AndsinceallPoets arenotcapableof
istakenoutknowing
what istruly excellent and good ; ought we
Boo'ofhisnott0ma^e c^0,ce?
Boo'ofhisnott0ma^e c^0,ce?
Plato - 1701 - Works - a
Has God less Capacity^
? ? TbtLiseofVhto: gp
orishelessdiligentthanArtificers? Byhowmuch the more knowing these are ; byso much the moreper- feil are their Works, whether small or great, they
forgetting nothing that may conduce to the Improve mentof"em. AndshallGod,whoismostwife,most knowing, andhasaPower proportionatetohisWitt^ regard onlythegreatestthings; and negleffothers whichmaybestilljnoreeasilymended; asifhewas
idle, aud affraidofgiving himselftrouble ? This is followedwithotheradmirableProofs, whichitwould be too long to relate. In fine, he * shows, that
sooner or later God renders to every M a n according God atthe tohisWorks. TheRighteous,whohavebeenexposdlaP? "*? ' to Troubles in thisLife are recompencedin the other, fgtnt""dtrs
and the Wicked who have always enjoy'dthe Pleasures Manaccord-
oftheWorld,arepunishedinHell. Thisisnecesi*gtohis sarily infer'dfrom the Justice of God : 'Tis impos Ww^s,
Jible to avoid this Judgment which the Gods have fix'd by that Providence which you oppose, and of whichyoushallone day befatally convinced; don't
supposethatitwillnegligentlypassyouby. tTho
you should seek ashelter by hidingyourself in the
deepestCavernsoftheEarth; thoyoushouldhave
Wings, andtouldflyintotheheavenstohideyour
selfthere; theDivineProvidencewouldseizeyou
every where ; and you shall never avoid the Punish
mentsyoudeserve;whetherinthisWorld, crinHell, orinsome otherplaceyetmoreterrible.
He afterwards shews, that not only they shall be funiihed w h o deny the Divine Being, dispute against
rovidence, or blaspheme God, by layinghe suitersthevunifr-
himself to be bribed by the Offerings of the Wick- mvtofim. ed, hut also such as have heard theie Blasphemies ? ,fsiouS? Pef' and yet neglect: to bring the Authors of"'em beforesmsstated-
\ j
'?
theJudgeswhoaresettopunish'em. Healsoin-TbtPiinijh- stitutesPenaltiesforthosewhobytheirown private"f^^c
*Tom. 2. +ThisiswhatDavidCiysinalmostthefame^'J? TM'
Terms, Psal. 130. 7,8. Whithershall1gofromthysprit>whither. . '" fyall 1 fie from thy Presence? if I ascend up into Heaven thou arttkere,,ne
. ifImal(imi BtdinHtU, beholdtt<mautkre.
Audio. -
? ? fif}jm *w '"'
hasamindtoofferSacrificesbemustgointothepub- lickTemples;beistoputbisViSimsandOfferings;
intotheHands of thePriestsand Priestesses,towhose Care thesacred Altars are committed, there he tnust make his\Prayers,wherethosethatcometoworshipmay
joinwithhim. foritdoesnotbelongtoeveryMan toconsecrateAltars; but 'tisthework ofavery enlighten d Mind.
To cure Men of Superstition and Idolatrywhich thenreignedsomuchintheWorld, Platoforgets nothingthatmightinduce 'emtorenderGodarati onalWorship. Forthispurposeheendeavoursto.
raise theirMinds in giving them an Idea of God, which might in some sort agree with his Essence, which mortal Eyes can't see but very imperfectly. Thestrokeswithwhich heforms thisIdeaareseat- ter'dupanddowninallhisWorks. Theprincipal
po The Life ofPlato.
Particular Authority teach or practice in their Houses particu- Formsof Jarporms0fWorship, andtopreventthisInconve-
Si^niencjr, heapplieshimselftodiscovertheCauseof ,,". it. HesaysthiscommonlyproceedsfromWomen, Boolof an(*wea^Minds,whentheyfindthemselvesinany Lavs. danger, or under any adverse Circumstances ; or w h e n Tom. 2. onthecontrarytheymeetwithunexpectedProspe
rs origin rity, or are in some transport of Joy ; or in fine, ? /SKpirsti-wjjen their Imagination is disturb'd by some fright, tuns. j-Qtjiat^ ? -anCy. ^ jiaye^eenSpectres, either
Th'd"lnhnwa^ingorsleeping. ForsuchPeopleasthesewhen
"hyaTt i? thisCondition,arewonttovowtoofferthefirst mrrj. v thing that comes into their Heads : they promise
wisd. 14. Sacrifices and Images -, and fill their Houses with
2 ? "
C h a p p e l s a n d A l t a r s ? , o r s e t u p p a r t i c u l a r f o r m s o f Devotion, which by degrees degenerate into dread ful Superstitions, or impious Novelties, which en tirely ruin both Religion and good Manners ; for what isit thatcan't enter into the head of a M a n or Woman, thatisweak orperverted? and'tisforthis reasonPlatoforbidsInnovationsinWorship, and
makesthisLaw, Thatnoprivatepersonjhould. ba. ve
T>omt(lie\
cbappfls eitheraChappe/orAltarinbisHouse,butwhenhe
<>f
? ? The Life of Plato: 9i
of 'emwhichIhavecollected^arethesethatfollow.
God is one, eternal, immutable, incomprehensible
Being. Hecreated,anddisposedallthingsbyhisWif w^atGod
dom; hemaintainsandpreserves allthings byhis is. Providence;heisinallplaces, andnoplacecan containhim. He isallthings,andyetheisnone of those things which are by him, and have received
theirbeingfromhim. forheisgreaterthanEs senceitself: heseesallthings,knowsallthings,and penetratesthemostsecretthoughts; hefillstheCa pacity of the Deeps, and the Immensity of the Hea vens -, all Knovoledg, Good, Vertue, Light, Life areonlyinhim,andareHimself Heisatthefame timeinfinitelyGoodandinfinitelyfust. Helovesmen withasingular AffeSion;and created"em onlyto render 'em happy : But as he is Holiness and Justice itself he makes none happy but those who resemble
him in Righteousness and Holiness : And punishes
those who have corrupted thesacred Charaffer he had impressedon*embycreating'emafterhisown
Image.
He lays, none butGod cancurealltheInfirmities
of Men.
He teaches that God nor only hates Liars, and UistPtrj>>-
perjur'dpersons, butalsosuchasswearvainlyandZ,*^TM" unnecessarily,andwhodebaseandprofanetheMajesiv^ ^ tyofhisName, by usingit rashlyonalloccasions,>>/God.
whereas itoughttobementionedwithallpossible Sanctity and Purity of Mind.
The generalityofPhilosophersweredivideda- bout the Nature of the Chief Good : Some made it consist in the knowledg of Arts and Sciences, others in Pleasures, and others in Authority and Power. Plato opposes all these Errors ; and shews that the SupremeGoodisnottobefoundintheSciences? , seing these and Vices often appear together in the famePersons,and'tisverycommonforMentoa-
buse 'em:He provesthatPower can'trenderaMan
h a p p y w i t h o u t J u s t i c e >, a n d ( h e w s t h a t w h i c h M e n W a t . P l e a - callPleasures,namelysensualDelights, arebyno^msar-s'
means
? ? i
means of the nature of that Pleasure which can give us the Supreme Happiness : For they are the Conse-. quence of Humane Weakness and Infirmity-, and maybecalledtheDaughtersofSorrow: theyare alwayshatchingbutneverexist. 'Tisthereforea ridiculous thing to make the chief Good consist in that which has no Essence of it self, but only springsfromourMiseriesandNecessities. Hemore over proves it by other Reasons no less solid, which m a y be seen in their proper place.
2%
The Life of Plato?
He does not content himself to shew wherein the in us chief Good is not to be found ; he also teaches Phiieb. whereitis',andtheforceofhisreasoningispre-
wKeiAo- rifely this : The Chief Good must be perfect, lelf-
TofZ'n existent,self-sufficient,thefirstandlastendofall tbisSubjeft. things ; and the only scope of all Mankind in ge- A*dintheneral. KnowledgorPleasurearetheonlythings VIB"! inwhichonecanwithany(hadowofReasonmake
'Llick. tneChiefGoodconsist-,butitcanneitherbefound '" ' in Knowledg without Pleasure, nor in Pleasure without Knowledg : It must therefore of necessity
consistinthat which unitesthesetwo things toge ther, and possesses 'em in the highest degree, and that isGod.
inthe vi Nay, fays he, That Knowledg and Truth of f"\? ffewhlcnGod JstneCausecan'tbetheChiefGood,for
Tom2 ^}cyareinfinitelykTsbeautifulandlessperfedthan God, whoseImagetheydobutveryimperfeUlyrepre
sents arLightisbutaveryimperfedrepresentation astheSun. SothattheSupremeGood,beinggreater\ more august,and more perfett than Truth and Know-
,. ledg,canbenootherthanGpdhimself. Therefore Phedon? ll1Snott0^ef? un^butinGodwhoisthesole Treasure and perfection of Light ; and the Author of trueand solidPleasures. Whence he infersthat whileweareonEarth, wecan'tacquirethisChief Good but after an imperfect manner ; and shall not e n j o y i t f u l l y t i l l a f t e r D e a t h ? , b e c a u s e w e c a n ' t t i l l
then know clearly what we knew only obscurely during this Life : And this is one of his proofs for the
? ? The Life of Plato* 93 t h e I m m o r t a l i t y o f t h e S o u l ? , n a m e l y b e c a u s e i t i s
capable of-Action and Knowledg after Death. But'tisnotenoughforaPhilosophertopoint ,
out the Supreme Good, unless he also shew the wayofobtainingit? ,andthisiswhat P/atodoes
withmarvellousSolidity. Forheprovesthat,tobe Happy,wemustbeunitedtoGod^ thatinorderto be united to him, we must resemble him inHoliness and Righteousness-, that to obtain these Gifts at his hand we mustask'em inPrayer, andthatourPrayers
o u g h t t o b e a n i m a t e d w i t h L o v e ; w h i c h h e c a l l s t h e [/<< h k B a n -
Surest,and most EffectualCourse Men can take toquct.
lead 'em to Happiness : for a blessed Immortality is thefruitofLove. Therefore a LearnedInterpre-Mmmu . terofPlatehighlycommendsSocrates forhaving J"w'
known, that to raise our Souls to the Enjoyment of God,we musttakeReasonandLoveforourGuides. Reason teaches us the right way, and hinders us from wandering out of it, and Love by its sweet Perswasions and insinuating Graces,makes us findall things easy, and softensthe Labour and Toil, which is inseperable from the Conflicts we must go through-
Heshews,thereisnothingmorenaturaltoMan- jnhu kindthanLove. TheynaturallyloveeverythingPhedr. that is fair and beautiful, because their Souls are de- liv'dfromtheVerySourceofBeauty. Buteverything
that in some sort resembles this Primitive Beauty moves 'em more or less, according as their Souls aremoreorlessstrictlyunitedtotheirBodies. So that those whose Souls are most difingaged in every Beauty adore that Sovereign Beauty whose com- pleat Idea they have, and. for which indeed they were born. And this Adoration produces in 'em Temperance, Fortitude,Wisdom, andallotherVer- tues. ButthosewholinkdownandWallowinMat
t e r ? , a n d n o l o n g e r p r e s e r v e a n y I d e a o f t h e S o v e
reignBeauty, runfuriouslyafterimperfectandtran sitoryBeauties;and withoutFear orWitplunge themselves into all forts of Filthiness and Impurity.
