kevtneLawsofthisfatalNecessity,ourSoulsmay preserve themselves independant, and only obey God, who
isMaster
ofNecessity it self.
Plato - 1701 - Works - a
ThisIfayisPlatosDoctrin, bywhich 'tis easy to explain all the Faculties of the Soul, and to give the Reasons of its Vices and Vertues, and to discover the Remedies that ought to be used tofortifietheoneandweaken theother,andtocor rectall thePassionsinreducing themtoauseful Mediocrity^ fortherearenoneof'embutwhat are
goodbyNature, andmaybeusedtogoodadvantage, when the Soul is Mistress of 5em, and so regulates and conducts 'em.
He nextexplainstheProductionofthefirstWo-Theenau man,andthatofAnimals. HavingunderstoodbyJ? /the
theHistoryofMoses,thatthefirstManbeingcast2 4T into a deep sleep, God extracted the Woman from Animals. him ^ this gave rife to all those Imaginations, which
he exposes in his Timem ; where he teaches, that
the first Woman, and all Animals sprang from Man,
but through that thick Darkness he has spread upon
thisWork ofGod, inexplainingitafteraMysteri
ous and Poetical manner, the Foot-steps of Ancient
Truth are to be discovered 5 and one may perceive,
that he thus obscur'd and cOnceal'd 'em, only that
he might thence draw a Doctrine useful to regulate
theMannersofMen. HisdesignistoengageMan
always to render his Creator that Worship which is
duetohim^andtodonothingthatmayrenderhim
unworthy of that great Advantage of having been form'dbytheHandsofGod himielf? ,thereforehe
represents to him, not only that he degenerates into < a Woman, when he isunjust,timorousand voluptu ous, but moreover that he sinks into the Condition
of
? ? ^ 4
The Life osPlato. '
ofAnimals. ForwhenheisInconstant,Rashand. Unsteady, andamuseshimselfaboutpenetratingthe Heavens, by a vain Curiosity, imagining that only by the Organ of hisSight he is able to. judg of allthat appears there, he becomes a Bird : if he has, no re lish of true Philosophy ; but instead of contempla ting the Heavens, that by. the marvellous W o r k m a n ship of 'em, he might seek the knowledg of him thatmadethem, heonlythinksonEarthlyThings, and how to gratify his sensual Desires, he degene rates into,a brute Beast, and is always fix'd to the E a r t h ? , i f h e b e y e t m o r e c o r r u p t e d , h e b e c o m e s a .
Reptile, and always touches the Earth with allthe partsofhisBody;andinfine,ifhepushhisFol ly and Ignorance to the last Extremity, he becomes a, Fish, unworthy to breath in the Air -, and conse quentlyplung'dinthemostfilthyand troubledEle mentofall. ThiswastheMetempsychosisofwhich Platospeaks, andImake nodoubt, butthiswas the Sentiment of Pythagoras, and of the Egyptians, which has been made ridiculous in taking itvery un
justlyinaliteralSense. ForwhatProbabilityis there that Philosophers, who never spoke without Enigmas should with so much Simplicity explaia so wonderful a Secret as that of the Passage of Souls into various Bodiesofa different Species? And
Whatgaveperhaps it would be no ilhfounded Opinion that ueitfionto this Idea came into the head of Pythagoras, upon. thtopinion what"happen'd in hislime to&ing Nebuchad/iezzar,.
tmlsrcbosis. ^y*10 f? ? his Sins. was turn'd out among the Beasts, 'andforspvenYearsgrazed likeanOx.
