Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible.
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible.
Plato - 1701 - Works - a
?
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Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the publisher to a library and finally to you.
Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.
+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at http://books. google. com/
? ss
? ? '
? ->&Z508 7/
? ? *? .
? <36625589610015
<36625589610015
Bayer. Staatsbibliothek
? ? *A
^- Gr. PeJ. DO, yo. Cfb': 1a. * ? LAtO
? ? ? i-Human Nature,
^. Wisdom, . 4. Holiness^
5. What oneoughttodo. 6. Immortality of theSoul^ 7. Valour,
8. 'Philosophy,
THE
WORKS 0F
PLATO ABRID G'D.
WITH
A n Account of his Life, Philoso* phy, Morals, and Politicks.
Together with a Tranflation of his choicest Dialogues, vi%,
In T w o Volumes. Illustrated with Notes. By M. D A C IE R.
Translated from the French. VOL, I.
LON DON;
Printed for A. Bell, at the Cross-Keys and Bible in Corntell, near Stocks-Market, 1701.
? ? ? ^
*. W\. ,*
Ll 'j? TiiW^" -
ulJ tf R "'illoriHUCi
\ . r. "'.
K;rr. ojrnr 7i;q vi\r ? y b[T>/
\? ? ,. ? -? . i . i
? '. - . . . , S. j. J. . vr. :. . V-\. J
i-?
'.
I;'X'voA? i';*iJsr
? ? ::,)>/--- :* ' t.
s' O
*-. * \? . 1#J. ? i<< (\
? ? A
TABLE OFTHE
DIALOGUES Contained inthesetwo Volumes.
VOL. L
a 3PO The First Alcibiades, Os Humane Nature. 167
The SecondAlcibiades, OfPrayer. - ? ? 230
Theages, OfWisdom. - i
Euryphron, Os Holiness.
An AbridgmentoftheFirstAlcihMes. AnAbridgmentoftieSecondAlcibiades. -- 311 AnAbridgment0/Eutyphron. ? -- 319
V O L. II>
TheApologyofSocrates. ? . 9 Criton,Ofwhatoneoughttodo. -- -- yi Phedon, OftheImmortallityoftheSoul. 81 Laches, Of Valour 184 Protagoras, AgainsttheSophists. 233 The Rivals, Of Philosophy. -- < 326
Bayenrslis-cihiec 1 Stastsbibliothek
THE
2<< 272 298
? MOnbhen J
? f J
\r;k . . . ">
) r,I"?
? ? DISCOURSE CONCERNING
Pi AT
7"Hat iseveryDay seentobefalthe Noblest Houses, whose Great Names areusurp'd by obscureFa milies, so that the true Heirs w h o only have right to bear 'em are in
time no longer distinguished, has been the fate of Philosophy. A greatnumberofArtsandSciences whichindeedmay beofuseintheirplaces, butare worthy onlytobetheSlavesofthatScience which
alone renders our Lives equally good and happy, have seiz'donthisMagnificentName, andrender'd itcontemptibleintheEyesofMen. We havenow noIdeaofatruePhilosopher, sincethisAugustTi tle islavishlybestowedonafortofcuriousandlazy People, who make ittheir onlybusiness tounder
standsomeofthe. secretsofNature, andspendthe timeof theirLifeinmakingExperiments onth>> weight oftheAir,andthevertuesoftheLoadstone.
ThisNamehasbeenstillmoredegradedinbeing
given to those, whose unsatiable Avarice chains 'emDayandNighttoaFurnace$? asifGold,the
greatest quantity ofwhich isnot comparable to the least Vertue, were the end ofPhilosophy. . In fine M e n are not content with having given it such ble mishes as these, but have also render'd the Name,
B odious
? ? A 'Discourseon Plato.
-odious in throwing it away on those Libertines, w h o by a pretended Force a Esprit, or strength of Thought, whichatbottomisnobetterthanWeak ness and Ignorance, live rather like Beasts than Men. Is itthen to be wonder'd at that Philosophy is mis takenand neglected, and thatMen no longerpay herthatrespectandveneration, whichsheformerly- excitedintheirMinds ? Aiham'd ofbeing confoun ded with the Daughters of the Earth, she isreas- cended to Heaven, from whence Socrates brought her.
The Athenians heretofore by a publick decree forbad, that the Names of HarmoAius, and Aristo- gito/i,who had deliver'dtheirCountreyfrom the Tyranny of Hippiat and Hipparchus, shouldever be given to Slaves : for they thought it a horrible Indignity by so shameful a Communication to blast
thoseNames thatweredevotedtothepublickLi berty. Philosophy is another Deliverer, she tri umphs over Vices, overthrows Impiety, and con foundstheWisdomoftheWorld. 'Tissomewhat greaterthantheArts,andthanwhatMen commonly call the Sciences ? , 'tis the love of true Wisdom, theknowledgofDivineandHumaneThings,that is to say,the Science o f G o d , a Science w h i c h teaches us to know the relation which our Souls necessarily bear totheirCreator, andby and inhim, toall rationalCreatures, and which produces thecertain knowledge of all our Duties, towards God, our Neighbours and our Selves.
To betrulyaPhilosopheristohaveTemperance, Justice and rortitude, to love the Truth, to avoid Sensual Pleasures, to despise Riches, to weaken, as mucji asmay be, thebands that fastenthe Soul to theBody,tohateandcontemnthisBodywhichis
alwaysopposingWisdom, torenounceallourDe sires, to fear neither the Poverty, nor Shame, nor Reproach we may be expos'd to, for thefake of RighteousnessandTruth;todogoodtoMankind even our very Enemies : to have nothing in view,
,. . . but
? ? A DiscourseonHato^
b n t h o w t o d i e w e l l ? , a n d f o r t h i s e n d t o r e n o u n c e
one's self and every thing else. , This is the Idea the wisest Heathens had of Philosophy.