I
? ? 94 7heLifeofPhtol
Icaii't here stand to remark on each Subject the
great Truths which are taught by this Philosopher,
anddeserveourAttention:What Ipropos'dtomy selfwasonlytorelateafewof'em? ,togivesome
Idea of 'em, and hereby to excite the Curiosity of the Reader : The rest will be more advantageously seen in their Source.
Platortgu- AfterhehaswithwonderfulAccuracyestablish- iiusalitheed all that relatesto Religious Worship ;he inlikd
civil AEi- manner provides for what concerns civil Matters. m "'**'HecreatesMagistrates, proposesLaws,andforgets
nothingthatmayaugment, andsecurethewelfare of -theCommon-wealth ; for he is not-content only toregulateMarriages, Divorces, the Education of Children, Wills, Guardianships, War, Peace, and other principal Matters ; but descends into a sur prizingParticularity. Andaswemayobservethat God has not left so much as one part of the Uni versewithoutimprintingonittheCharactersof his God-head,thatMenmightbynomeansbeignorant o f i t ? , s o P l a t o h a s n o t l e f t a n y p a r t o f h u m a n e L i f e ,
whether private or publick, without a Regulation bysomePreceptorLaw,topreventtheCommissi on of Faults and Injuries in it.
XrthBook
*LUwu thing one finds, which another has lost. He fays,
He determineswhat oughttobedonewithany
TbeDuty of*f ^e Jh? u^ fin^ a Treasure he would, not touch inch as findlt-> * & he had consulted the Diviners, and they had aTnafure. assured him he might appropriate it to himself.
This Treasure (fays he) has some Owner ; we must therefore wait till this Owner, or' his Heirs come to demand it; for we ought to obey the haw which fays, Thou shalt not take away that
whichthouhaftnotlaiddown, and thatotherLaw whichisnotlessancient* Thoushalt nottake ano therMan'sGoods. ThisTreasureinourCoffersis notso valuable as the Progress we make in Versus and Justice ; when tae have the Courage to despise it. Besides,ifweappropriateittoourownuse,'tis a Spring ofCurses to our YdftlilieSi
t
Seeaiist'
? ? ' The Life of Plato. 9 5
Because Injustice reigns chiefly in Trade ; he is Trade. u n m i n d f u l o f n o t h i n g t h a t m a y p r e v e n t i t ? , a n d g o e s
sofaras to forbid the Seller * to,make two Words, ani. ja. ljly to commend what be is about tofell.
To prevent the Manners of Foreigners from cor-Travelling. rupting those of his Citizens, and that when these arecorrupted theLaws may not berender'duseless
by 'em, he does not permit every one to travel indif
ferently ; but is for having the State make choice of thosetowhom thisLibertyshallbegranted. They mustbeabove40YearsofAge-,theymustbeMen ofSobriety and Wisdom, and capable of remarking what is good in other Commonwealths ; and they
must make a faithful report of Things at their re t u r n -, t h a t t h e L a w s t h a t a r e r e c e i v e d m a y b e a u g mented or corrected by theirMemoirs, and the Go vernment by this means be brought to greater per fection.
Men rejoice when they are happy, and think Tbeorigi themselves happy when they rejoice. Hence itisofFeasts, thattheyhavesuchapropensiontoPleasure. GodshoJs**>><* compassionately accommodates himself to this s0^^'&c*
naturalInclination, andextractingGoodoutofEvil
makesuseofitasaverypropermeanstoconfirm Men inwhatisGood? ,andthattheymightnever
losesightoftheReligionwhichheestablished. So that to hinder 'em from throwing themselves into those Excesses to which Nature when abandon'd ro it self carries them, he was pleased to institute Feasts for his People by Moses, and order'd him to regulateeverythingtobeobserv'din'em. Traditi-. on had preserv'd some remembrance of these Institu tions, for some Vestiges of 'em are found in Plato, who attributes 'em to the Egyptians in hislidBook ofLaws,wherehecomplainsofthetoogreatLi berty that was allow'd the Poets in all the Cities of
* Solomoncondemn'dthefameabuseintheBuyerwhoslights whatheisbuying, andafterhehasgotit,boastsasifhehadout wittedtheSeller. Itisnaught, itisnaught(faiththeBuyer)but *>btnbeisgonebistvaythenbeboastt. Prov. 20. 14.
" Greece,
? ? 9 6
Ihe Use of Plato; <<
Tom. a. The cart which the ancient ? ? gyptians too^ to pre vent all
forts of No. velties,
Greece, to keep young People under the Conduct of veryperniciousMaximsbytheirVerses. Heaffirms that it was otherwise in Egypt, where there were
ery wise Laws to hinder this Corruption. " The ancient Egyptians (fays he) knew that Children ought to be early accustom'd to such Gestures, Looks and Motions, as are honest and decent ; and that they should not be suffers either to hear or}earnanyotherVerses,orSongs, butsuchas werefittoinipire'erriwithVertue. Therefore they took care to regulate the Dances and Songs thatbelong'dtotheirFeastsandSacrifices. Nay> they pufh'd this Matter yet farther -7 for they never fuffer'd any Painters or Statuaries to inno vate any thing in their Art, to invent any new Subjects, or any new Habits. And hence it is (fays he), that inrespect of what concerns these Arts and Musick, you shall find no W o r k through out all Egypt that his been made for ten thousand' Yearspast, which isform'd any otherwise than
thosepieceswhicharemadeatpresent. They are all alike, they are neither fairer, nor more de- form'd. TheArtremainsstillthefame,theRules ofitthefame. And thereisnothingmoread mirable, or more worthy of a good Law-giver, and of a wise Administrator of Governments than to have regulated and fixed all these Matters that have a regard to Pleasure, and particularly that which respects Musick : And to do this is the Work, eitherofGodhimself,orofsomedivine Man. SothatalltheirDances,alltheirPoesy, all theirSongs were sanctified; and not the least thing was suffefd which did not answer the de
sign of. the established Religion, and which was not worthy of the Feasts that were celebrated by 'em. ThisindeedisaveryremarkableTraditi
o n ? , a n d F l a t o d o e s n o t f a i l t o m a k e a v e r y g o o d l n >
p r o v e m e n t o f i t ; f o r h e " p u r s u e s t h e f a m e * d e s i g n 5, andinstitutesFeastsforhisPeople, thatduringthe timeoftheirRelaxationfromLabour^ theymight
rends*'
? ? TheLifeof Plato. " 97
render homage to God, and testify their Gratitude tohim forallthebenefitstheyreceivedfromhis Divine Hand. He suffers nothing to be acted at
theseFeasts,butwhatwasSacredorInnocent. He forbidsallsuchPoetryandMufickasmightbe inju rious to the Honour of God, or dangerous to the
M a n n e r s o f M e n -, a n d o n l y r e c e i v e s i i i c h a s m i g h t
tend to rectify and instruct the Minds of the Peo
ple. The Ancient Hebrews used onlyLyrick Poesie, whichinsingingthePraisesofGod, and those of1^ f? ffie
VertuousMen, raisestheCourage, andexcites De-lat'a^ votion. Andthiswas alsotheonlykindofPoesiebrews, inuseamong thefirstGreeks, asappears bya Pas sigeofPlutarchinhisTreatiseofMusick. TheThepnsii
Ancient Greeks (says he) were unacquainted with the ? i tf:eFirft Mufick of the Theatre, they employ'd this Art only 0m^s'
in honouring the Gods, and in infruiting of Youth;
for there were then no Theatres in their Cities, Mustek was reserved for the Temples where the
Gods were honoured in Songs, and where thePraises
ofvertuousMen werefung. While Platoauthorizes this Lyrick Poesie, he also receives other Poems which were already established, and which it was
impossible toextirpateanddestroy:Butwe shall
see what precautions he takes to purge and to discharge 'em of -that Poyson which rendered 'em so
dangerous*
The Greeks being extrearrily addicted to the plea
sure of Mufick, this inordinate Passion had made 'em receive all the Works of Poets and Musicians, which had at last so alter'dand transforms the An
cientPoesieandMusick,thatinsteadofthat Wis-Vii8ul
dom, Gravity and Sanctity that reign'd in the Plea- ^Jjf*?
lures of their Ancestors, nothing was found intheirs 0y -^hat
butFolly,Effeminacy,and Impiety. Platothere-importance fore seeks to re-establish this Ancient Purity, and it>> t0n'
h for a perpetual prohibition of any alteration in**'*" ni Musick. Itisnottobeimagined(fayshe)whata^/p/JAE.
weight and force there is in Plays and other Plea-faresofthe fures,eitherfor the Support or Ruin of Discipline and pose.
. ;
H Laws.
? ? 5>S
The Life of Plato;
Laws. IfAlterationsbesufferedcontinuitytobe
made in 'era ; and young people be continually ac custom d to new Pleasures, every day to have new Pieces, new Ornaments, and Dances ; and to esteem none but those who can furnish this unlimited Varie-
Thepirnid-ty,therecanbenothing morepernicioustoaState, ousconfe- fcr tfjjs insensibly changes the Manners of young
IhrGutl peopk'? >S? ^ttheycannolongerendureanything Men have that is Ancient ; and only value Novelties ; and this
for Nott! - ties.
opens a Door to all the most dangerous Errors both in rejpettof Politicks, andReligion.
TheseAlterations aredangerous ineverything; but especially inMusick, because all Mufick being an Imitation, that only ought to be suffer'd, which imitateswhatisgoodand useful? ,the otherbeing
rather a Plague than a Play, which he explains af
terasensiblemannerby this Example, which ap
pears to m e to deserve our attention.