A Philosopherwho explains hisDoctrine only by Enigmatick Expressions could not but be taken With this Idea, which naturally informs us, that Vice degrades us from our Dignity, and' transforms us
intoBeasts,more orlessSavage, accordingas. we aremore orlessvitious:,anda certainsign, that this was the sense of this Metempsychosis, is, that the Pythagorean Philosophers conceiv'd itjust after this manner jand prov'd that Man- inhis Essence is.
inferior
? ? fk:lJffieoJsPkto. iij
i n f e r i o r t o G o d , a n d A n g e l s , a n d s u p e r i o r jti? ' A n i m a l s ,
Plants^ and. other Terrestrial and Mortal Natures :
and that asthatMan who shouldflatterhimselfthat
he/should become a God,'. 'or an Angel, would be
infinitely mistaken, hot understanding the Limits of Nature? ,hethatsliouldthinkheshouldbecome a
BeastforhisWickedness, oraPlant becauseofhis heavy and sluggish Temper, would likewise be
deceived, beingignorantoftheessentialFormosthe Soul,tchichcanneveralter-,butbeingandcontinuing
^? ^eS
alwaysMan, issaid,tobecomeaGod:'oraBrutebyres0iPyI VertueorVice, AlthoughbyNatureitcan-notbeeitherthagoras. t h e o n e o r t h e o t h e r , a n d t h e r e f o r e i s s o ' 'o n l y b y r e
semblance.
Moreover Pythagoras might take this Idea from
the:AncientHebrews, who gaveMen suchNames' aswere descriptiveoftheirNature,callingthem Wolves,Dogs,Swine,Serpents,Fishes,&c. asthey remark'd in 'em such Vices as render'd 'em very like tholeAnimals. ThereforethefirstMan thatwascele bratedforPiety,andbegantocallontheNameof theLordwascall'dEnos, thatistofay,aTrueMan ,_ . as*if'therehadbeennotrueManbeforehim,*be- '_VU. ,) causetherewasnopiousMan. Thisisall,theMys . ? . . *, tery of Pythagoras his Metempsychosis ? * which has
beenturn'dintoaMonsterby alowliteralExplica tionofit. Platounderstooditinpart,buthealterM it in connecting it with an Error into which he fell, about rhe Return of Souls into this Life after a cer tain space of time. As I take it, he conceiv'd that a Soul camediverstimestoanimatethefameBody, thus itrwa$ rather'a. Resurrection several' times, re peated,thenaMetempsychosis. ButofthisMatter weshall_ treat more largely in its place. '
1 SomeJof Plato's Interpreters have said that in the W;tm ? . ,
CreationsofMan, God ordefdtheInferiorDeitiesvilcomts, to'make theBody, thatso,becauseallEvilwastoandwhnhti
proceed fromMatter, hemightnotbecharg'dWithf/rffi**
* IsupposetheAuthor meansinthatGsntratitn; firothittvise'tis nldtnt, thai Abel vis a. flom Mm.
it.
? ? no"
Ihe Use osPlato;
it, and that it might not be said, that Evil came fromGodhimself. Butthisexpedientwouldhave been very useless, for ifEvil were a quality adherent to Matter, God having created this, the other must needs have come from him ; though the Body had beencreatedby inferiorDeities; whichisimpious andveryremotefromPlato'sThoughts. Whenthis Philosopher says Evils could notbe banish'd from Nature, and that they arose from Necessity, that is from Matter ; he had no design to fignifiy that Mat terwas Evil of it self} but he meant to shew, that as'it is always opposite to the Nature of God, it c a u s e s a l l t h e P a s s i o n s a n d a l l t h e M i s e r i e s o f M e n ? , whobyhow muchthemoretheyapproachitbyso muchthemoredistanttheyremovefromGod. For Matter does not only corrupt those who immerse themselves in it, but also such aslook on it;because every thing that inclines or turns it self towards it, necessarily turns away from God, aud leaves Light fo'r D a r k n e s s , w h i c h is a P r i n c i p l e c o n f i r m ' d e q u a l l y by Religion and Experience, sothat'tisuimeceflaryto
bringProofstosupportit. Itwillbesufficientto />>tortlie*-cite here Plato's own words. It isimpojstble my
5? J|S"
DearTheodore, thatEvilsJhouldbeentirelyexpesd
humaneSociety, for'tisnecessarythereJhouldbe alwayssomethingoppositetoGood, letitmujlnot be thought that Evil can ever approach the Deity, 'tisonlyannex'dtomortalNatures;andisalways about theEarth which we inhabit, becauseitspringsonly fromNeceJJity. Tliere/ereweJhouldendeavourto
flyfromhenceasswiftlyaswecan. Nowtoflyaway isto labourtouniteourselves toGod, asmuch as pojsible ; and we can't be united to him, but by Wisdom, Righteousness and Holiness.
Evildoes
frmfMt ^oesnotQ^ngfromMatter,butfromMotion,which tn. *'bringsittoitsfirstConfusionandDisorder. The
World (says he) had allgood things from its Maker, butfromtheExternalHabitude, whichithadbefore it had all that isEvil, wicked and vitiout in Nature*
InthisBookofaRepublick,heshews thatEvil
and
? ? ThtLiseof Plato. " 117
and communicates it U Animals. So that by his Account, Evil is properly only a Return to the first Disorder, an Irregularity, a Distocation,, and Dis- ;. obedience, and consequently subsistsnot by it self$ whereas Good subsists independantly of the things
thatpossessit-,foritsubsistsinGod, who istheAu thorofallGood,andisGoodness itself. But whence comes this Motion that leads to Disorder ? ItproceedsnotfromMatter, seeingthatiswithout
quality. ItcomesaccordingtoPlatofromtherash and disorder'd Spirit which heated and animated tht first M a t t e r , b e f o r e G o d b y f r a m i n g t h e W o r l d , h a d render'd it capable of Order and Harmony by an Understanding.
Bythiswe aretounderstand,thatEvilisapri vation of Order and Harmony, which proves true inallfortsofEvil, andaboveallinthoseoftheSoul, that is in Vices which are the only proper Evils. When a man disobeys the Law, one can't fay his
Disobedience is a Being which exists and springs from the Law, but 'tis an Alienation from what theLawcommands. TheLawisHolyandtheCom mandment isJustandGood, butConcupiscencehas produc'dSin. When aSonlovesnothisFatherwho has done him nothing but Good, one can't fay this AversionproceedsfromtheFatherj onthecontra ry, 'tis only a Refusal of Love and Submission which heoweshim,andwhichtheLawofNatureteaches him. JustsotheEvilsoftheSoul,arenotafault of Nature ; but a fault of the Will, which being
free uses its liberty to reject: that which isGood.
So that Vices are only voluntary Aversions which
alienate us from right Reason, inwhich alone Or
der, and Harmony consist-, and consequently, as the
Pythagoreans andrlatonists knew very well there isEwldoei
no necessityofestablishingaPrincipleofEvil, whe->>otlxiP? f ther we make itspring from Matter, orderive itif^'
from without;weneedonlyoneprincipleofGood whichtruelyexists,andthisisGod. ByhisEssence he is separated from Rational Substances but he
com-
? ? are.
iuwbae
aSISS. tmsdtds.
S o u l s , a r e t h e C a u s e o f b o t h , a $ P l a t o V e r y s o l i d l y provesinhisXthBookofLaws". . ;;j:,:
ft has been charg'd oh Plato as a Crime, that he
SivestheNanleofGodt6Creatures:But-besides tnat he has done nothingIn this but what we find done in the Holy Scripture, where Men and:Angels Sre called Gods ; Never did any one better observe the infiniteSovereigntyofthe trueGod overmortal CreaturestowhomhehasgiventhisName, than Plato has done. . Thus he feigns God ipeaking to
n 8 fhetife of Plato/
communicates' and unitesiiimself to them by Rea- What Good, fon: to obey thisReafbri isrVertue and to disobey and Evil, \t^ Vfcip- ? Thus put 'Bodies are neither the Cause
anTvice ^fourVices, nor1thatofoutVertues-,*But pur
inbisTi-'emastheirSupremeLord. ChildrenoftheGods^ TMarus> all the. Works that have gone out of my Hands tire in-
,*s" dissolubleasmuchdtIplease,andatlongdtIjhallsus tain 'em. