N 2 * your / your Dilbrders \ if any thing be wanting, turn your Eyes towards tha^ common Mother, and (he will give you, eafily, wherewith to be content. Are you Thir* fty? She hath every where pbced Riven and Springs where you may quench your Thirft. Hungry? Places where you will j find Fruits to live on. If you are not fi- ' tisfied with thefe things,- you will never j be fatisfied with all your Excefles \ con- ' fult your Hunger, and your Thirft, they will find Delights for you in the fimplici* ty of Nature, and Bread and Water will ferve you inftead of the beft Difli upon Earth you can call to mind, when yon are in Neceffity: But now you are not, fo you give no time to your Stomach to digeft your Meat-, your Intemperance daily contrafts Crudities, and accelerates the Hour of that Death which terrifies you with fuch difmal Apprehenfions, Thus you make Fcafts which afford you no Plcafure, becaufe you ftrain Nature, j forcing it to obey your Defires. But know this, your Defires interfere with yoor Nature, and the Errors of your Mind darken the Light of your Reafon \ wherefore flatter not your felf with tafting | Pleafure as you fondly imagine. There a is nothing bounded but in Nature, what-^ ever is repugnant to Nature is infinite, | and confequently above us. Ambitious Subjefts afpire to Crowns, if they became Kings, they would aim at being folie Monarchs of the Earth ) if Monarchs> they * woi * woi Findicatm of EV lev KVS. i8i would wiih for Incenle and Sacrifices s And the Fable of the Gyants informs us^ that the Earth hath dared to contend with Heaven for its Dominion. It is the fame with other Evil Appetites, none can be Happy but he that knows how to govern them, and as it belongs only to a Wife Man to undertake that Province, fb it only belongs to him to fway the Univerfe. He only can extraft Pleafure out of all thefe things ^ he alone ufes Delights l(;^riy, and pofle&th them ia their true Perfeftion., For your part, youdiQionour the Race of Aui^vfius^ and are the Infamy of Mankind, over whom the Anger pf the Gods hath given you the Command -, but do what you pleafe, you will be always Miferable, your Grief will barrafs you at all times, and in all Places \ you will never fteal ont Moment from your Confeience, and in the mid ft of all your Good Cheer, you will drink no Wine but what Ihall reprefent to you the Blood of thole Innocents which your Cruelty hatb^ Ihed on one bafe Pretence or other. Thus would Epicurus have delivered him-p. lelf, thus would he have juftified his Philofopiiy, and thus reprov'd that Emperor's moft abominable Vice and Folly: But as it is impoflible that t\\tMnd Ihould truly relijh?\e^^ lure, if her Companion, the Body,labour under any Afflidion. Epicurus^ or rather Truth it felf teaches, that Privation of corporal Pain is a very neceflary Compofition in that Supreme Good or Felicity of Life which iq 3 Plcafurc iq 3 Plcafurc Pleafure doth produce •, and in truth, there is fo clofe an Alliance between the Body and the Mind, that^ their Pleafures and their Sufferings are infeparable, the Mind cannot be entirely happy whilft Pain affli&s the Body •, neither can the Body retain its Vigour if the Mind be afflidedand.diftnrbcd. ] Hence it evidently appears, that the Sum of all Pleafure confifts only in the amotbn T of Pain, or in that State which follows upon that amotion ^ for where-ever Pleafure is, there can be nothing of Anxiety or Pain; and confequently it muft be a great Pleafure not to be in Pain^ for a further Proof whereof, if any Man doubt, let him confult thofe who have been tormented with the Gout, Cholick, Strangury, or any other acute Difeafe. Let the Stoicks boaft as much as they pleafe of the infenfibility of their Seft, and that rigorous Vertue which makes a mock of Pain; one fit of the Stone^ or fuch like Diflemper, will fully convince them that their Bodies do not center with their Opinion, and that their Difcourfes, tho' molt eloquent and fublime, arc neither agreeable to Truth nor Humane Nature.