Tortvxttt jfwefhouilfee(fayShe)atourSacrifices,after
ulistoil-rf)eViffimswere consumed intheFire, aMan ap- hftrate. theproach the Altars, and extravagantly utter Blafphe*
horrorif }njesan^ Impieties;shouldwenotthinkallhisFa* pemaous m;iywouldlook7^ponthisasagreatMisfortune, and
averyfatalOmen? ThatwhichisdoneinourTime inthepubhekShowsAndPlays,isnotmuchdifferent fromthis. ForaftertheMagistrateshaveSacrificed, we fee divers Choirs of Mustek come, and in the
view of ourTem'ples and Altars they utter most exe
crable things against these very Altars, contradict
the Principles of Religion by their Impiom Maxims,
and affetl the Souls of their Auditors by their inde
centExpressions, lasciviousDances,andtheireffemi
nateandvoluptuoj(sTunes. Oughtnotthisthen to be abolished, and the Poets obliged to submit to
ThispuffjgeotherRules?
AndsinceallPoets arenotcapableof istakenoutknowing what istruly excellent and good ; ought we
Boo'ofhisnott0ma^e c^0,ce? fsuch whointheirImitations Repub! canfollowtheIdeaofBeautyandDecency? That young people may receive improvement by every thing,
as being in a very advantageous place, and that all . . . . . . which
? ? The Lifeos Plato. pp
which strikes their Eyes and Ears arising from a
goodfund, thatisfromaSubjetlwhichisexcellent initself may belikeagoodAir whichhavingpassed
through who(some Places, carries health along with it,andmayinsensiblyaccustomthemtoloveand imi
tate those Discourses, and conform all the Alfions of their Lives to them.
To this purpose he makes the following Law. Thevrr Let nonehesoinsolentastosinganythingbefidesBo? k. ? s. , ourSacredHymns, ortoalterandvarythereceivedIfasaf,"f
DancesanymorethanourotherLaws, And ifanyp^uts
onedisobeythisStatute, letthe Conservators ofthe
Laws, togetherwith the Priests and Priestesses take cognizance of it. Tom. 2. A
TothisLawheaddedanother:LetnoPoetirfoZrtZd hisImitations, departfrom any ofthe Maxims which poetical theCityhas received asgoodand just;norlethimImitations,
presume toshew hisCompositions to any privateMan ju^gts
* tillthey have been seen, and app'rovd by Judges established. establijh'dforthatpurpose, andbytheConservatorsf*f*dgiof of the Laws. ""?
IntheIIBookoftheRepublick,hehadmadeju&it'sfa
thefameLawforthosePoetswho compos'dthepointedto Fables that were taught to Children : He was foriudse? f. having Judges to approve the Good and reject the Fablts'
Evil.
He usesthefamePrecautionsaboutComediesandcomedies,
Tragedies, ashe does about Songs, Dances, andall/*^i<<- btherImitations. HethinksComediesnecessarytoa$p *? f
makeMenknowwhatisridiculous,andtoexposegj;# Vicesthatarerepresentedin'em. For(sayshe)oneiaws. can'tknow whatiscomely and serious, unless one knowswhatisindecentandridiculous. Andtoac
quire Prudence and Wisdom, we must know their
* Vlitd rook this too from die Tradition of the Ancient He- brewSjfor they had Judges appointed to try all new Piece? which weremadeeitherinPro'eorVerse,andthesereceivedonlysuch aswere conformable to Religion, and rejected the rest. They alsoprohibitedthesingingof HymnsandSongsbyanyotherthan thecommonandreceivedTunes. Eifeb. jnparit. Eymgel. XII ii. ti if. '
: H 2 contraries
? ? ioo
lie use of Plato.
contraries. NotthatanyManwhohasanytintture of Vertue can equally ad what isgood andevil, de centand indecent, but it's needfulheshould know these things for fear he should through ignorance fallinto what isridiculous, andshoulddo or fay any thingunbecominghim. Butwe'llmakeuseonlyof Slaves or Mercenary Strangers to make these Imita tions,andallfreeMen andWomenshallbeforbid
den to be concern'din 'em, cr tolearn 'em.
A s for Tragical Poets (says he) who boaji of ifnita-
Tngfdits
w rtetn-t\nggreatandseriousAtlions; whenanyof'emcome
intoourCity,andaskifwe arewillingtoreceive
'emamong us,andfee theirTragedies, what answer shall we make these Divine Men? Methinks we oughttomake'emthisreturn, friends,weareem
ploy'dinTragediesaswellasyou,andwemakethe beft and finest we can, fer our Policy is only an imi tationofthemojiresin'd andexcellentwayoflivingj thisisthe true fort of Tragedy with which we are acquainted. SoifyouarePoets,wepretendtothe
fame thing, and declare our selves your Rivals in that Koble Imitation which can be perfeffed only by theLaw. Thereforedonothopetobesoeasilyper mitted lo build Theatres in our publick Places, and
Thusvttst01Tliro^uceSkilfulAffors thatshallextend their who intheir Voices beyond oars, and tellour Wives and Children,
firithtgs andallthepeopleonthefameSubjeffs,thingsdi- tontridtiljrefflyoppositetocurInfruffions. Wemustbequite
^Mixtms destituteofcommonSense,befere-wecangiveyou. condtmntd. permission to Alt, till the established Judges bave de
termined whether what you fay isgood and useful,
and whether itought to be made publickor not. There- fore, TeutenderDarlingsojthesoftMuses,putyour
Compositions into the hands of the Judges, who will comparethemwithou/~s;andifwhatyoufayisbet terthanwhatwefay,we'llgiveyou leavetoAll; otherwise it can't possibly be done, and therefore 'tts in vain to expels it.
PlatohastreatedthisbusinessofPlaysand Shows thoroughly, because 'tis a very important matter in relation
? ? The Lifeos Plato. 101
relation to States-, all he fays of it is admirable, and deserves to be carefully recollected. What I have recited is sufficient to give a just Idea of it : Wise Men may make on it what Reflections they thinkfit:My scopehasbeenonlytoshowthatPlato after the Example of Moses, would permit only such Divertifements as were decent, and tended to supportReligion, oratleastwerenotcontrarytoit. They who are for advancing farther, and for parti cularlyexamining theconformity theLaws ofPlato have in many things, with those that were given the
PeopleofGod, willstillbetterdiscoverthisResem blanceh which made Clemens Alexandrinus fay,that Moses assisted Plato in making his Laws; and' that Platowas onlyMosesspeakingtheAttickLanguage. Not but that some Laws are to be found inPlato ve
ry remote from the Spirit of Moses, and very contra ry to Equity : but the number of 'em is but small.
The Emperour Marcus Aurehm had reason to lay, That such a Commonwealth as Plato's is not to beexpelledinthisWorld. Notbutthattherehad already heen one which was still better, and more wisely constituted; and when Antoninus said this therewasoneinfinitelymoreperfect, ofwhichthe former was but a shadow ; but it was the work of G o d -, a n d n o n e b u t G o d c a n p u t t h i s I d e a i n t o A c t , because 'tis only he that can change the Hearts'of Men:ofwhichwehaveaveryevidentProof. A
greatEmperourhadamind toestablishPlatos. Re- publick in his Territories, to which purpose he em ploys divers Philosophers whose Knowledg was ve ryextensive, andtheirEloquenceveryperswasive: hut all his Efforts were in vain, he could never gain his end so m u c h as to establish it in one single Vil
lage-, whereas the Christian Religion was establish. ed by the Ministry ofilliterate Men, and that in spite oftheEmperours themselves.
As for Physicks in which also Meraphyficks are r,vsl. y comprehended;Platointhefirstplaceacknowledges' ' that since we are but Men, we mult not hope per
? il i fcctly
? ipi
The Life of Plato.
flctlytogaintheknowledgesNature, andthatall a Philosopher can do is to find out Probabilities -, pure and simple Truths being only known to God, whoalonecandiscover'em,toMen. Afterthisac knowledgment he divides Nature into two parts, Sprit which acts, and Matter upon which it acts.
He calls the Spirit which acts, a Being eternal, infinite, very good, immutable, which hath neither beginning nor end, but. is always the sarne, and he callsMatter, aMasswithoutformandvoid,which is always ready to be produe'd, and never exists.
Atimeuf,HisWordsareremarkable. Eirst(fayshe)allthese torn,3. thingsoughttobewelldistinguished,andwemust well establish what it is thai always exists and is never
froditeld; and what itisthatneverexists, and isal waysproducing. Thefirjiisnotconceivedbutbythe Understanding assistedbyReason. Thiswe discern
Maturhn>>tobealwaysoneandthefame. Andtheotherisonly tya-ipa. opinable,thatisknownbyOpinionassistedbytheSen
t i m e n t d i v e s t e d o f R e a s o n -, i v h i c h w e s e e t o b e a l w a y s producing,anddyingwithouteverexisting. There- Wbi ctUid f? re he gives Matter the N a m e of Other, because of
o. hcrand thecontinualChangesitundergoes:Healsogivesit Necessity. theNameofNecejfity,becauseitonlyfollowsthe
order and determination of the Spirit which governs it.
He also sometimes calls Matter Eternal, which has given occasion to some to accuse him of believ ingitto have been with God from all Eternity. But a Philosopher who in so many places maintains the unity of G o d could not fall into io gross an Error : IfMatterwereEternal, itmustthenbeGod, and sotherewouldbetwoGods, contrarytowhathe
. . . had laiddown. When thereforePlatocallsMatter itEternd! Eternal he would not be understood as if it visibly
subsistedfromallEternity, butthatitsubsistedintel ligibly in the eternal Idea of God ; and in this re- . specttheWorldissometimeslaidtobeEternal. Let us lee the very Terms Plato uses, which will leave
asijoroomtodoubtwhathisThoughtswere. Tb^ Pattern
? ? 7be Life ofPhtol 103
Patter/2oftheWorld (sayshe) isfromallEternity-,Jn^Tjme. and the World, thisvijible World is from the begin- us,Tom. 3. ning of Time, and will always thus fubfijl alone. . Plato could not think Matter to be Eternal : seeing
heaffirmstheSoultobeolderthantheBody ? ,for
iftheSoulisolderthantheBody,theBodymust
needs have been created, and consequently can't be
Eternal. AndforthisreasonhecallsGodtheFather orCreator,andFormeroftheWorld. BytheQua- neWmli
lityof Creator he signifies that he made the World7 jJ^J*'' out of Nothing, and by that of Former he figni- " H'
fies, that God after-he had created it, gave it its Form and orderly Disposition. Plato derived this Idea from the Tradition of the Hebrews, of which the Greeks had some knowledg long before him^ as
appears from Hefod's speaking of the Birth of the
Chaos. PerhapsalsohehadreadtheseWordsin
hi the Prophesy of Isaiah, God himself that,formed cbap. &f. '. li the Earth and made it, he hath efablijhed it.
OfthiscreatedMatterGod formedtheWorld,by separatinganddisposingtheElements, whichhaving simple qualities of themselves, form by their diffe rentUnion, andvariousFiguresaninfinitenumber of compounded Qualities : for Matter isdivisible to Infinity.