This being suppos'd, nothing can be more fitand useful, than to follow the certain, and vifible Pro gress which they made in theirresearchafter those Truths, and to see to what degree of knowledge it pleasedGodtolead'em. Ifwedon'tmakesuchan Examenasthis,wecan'tspeakof'emwithJudg ment, and without falling into a false account of Things, asithasoftenhappen'd, andstillhappens everydaytothemostLearnedMen. Whenever they speak of the Heathens, they bear witness against
themselves that they never well read 'em, and that they have only an imperfect Idea of 'em, for they impute such Sentiments to 'em as they never had, a n d d e n y ' e m o t h e r s w h i c h t h e y h a d i n r e a l i t y ? , which is a great piece of Injustice : nay it seems (ifImaysoipeak) todiminishsomewhatfromthe MercyandJustice. ofGod, nottoacknowledgall the Testimonies he was pleased to give of himself amongthePagans, inthoseTimesthatwerecor rupted withthemostabominableIdolatry, inorder to reduce 'em to the true Religion.
ThisNegligenceisthemoreblamable-. inthata
M a n needs only to read Plato, to be perfectly in*
form'd of the extent of their Knowledg : For his
Writings have amassed together all the Truths that
were fcatter'd up and down in the Works of other p h i l o s o p h e r s ? , a n d w i t h t h e a d v a n t a g e o f n e w D i s
coveriesofhisown, theycomposeasitwereaBo dy ofDoctrinewhichcontainsthehighestperfecti on of Knowledg to be found among the Heathens.
LetaMan readneversolittleofhim withatten tion, and reflect upon what he teaches, and he'll easily discern, that God, to stop the mouth of In credulity, w a s long since preparing the w a y for the conversion of the Heathens, which had been so of7 t e n p r e d i c t e d b y t h e P r o p h e t s -, f o r w a s i t n o t t h e
worn of God, and'akindofPreludiumoftheir B2 Con-
? ? A Discourse onPlata
Conversion, that a Heathen in the most Idolatrous CityintheWorld, andalmost400yearsbeforethe light of the Gospel illuminated the Universe, should declare and prove a good part of the Truths of the Christian Religion.
The CircumstanceoftheTime isremarkable,for
Plato began to write immediately after the three
lastProphetsthatwereinIsrael. Sothatassoon
astheProphets ceased among theJews, God raises u p P h i l o s o p h e r s t o e n l i g h t e n t h e G e n t i l e s ? , a n d d i
vers of the Principles of the Gospel are taught at Athens. Where'tisprov'd,
ThatthereisbutoneGod, thatweoughttolove andserve him, and to endeavour to resemble him in HolinessandRighteousness; thatthisGodrewards Humility, andpunishesPride.
'ThatthetrueHappinessofMan consistsinbeing unitedtoGod, andhisonlyMiseryinbeingsepara tedfrom him.
That the Soul is mere Darkness, unless it be illu minatedbyGod; thatMenareuncapableevenof prayingwell, unlessGod teaches''emthatPrayer,
which alone can be useful to 'em.
That there is nothing solid and substantial but
Piety, thatthisistheSourceofVertues, andthatit is thegift-of God.
That "tisbetter to die than tosin.
That we ought continually to be learning to die, and yet to endure life, in obedience to God.
T h a t " "tis a C r i m e t o h u r t o u r E n e m i e s , a n d t o r e venge ourselvesfor the Injuries we have received.
That 'tisbetter tosuffer wrong than to do it.
That G o d is thesole Cause of Good,and cannot be the CauseofEvil, whichalwaysproceedsonlyfromour Disobedience, andtheillusewemakeofourLiberty.
That Self-loveproduces that Discord and Division which reign among Men, and is the cause of their Si/is-,thattheloveofourNeighbours, whichproceeds
from the Ivve of God at itsPrinciple, produces that sacred Union which makes Families, Republicks, and Kingdoms happy. That
? ? A Discourse on Platos j
That theWorllh nothingbutCorruption, thatwe oughttoflyfromit,tojoinourselvestoGod, who a l o n e i s o u r H e a l t h a n d L i f e -, a n d t h a t w h i l e w e l i v e in this World we aresurrounded by Enemies, and
have a continual Combate to endure, which requires on our part a refinance without intermiffion -, and that we cannot conquer, unless God or his Angels come to our help.
ThattheWORD fram'dtheWorld,andrendered*h&'
itvisible;thattheknowledgoftheWORD makes usliveveryhappilyherebelow, andthattherebywe obtain Felicity after Death.
ThattheSoulisimmortal, thattheDeadshall rife again, that thereshall be afinal Jndgment both ofthe Righteous and ofthe Wicked, when M e n shall appear only with their Vertues or Vices, which
shall be the occasion of their eternal Happiness or Misery.
ButIforbeartoproceed, that Imay not repeat that here,which will be found in its full extent else where. Yet I cannot chuse but add, that Plato had so
great and true an Idea of perfect Righteousness, and
was so. throughly acquainted with the corruption of
Mankind, thathemakesitappear, *thatifaMan
perfectly righteous should come upon Earths he
would findibmuch oppositionintheWorld, that he would be imprison'd, reviled, scourged, and in
fine crucified by such who, tho they were extremely
wicked,wouldyetpassforrighteousMen. Socra
teswasthefirstproofofthisDemonstration. For
as St. Justin fays, the-Devils seeing this Philoso
pher made their Nullity appear by the discovery of theTruth, and that heendeavouredtoreclaimMen
from givingthem religiousWorship;? thesemali ciousSpiritssoordertsthematterbymeans ofMeiv who were corrupt and took pleasure in Vice, that thisrighteousMan wasputtoDeath asifhehad' been an impious Person, that liv'd without God in- World, and introduc'd new Gods.
*JntheII. BookofhisCommoikwcalth. Temra.
B 3 There,.
?
Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.
+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at http://books. google. com/
? ss
? ? '
? ->&Z508 7/
? ? *? .
? <36625589610015
<36625589610015
Bayer. Staatsbibliothek
? ? *A
^- Gr. PeJ. DO, yo. Cfb': 1a. * ? LAtO
? ? ? i-Human Nature,
^. Wisdom, . 4. Holiness^
5. What oneoughttodo. 6. Immortality of theSoul^ 7. Valour,
8. 'Philosophy,
THE
WORKS 0F
PLATO ABRID G'D.
WITH
A n Account of his Life, Philoso* phy, Morals, and Politicks.
Together with a Tranflation of his choicest Dialogues, vi%,
In T w o Volumes. Illustrated with Notes. By M. D A C IE R.
Translated from the French. VOL, I.
LON DON;
Printed for A. Bell, at the Cross-Keys and Bible in Corntell, near Stocks-Market, 1701.
? ? ? ^
*. W\. ,*
Ll 'j? TiiW^" -
ulJ tf R "'illoriHUCi
\ . r. "'.
K;rr. ojrnr 7i;q vi\r ? y b[T>/
\? ? ,. ? -? . i . i
? '. - . . . , S. j. J. . vr. :. . V-\. J
i-?
'.
I;'X'voA? i';*iJsr
? ? ::,)>/--- :* ' t.
s' O
*-. * \? . 1#J. ? i<< (\
? ? A
TABLE OFTHE
DIALOGUES Contained inthesetwo Volumes.
VOL. L
a 3PO The First Alcibiades, Os Humane Nature. 167
The SecondAlcibiades, OfPrayer. - ? ? 230
Theages, OfWisdom. - i
Euryphron, Os Holiness.
An AbridgmentoftheFirstAlcihMes. AnAbridgmentoftieSecondAlcibiades. -- 311 AnAbridgment0/Eutyphron. ? -- 319
V O L. II>
TheApologyofSocrates. ? . 9 Criton,Ofwhatoneoughttodo. -- -- yi Phedon, OftheImmortallityoftheSoul. 81 Laches, Of Valour 184 Protagoras, AgainsttheSophists. 233 The Rivals, Of Philosophy. -- < 326
Bayenrslis-cihiec 1 Stastsbibliothek
THE
2<< 272 298
? MOnbhen J
? f J
\r;k . . . ">
) r,I"?
? ? DISCOURSE CONCERNING
Pi AT
7"Hat iseveryDay seentobefalthe Noblest Houses, whose Great Names areusurp'd by obscureFa milies, so that the true Heirs w h o only have right to bear 'em are in
time no longer distinguished, has been the fate of Philosophy. A greatnumberofArtsandSciences whichindeedmay beofuseintheirplaces, butare worthy onlytobetheSlavesofthatScience which
alone renders our Lives equally good and happy, have seiz'donthisMagnificentName, andrender'd itcontemptibleintheEyesofMen. We havenow noIdeaofatruePhilosopher, sincethisAugustTi tle islavishlybestowedonafortofcuriousandlazy People, who make ittheir onlybusiness tounder
standsomeofthe. secretsofNature, andspendthe timeof theirLifeinmakingExperiments onth>> weight oftheAir,andthevertuesoftheLoadstone.
ThisNamehasbeenstillmoredegradedinbeing
given to those, whose unsatiable Avarice chains 'emDayandNighttoaFurnace$? asifGold,the
greatest quantity ofwhich isnot comparable to the least Vertue, were the end ofPhilosophy. . In fine M e n are not content with having given it such ble mishes as these, but have also render'd the Name,
B odious
? ? A 'Discourseon Plato.
-odious in throwing it away on those Libertines, w h o by a pretended Force a Esprit, or strength of Thought, whichatbottomisnobetterthanWeak ness and Ignorance, live rather like Beasts than Men. Is itthen to be wonder'd at that Philosophy is mis takenand neglected, and thatMen no longerpay herthatrespectandveneration, whichsheformerly- excitedintheirMinds ? Aiham'd ofbeing confoun ded with the Daughters of the Earth, she isreas- cended to Heaven, from whence Socrates brought her.
The Athenians heretofore by a publick decree forbad, that the Names of HarmoAius, and Aristo- gito/i,who had deliver'dtheirCountreyfrom the Tyranny of Hippiat and Hipparchus, shouldever be given to Slaves : for they thought it a horrible Indignity by so shameful a Communication to blast
thoseNames thatweredevotedtothepublickLi berty. Philosophy is another Deliverer, she tri umphs over Vices, overthrows Impiety, and con foundstheWisdomoftheWorld. 'Tissomewhat greaterthantheArts,andthanwhatMen commonly call the Sciences ? , 'tis the love of true Wisdom, theknowledgofDivineandHumaneThings,that is to say,the Science o f G o d , a Science w h i c h teaches us to know the relation which our Souls necessarily bear totheirCreator, andby and inhim, toall rationalCreatures, and which produces thecertain knowledge of all our Duties, towards God, our Neighbours and our Selves.
To betrulyaPhilosopheristohaveTemperance, Justice and rortitude, to love the Truth, to avoid Sensual Pleasures, to despise Riches, to weaken, as mucji asmay be, thebands that fastenthe Soul to theBody,tohateandcontemnthisBodywhichis
alwaysopposingWisdom, torenounceallourDe sires, to fear neither the Poverty, nor Shame, nor Reproach we may be expos'd to, for thefake of RighteousnessandTruth;todogoodtoMankind even our very Enemies : to have nothing in view,
,. . . but
? ? A DiscourseonHato^
b n t h o w t o d i e w e l l ? , a n d f o r t h i s e n d t o r e n o u n c e
one's self and every thing else. , This is the Idea the wisest Heathens had of Philosophy.
This being suppos'd, nothing can be more fitand useful, than to follow the certain, and vifible Pro gress which they made in theirresearchafter those Truths, and to see to what degree of knowledge it pleasedGodtolead'em. Ifwedon'tmakesuchan Examenasthis,wecan'tspeakof'emwithJudg ment, and without falling into a false account of Things, asithasoftenhappen'd, andstillhappens everydaytothemostLearnedMen. Whenever they speak of the Heathens, they bear witness against
themselves that they never well read 'em, and that they have only an imperfect Idea of 'em, for they impute such Sentiments to 'em as they never had, a n d d e n y ' e m o t h e r s w h i c h t h e y h a d i n r e a l i t y ? , which is a great piece of Injustice : nay it seems (ifImaysoipeak) todiminishsomewhatfromthe MercyandJustice. ofGod, nottoacknowledgall the Testimonies he was pleased to give of himself amongthePagans, inthoseTimesthatwerecor rupted withthemostabominableIdolatry, inorder to reduce 'em to the true Religion.
ThisNegligenceisthemoreblamable-. inthata
M a n needs only to read Plato, to be perfectly in*
form'd of the extent of their Knowledg : For his
Writings have amassed together all the Truths that
were fcatter'd up and down in the Works of other p h i l o s o p h e r s ? , a n d w i t h t h e a d v a n t a g e o f n e w D i s
coveriesofhisown, theycomposeasitwereaBo dy ofDoctrinewhichcontainsthehighestperfecti on of Knowledg to be found among the Heathens.
LetaMan readneversolittleofhim withatten tion, and reflect upon what he teaches, and he'll easily discern, that God, to stop the mouth of In credulity, w a s long since preparing the w a y for the conversion of the Heathens, which had been so of7 t e n p r e d i c t e d b y t h e P r o p h e t s -, f o r w a s i t n o t t h e
worn of God, and'akindofPreludiumoftheir B2 Con-
? ? A Discourse onPlata
Conversion, that a Heathen in the most Idolatrous CityintheWorld, andalmost400yearsbeforethe light of the Gospel illuminated the Universe, should declare and prove a good part of the Truths of the Christian Religion.
The CircumstanceoftheTime isremarkable,for
Plato began to write immediately after the three
lastProphetsthatwereinIsrael. Sothatassoon
astheProphets ceased among theJews, God raises u p P h i l o s o p h e r s t o e n l i g h t e n t h e G e n t i l e s ? , a n d d i
vers of the Principles of the Gospel are taught at Athens. Where'tisprov'd,
ThatthereisbutoneGod, thatweoughttolove andserve him, and to endeavour to resemble him in HolinessandRighteousness; thatthisGodrewards Humility, andpunishesPride.
'ThatthetrueHappinessofMan consistsinbeing unitedtoGod, andhisonlyMiseryinbeingsepara tedfrom him.
That the Soul is mere Darkness, unless it be illu minatedbyGod; thatMenareuncapableevenof prayingwell, unlessGod teaches''emthatPrayer,
which alone can be useful to 'em.
That there is nothing solid and substantial but
Piety, thatthisistheSourceofVertues, andthatit is thegift-of God.
That "tisbetter to die than tosin.
That we ought continually to be learning to die, and yet to endure life, in obedience to God.
T h a t " "tis a C r i m e t o h u r t o u r E n e m i e s , a n d t o r e venge ourselvesfor the Injuries we have received.
That 'tisbetter tosuffer wrong than to do it.
That G o d is thesole Cause of Good,and cannot be the CauseofEvil, whichalwaysproceedsonlyfromour Disobedience, andtheillusewemakeofourLiberty.
That Self-loveproduces that Discord and Division which reign among Men, and is the cause of their Si/is-,thattheloveofourNeighbours, whichproceeds
from the Ivve of God at itsPrinciple, produces that sacred Union which makes Families, Republicks, and Kingdoms happy. That
? ? A Discourse on Platos j
That theWorllh nothingbutCorruption, thatwe oughttoflyfromit,tojoinourselvestoGod, who a l o n e i s o u r H e a l t h a n d L i f e -, a n d t h a t w h i l e w e l i v e in this World we aresurrounded by Enemies, and
have a continual Combate to endure, which requires on our part a refinance without intermiffion -, and that we cannot conquer, unless God or his Angels come to our help.
ThattheWORD fram'dtheWorld,andrendered*h&'
itvisible;thattheknowledgoftheWORD makes usliveveryhappilyherebelow, andthattherebywe obtain Felicity after Death.
ThattheSoulisimmortal, thattheDeadshall rife again, that thereshall be afinal Jndgment both ofthe Righteous and ofthe Wicked, when M e n shall appear only with their Vertues or Vices, which
shall be the occasion of their eternal Happiness or Misery.
ButIforbeartoproceed, that Imay not repeat that here,which will be found in its full extent else where. Yet I cannot chuse but add, that Plato had so
great and true an Idea of perfect Righteousness, and
was so. throughly acquainted with the corruption of
Mankind, thathemakesitappear, *thatifaMan
perfectly righteous should come upon Earths he
would findibmuch oppositionintheWorld, that he would be imprison'd, reviled, scourged, and in
fine crucified by such who, tho they were extremely
wicked,wouldyetpassforrighteousMen. Socra
teswasthefirstproofofthisDemonstration. For
as St. Justin fays, the-Devils seeing this Philoso
pher made their Nullity appear by the discovery of theTruth, and that heendeavouredtoreclaimMen
from givingthem religiousWorship;? thesemali ciousSpiritssoordertsthematterbymeans ofMeiv who were corrupt and took pleasure in Vice, that thisrighteousMan wasputtoDeath asifhehad' been an impious Person, that liv'd without God in- World, and introduc'd new Gods.
*JntheII. BookofhisCommoikwcalth. Temra.
B 3 There,.
? ? A DiscourseonPlato,
Therearesome who pretendthe abovementioned Passage of"Plato is a Prophesy, because the Terms don't agree with the Circumstances of Socrates, w h o was put to death only by a draught of Poyson, but precisely lute with thpse of the Saviour of the
World, whowasbothscourgedandcrucified.
But we shall not pr-eiiime tomake aProphet of
ourPhilosopher,fromwhomReasonalone, when
mov'd by the injustice of Men, might extort such e x a g g e r a t e d E x p r e s s i o n s ? , b u t s h a l l c o n t e n t o u r s e l v e s
toenquirewhattheremay beinhisWritingscon formabletothedesignsofGod, whoalwaysdesir'd theSalvation of Men, and oftenmade use. of the Pagans for the execution of his eternal Decrees;
We understandbytheHolyScripture,whichis
theonlyLamp ofTruth, thatnaturalReligionwas t h e f i r s t u s e M e n m a d e o f t h e i r R e a s o n ? , . t h a t L u s t
and irregular Passions having c6rrupted their Reason,
they abandon'd themselves to the sacrilegious wor
s h i p o f I d o l s -, a n d t h a t G o d t o s t o p t h e c o u r s e o f
this. Abomination made himself known a second
time,andgavetheJewishLaw^ whichasitre-
viv'dinthemindsofMen thePrinciplesoftheLaw
ofNature, soitpromis'd.