It will not be amifs to illuflrat? this Affertion with a fuitable Example, and the fame Ihall not be taken from the Crowd of pretending Philofophers. I will make ufe of a Name the Stoicks themfelves ihall noC^. fcruple to admit, and pitch upon aPerfon whofe Vertues they never doubted of ^ Her^ cules Ihall bear witnefs to the Truth of what I I I aflert \ that Hercules whofe Labours have g^inM him a Seat amongib the Gods, and rendred him fb ^orious to Men, that the Poets have always made choice of him as a perfea inftanee of the Force and Power of Wiiclom. We wiU take a view of this Hero dying, and confider him in the laft Actions of his Life ^ this invincible Man's Exit^ we exped, (hould be like his Entrance, illuftrious in performing fomething worthy of his Charafter, that he fliould fay nothing which would fully his Noble Anions, or feem nnworthy of his former Vertue. But alas, we are deceived, the ftrength of his Pain gets the Maftery of his Courage, his Conftancy yields to the Heat of that Poyfbn which devours him s he does not only Complain, he Weeps, he Cries, he Howls *, and it is with the utmofl: EfTedis of Rage and Defpair, that he quits this Life to taj^e his place among the Gods* Let not the Stoicks then rattle any longer of their Infenfibility, nor pretend, that a Wife man may be happy in the midfl of Tor- " tures i neither let them defpife Pain, to ivhich Hercules himfelf was forced to yield, after fo many Viftories.
But if the Stoicks, in fkvour of this their darling Hero, rejeft the Authority of Poets, and the confent of Theatres, asreprcfenting Hercules contrary to the Truth: Toffidomus^ Mafter to Gceroy and by him [tiled, the greatefb of the Stoicks, will ferve js an illuftrious Example to prove the Truth of my alTertion; here we fliall fee i\ N 4 ipair^ f N 4 ipair^ f mam Pillar of the (^a) Porch ftaggefd, and by^confcqucnce, the whole Fabrick ready to fall i Pompey the Greats underftaxjding that this famous Philofopher lay grievoufly tornieutcd with the Gout, made him a Vifitjto fee whether fo great aMafter was able to bear that Pain with the fame Eaie, now when aflifted, as be contemned and defiled it by his florid Harangues, when in Health. The Philofopher was furprized at the Pre^ fence of fo noble and uncxpefted a Gueft i and judging that the true caufe of his coming was fome thing more than a friendly Vifit, he bore the violence of his Pain with the utmoft uneafinefs j and tho' the extreme Agony thereof, made fweat trickle from.him, in abundance ^ yet obftinately refolving not to contradid his former Dodrine, either by Words or Groans, before fo great a Witnefsj in the midft of hisPain, cries out, / ne^cr will own you to he an Evil i by which Expreflioii, he only confirm'd his Noble Gueft in his former Opinion: That the Doftrine of the Stoicks confifted more in haughty and vain glorious ExprefGons, than a right conformity to Truth and Reafon. Cicero comes in as a full Proof of this Wifeman's Wcaknefs and Inconfiftency ^ Jhavefeen^ lays he, Poflidonius the Greatefi of the Stoicks.^ have as little power to undergo the Pains of the Gout^ as my Hofi Nicomachus *, a Perfon whom Tully accounted an ordinary fort of Fellow.
As 1 have given an Inftance of Hercvles in his laft Moments^ that I may fully difpatch this Vindication of E PI C U RUS: itij this Point: I will examiip that grand Qucftion of the Stoicks. What think, you of Hercules zhA The feus^ whofe Lives' wffe one continued Series of glorious Labours^ which if they had not undertaken^ the ]parth had been over-run with Mdnfters andlnjiiftice?. By which Queftion, it is undeniably eViHient, that the Stoicks are nothing more thgri v^n. ignorant Pretenders, and blind Guides, who lead their Admirers on in a Wildgoofe Chace, from which they have reaped nothing but Confufion, and made themfelves ridiculous to all Ages. For, had they under flood the Matter right, or had they not been blinded with Pride and Arrogancje, they would readily have perceived that the Adions of thefe brave Men were fb many Ihining Proof? of the Truth and ExceDcncy of the Epicurean Dodrine; for 2i$ much as all their great and glorious Labours were undertaken and performed by them, in order to obtain that Pleafure, which our Phi-' lofbpher, with fo much Reafon, affirms to be the Soveraign Good, and true Felicity of Life. Nature hath dififcrifed Pleafure through all her Aftions-, flieufeth'it as a Motive and Affiftance to us, in dojng every thing that is Good and Commendable, and its recompence, when done, according to that received and approved Axiom, Vertw is its own Reward. Man's Life is full of Mifery, and were not ourPaffions to beTweetned with Pleafure, they would end in Grief or Defpair j we fliould be prelTed to Death under the Load of our Misfortunes-, and lofing 'i* lofing 'i* loGng all hope of conquering our Enemies: We fhould likewife lofe the Defire of refitting them. To heighten our Conrage therefore, this wife Mother folicits us by Pleafure, and propofing that to us as a fuB recompence of all our Labours, encouragech BS to defpife Difficulties, and banilh Fear; ibr though the Mind of Man be naturally ambitious J yet would (he not attempt to cbtak Vertue, and fubdue Vice, were there jiot as much Pleafure as Glory in the Aflion; or to fpeak more properly, were there not an inward, excellent, and inexpreffible Pleafure attending every fuch Glorious Attempt.
The Pleafure which our Philofopher recommends,is,the enjoyment of a real pleaf* ing Good *, fuch as fills the Soul with Content; fwallows up Defire in Fruition, and banilheth Sorrow and Fear, fb that he excludes from thence all thofe falfe Delights which l]?ring from Indigence, or cncf in Sorrow, for as they are defired with fo much Anxiety as far exceeds the Pleafure they promife i they are fuch Enemies likewife to our Peace, that it is impolGble to tafte of them, without dilbrdeiing our Nature; they wound, at once, both our Soul and Body, they weaken the one, ani^ corrupt the other; they are worfe Remedies than the Evils they would Cure; they are conftantly attended with Repentance, Sor-" row and Shame, and dare not appear to publick View j for being confcious that they lefl'^n our Reputation, they feek out Shade, Shade, VindicatmofEFlCXfUVS. 1S7 Shade, and court Solitude and Silence; they would blufh y were they forced to difcover themlelves, and Confufion would fo overwhelm them, that all their Joy would be turned into bitternefs and mourning. The Iblid Pleafures are thofe of the Mind j and Man cannot enjoy Peace and Tranquillity, unlefs that which is the nobleft Part, whereof he is compofed,be Happy s the Knowledge of Truth, andPrafticeofVertue, ought to be his chief Delight j he muft remember that the Body is the Souls Slave, and that in choice of Pleafures it is reafonable that the Soveraign have the Preference. Thofe which the Soul reliflieth, are the trtieft; and if any Man be of another Opinion, we may conclude him void qf Reafbn, Senfe, and Underftanding. The Pleafures 6f the Senfes are limitted, whereas thofe of the Soul have no Bounds 5 the Pleafures of the Body are Strangers, thofe of the Soul are Natural *) the former may be taken from us without great Difficulty, but Death itfelf cannot deprive us of the latter, which tho' it rob us of our Riches, cannot rob us of oar Vertues; the Pleafures of the Body are Tranfitory and Dangerous, but the Tranquillity of the Mind produceth trtie and folid Content, and is a Permanent and Ef^' fential Good.
Now, though we do elteem Pleafure as a real Good, and Pain to be a real Evil j yet we do not affirm that we ought always to purfue the one, and avoid the other: Foi^ it may be convenient for us, at fomethnes.