The Universe must necessarily comprehend all sen s i b l e t h i n g s ? , f r o m w h e n c e P l a t o d r a w s t h r e s C o n s e
quences : The first is that it can be but one : For therecanbenothingbeyondAll. Thesecondisthat it is o f a Spherical Figure-, because besides that that isthemostperfectofallFigures, 'tistheonlyone that can agree to a Being that comprehends any thing. . And thethirdisthatitcanhavenoendbutonly by theWill ofhimwhoform'dit;forsincetheChange ofallBeings can never proceed but from that which is without 'em, and since there is nothing out of the
World, thereisbyconsequencenothingthatcande stroyitbutGod inwhom alonetheWorld iscontained.
SeeingthetwofirstQualitiesoftheWorldareto. * ^ be,visibleandpalpable,-, andsircethereisnothing
H 4 visible
? ? j04 TheLifeofPlato.
visible without Fire, nor solid without Earth, Plata laysGodatfirstcreatedEarth andFire. Inwhich one may discern some Vestiges oi those words in Genesis, fathebeginningGodcreatedtheHeavens andtheEarth. ForbytheHeavensheremostIn terpretersunderstandtheEmpyrean Heaven, andnot
the Firmament,
Itwas very difficult, orrather impossiblethattwo.
thingssocontraryshouldbelongunited. There ofTimeus,foreq0(jC0Btriv'dawaytohold themtogether by -0I^-'3' aMedium, whichpartakingoftheNatureofthem
both, shouldmakeoneWholeofthemtogetherwith itself. ButifoneMedium issufficienttojoin
plain Points and Numbers, two are necessaryto join s o l i d N u m b e r s . F o r E x a m p l e ? , t h e N u m b e r s S i x a n d
. Twentyfour,whicharealikeplainNumbers, may be united by one sole Medium, which is Twelve ;
. that istofayTwelveistheproportionalNumber o r M e a n b e t w e e n S i x a n d T w e n t y f o u r -, i n l i k e m a n ner between Nine and Sixteen, the proportional Number isTwelve.
The Numbers Eighteen and Fifty four are alike solid Numbers, which cannot be united by one M e dium ? , that is, one cannot find one sole proportio
nalNumber orMean to'em:Sothat there's need oftwo-7asTwentyfourand Thirty fix;forFif ty four is to Thirty six as Thirty six is toTwenty four, and as Twenty four isto Eighteen.
'Tis thefame withplainand solidDimensions. If the World could have been plain, one Medium would have been sufficient for it; but being round, ithasneedoftwotouniteit. And'tisforthis reason that Plato says God put Air and Water between Fire and Earth ; for the fame proportion that is between Water and Earth is between Air and Fire^ this Proportional Bond, is the Divine Bond that renders the World so solid, that it can never
have an end but only by the Will of him who is theAuthorofit;on thecontrary,the. Alteration gpd Age of its Parts, serve to support and renew it.
But
? ? T h e Life of Plato. '
1 0 5
But thoughtheWorldinthisStatewassolid,yet it still wanted perfection, for no Body is perfect: without Intelligence. Therefore God, who design'd the Universe should be asperfect asit could be, gave itaSpirit, whichPlatocallstheSouloftheWorld,
which governs in it, and preserves Harmony in it, maugrethediscordoftheElements. Hefaysthis Soulwas createdbeforetheWorld;andperhapshe imagin'd this from a misconstruction of those words inGenesis. AndtheSpiritofGodmoveduponthe face of the waters, Tis true, he also calls this Soul proportion, and Symmetry- which might induceonetosupposethathemeans nothingelseby it, but the just Temperament of the Elements themselves: But the definition he gives of the Soul, will not suffer his words to be taken in this fense ; for he says 'tis a Substance that partici pates of the indivisible Substance, a Composition of thefame andtheother;thatis,ofthefirstMatter, and theUniversalSpirit;andherebyhewouldihew that Matter was a Medium that contained an Immor tal, Immaterial, andconsequentlyIndivisibleSpirit-, andanAnimalandCorporeal Spirit;justlikeour- Bodies which are compos'd of three things, of the
fame, of the other, and of Substance, which he ex plainsby very obscureExamplestakenfromNum-
iers, and Mufick. And herein Plato's Error con<
isted, namely in giving the World a Soul like ours, and still more perfect. Therefore he calls the WorldGod, butaGodthatiscreatedanddissoluble. So that he was so far however from confounding Nature with God himself, that he has thoroughly distinguished them, for he calls God alone the ef
f i c i e n t C a u s e , o r P o w e r -, a n d h e c a l l s N a t u r e t h e Consequent, whichobeysthefrfiCauseforthecrea
tion of Beings; And subjects it entirely to. the Go-Inbis Phi- vernmentofthatfirstCause. Platodid,notcontentleb-Tora-2-
himself in giving the World a Soul, he also gives onetotheHeavensandtotheStars. Andperhaps this false Idea of his, was occasioned by his mis
under-
? ? \o6 The Life ofPlata
understanding of some Passages of the Prophets, for
instance, that which God fays in Isaiah. Ihave cbtp. 45. commandedalltheHostoftheHeavens. Or itmay
i2. '
be, this Language of Plato's is only Poetical ; and being Homer's Scholar and Rival, he was willing to animate every thing like his Master, who inspires Life into the most insensible Beings, insomuch that hegivesaSoultoaSpear. AndtheHolyProphets sometimes speak after the same manner.
Md Motion A11 the ^a? an PhilosoPhers before W<<ty had hadabegin-taught that Motion, and consequently that Time ring, was Eternal ; and itwas on this Principle that De-
mocritmfounded hisArguments when hemaintain'd that all could not be created, and thence infer'd theEternityoftheWorld, Platowasthefirstwho by a Beam of Truth, difcover'd through this thick Darkness, that Time and Motion had a beginning aswellastheUniverse. Foritbeingimpossiblethat Matter should be of it self, as one must be fcrc'd to acknowledge, neither is it any more possible for Motion either to exist of it self, or to be a Qua
lityaffix'dtoMatter, whichthenwould neverrest. Motion therefore must proceed from without, and was imprinted on Matter by the fame Spirit that c r e a t e d it. P l a t o w a s s o d e e p l y s e n s i b l e o f t h i s T r u t h , thathe made use of itto dissipatethe Errors of that senseless Philosophy which had reign'd to hisTime ; N o w he fays, when God had created the World,
and communicated to itthe Motion that was most . y. suitable^ He was extremely pleased tosee his, man Tom, Wcrk move, live, and almost resemble the Immortal
3. '
Godsthemselves. (AndforthisreasonPlatocallsit God:) Andhewouldhaverendereditmoreconfor
mable to his eternal,Idea, but that it was impossible
to communicate Eternity to a created Being, there fore he took this expedient to create as it were a. moving Image of Eternity, And indisposing the
Heavens he made this Image of Eternity, which is. permanentinBeingonly; ThisImagewhichgoeson] byNumbers, thatistofay, Time,whichdidnotsub-
sijh
? ? The Life of J*lato7 1oy
siftbeforetheCreationoftheWorld. Timenotbe ing capable of subsisting but with Motion, whereas Eternity subsists alone by it self, without being ei therOldorYoung; and'tisonlyofthisthatone
can properly fay // is ; the Terms of past, present, and future, cannot agree to it, because they are fluid parts of Time, whose property itis to be al
ways just producing, but never existing.
We don'tperceive (continues he) that we very un fitlyattributeto the Eternal Being thesepartsofV* lmF? ~
Time,andtheTermsITWAS andIT SHALL BE,Sg*S\
for we Jay of this true Being, It was, is, and isto bout thee come. But we oughtalwaystofay,Itis;forthis*tnriBiing.
onlyagreestoitaccordingtotrueReason. Itwas,and itshall beought nevertobesaidbutofthatwhich isproduced in Time : These are but Motions, that which always is, and is always the fame, without: any Change, can't be called either Old or Tourig at any time, nor receive any of the Modes which Birth crProduffionaffixestothingsthataremoveable, and theObjelisofSense;these aretheparts ofTime which imitates Eternity, and proceeds by Number and Measure, &c. so that Time was created with the Heavens, that as they were producd together,
sothey might endtogether, ifeverthey cometobe dissolved.
This Truth isconfirm'd by the Writings of the Saints,whoteachthatTimeandMotionhadabe ginning, and must have an end. The Beauty of
this Discovery, and the Strength of this proof, whichmay be calledaDemonstration, didnothin
der Aristotle from contradicting his Master in this
point, and from maintaining his Error by the fol
lowing Argument, which has nothing of Solidity in AriflotleV
sentInstantisafortofMedium whichhasabe-thustt. bip, ginning and end, a beginning of the Ensure, and an ? 1 bisPby-
endofthePast,Timemust neceifc. ri'ybefromcllf"1-*' Eternity,
? ? mre'
hadconceivedinhimself. AsanableWorkman has
inhisHead thewhole dispositionand formofhis
W o r k b e f o r e h e b e g i n s it-, s o t h a t h e w o r k s a c c o r d
ing to his Idea after such a manner that what he.
performsis(ifImaysosay)onlytheCopyofthat Original which he has imagined ? ,the whole Work
that subsists being a mere Imitation : After the like manner, God in creating the World only ;executed that eternal Idea he had conceived of it-, for the World andallthatitcontainsexistedintelligiblyin
io8
The Life of Plato. 1
Eternity, because the most remote Time one can take, is in some present Instant; for in Time one can only take thepresent Instant :so that seeing the present Instant is a beginning and end, Time must needs havebeenfromallEternity;nopersonbeing ableto assign aTime which has not been preceded by Time, andsoadinfinitum. AndifTimeiseternal,Mo tionmust besotoo,sinceTime is only aTaJJionof Motion.
This isthe Language of a Philosopher, so blind . . thathecouldnotconceivethattheWorldwascrea- ^*/>><<. ted, and that before the Creation there was neither tbtrTme TimenorMotion,butEternity, inwhichnothing totMotion, ran from the present to the pate, but all was present
and stable: God alone being beforeTime, in whom there is no successive Course either of Time or Motion.
Before we pursuethisMatterwe mustexplain
Whatviz-whatPlatomeans, whenhefaysGodcreatedthe to'*Hits World according to that Eternal Pattern which he
litOriginGod, beforeitexistedreallyinNature. Thisisthe
ofthose meaningofPlato'sIdeaswhichthePythagoreansand idiot. h. e had taken out of the History of the Hebrews j
where we fee God gives Moses the Models of all thoseWorkshewouldhavehimmake:Butitought to be remember'd that these Ideas are universal and notparticular-,thatisthey comprehend theSpecies, asMan, andnottheIndividuals,asAlexander: And it must father be minded that they are not a Being separate from God, but are in God. . This is the
lm>.
