.</HI> P. 78. l. 12. r. <HI>cae&s;is.</HI> P. 82. l. 5, 6. r. <HI>redoubted.</HI> P. 86. l. 31. f. <HI>Tra&s;cat</HI> r. <HI>Fra&s;cati.</HI> l. <HI>ult.</HI> r. <HI>Grotta's.</HI> P. 89. l. 16. f. <HI>line</HI> r. <HI>ligue.</HI> P. 100. l. 15. f. <HI>his</HI> r. <HI>her.</HI> l. 19. r. <HI>rendred it by.</HI> P. 106. l. <HI>penult.</HI> f. <HI>humidum</HI> r. <HI>tu|midum.</HI> P. 109. l. 13. dele the la&s;t <HI>and.</HI> P. 110. l. 20. f. <HI>his</HI> r. <HI>hic.</HI> P. 113. l. 22. r. <HI>adjiceret.</HI> P. 130. l. 24. f. <HI>fluitous</HI> r. <HI>fluitans.</HI> P. 176. l. 5. dele <HI>ju&s;t.</HI> P. 191. l. 24. f. <HI>was</HI> r. <HI>is.</HI> P. 208. l. 29. f. <HI>Gardius</HI> r. <HI>Gardens.</HI> P. 217. l. 12. r. <HI>corporeal.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