MoHfieur St. Evremokt'^ to fufferPain, that we may, afterwards^ enjoy more abundant and (atisfadory Pleafure, and to abftain from fome Plealiires, left they draw upon us more grievous Pain^ for fome things there are, which tho' they yield fome Pleafure, yet they are of fuch a Nature as to occalion Pains much greater than chemfelves. It was this Maxim that made Reiulvs put himfelf again into the Hands of his enraged Enemies, where the Cruelties of his Tormenters were Icfs painful to him than his Remorfe would have been, had he broke his Faith and Promife. It was this Maxim that made Fabricius defpife the offer cdTrea fur es oftheKingof f^irjii, whereby he loft alfo thofe Evil DeGres which attend the Pofleffion of Riches, and preferved to himfelf that repofe of Mind, which is the chief of Pleafures, and Supreme Good. To this Maxim may be referred all thofe great Deeds, and commendable Anions, aone by the^ Heroes of former Ages; you will find that if they at any time embraced Pain, it was to avoid a much greater, or if they refufed fome Pleafures, it was by fuch abftinence to obtain others much more folid and fatisfeftory. For to what other Motive can we afcribe thofe their illuftrious Aftions. They would not have turned their Backs upon Riches, embraced Poverty, or hunted after Enemies, Difficulties, and Pain \ had they not found therein that Plcafure which is the only folid Good, and Complement of a Happy Life. Hercules and Tloefeta had nevpr done fuch great Things ^^m Things ^^m mJkmmm^ Thrngs for Mankind, had they riot taken Pleafnre in doing Good, tho' it were attended with Pain and Labour. R^ulus had never returned to Carthafe^ haa he not Tightly confidered that breach of Faith -would have tormented his Mind with morie exquifite and durable Pains, than any hiis Body could endure. Neither had Fabricius rejeded the Royal JBp/re^r's.Profer, had not Wiidora convinced him that there was more Pleafure in an honeft undefiled Poverty, than was confiftent with fach Riches as were to be gained by lacrificing his Honour to the Enemy of his Country.
Thefe great Men, it is true, were not, as we can find, theprofefled Difciples of £- picurus \ but it is fufficient, that whatfbever is Praife worthy in their Examples, is to be found in the Doftrine of our Philofopher h and the World may know, that it was not Vertue alone which was the motive to their glorious Aftions *, or at leaflr, what they called Vertue, ought more rightly to be called Pleafure. And yet, out of our Wifeman's School have proceeded Spirits truely Heroick ^ who in the midft of a corrupt Age, have performed Aftions as highly Honourable as any we have or can mention. Under the Reign of Nero^ tft? World as much admired the Death of PetromtiSy as that of Seneca* The Emperor^s Tutor gained no Glory by Dying, which was not equally beftowed upon the Arbiter of his Pleafures ^ and the general Opinion was, that the Stoick w£) had alway* preached.
■■> t preached.
■■> t 190 Mbnfieur St. EvremontV preached up a Contempt of Life, did not quit it more generoufly, or with a braver Refolution, than PetronitUyVfho bad courted all its Pkafures.
I will not omit, therefore, for the Honour of Epicurus •, to give you a fliort account of the Life and Death of this his great Difciplc •, who without Ofience, mav be Rank'd amongfl: the Bravefl: and moft Illuftrious of Men* Pttromus became a Courtier under the Reign of the Emperor ClaudtHs; where following the Methods of the Court, he became infenfibly Luxurious \ tho' at the lame time, it was obferved, that he took no delight in the brutal pleafiires of lx)ve, like Mefalina \ nor in thofe of theTableand Drunkenne{s,like Qaudim; only in a pliant and delicate manner, took aRelifli or both,rather to gratifie hisCuriolity than indulge his Senfes. In this manner, he employed a part of the Day in Sleeping, and dedicated the Night to Bufinefs and Pleafure. His Houfe was the Rendezvous of the better fort of the People of Eome^ with whom he fpent his time, agreeably in the moft charming Pleafures j not like a Prodigal, or Debauchee -, but like a nice and learned Artift in the Science of Voluptuoufnefs. Having thus pafs'd away his Youth, in a Life of Softnefs and Tranquillity, he refolved to convince thofe that doubted of his Abilities, that he was capa« ble of the weightieftAffairs in Government: For putting a ftop to his Pleafures, he accepted the Office of Proconful of £iVA)iw/4, Went Went went into that Province, where he diCcharged all the Duties of his Place, with Applaufe J and having finifhed his employ, upon his return to Rontt^ was by the Emperor Nero^ in Recompence of his Services, made Conful. This new Dignity gave hint a ready Accefs to the Emperor, who at firft honoured him with his efteem, and afterwards, with his Friendftiip, inacknowr ledgment of the Sumptuous Entertain--ments, he fometiraes gave that Prince, to refrelh him, when fatigued with the Toil of State Af&irs. The Confulate of Petrffiius being expired, without quitting the Court, he re-aflumed his firft manner of Living; and whether it proceded from his own inclination, or a defire to pleafe Ner0; he foon became one of the Emperors Confidents, who could find nothing agreeable to his Humour, but what was approved by Petronim \ thus being poflefled of the Au-» thority of deciding what might be acceptable, he gained the Sirnanie of Arbiter^ as Matter and Comptroler in thofe Af&irs. Nero^ in the firft part of his Reign, afted like a prudent wife Prince, and applied hirafelf with care to the management of the State. However Petronins obferved that he was naturally inclined to Luft and Senfu^ ality, and therefore, like an able Politician, being in PofTeffion of his Princes Mind, he feafoned it with honeft delights j and procured bim all the innocent Charms imaginable, in order to remove the thought of feeking after others^ which would have been niorc 194 Monfieur St. Evremont'j more irregular, and of worfe confequence to the Common Wealth. Things continued in this Pofture, while the Emperor Jcept himfelf within the bounds of Moderation 5 and fo long Petronius aded chearfuUy under him, as Intcndant of his Pleafures.
But the Emperor, fometime after, complying with his Nature, changed his Conduft, not only in refpeft to the Publick Affairs of the Empire, but in relation, alfi) to his more private and Domeftick A^irs 5 to his Sports and Recreations. He liftened to others, rather than to Petronius ', and infenfibly plunging himfelf into Debauchery, he abandoned himfelf to his Paflions 1 and became as Monftrous in his Pleafures, as before he had been Nice, and Delicate. The high advancement of Petronius drew upon him theEnvy of all thofe who courted the Princes Favour, and of all others TtgeUinus Captain of the Petrorian Guards, was a molt dangerous Rival. This Man, from an obfcure Birth, had in a fliort time, by his corrupt Manners, gained an ablblute fway over the Emperors Temper •, and as he knew his blind-fide perfeftly well, he fet himfelf ferioufly to bring about the ruin of his Competitor *, and by fuch means as very much endangered the Ruine of the Empire. The curious Artful Pleafures invented by PctroniiiSy were of a more refined Nature, than the grofs Debauches of 77gellintis J who foreleeing that the Credit PecromMj thereby, gained