? ?
? ? TbtLiseofVhto: gp
orishelessdiligentthanArtificers? Byhowmuch the more knowing these are ; byso much the moreper- feil are their Works, whether small or great, they
forgetting nothing that may conduce to the Improve mentof"em. AndshallGod,whoismostwife,most knowing, andhasaPower proportionatetohisWitt^ regard onlythegreatestthings; and negleffothers whichmaybestilljnoreeasilymended; asifhewas
idle, aud affraidofgiving himselftrouble ? This is followedwithotheradmirableProofs, whichitwould be too long to relate. In fine, he * shows, that
sooner or later God renders to every M a n according God atthe tohisWorks. TheRighteous,whohavebeenexposdlaP? "*? ' to Troubles in thisLife are recompencedin the other, fgtnt""dtrs
and the Wicked who have always enjoy'dthe Pleasures Manaccord-
oftheWorld,arepunishedinHell. Thisisnecesi*gtohis sarily infer'dfrom the Justice of God : 'Tis impos Ww^s,
Jible to avoid this Judgment which the Gods have fix'd by that Providence which you oppose, and of whichyoushallone day befatally convinced; don't
supposethatitwillnegligentlypassyouby. tTho
you should seek ashelter by hidingyourself in the
deepestCavernsoftheEarth; thoyoushouldhave
Wings, andtouldflyintotheheavenstohideyour
selfthere; theDivineProvidencewouldseizeyou
every where ; and you shall never avoid the Punish
mentsyoudeserve;whetherinthisWorld, crinHell, orinsome otherplaceyetmoreterrible.
He afterwards shews, that not only they shall be funiihed w h o deny the Divine Being, dispute against
rovidence, or blaspheme God, by layinghe suitersthevunifr-
himself to be bribed by the Offerings of the Wick- mvtofim. ed, hut also such as have heard theie Blasphemies ? ,fsiouS? Pef' and yet neglect: to bring the Authors of"'em beforesmsstated-
\ j
'?
theJudgeswhoaresettopunish'em. Healsoin-TbtPiinijh- stitutesPenaltiesforthosewhobytheirown private"f^^c
*Tom. 2. +ThisiswhatDavidCiysinalmostthefame^'J? TM'
Terms, Psal. 130. 7,8. Whithershall1gofromthysprit>whither. . '" fyall 1 fie from thy Presence? if I ascend up into Heaven thou arttkere,,ne
. ifImal(imi BtdinHtU, beholdtt<mautkre.
Audio. -
? ? fif}jm *w '"'
hasamindtoofferSacrificesbemustgointothepub- lickTemples;beistoputbisViSimsandOfferings;
intotheHands of thePriestsand Priestesses,towhose Care thesacred Altars are committed, there he tnust make his\Prayers,wherethosethatcometoworshipmay
joinwithhim. foritdoesnotbelongtoeveryMan toconsecrateAltars; but 'tisthework ofavery enlighten d Mind.
To cure Men of Superstition and Idolatrywhich thenreignedsomuchintheWorld, Platoforgets nothingthatmightinduce 'emtorenderGodarati onalWorship. Forthispurposeheendeavoursto.
raise theirMinds in giving them an Idea of God, which might in some sort agree with his Essence, which mortal Eyes can't see but very imperfectly. Thestrokeswithwhich heforms thisIdeaareseat- ter'dupanddowninallhisWorks. Theprincipal
po The Life ofPlato.
Particular Authority teach or practice in their Houses particu- Formsof Jarporms0fWorship, andtopreventthisInconve-
Si^niencjr, heapplieshimselftodiscovertheCauseof ,,". it. HesaysthiscommonlyproceedsfromWomen, Boolof an(*wea^Minds,whentheyfindthemselvesinany Lavs. danger, or under any adverse Circumstances ; or w h e n Tom. 2. onthecontrarytheymeetwithunexpectedProspe
rs origin rity, or are in some transport of Joy ; or in fine, ? /SKpirsti-wjjen their Imagination is disturb'd by some fright, tuns. j-Qtjiat^ ? -anCy. ^ jiaye^eenSpectres, either
Th'd"lnhnwa^ingorsleeping. ForsuchPeopleasthesewhen
"hyaTt i? thisCondition,arewonttovowtoofferthefirst mrrj. v thing that comes into their Heads : they promise
wisd. 14. Sacrifices and Images -, and fill their Houses with
2 ? "
C h a p p e l s a n d A l t a r s ? , o r s e t u p p a r t i c u l a r f o r m s o f Devotion, which by degrees degenerate into dread ful Superstitions, or impious Novelties, which en tirely ruin both Religion and good Manners ; for what isit thatcan't enter into the head of a M a n or Woman, thatisweak orperverted? and'tisforthis reasonPlatoforbidsInnovationsinWorship, and
makesthisLaw, Thatnoprivatepersonjhould. ba. ve
T>omt(lie\
cbappfls eitheraChappe/orAltarinbisHouse,butwhenhe
<>f
? ? The Life of Plato: 9i
of 'emwhichIhavecollected^arethesethatfollow.
God is one, eternal, immutable, incomprehensible
Being. Hecreated,anddisposedallthingsbyhisWif w^atGod
dom; hemaintainsandpreserves allthings byhis is. Providence;heisinallplaces, andnoplacecan containhim. He isallthings,andyetheisnone of those things which are by him, and have received
theirbeingfromhim. forheisgreaterthanEs senceitself: heseesallthings,knowsallthings,and penetratesthemostsecretthoughts; hefillstheCa pacity of the Deeps, and the Immensity of the Hea vens -, all Knovoledg, Good, Vertue, Light, Life areonlyinhim,andareHimself Heisatthefame timeinfinitelyGoodandinfinitelyfust. Helovesmen withasingular AffeSion;and created"em onlyto render 'em happy : But as he is Holiness and Justice itself he makes none happy but those who resemble
him in Righteousness and Holiness : And punishes
those who have corrupted thesacred Charaffer he had impressedon*embycreating'emafterhisown
Image.
He lays, none butGod cancurealltheInfirmities
of Men.
He teaches that God nor only hates Liars, and UistPtrj>>-
perjur'dpersons, butalsosuchasswearvainlyandZ,*^TM" unnecessarily,andwhodebaseandprofanetheMajesiv^ ^ tyofhisName, by usingit rashlyonalloccasions,>>/God.
whereas itoughttobementionedwithallpossible Sanctity and Purity of Mind.
The generalityofPhilosophersweredivideda- bout the Nature of the Chief Good : Some made it consist in the knowledg of Arts and Sciences, others in Pleasures, and others in Authority and Power. Plato opposes all these Errors ; and shews that the SupremeGoodisnottobefoundintheSciences? , seing these and Vices often appear together in the famePersons,and'tisverycommonforMentoa-
buse 'em:He provesthatPower can'trenderaMan
h a p p y w i t h o u t J u s t i c e >, a n d ( h e w s t h a t w h i c h M e n W a t . P l e a - callPleasures,namelysensualDelights, arebyno^msar-s'
means
? ? i
means of the nature of that Pleasure which can give us the Supreme Happiness : For they are the Conse-. quence of Humane Weakness and Infirmity-, and maybecalledtheDaughtersofSorrow: theyare alwayshatchingbutneverexist. 'Tisthereforea ridiculous thing to make the chief Good consist in that which has no Essence of it self, but only springsfromourMiseriesandNecessities. Hemore over proves it by other Reasons no less solid, which m a y be seen in their proper place.
2%
The Life of Plato?
He does not content himself to shew wherein the in us chief Good is not to be found ; he also teaches Phiieb. whereitis',andtheforceofhisreasoningispre-
wKeiAo- rifely this : The Chief Good must be perfect, lelf-
TofZ'n existent,self-sufficient,thefirstandlastendofall tbisSubjeft. things ; and the only scope of all Mankind in ge- A*dintheneral. KnowledgorPleasurearetheonlythings VIB"! inwhichonecanwithany(hadowofReasonmake
'Llick. tneChiefGoodconsist-,butitcanneitherbefound '" ' in Knowledg without Pleasure, nor in Pleasure without Knowledg : It must therefore of necessity
consistinthat which unitesthesetwo things toge ther, and possesses 'em in the highest degree, and that isGod.
inthe vi Nay, fays he, That Knowledg and Truth of f"\? ffewhlcnGod JstneCausecan'tbetheChiefGood,for
Tom2 ^}cyareinfinitelykTsbeautifulandlessperfedthan God, whoseImagetheydobutveryimperfeUlyrepre
sents arLightisbutaveryimperfedrepresentation astheSun. SothattheSupremeGood,beinggreater\ more august,and more perfett than Truth and Know-
,. ledg,canbenootherthanGpdhimself. Therefore Phedon? ll1Snott0^ef? un^butinGodwhoisthesole Treasure and perfection of Light ; and the Author of trueand solidPleasures. Whence he infersthat whileweareonEarth, wecan'tacquirethisChief Good but after an imperfect manner ; and shall not e n j o y i t f u l l y t i l l a f t e r D e a t h ? , b e c a u s e w e c a n ' t t i l l
then know clearly what we knew only obscurely during this Life : And this is one of his proofs for the
? ? The Life of Plato* 93 t h e I m m o r t a l i t y o f t h e S o u l ? , n a m e l y b e c a u s e i t i s
capable of-Action and Knowledg after Death. But'tisnotenoughforaPhilosophertopoint ,
out the Supreme Good, unless he also shew the wayofobtainingit? ,andthisiswhat P/atodoes
withmarvellousSolidity. Forheprovesthat,tobe Happy,wemustbeunitedtoGod^ thatinorderto be united to him, we must resemble him inHoliness and Righteousness-, that to obtain these Gifts at his hand we mustask'em inPrayer, andthatourPrayers
o u g h t t o b e a n i m a t e d w i t h L o v e ; w h i c h h e c a l l s t h e [/<< h k B a n -
Surest,and most EffectualCourse Men can take toquct.
lead 'em to Happiness : for a blessed Immortality is thefruitofLove. Therefore a LearnedInterpre-Mmmu . terofPlatehighlycommendsSocrates forhaving J"w'
known, that to raise our Souls to the Enjoyment of God,we musttakeReasonandLoveforourGuides. Reason teaches us the right way, and hinders us from wandering out of it, and Love by its sweet Perswasions and insinuating Graces,makes us findall things easy, and softensthe Labour and Toil, which is inseperable from the Conflicts we must go through-
Heshews,thereisnothingmorenaturaltoMan- jnhu kindthanLove. TheynaturallyloveeverythingPhedr. that is fair and beautiful, because their Souls are de- liv'dfromtheVerySourceofBeauty. Buteverything
that in some sort resembles this Primitive Beauty moves 'em more or less, according as their Souls aremoreorlessstrictlyunitedtotheirBodies. So that those whose Souls are most difingaged in every Beauty adore that Sovereign Beauty whose com- pleat Idea they have, and. for which indeed they were born. And this Adoration produces in 'em Temperance, Fortitude,Wisdom, andallotherVer- tues. ButthosewholinkdownandWallowinMat
t e r ? , a n d n o l o n g e r p r e s e r v e a n y I d e a o f t h e S o v e
reignBeauty, runfuriouslyafterimperfectandtran sitoryBeauties;and withoutFear orWitplunge themselves into all forts of Filthiness and Impurity.