It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.
Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the publisher to a library and finally to you.
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Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.
+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at http://books. google. com/
? ss
? ? '
? ->&Z508 7/
? ? *? .
? <36625589610015
<36625589610015
Bayer. Staatsbibliothek
? ? *A
^- Gr. PeJ. DO, yo. Cfb': 1a. * ? LAtO
? ? ? i-Human Nature,
^. Wisdom, . 4. Holiness^
5. What oneoughttodo. 6. Immortality of theSoul^ 7. Valour,
8. 'Philosophy,
THE
WORKS 0F
PLATO ABRID G'D.
WITH
A n Account of his Life, Philoso* phy, Morals, and Politicks.
Together with a Tranflation of his choicest Dialogues, vi%,
In T w o Volumes. Illustrated with Notes. By M. D A C IE R.
Translated from the French. VOL, I.
LON DON;
Printed for A. Bell, at the Cross-Keys and Bible in Corntell, near Stocks-Market, 1701.
? ? ? ^
*. W\. ,*
Ll 'j? TiiW^" -
ulJ tf R "'illoriHUCi
\ . r. "'.
K;rr. ojrnr 7i;q vi\r ? y b[T>/
\? ? ,. ? -? . i . i
? '. - . . . , S. j. J. . vr. :. . V-\. J
i-?
'.
I;'X'voA? i';*iJsr
? ? ::,)>/--- :* ' t.
s' O
*-. * \? . 1#J. ? i<< (\
? ? A
TABLE OFTHE
DIALOGUES Contained inthesetwo Volumes.
VOL. L
a 3PO The First Alcibiades, Os Humane Nature. 167
The SecondAlcibiades, OfPrayer. - ? ? 230
Theages, OfWisdom. - i
Euryphron, Os Holiness.
An AbridgmentoftheFirstAlcihMes. AnAbridgmentoftieSecondAlcibiades. -- 311 AnAbridgment0/Eutyphron. ? -- 319
V O L. II>
TheApologyofSocrates. ? . 9 Criton,Ofwhatoneoughttodo. -- -- yi Phedon, OftheImmortallityoftheSoul. 81 Laches, Of Valour 184 Protagoras, AgainsttheSophists. 233 The Rivals, Of Philosophy. -- < 326
Bayenrslis-cihiec 1 Stastsbibliothek
THE
2<< 272 298
? MOnbhen J
? f J
\r;k . . . ">
) r,I"?
? ? DISCOURSE CONCERNING
Pi AT
7"Hat iseveryDay seentobefalthe Noblest Houses, whose Great Names areusurp'd by obscureFa milies, so that the true Heirs w h o only have right to bear 'em are in
time no longer distinguished, has been the fate of Philosophy. A greatnumberofArtsandSciences whichindeedmay beofuseintheirplaces, butare worthy onlytobetheSlavesofthatScience which
alone renders our Lives equally good and happy, have seiz'donthisMagnificentName, andrender'd itcontemptibleintheEyesofMen. We havenow noIdeaofatruePhilosopher, sincethisAugustTi tle islavishlybestowedonafortofcuriousandlazy People, who make ittheir onlybusiness tounder
standsomeofthe. secretsofNature, andspendthe timeof theirLifeinmakingExperiments onth>> weight oftheAir,andthevertuesoftheLoadstone.
ThisNamehasbeenstillmoredegradedinbeing
given to those, whose unsatiable Avarice chains 'emDayandNighttoaFurnace$? asifGold,the
greatest quantity ofwhich isnot comparable to the least Vertue, were the end ofPhilosophy. . In fine M e n are not content with having given it such ble mishes as these, but have also render'd the Name,
B odious
? ? A 'Discourseon Plato.
-odious in throwing it away on those Libertines, w h o by a pretended Force a Esprit, or strength of Thought, whichatbottomisnobetterthanWeak ness and Ignorance, live rather like Beasts than Men. Is itthen to be wonder'd at that Philosophy is mis takenand neglected, and thatMen no longerpay herthatrespectandveneration, whichsheformerly- excitedintheirMinds ? Aiham'd ofbeing confoun ded with the Daughters of the Earth, she isreas- cended to Heaven, from whence Socrates brought her.
The Athenians heretofore by a publick decree forbad, that the Names of HarmoAius, and Aristo- gito/i,who had deliver'dtheirCountreyfrom the Tyranny of Hippiat and Hipparchus, shouldever be given to Slaves : for they thought it a horrible Indignity by so shameful a Communication to blast
thoseNames thatweredevotedtothepublickLi berty. Philosophy is another Deliverer, she tri umphs over Vices, overthrows Impiety, and con foundstheWisdomoftheWorld. 'Tissomewhat greaterthantheArts,andthanwhatMen commonly call the Sciences ? , 'tis the love of true Wisdom, theknowledgofDivineandHumaneThings,that is to say,the Science o f G o d , a Science w h i c h teaches us to know the relation which our Souls necessarily bear totheirCreator, andby and inhim, toall rationalCreatures, and which produces thecertain knowledge of all our Duties, towards God, our Neighbours and our Selves.
To betrulyaPhilosopheristohaveTemperance, Justice and rortitude, to love the Truth, to avoid Sensual Pleasures, to despise Riches, to weaken, as mucji asmay be, thebands that fastenthe Soul to theBody,tohateandcontemnthisBodywhichis
alwaysopposingWisdom, torenounceallourDe sires, to fear neither the Poverty, nor Shame, nor Reproach we may be expos'd to, for thefake of RighteousnessandTruth;todogoodtoMankind even our very Enemies : to have nothing in view,
,. . . but
? ? A DiscourseonHato^
b n t h o w t o d i e w e l l ? , a n d f o r t h i s e n d t o r e n o u n c e
one's self and every thing else. , This is the Idea the wisest Heathens had of Philosophy.
This being suppos'd, nothing can be more fitand useful, than to follow the certain, and vifible Pro gress which they made in theirresearchafter those Truths, and to see to what degree of knowledge it pleasedGodtolead'em. Ifwedon'tmakesuchan Examenasthis,wecan'tspeakof'emwithJudg ment, and without falling into a false account of Things, asithasoftenhappen'd, andstillhappens everydaytothemostLearnedMen. Whenever they speak of the Heathens, they bear witness against
themselves that they never well read 'em, and that they have only an imperfect Idea of 'em, for they impute such Sentiments to 'em as they never had, a n d d e n y ' e m o t h e r s w h i c h t h e y h a d i n r e a l i t y ? , which is a great piece of Injustice : nay it seems (ifImaysoipeak) todiminishsomewhatfromthe MercyandJustice. ofGod, nottoacknowledgall the Testimonies he was pleased to give of himself amongthePagans, inthoseTimesthatwerecor rupted withthemostabominableIdolatry, inorder to reduce 'em to the true Religion.
ThisNegligenceisthemoreblamable-. inthata
M a n needs only to read Plato, to be perfectly in*
form'd of the extent of their Knowledg : For his
Writings have amassed together all the Truths that
were fcatter'd up and down in the Works of other p h i l o s o p h e r s ? , a n d w i t h t h e a d v a n t a g e o f n e w D i s
coveriesofhisown, theycomposeasitwereaBo dy ofDoctrinewhichcontainsthehighestperfecti on of Knowledg to be found among the Heathens.
LetaMan readneversolittleofhim withatten tion, and reflect upon what he teaches, and he'll easily discern, that God, to stop the mouth of In credulity, w a s long since preparing the w a y for the conversion of the Heathens, which had been so of7 t e n p r e d i c t e d b y t h e P r o p h e t s -, f o r w a s i t n o t t h e
worn of God, and'akindofPreludiumoftheir B2 Con-
? ? A Discourse onPlata
Conversion, that a Heathen in the most Idolatrous CityintheWorld, andalmost400yearsbeforethe light of the Gospel illuminated the Universe, should declare and prove a good part of the Truths of the Christian Religion.
The CircumstanceoftheTime isremarkable,for
Plato began to write immediately after the three
lastProphetsthatwereinIsrael. Sothatassoon
astheProphets ceased among theJews, God raises u p P h i l o s o p h e r s t o e n l i g h t e n t h e G e n t i l e s ? , a n d d i
vers of the Principles of the Gospel are taught at Athens. Where'tisprov'd,
ThatthereisbutoneGod, thatweoughttolove andserve him, and to endeavour to resemble him in HolinessandRighteousness; thatthisGodrewards Humility, andpunishesPride.
'ThatthetrueHappinessofMan consistsinbeing unitedtoGod, andhisonlyMiseryinbeingsepara tedfrom him.
That the Soul is mere Darkness, unless it be illu minatedbyGod; thatMenareuncapableevenof prayingwell, unlessGod teaches''emthatPrayer,
which alone can be useful to 'em.
That there is nothing solid and substantial but
Piety, thatthisistheSourceofVertues, andthatit is thegift-of God.
That "tisbetter to die than tosin.
That we ought continually to be learning to die, and yet to endure life, in obedience to God.
T h a t " "tis a C r i m e t o h u r t o u r E n e m i e s , a n d t o r e venge ourselvesfor the Injuries we have received.
That 'tisbetter tosuffer wrong than to do it.
That G o d is thesole Cause of Good,and cannot be the CauseofEvil, whichalwaysproceedsonlyfromour Disobedience, andtheillusewemakeofourLiberty.
That Self-loveproduces that Discord and Division which reign among Men, and is the cause of their Si/is-,thattheloveofourNeighbours, whichproceeds
from the Ivve of God at itsPrinciple, produces that sacred Union which makes Families, Republicks, and Kingdoms happy. That
? ? A Discourse on Platos j
That theWorllh nothingbutCorruption, thatwe oughttoflyfromit,tojoinourselvestoGod, who a l o n e i s o u r H e a l t h a n d L i f e -, a n d t h a t w h i l e w e l i v e in this World we aresurrounded by Enemies, and
have a continual Combate to endure, which requires on our part a refinance without intermiffion -, and that we cannot conquer, unless God or his Angels come to our help.
ThattheWORD fram'dtheWorld,andrendered*h&'
itvisible;thattheknowledgoftheWORD makes usliveveryhappilyherebelow, andthattherebywe obtain Felicity after Death.
ThattheSoulisimmortal, thattheDeadshall rife again, that thereshall be afinal Jndgment both ofthe Righteous and ofthe Wicked, when M e n shall appear only with their Vertues or Vices, which
shall be the occasion of their eternal Happiness or Misery.
ButIforbeartoproceed, that Imay not repeat that here,which will be found in its full extent else where. Yet I cannot chuse but add, that Plato had so
great and true an Idea of perfect Righteousness, and
was so. throughly acquainted with the corruption of
Mankind, thathemakesitappear, *thatifaMan
perfectly righteous should come upon Earths he
would findibmuch oppositionintheWorld, that he would be imprison'd, reviled, scourged, and in
fine crucified by such who, tho they were extremely
wicked,wouldyetpassforrighteousMen. Socra
teswasthefirstproofofthisDemonstration. For
as St. Justin fays, the-Devils seeing this Philoso
pher made their Nullity appear by the discovery of theTruth, and that heendeavouredtoreclaimMen
from givingthem religiousWorship;? thesemali ciousSpiritssoordertsthematterbymeans ofMeiv who were corrupt and took pleasure in Vice, that thisrighteousMan wasputtoDeath asifhehad' been an impious Person, that liv'd without God in- World, and introduc'd new Gods.
*JntheII. BookofhisCommoikwcalth. Temra.
B 3 There,.
?
Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.
+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at http://books. google. com/
? ss
? ? '
? ->&Z508 7/
? ? *? .
? <36625589610015
<36625589610015
Bayer. Staatsbibliothek
? ? *A
^- Gr. PeJ. DO, yo. Cfb': 1a. * ? LAtO
? ? ? i-Human Nature,
^. Wisdom, . 4. Holiness^
5. What oneoughttodo. 6. Immortality of theSoul^ 7. Valour,
8. 'Philosophy,
THE
WORKS 0F
PLATO ABRID G'D.
WITH
A n Account of his Life, Philoso* phy, Morals, and Politicks.
Together with a Tranflation of his choicest Dialogues, vi%,
In T w o Volumes. Illustrated with Notes. By M. D A C IE R.
Translated from the French. VOL, I.
LON DON;
Printed for A. Bell, at the Cross-Keys and Bible in Corntell, near Stocks-Market, 1701.
? ? ? ^
*. W\. ,*
Ll 'j? TiiW^" -
ulJ tf R "'illoriHUCi
\ . r. "'.
K;rr. ojrnr 7i;q vi\r ? y b[T>/
\? ? ,. ? -? . i . i
? '. - . . . , S. j. J. . vr. :. . V-\. J
i-?
'.
I;'X'voA? i';*iJsr
? ? ::,)>/--- :* ' t.
s' O
*-. * \? . 1#J. ? i<< (\
? ? A
TABLE OFTHE
DIALOGUES Contained inthesetwo Volumes.
VOL. L
a 3PO The First Alcibiades, Os Humane Nature. 167
The SecondAlcibiades, OfPrayer. - ? ? 230
Theages, OfWisdom. - i
Euryphron, Os Holiness.
An AbridgmentoftheFirstAlcihMes. AnAbridgmentoftieSecondAlcibiades. -- 311 AnAbridgment0/Eutyphron. ? -- 319
V O L. II>
TheApologyofSocrates. ? . 9 Criton,Ofwhatoneoughttodo. -- -- yi Phedon, OftheImmortallityoftheSoul. 81 Laches, Of Valour 184 Protagoras, AgainsttheSophists. 233 The Rivals, Of Philosophy. -- < 326
Bayenrslis-cihiec 1 Stastsbibliothek
THE
2<< 272 298
? MOnbhen J
? f J
\r;k . . . ">
) r,I"?
? ? DISCOURSE CONCERNING
Pi AT
7"Hat iseveryDay seentobefalthe Noblest Houses, whose Great Names areusurp'd by obscureFa milies, so that the true Heirs w h o only have right to bear 'em are in
time no longer distinguished, has been the fate of Philosophy. A greatnumberofArtsandSciences whichindeedmay beofuseintheirplaces, butare worthy onlytobetheSlavesofthatScience which
alone renders our Lives equally good and happy, have seiz'donthisMagnificentName, andrender'd itcontemptibleintheEyesofMen. We havenow noIdeaofatruePhilosopher, sincethisAugustTi tle islavishlybestowedonafortofcuriousandlazy People, who make ittheir onlybusiness tounder
standsomeofthe. secretsofNature, andspendthe timeof theirLifeinmakingExperiments onth>> weight oftheAir,andthevertuesoftheLoadstone.
ThisNamehasbeenstillmoredegradedinbeing
given to those, whose unsatiable Avarice chains 'emDayandNighttoaFurnace$? asifGold,the
greatest quantity ofwhich isnot comparable to the least Vertue, were the end ofPhilosophy. . In fine M e n are not content with having given it such ble mishes as these, but have also render'd the Name,
B odious
? ? A 'Discourseon Plato.
-odious in throwing it away on those Libertines, w h o by a pretended Force a Esprit, or strength of Thought, whichatbottomisnobetterthanWeak ness and Ignorance, live rather like Beasts than Men. Is itthen to be wonder'd at that Philosophy is mis takenand neglected, and thatMen no longerpay herthatrespectandveneration, whichsheformerly- excitedintheirMinds ? Aiham'd ofbeing confoun ded with the Daughters of the Earth, she isreas- cended to Heaven, from whence Socrates brought her.
The Athenians heretofore by a publick decree forbad, that the Names of HarmoAius, and Aristo- gito/i,who had deliver'dtheirCountreyfrom the Tyranny of Hippiat and Hipparchus, shouldever be given to Slaves : for they thought it a horrible Indignity by so shameful a Communication to blast
thoseNames thatweredevotedtothepublickLi berty. Philosophy is another Deliverer, she tri umphs over Vices, overthrows Impiety, and con foundstheWisdomoftheWorld. 'Tissomewhat greaterthantheArts,andthanwhatMen commonly call the Sciences ? , 'tis the love of true Wisdom, theknowledgofDivineandHumaneThings,that is to say,the Science o f G o d , a Science w h i c h teaches us to know the relation which our Souls necessarily bear totheirCreator, andby and inhim, toall rationalCreatures, and which produces thecertain knowledge of all our Duties, towards God, our Neighbours and our Selves.
To betrulyaPhilosopheristohaveTemperance, Justice and rortitude, to love the Truth, to avoid Sensual Pleasures, to despise Riches, to weaken, as mucji asmay be, thebands that fastenthe Soul to theBody,tohateandcontemnthisBodywhichis
alwaysopposingWisdom, torenounceallourDe sires, to fear neither the Poverty, nor Shame, nor Reproach we may be expos'd to, for thefake of RighteousnessandTruth;todogoodtoMankind even our very Enemies : to have nothing in view,
,. . . but
? ? A DiscourseonHato^
b n t h o w t o d i e w e l l ? , a n d f o r t h i s e n d t o r e n o u n c e
one's self and every thing else. , This is the Idea the wisest Heathens had of Philosophy.
This being suppos'd, nothing can be more fitand useful, than to follow the certain, and vifible Pro gress which they made in theirresearchafter those Truths, and to see to what degree of knowledge it pleasedGodtolead'em. Ifwedon'tmakesuchan Examenasthis,wecan'tspeakof'emwithJudg ment, and without falling into a false account of Things, asithasoftenhappen'd, andstillhappens everydaytothemostLearnedMen. Whenever they speak of the Heathens, they bear witness against
themselves that they never well read 'em, and that they have only an imperfect Idea of 'em, for they impute such Sentiments to 'em as they never had, a n d d e n y ' e m o t h e r s w h i c h t h e y h a d i n r e a l i t y ? , which is a great piece of Injustice : nay it seems (ifImaysoipeak) todiminishsomewhatfromthe MercyandJustice. ofGod, nottoacknowledgall the Testimonies he was pleased to give of himself amongthePagans, inthoseTimesthatwerecor rupted withthemostabominableIdolatry, inorder to reduce 'em to the true Religion.
ThisNegligenceisthemoreblamable-. inthata
M a n needs only to read Plato, to be perfectly in*
form'd of the extent of their Knowledg : For his
Writings have amassed together all the Truths that
were fcatter'd up and down in the Works of other p h i l o s o p h e r s ? , a n d w i t h t h e a d v a n t a g e o f n e w D i s
coveriesofhisown, theycomposeasitwereaBo dy ofDoctrinewhichcontainsthehighestperfecti on of Knowledg to be found among the Heathens.
LetaMan readneversolittleofhim withatten tion, and reflect upon what he teaches, and he'll easily discern, that God, to stop the mouth of In credulity, w a s long since preparing the w a y for the conversion of the Heathens, which had been so of7 t e n p r e d i c t e d b y t h e P r o p h e t s -, f o r w a s i t n o t t h e
worn of God, and'akindofPreludiumoftheir B2 Con-
? ? A Discourse onPlata
Conversion, that a Heathen in the most Idolatrous CityintheWorld, andalmost400yearsbeforethe light of the Gospel illuminated the Universe, should declare and prove a good part of the Truths of the Christian Religion.
The CircumstanceoftheTime isremarkable,for
Plato began to write immediately after the three
lastProphetsthatwereinIsrael. Sothatassoon
astheProphets ceased among theJews, God raises u p P h i l o s o p h e r s t o e n l i g h t e n t h e G e n t i l e s ? , a n d d i
vers of the Principles of the Gospel are taught at Athens. Where'tisprov'd,
ThatthereisbutoneGod, thatweoughttolove andserve him, and to endeavour to resemble him in HolinessandRighteousness; thatthisGodrewards Humility, andpunishesPride.
'ThatthetrueHappinessofMan consistsinbeing unitedtoGod, andhisonlyMiseryinbeingsepara tedfrom him.
That the Soul is mere Darkness, unless it be illu minatedbyGod; thatMenareuncapableevenof prayingwell, unlessGod teaches''emthatPrayer,
which alone can be useful to 'em.
That there is nothing solid and substantial but
Piety, thatthisistheSourceofVertues, andthatit is thegift-of God.
That "tisbetter to die than tosin.
That we ought continually to be learning to die, and yet to endure life, in obedience to God.
T h a t " "tis a C r i m e t o h u r t o u r E n e m i e s , a n d t o r e venge ourselvesfor the Injuries we have received.
That 'tisbetter tosuffer wrong than to do it.
That G o d is thesole Cause of Good,and cannot be the CauseofEvil, whichalwaysproceedsonlyfromour Disobedience, andtheillusewemakeofourLiberty.
That Self-loveproduces that Discord and Division which reign among Men, and is the cause of their Si/is-,thattheloveofourNeighbours, whichproceeds
from the Ivve of God at itsPrinciple, produces that sacred Union which makes Families, Republicks, and Kingdoms happy. That
? ? A Discourse on Platos j
That theWorllh nothingbutCorruption, thatwe oughttoflyfromit,tojoinourselvestoGod, who a l o n e i s o u r H e a l t h a n d L i f e -, a n d t h a t w h i l e w e l i v e in this World we aresurrounded by Enemies, and
have a continual Combate to endure, which requires on our part a refinance without intermiffion -, and that we cannot conquer, unless God or his Angels come to our help.
ThattheWORD fram'dtheWorld,andrendered*h&'
itvisible;thattheknowledgoftheWORD makes usliveveryhappilyherebelow, andthattherebywe obtain Felicity after Death.
ThattheSoulisimmortal, thattheDeadshall rife again, that thereshall be afinal Jndgment both ofthe Righteous and ofthe Wicked, when M e n shall appear only with their Vertues or Vices, which
shall be the occasion of their eternal Happiness or Misery.
ButIforbeartoproceed, that Imay not repeat that here,which will be found in its full extent else where. Yet I cannot chuse but add, that Plato had so
great and true an Idea of perfect Righteousness, and
was so. throughly acquainted with the corruption of
Mankind, thathemakesitappear, *thatifaMan
perfectly righteous should come upon Earths he
would findibmuch oppositionintheWorld, that he would be imprison'd, reviled, scourged, and in
fine crucified by such who, tho they were extremely
wicked,wouldyetpassforrighteousMen. Socra
teswasthefirstproofofthisDemonstration. For
as St. Justin fays, the-Devils seeing this Philoso
pher made their Nullity appear by the discovery of theTruth, and that heendeavouredtoreclaimMen
from givingthem religiousWorship;? thesemali ciousSpiritssoordertsthematterbymeans ofMeiv who were corrupt and took pleasure in Vice, that thisrighteousMan wasputtoDeath asifhehad' been an impious Person, that liv'd without God in- World, and introduc'd new Gods.
*JntheII. BookofhisCommoikwcalth. Temra.
B 3 There,.
? ? A DiscourseonPlato,
Therearesome who pretendthe abovementioned Passage of"Plato is a Prophesy, because the Terms don't agree with the Circumstances of Socrates, w h o was put to death only by a draught of Poyson, but precisely lute with thpse of the Saviour of the
World, whowasbothscourgedandcrucified.
But we shall not pr-eiiime tomake aProphet of
ourPhilosopher,fromwhomReasonalone, when
mov'd by the injustice of Men, might extort such e x a g g e r a t e d E x p r e s s i o n s ? , b u t s h a l l c o n t e n t o u r s e l v e s
toenquirewhattheremay beinhisWritingscon formabletothedesignsofGod, whoalwaysdesir'd theSalvation of Men, and oftenmade use. of the Pagans for the execution of his eternal Decrees;
We understandbytheHolyScripture,whichis
theonlyLamp ofTruth, thatnaturalReligionwas t h e f i r s t u s e M e n m a d e o f t h e i r R e a s o n ? , . t h a t L u s t
and irregular Passions having c6rrupted their Reason,
they abandon'd themselves to the sacrilegious wor
s h i p o f I d o l s -, a n d t h a t G o d t o s t o p t h e c o u r s e o f
this. Abomination made himself known a second
time,andgavetheJewishLaw^ whichasitre-
viv'dinthemindsofMen thePrinciplesoftheLaw
ofNature, soitpromis'd.