with the Em* pcror, would always be an Obftacle to his Defigns i Defigns i Defigns; endeavoured therefore, to pofleft himfelf, entirely, of the Princes Heart, and engage him in the fouleft Brutalities, For Nero'^ no fooncr, hearkned to the Perfwalions of Tigellinusj but he fignalized his Power by the Deaths of Sylla and RubelUus Plautusy Perfbns dreaded by them, for their eminent Vertues, and in great Efteem and Favour with the People \ thus proceed-^ ing from one Degree of Infamy to another^ arrived, at laft, to fuch an Excefs, that all manner of Crimes were perpetrated by him. Our ancient Favourite thus fupplanted in his Employment, by the Artifices of a new one, and. highly difgufted at the horrible Aftions he had feen, gave way to his Succeflbr i withdrew from Court, indulged himfelf in the Pleafures of a Retired Life •, and then wrote that incomparable Satyr, in which he fo exadly rcprefents th*e Nature and Charader of Nero^ and under feigned Names of Lewd and Vicious Perfons, expofed the Vices of that infamous Prince and Court. Whilfl: Petronius thus lived in a retired Tranquillity, T^gelllnns laboured with all his Power to deftroy him, and to eftablifti his own Fortune upon the Ruine of his Rival •, for he greatly feared, that i( Petronius were once reinftated in his Matters Favour, he might, by the Means of honeft Pleafures, have reftored Nero to himfelf, to the great Blefling of all Honeft Men, and the Confufion of TigeUinw^ and others, his molt flagitious Pimps and Pan* ders i Knowing, therefore, that the Prince ^ O wai O wai rtH rtH was naturally inclined to Cruelty % he infinuates that Petrmlm was too familmt widi Stevlnusj not to be concerned in /V/J's Cour fpiracy, and having fuborned one of Tetromush Slaves to fwear againfl: his Mailer, to deprive him of all Means to )uftifie himielf, he fends the greateft part of his Domefticks to Prifon. Nero was well enough plealed to find an Opportunity of parting with a Man who was become a check to his Af&irs; for the Vicious cannot endure the pretence of fach whofe Sight reproaches them with their abominable Praftices \ he readily received the Accufation againfl Petronius^ and ordered him to be apprehended at Cumesj when the Emperor made a Voyage thither, and Petronms fhould be one of the Company, but as it required time to deliberate, whc-.ther they ought to put a Man of his Figure to Death, without clear proof of the Crimes he ftood charged with: Petroniw perceiving that his Life was a burthen to his Prince, and that he only wanted fome colourable Pretext to take it away ^ that he mi^ht no longer be the fport of Slaves and Villains, he refolved to die. However, that he might not give himfclf a Precipitate Death, he opened his Veins, then clofed them again, that he might have time to converfe with his Friends, who came to fee him, in his laft Moments, which he fpent not in Difcourfes of the Immortality of the Soul, and thofe celebrated Axioms which the Pride of Philofophers had.invented to acquireGlory, and a Vain Opinion of Conftancy, but with the the the rficitel of curious Pieces of Poetry s and to coavince the Spcftators that he did not die, butpnlyceafe to live. He continued iis ordinary Fuhd^ions, took a pirticnlar Account of the Behaviour of hisDomefticks, pnnillied fome, and rewarded others j late, as ufual, at his Table -, and. flept very quietly •, infbniuch,that he rather feemed a Man in perfed Health, than one that was Dying ^ at length, perceiving the time draw near of (baking off Bllortality, after ufing a little Exercife, he fell into a calm and gentle Slumber •, io that his Death, tho' violent, appeared to his Friends as if it had been nktural. Thus fell the Great, the Voluptuous P^fr^»/ir/ a Sacrifice to the Ingratitude of iV^r^r, and the Ambition oiTtgetti" nus* Boaft no more then of the Divine &- crates^ and that conftancy and firmnefs of Mind wherewith he drank the Poifbn \ Prtronius yields not to him in the leaft particular: l^z^yPetronitu may claim the advantage of having quitted a Life infinitely more delicious than that of the Greek Philofopher, with the fame ferenity of Mind, and * the ikme equality of Countenance.