I
? ? 94 7heLifeofPhtol
Icaii't here stand to remark on each Subject the
great Truths which are taught by this Philosopher,
anddeserveourAttention:What Ipropos'dtomy selfwasonlytorelateafewof'em? ,togivesome
Idea of 'em, and hereby to excite the Curiosity of the Reader : The rest will be more advantageously seen in their Source.
Platortgu- AfterhehaswithwonderfulAccuracyestablish- iiusalitheed all that relatesto Religious Worship ;he inlikd
civil AEi- manner provides for what concerns civil Matters. m "'**'HecreatesMagistrates, proposesLaws,andforgets
nothingthatmayaugment, andsecurethewelfare of -theCommon-wealth ; for he is not-content only toregulateMarriages, Divorces, the Education of Children, Wills, Guardianships, War, Peace, and other principal Matters ; but descends into a sur prizingParticularity. Andaswemayobservethat God has not left so much as one part of the Uni versewithoutimprintingonittheCharactersof his God-head,thatMenmightbynomeansbeignorant o f i t ? , s o P l a t o h a s n o t l e f t a n y p a r t o f h u m a n e L i f e ,
whether private or publick, without a Regulation bysomePreceptorLaw,topreventtheCommissi on of Faults and Injuries in it.
XrthBook
*LUwu thing one finds, which another has lost. He fays,
He determineswhat oughttobedonewithany
TbeDuty of*f ^e Jh? u^ fin^ a Treasure he would, not touch inch as findlt-> * & he had consulted the Diviners, and they had aTnafure. assured him he might appropriate it to himself.
This Treasure (fays he) has some Owner ; we must therefore wait till this Owner, or' his Heirs come to demand it; for we ought to obey the haw which fays, Thou shalt not take away that
whichthouhaftnotlaiddown, and thatotherLaw whichisnotlessancient* Thoushalt nottake ano therMan'sGoods. ThisTreasureinourCoffersis notso valuable as the Progress we make in Versus and Justice ; when tae have the Courage to despise it. Besides,ifweappropriateittoourownuse,'tis a Spring ofCurses to our YdftlilieSi
t
Seeaiist'
? ? ' The Life of Plato. 9 5
Because Injustice reigns chiefly in Trade ; he is Trade. u n m i n d f u l o f n o t h i n g t h a t m a y p r e v e n t i t ? , a n d g o e s
sofaras to forbid the Seller * to,make two Words, ani. ja. ljly to commend what be is about tofell.
To prevent the Manners of Foreigners from cor-Travelling. rupting those of his Citizens, and that when these arecorrupted theLaws may not berender'duseless
by 'em, he does not permit every one to travel indif
ferently ; but is for having the State make choice of thosetowhom thisLibertyshallbegranted. They mustbeabove40YearsofAge-,theymustbeMen ofSobriety and Wisdom, and capable of remarking what is good in other Commonwealths ; and they
must make a faithful report of Things at their re t u r n -, t h a t t h e L a w s t h a t a r e r e c e i v e d m a y b e a u g mented or corrected by theirMemoirs, and the Go vernment by this means be brought to greater per fection.
Men rejoice when they are happy, and think Tbeorigi themselves happy when they rejoice. Hence itisofFeasts, thattheyhavesuchapropensiontoPleasure. GodshoJs**>><* compassionately accommodates himself to this s0^^'&c*
naturalInclination, andextractingGoodoutofEvil
makesuseofitasaverypropermeanstoconfirm Men inwhatisGood? ,andthattheymightnever
losesightoftheReligionwhichheestablished. So that to hinder 'em from throwing themselves into those Excesses to which Nature when abandon'd ro it self carries them, he was pleased to institute Feasts for his People by Moses, and order'd him to regulateeverythingtobeobserv'din'em. Traditi-. on had preserv'd some remembrance of these Institu tions, for some Vestiges of 'em are found in Plato, who attributes 'em to the Egyptians in hislidBook ofLaws,wherehecomplainsofthetoogreatLi berty that was allow'd the Poets in all the Cities of
* Solomoncondemn'dthefameabuseintheBuyerwhoslights whatheisbuying, andafterhehasgotit,boastsasifhehadout wittedtheSeller. Itisnaught, itisnaught(faiththeBuyer)but *>btnbeisgonebistvaythenbeboastt. Prov. 20. 14.
" Greece,
? ? 9 6
Ihe Use of Plato; <<
Tom. a. The cart which the ancient ? ? gyptians too^ to pre vent all
forts of No. velties,
Greece, to keep young People under the Conduct of veryperniciousMaximsbytheirVerses. Heaffirms that it was otherwise in Egypt, where there were
ery wise Laws to hinder this Corruption. " The ancient Egyptians (fays he) knew that Children ought to be early accustom'd to such Gestures, Looks and Motions, as are honest and decent ; and that they should not be suffers either to hear or}earnanyotherVerses,orSongs, butsuchas werefittoinipire'erriwithVertue. Therefore they took care to regulate the Dances and Songs thatbelong'dtotheirFeastsandSacrifices. Nay> they pufh'd this Matter yet farther -7 for they never fuffer'd any Painters or Statuaries to inno vate any thing in their Art, to invent any new Subjects, or any new Habits. And hence it is (fays he), that inrespect of what concerns these Arts and Musick, you shall find no W o r k through out all Egypt that his been made for ten thousand' Yearspast, which isform'd any otherwise than
thosepieceswhicharemadeatpresent. They are all alike, they are neither fairer, nor more de- form'd. TheArtremainsstillthefame,theRules ofitthefame. And thereisnothingmoread mirable, or more worthy of a good Law-giver, and of a wise Administrator of Governments than to have regulated and fixed all these Matters that have a regard to Pleasure, and particularly that which respects Musick : And to do this is the Work, eitherofGodhimself,orofsomedivine Man. SothatalltheirDances,alltheirPoesy, all theirSongs were sanctified; and not the least thing was suffefd which did not answer the de
sign of. the established Religion, and which was not worthy of the Feasts that were celebrated by 'em. ThisindeedisaveryremarkableTraditi
o n ? , a n d F l a t o d o e s n o t f a i l t o m a k e a v e r y g o o d l n >
p r o v e m e n t o f i t ; f o r h e " p u r s u e s t h e f a m e * d e s i g n 5, andinstitutesFeastsforhisPeople, thatduringthe timeoftheirRelaxationfromLabour^ theymight
rends*'
? ? TheLifeof Plato. " 97
render homage to God, and testify their Gratitude tohim forallthebenefitstheyreceivedfromhis Divine Hand. He suffers nothing to be acted at
theseFeasts,butwhatwasSacredorInnocent. He forbidsallsuchPoetryandMufickasmightbe inju rious to the Honour of God, or dangerous to the
M a n n e r s o f M e n -, a n d o n l y r e c e i v e s i i i c h a s m i g h t
tend to rectify and instruct the Minds of the Peo
ple. The Ancient Hebrews used onlyLyrick Poesie, whichinsingingthePraisesofGod, and those of1^ f? ffie
VertuousMen, raisestheCourage, andexcites De-lat'a^ votion. Andthiswas alsotheonlykindofPoesiebrews, inuseamong thefirstGreeks, asappears bya Pas sigeofPlutarchinhisTreatiseofMusick. TheThepnsii
Ancient Greeks (says he) were unacquainted with the ? i tf:eFirft Mufick of the Theatre, they employ'd this Art only 0m^s'
in honouring the Gods, and in infruiting of Youth;
for there were then no Theatres in their Cities, Mustek was reserved for the Temples where the
Gods were honoured in Songs, and where thePraises
ofvertuousMen werefung. While Platoauthorizes this Lyrick Poesie, he also receives other Poems which were already established, and which it was
impossible toextirpateanddestroy:Butwe shall
see what precautions he takes to purge and to discharge 'em of -that Poyson which rendered 'em so
dangerous*
The Greeks being extrearrily addicted to the plea
sure of Mufick, this inordinate Passion had made 'em receive all the Works of Poets and Musicians, which had at last so alter'dand transforms the An
cientPoesieandMusick,thatinsteadofthat Wis-Vii8ul
dom, Gravity and Sanctity that reign'd in the Plea- ^Jjf*?
lures of their Ancestors, nothing was found intheirs 0y -^hat
butFolly,Effeminacy,and Impiety. Platothere-importance fore seeks to re-establish this Ancient Purity, and it>> t0n'
h for a perpetual prohibition of any alteration in**'*" ni Musick. Itisnottobeimagined(fayshe)whata^/p/JAE.
weight and force there is in Plays and other Plea-faresofthe fures,eitherfor the Support or Ruin of Discipline and pose.
. ;
H Laws.
? ? 5>S
The Life of Plato;
Laws. IfAlterationsbesufferedcontinuitytobe
made in 'era ; and young people be continually ac custom d to new Pleasures, every day to have new Pieces, new Ornaments, and Dances ; and to esteem none but those who can furnish this unlimited Varie-
Thepirnid-ty,therecanbenothing morepernicioustoaState, ousconfe- fcr tfjjs insensibly changes the Manners of young
IhrGutl peopk'? >S? ^ttheycannolongerendureanything Men have that is Ancient ; and only value Novelties ; and this
for Nott! - ties.
opens a Door to all the most dangerous Errors both in rejpettof Politicks, andReligion.
TheseAlterations aredangerous ineverything; but especially inMusick, because all Mufick being an Imitation, that only ought to be suffer'd, which imitateswhatisgoodand useful? ,the otherbeing
rather a Plague than a Play, which he explains af
terasensiblemannerby this Example, which ap
pears to m e to deserve our attention.
Tortvxttt jfwefhouilfee(fayShe)atourSacrifices,after
ulistoil-rf)eViffimswere consumed intheFire, aMan ap- hftrate. theproach the Altars, and extravagantly utter Blafphe*
horrorif }njesan^ Impieties;shouldwenotthinkallhisFa* pemaous m;iywouldlook7^ponthisasagreatMisfortune, and
averyfatalOmen? ThatwhichisdoneinourTime inthepubhekShowsAndPlays,isnotmuchdifferent fromthis. ForaftertheMagistrateshaveSacrificed, we fee divers Choirs of Mustek come, and in the
view of ourTem'ples and Altars they utter most exe
crable things against these very Altars, contradict
the Principles of Religion by their Impiom Maxims,
and affetl the Souls of their Auditors by their inde
centExpressions, lasciviousDances,andtheireffemi
nateandvoluptuoj(sTunes. Oughtnotthisthen to be abolished, and the Poets obliged to submit to
ThispuffjgeotherRules?
AndsinceallPoets arenotcapableof istakenoutknowing what istruly excellent and good ; ought we
Boo'ofhisnott0ma^e c^0,ce? fsuch whointheirImitations Repub! canfollowtheIdeaofBeautyandDecency? That young people may receive improvement by every thing,
as being in a very advantageous place, and that all . . . . . . which
? ? The Lifeos Plato. pp
which strikes their Eyes and Ears arising from a
goodfund, thatisfromaSubjetlwhichisexcellent initself may belikeagoodAir whichhavingpassed
through who(some Places, carries health along with it,andmayinsensiblyaccustomthemtoloveand imi
tate those Discourses, and conform all the Alfions of their Lives to them.
To this purpose he makes the following Law. Thevrr Let nonehesoinsolentastosinganythingbefidesBo? k. ? s. , ourSacredHymns, ortoalterandvarythereceivedIfasaf,"f
DancesanymorethanourotherLaws, And ifanyp^uts
onedisobeythisStatute, letthe Conservators ofthe
Laws, togetherwith the Priests and Priestesses take cognizance of it. Tom. 2. A
TothisLawheaddedanother:LetnoPoetirfoZrtZd hisImitations, departfrom any ofthe Maxims which poetical theCityhas received asgoodand just;norlethimImitations,
presume toshew hisCompositions to any privateMan ju^gts
* tillthey have been seen, and app'rovd by Judges established. establijh'dforthatpurpose, andbytheConservatorsf*f*dgiof of the Laws. ""?
IntheIIBookoftheRepublick,hehadmadeju&it'sfa
thefameLawforthosePoetswho compos'dthepointedto Fables that were taught to Children : He was foriudse? f. having Judges to approve the Good and reject the Fablts'
Evil.
He usesthefamePrecautionsaboutComediesandcomedies,
Tragedies, ashe does about Songs, Dances, andall/*^i<<- btherImitations. HethinksComediesnecessarytoa$p *? f
makeMenknowwhatisridiculous,andtoexposegj;# Vicesthatarerepresentedin'em. For(sayshe)oneiaws. can'tknow whatiscomely and serious, unless one knowswhatisindecentandridiculous. Andtoac
quire Prudence and Wisdom, we must know their
* Vlitd rook this too from die Tradition of the Ancient He- brewSjfor they had Judges appointed to try all new Piece? which weremadeeitherinPro'eorVerse,andthesereceivedonlysuch aswere conformable to Religion, and rejected the rest. They alsoprohibitedthesingingof HymnsandSongsbyanyotherthan thecommonandreceivedTunes. Eifeb. jnparit. Eymgel. XII ii. ti if. '
: H 2 contraries
? ? ioo
lie use of Plato.
contraries. NotthatanyManwhohasanytintture of Vertue can equally ad what isgood andevil, de centand indecent, but it's needfulheshould know these things for fear he should through ignorance fallinto what isridiculous, andshoulddo or fay any thingunbecominghim. Butwe'llmakeuseonlyof Slaves or Mercenary Strangers to make these Imita tions,andallfreeMen andWomenshallbeforbid
den to be concern'din 'em, cr tolearn 'em.
A s for Tragical Poets (says he) who boaji of ifnita-
Tngfdits
w rtetn-t\nggreatandseriousAtlions; whenanyof'emcome
intoourCity,andaskifwe arewillingtoreceive
'emamong us,andfee theirTragedies, what answer shall we make these Divine Men? Methinks we oughttomake'emthisreturn, friends,weareem
ploy'dinTragediesaswellasyou,andwemakethe beft and finest we can, fer our Policy is only an imi tationofthemojiresin'd andexcellentwayoflivingj thisisthe true fort of Tragedy with which we are acquainted. SoifyouarePoets,wepretendtothe
fame thing, and declare our selves your Rivals in that Koble Imitation which can be perfeffed only by theLaw. Thereforedonothopetobesoeasilyper mitted lo build Theatres in our publick Places, and
Thusvttst01Tliro^uceSkilfulAffors thatshallextend their who intheir Voices beyond oars, and tellour Wives and Children,
firithtgs andallthepeopleonthefameSubjeffs,thingsdi- tontridtiljrefflyoppositetocurInfruffions. Wemustbequite
^Mixtms destituteofcommonSense,befere-wecangiveyou. condtmntd. permission to Alt, till the established Judges bave de
termined whether what you fay isgood and useful,
and whether itought to be made publickor not. There- fore, TeutenderDarlingsojthesoftMuses,putyour
Compositions into the hands of the Judges, who will comparethemwithou/~s;andifwhatyoufayisbet terthanwhatwefay,we'llgiveyou leavetoAll; otherwise it can't possibly be done, and therefore 'tts in vain to expels it.
PlatohastreatedthisbusinessofPlaysand Shows thoroughly, because 'tis a very important matter in relation
? ? The Lifeos Plato. 101
relation to States-, all he fays of it is admirable, and deserves to be carefully recollected. What I have recited is sufficient to give a just Idea of it : Wise Men may make on it what Reflections they thinkfit:My scopehasbeenonlytoshowthatPlato after the Example of Moses, would permit only such Divertifements as were decent, and tended to supportReligion, oratleastwerenotcontrarytoit. They who are for advancing farther, and for parti cularlyexamining theconformity theLaws ofPlato have in many things, with those that were given the
PeopleofGod, willstillbetterdiscoverthisResem blanceh which made Clemens Alexandrinus fay,that Moses assisted Plato in making his Laws; and' that Platowas onlyMosesspeakingtheAttickLanguage. Not but that some Laws are to be found inPlato ve
ry remote from the Spirit of Moses, and very contra ry to Equity : but the number of 'em is but small.
The Emperour Marcus Aurehm had reason to lay, That such a Commonwealth as Plato's is not to beexpelledinthisWorld. Notbutthattherehad already heen one which was still better, and more wisely constituted; and when Antoninus said this therewasoneinfinitelymoreperfect, ofwhichthe former was but a shadow ; but it was the work of G o d -, a n d n o n e b u t G o d c a n p u t t h i s I d e a i n t o A c t , because 'tis only he that can change the Hearts'of Men:ofwhichwehaveaveryevidentProof. A
greatEmperourhadamind toestablishPlatos. Re- publick in his Territories, to which purpose he em ploys divers Philosophers whose Knowledg was ve ryextensive, andtheirEloquenceveryperswasive: hut all his Efforts were in vain, he could never gain his end so m u c h as to establish it in one single Vil
lage-, whereas the Christian Religion was establish. ed by the Ministry ofilliterate Men, and that in spite oftheEmperours themselves.
As for Physicks in which also Meraphyficks are r,vsl. y comprehended;Platointhefirstplaceacknowledges' ' that since we are but Men, we mult not hope per
? il i fcctly
? ipi
The Life of Plato.
flctlytogaintheknowledgesNature, andthatall a Philosopher can do is to find out Probabilities -, pure and simple Truths being only known to God, whoalonecandiscover'em,toMen. Afterthisac knowledgment he divides Nature into two parts, Sprit which acts, and Matter upon which it acts.
He calls the Spirit which acts, a Being eternal, infinite, very good, immutable, which hath neither beginning nor end, but. is always the sarne, and he callsMatter, aMasswithoutformandvoid,which is always ready to be produe'd, and never exists.
Atimeuf,HisWordsareremarkable. Eirst(fayshe)allthese torn,3. thingsoughttobewelldistinguished,andwemust well establish what it is thai always exists and is never
froditeld; and what itisthatneverexists, and isal waysproducing. Thefirjiisnotconceivedbutbythe Understanding assistedbyReason. Thiswe discern
Maturhn>>tobealwaysoneandthefame. Andtheotherisonly tya-ipa. opinable,thatisknownbyOpinionassistedbytheSen
t i m e n t d i v e s t e d o f R e a s o n -, i v h i c h w e s e e t o b e a l w a y s producing,anddyingwithouteverexisting. There- Wbi ctUid f? re he gives Matter the N a m e of Other, because of
o. hcrand thecontinualChangesitundergoes:Healsogivesit Necessity. theNameofNecejfity,becauseitonlyfollowsthe
order and determination of the Spirit which governs it.
He also sometimes calls Matter Eternal, which has given occasion to some to accuse him of believ ingitto have been with God from all Eternity. But a Philosopher who in so many places maintains the unity of G o d could not fall into io gross an Error : IfMatterwereEternal, itmustthenbeGod, and sotherewouldbetwoGods, contrarytowhathe
. . . had laiddown. When thereforePlatocallsMatter itEternd! Eternal he would not be understood as if it visibly
subsistedfromallEternity, butthatitsubsistedintel ligibly in the eternal Idea of God ; and in this re- . specttheWorldissometimeslaidtobeEternal. Let us lee the very Terms Plato uses, which will leave
asijoroomtodoubtwhathisThoughtswere. Tb^ Pattern
? ? 7be Life ofPhtol 103
Patter/2oftheWorld (sayshe) isfromallEternity-,Jn^Tjme. and the World, thisvijible World is from the begin- us,Tom. 3. ning of Time, and will always thus fubfijl alone. . Plato could not think Matter to be Eternal : seeing
heaffirmstheSoultobeolderthantheBody ? ,for
iftheSoulisolderthantheBody,theBodymust
needs have been created, and consequently can't be
Eternal. AndforthisreasonhecallsGodtheFather orCreator,andFormeroftheWorld. BytheQua- neWmli
lityof Creator he signifies that he made the World7 jJ^J*'' out of Nothing, and by that of Former he figni- " H'
fies, that God after-he had created it, gave it its Form and orderly Disposition. Plato derived this Idea from the Tradition of the Hebrews, of which the Greeks had some knowledg long before him^ as
appears from Hefod's speaking of the Birth of the
Chaos. PerhapsalsohehadreadtheseWordsin
hi the Prophesy of Isaiah, God himself that,formed cbap. &f. '. li the Earth and made it, he hath efablijhed it.
OfthiscreatedMatterGod formedtheWorld,by separatinganddisposingtheElements, whichhaving simple qualities of themselves, form by their diffe rentUnion, andvariousFiguresaninfinitenumber of compounded Qualities : for Matter isdivisible to Infinity.
The Universe must necessarily comprehend all sen s i b l e t h i n g s ? , f r o m w h e n c e P l a t o d r a w s t h r e s C o n s e
quences : The first is that it can be but one : For therecanbenothingbeyondAll. Thesecondisthat it is o f a Spherical Figure-, because besides that that isthemostperfectofallFigures, 'tistheonlyone that can agree to a Being that comprehends any thing. . And thethirdisthatitcanhavenoendbutonly by theWill ofhimwhoform'dit;forsincetheChange ofallBeings can never proceed but from that which is without 'em, and since there is nothing out of the
World, thereisbyconsequencenothingthatcande stroyitbutGod inwhom alonetheWorld iscontained.
SeeingthetwofirstQualitiesoftheWorldareto. * ^ be,visibleandpalpable,-, andsircethereisnothing
H 4 visible
? ? j04 TheLifeofPlato.
visible without Fire, nor solid without Earth, Plata laysGodatfirstcreatedEarth andFire. Inwhich one may discern some Vestiges oi those words in Genesis, fathebeginningGodcreatedtheHeavens andtheEarth. ForbytheHeavensheremostIn terpretersunderstandtheEmpyrean Heaven, andnot
the Firmament,
Itwas very difficult, orrather impossiblethattwo.
thingssocontraryshouldbelongunited. There ofTimeus,foreq0(jC0Btriv'dawaytohold themtogether by -0I^-'3' aMedium, whichpartakingoftheNatureofthem
both, shouldmakeoneWholeofthemtogetherwith itself. ButifoneMedium issufficienttojoin
plain Points and Numbers, two are necessaryto join s o l i d N u m b e r s . F o r E x a m p l e ? , t h e N u m b e r s S i x a n d
. Twentyfour,whicharealikeplainNumbers, may be united by one sole Medium, which is Twelve ;
. that istofayTwelveistheproportionalNumber o r M e a n b e t w e e n S i x a n d T w e n t y f o u r -, i n l i k e m a n ner between Nine and Sixteen, the proportional Number isTwelve.
The Numbers Eighteen and Fifty four are alike solid Numbers, which cannot be united by one M e dium ? , that is, one cannot find one sole proportio
nalNumber orMean to'em:Sothat there's need oftwo-7asTwentyfourand Thirty fix;forFif ty four is to Thirty six as Thirty six is toTwenty four, and as Twenty four isto Eighteen.
'Tis thefame withplainand solidDimensions. If the World could have been plain, one Medium would have been sufficient for it; but being round, ithasneedoftwotouniteit. And'tisforthis reason that Plato says God put Air and Water between Fire and Earth ; for the fame proportion that is between Water and Earth is between Air and Fire^ this Proportional Bond, is the Divine Bond that renders the World so solid, that it can never
have an end but only by the Will of him who is theAuthorofit;on thecontrary,the. Alteration gpd Age of its Parts, serve to support and renew it.
But
? ? T h e Life of Plato. '
1 0 5
But thoughtheWorldinthisStatewassolid,yet it still wanted perfection, for no Body is perfect: without Intelligence. Therefore God, who design'd the Universe should be asperfect asit could be, gave itaSpirit, whichPlatocallstheSouloftheWorld,
which governs in it, and preserves Harmony in it, maugrethediscordoftheElements. Hefaysthis Soulwas createdbeforetheWorld;andperhapshe imagin'd this from a misconstruction of those words inGenesis. AndtheSpiritofGodmoveduponthe face of the waters, Tis true, he also calls this Soul proportion, and Symmetry- which might induceonetosupposethathemeans nothingelseby it, but the just Temperament of the Elements themselves: But the definition he gives of the Soul, will not suffer his words to be taken in this fense ; for he says 'tis a Substance that partici pates of the indivisible Substance, a Composition of thefame andtheother;thatis,ofthefirstMatter, and theUniversalSpirit;andherebyhewouldihew that Matter was a Medium that contained an Immor tal, Immaterial, andconsequentlyIndivisibleSpirit-, andanAnimalandCorporeal Spirit;justlikeour- Bodies which are compos'd of three things, of the
fame, of the other, and of Substance, which he ex plainsby very obscureExamplestakenfromNum-
iers, and Mufick. And herein Plato's Error con<
isted, namely in giving the World a Soul like ours, and still more perfect. Therefore he calls the WorldGod, butaGodthatiscreatedanddissoluble. So that he was so far however from confounding Nature with God himself, that he has thoroughly distinguished them, for he calls God alone the ef
f i c i e n t C a u s e , o r P o w e r -, a n d h e c a l l s N a t u r e t h e Consequent, whichobeysthefrfiCauseforthecrea
tion of Beings; And subjects it entirely to. the Go-Inbis Phi- vernmentofthatfirstCause. Platodid,notcontentleb-Tora-2-
himself in giving the World a Soul, he also gives onetotheHeavensandtotheStars. Andperhaps this false Idea of his, was occasioned by his mis
under-
? ? \o6 The Life ofPlata
understanding of some Passages of the Prophets, for
instance, that which God fays in Isaiah. Ihave cbtp. 45. commandedalltheHostoftheHeavens. Or itmay
i2. '
be, this Language of Plato's is only Poetical ; and being Homer's Scholar and Rival, he was willing to animate every thing like his Master, who inspires Life into the most insensible Beings, insomuch that hegivesaSoultoaSpear. AndtheHolyProphets sometimes speak after the same manner.
Md Motion A11 the ^a? an PhilosoPhers before W<<ty had hadabegin-taught that Motion, and consequently that Time ring, was Eternal ; and itwas on this Principle that De-
mocritmfounded hisArguments when hemaintain'd that all could not be created, and thence infer'd theEternityoftheWorld, Platowasthefirstwho by a Beam of Truth, difcover'd through this thick Darkness, that Time and Motion had a beginning aswellastheUniverse. Foritbeingimpossiblethat Matter should be of it self, as one must be fcrc'd to acknowledge, neither is it any more possible for Motion either to exist of it self, or to be a Qua
lityaffix'dtoMatter, whichthenwould neverrest. Motion therefore must proceed from without, and was imprinted on Matter by the fame Spirit that c r e a t e d it. P l a t o w a s s o d e e p l y s e n s i b l e o f t h i s T r u t h , thathe made use of itto dissipatethe Errors of that senseless Philosophy which had reign'd to hisTime ; N o w he fays, when God had created the World,
and communicated to itthe Motion that was most . y. suitable^ He was extremely pleased tosee his, man Tom, Wcrk move, live, and almost resemble the Immortal
3. '
Godsthemselves. (AndforthisreasonPlatocallsit God:) Andhewouldhaverendereditmoreconfor
mable to his eternal,Idea, but that it was impossible
to communicate Eternity to a created Being, there fore he took this expedient to create as it were a. moving Image of Eternity, And indisposing the
Heavens he made this Image of Eternity, which is. permanentinBeingonly; ThisImagewhichgoeson] byNumbers, thatistofay, Time,whichdidnotsub-
sijh
? ? The Life of J*lato7 1oy
siftbeforetheCreationoftheWorld. Timenotbe ing capable of subsisting but with Motion, whereas Eternity subsists alone by it self, without being ei therOldorYoung; and'tisonlyofthisthatone
can properly fay // is ; the Terms of past, present, and future, cannot agree to it, because they are fluid parts of Time, whose property itis to be al
ways just producing, but never existing.
We don'tperceive (continues he) that we very un fitlyattributeto the Eternal Being thesepartsofV* lmF? ~
Time,andtheTermsITWAS andIT SHALL BE,Sg*S\
for we Jay of this true Being, It was, is, and isto bout thee come. But we oughtalwaystofay,Itis;forthis*tnriBiing.
onlyagreestoitaccordingtotrueReason. Itwas,and itshall beought nevertobesaidbutofthatwhich isproduced in Time : These are but Motions, that which always is, and is always the fame, without: any Change, can't be called either Old or Tourig at any time, nor receive any of the Modes which Birth crProduffionaffixestothingsthataremoveable, and theObjelisofSense;these aretheparts ofTime which imitates Eternity, and proceeds by Number and Measure, &c. so that Time was created with the Heavens, that as they were producd together,
sothey might endtogether, ifeverthey cometobe dissolved.
This Truth isconfirm'd by the Writings of the Saints,whoteachthatTimeandMotionhadabe ginning, and must have an end. The Beauty of
this Discovery, and the Strength of this proof, whichmay be calledaDemonstration, didnothin
der Aristotle from contradicting his Master in this
point, and from maintaining his Error by the fol
lowing Argument, which has nothing of Solidity in AriflotleV
sentInstantisafortofMedium whichhasabe-thustt. bip, ginning and end, a beginning of the Ensure, and an ? 1 bisPby-
endofthePast,Timemust neceifc. ri'ybefromcllf"1-*' Eternity,
? ? mre'
hadconceivedinhimself. AsanableWorkman has
inhisHead thewhole dispositionand formofhis
W o r k b e f o r e h e b e g i n s it-, s o t h a t h e w o r k s a c c o r d
ing to his Idea after such a manner that what he.
performsis(ifImaysosay)onlytheCopyofthat Original which he has imagined ? ,the whole Work
that subsists being a mere Imitation : After the like manner, God in creating the World only ;executed that eternal Idea he had conceived of it-, for the World andallthatitcontainsexistedintelligiblyin
io8
The Life of Plato. 1
Eternity, because the most remote Time one can take, is in some present Instant; for in Time one can only take thepresent Instant :so that seeing the present Instant is a beginning and end, Time must needs havebeenfromallEternity;nopersonbeing ableto assign aTime which has not been preceded by Time, andsoadinfinitum. AndifTimeiseternal,Mo tionmust besotoo,sinceTime is only aTaJJionof Motion.
This isthe Language of a Philosopher, so blind . . thathecouldnotconceivethattheWorldwascrea- ^*/>><<. ted, and that before the Creation there was neither tbtrTme TimenorMotion,butEternity, inwhichnothing totMotion, ran from the present to the pate, but all was present
and stable: God alone being beforeTime, in whom there is no successive Course either of Time or Motion.
Before we pursuethisMatterwe mustexplain
Whatviz-whatPlatomeans, whenhefaysGodcreatedthe to'*Hits World according to that Eternal Pattern which he
litOriginGod, beforeitexistedreallyinNature. Thisisthe
ofthose meaningofPlato'sIdeaswhichthePythagoreansand idiot. h. e had taken out of the History of the Hebrews j
where we fee God gives Moses the Models of all thoseWorkshewouldhavehimmake:Butitought to be remember'd that these Ideas are universal and notparticular-,thatisthey comprehend theSpecies, asMan, andnottheIndividuals,asAlexander: And it must father be minded that they are not a Being separate from God, but are in God. . This is the
lm>.
? ?