But there remains one Objeftion ftill, againft Epicurus h his afferting the lawfulnefs and expediency of Self-Murther.- This is certainly a very heavy Charge, but it is plain,that in this as in all other,his Enemies have had more regard to the weight, than the Truth of the Crime they charge him with, not confidering that at the fame tinte the weight of the Objeftion lay fuller up- O 2 on 1 96 Monjleur St. EvremontV ■pi^ on themfelves. Sclf-murthcr is undoubtedly a very heinous and abominable Crime t if we confider it, either as a Chriffiian or a Philofopher dt is a Violation of the Law of Nature; and exprefly repugnant to the Law of God. That we may not therefore feem to juftifie that in our Philoibpher, which God, the Church, nay, moral Philofophy itfelf, fo highly Condemns: Let us compare the DoSrine and Praftice of £^ cm-US', with the Doftrine and Prafticc of thofe, who fo vehemently exclaim ag^inft him •, and if I cannot fully clear him in this point, 1 Ihall at leaft prove, that he was not fmglc in his Opinion •, and that his Enemies were much more guilty herein than hinifclf. Every Jl/fan ovght^ lays Epicurusj to make it his care fo to Live^ that Life nutf not he a burthen to him ^ and not to be willing te 1 fiirt rcith Life^ till either Nature^, or fome inr Tolrrable Cafe call vfon him to furrender it \ I a?'d lii that Cafe-i rve are to weigh ferioufly^ ' tvhcthcr It be more commendable for us to fiaf \ till De^ith come to as^ or to go and meet it \ for i tkovgh it be an Evil indsed for us to live in ' Ntccjfty^ yet there is no Ncceffity for us to live \ hi ncctjfity: Since Nature hath beenfo kind^ to give us though but one Door into the World., yet many Doers out of it. But although there be fume Cifes fo cxtrcam^ that in reJpeSl ofthem^ nr are to Lift en and fly to the SanUuary of Death *, yet we £:re not to attempt any thing in thjit kind^ but when it may be done Opportmiely ar:d Cmmtndably* Thus you fee in what limited Senfc our Philofopher delivered this Do- Doftrine; it is not to be purfued<^ udlefs feme intolerable Cafe require it; nor theih nei- - ther, except it may be done Offortfihely and Ommendahly* And what is this: iiitolerable Cafe, which may jnftifie a Man-Vpllintarily to leap over the Battlemeht^ of Life? Do his Precepts any where Ihew it? l^d.* '■ Poverty it cannot be, for Wife and Bountiful Nature hath fo provided againft that •, that thofe things which are neceflary are eafie to be procured y whereas thofe things which are unneceflary, are hard to come by. Jfyou live according to Nature^ you jhall never be Poor 5 if according to Opinion'^ you Jhall never be Rich \ Nature defires little^ Opinion is never Satisfied. Neither can it be wnen any Pain whatfoever afflifts the Body. No Pain is both intolerable and perpetual \ for if it be long, it muft be light, and if great, Ihort *, it is either determined of itfelf, and fucceeded, if not by an abfolute Indolence, yet by a very gfeat Mitigation •, or it is determined by Death, in which there can be no Pain. Neither can it be when the Mind is loaded or oppreffed 9 for difcontent of Mnd is not grounded upon Nature^ but ufon meer Opinion of Evil; and it is Reafon alone which makes Life ' Happy and Pleafant v by expelling all fuch falfe Conceits or Opinion s-^ as may any way difiurb the Mnd. Why then doth Eficurm fo highly extol that Perfon, who when forae intolerable Cafe calls upon him to furrender his Life, leaps over the Battlements, of Life bravely? To this I anfwer. Our Philofopher was of a Modeft, Humble Temper *^' O 3 and Monfieur St. EvremontV and Difpofition; not pofitive and Dogma-, tical as his Enemies generally were; and therefore tho' he had nilly anfwered aU t^e Arguments which have ever yet been made ufe of to juftifie that abominable Crime, and had plainly demonftra ted that it wasRidicalous for a Man out of a Wearinefs of Life^ to fly to Death as a Sanduary *, when his owb Imprudence and Irregular Courle of Life^ is the only Caufe of that Wearinefs. But as our Philofopher would no^pofitively determine, but that fuch extream Cafe, m\^t at fome time or other happen \ for which Philofophy could find no other or more proper remedy than Death \ then and then only he encourages to diffatcbj and leap ^vtr the Battlements of Life bravely ^ for neither is it ft for hinS'^ who thinks of fight to Sleep, mr are we to defpair of a happy Exitj even from the greatefi difficvlties; in Cafe we neither ha* fien before our Time^ nor let it flip when it comes* And the Praftice of EficttruS'^ fnlly evinces that he was very carefnl, not to teiften before his time ■> for he endured the Tormenting Pains of the Stone in the Bladder, and other molt acute Difeafes for many Years together, with a moll admirable patience, and invincible Courage; and waited till extream old Age gently put out his Lamp of Life.
On the contrary, if we enquire into the Dodrine and Praftice of other Philofophers j we (hall foon find that tlie Stoicks not only approved of it, but ftriftly enjoyncd Men to Embrace Death Voluntarily j and from their ^"^ 5jeir own Hands. The Doftrine you have from CFr^tf, who in his Treatife De LegibuS', 'mplicitely Commends it in thefe Words: ' tiuJige th^ Man wrthy of Omdernnatiofi', who hSs l^lmfeifi if he 4o it neither by order of &ate^ nor (^felled by any intolerable or inevl" table chance of Fortunes nor Off raffed by any Ignominy of a Poor and AftferablelAfe ^ and in ms id Tufcvim Qpeliion, he expreflyehjoyhs it in thefe Words: That Rule ought to be obferved in lAfe-,^ which prevails in tfie (Sreciati P^afls V either let a Man drinl^ or let him leave the Cbfnfoj^; becaufe a Man Jhould drink with the fame Freedom as others doj orh awav^ leafi bting Sgher^ he fijould he abujed by his drunken CQmpanions j fo if you cannot bear the h juries of torijine'^ yen ought to avoid them by Flight. Agreeable hereunto was Aeir Praftice i for thus Zeno^ Father of the Stoicks, a Man of themoft Spotlefs Character of any of the Philofophers, having by a fell bruifed one of his Fingers, interpreted it as a Summons to the Grave, went prefently home and Hanged himfelf, and was therefore by Diogenes Laertim^ honour* cd with this Elogy: A mofi happy Man who Jafc'i founds and without Difcafe-, departed this Life. Thm pemofihenesy to prevent being beholding to any one, but himielf, either for his Life or Death, drank mortal Poifon out of that Quill, which had given him immortal Life long before. Thus alfo U^-modes to prevent his Pollution, by the unnatural heat, of a luftful Greek Tyrant j who attempted to force him, leaped into a O4 ^ 20O Moj?fieur St. EvremontV a Copper of Scalding Water: And thus Qeamhest ChryfippHs^ and EmfedocUs brake open the Gates of Death, and forced their Paflage into another World. To theft we may add the Memorable Examples, of that Prince of Roman Wifdom, ( as La^lantim calls him) Cato^ who with his own Hands and Sword, opened a Flood-gate in his Bowels, to let his Life flow out, having the Night before,prepared himfelf to fall bravely, by reading tlaroh Dilcourfe on the Immortality of the Soul ^ and of the Famous Cleombrotus^ who upon no other inducement, than Platoh Reafons in the fame Difcourfc, threw himfelf from a Precipice, as if he went inftantly to experiment the Truth of what he had fo lately Read.
From all that hath been faid, we. may at length conclude, that Eficums was a Perlbn of a Sublime Wit, and profound Judgment \ a great Mailer of Temperance, Sobriety, Continence, Fortitude, and all other Vertues, no Patron of Impiety: Gluttony, Drunkennefs, Luxury, or any other lur temperance •, that he was the greateft of all Philofophers, that the Doftrine which he Taught, was of all others the jnoft Conducible to a happy Life ^ and fuch as none befides himfelf ever Taught, by the pure light of Nature, unaflifted by Grace: Nay^ thonph Eficurta and his Doftrine, havp been Exploded and Rejefted; through thQ l£;norance of fbme, and the Malice of others ^ I will not be afraid to fay, that Good and Pious Chiftians^ are the the truefi Eplcur reans \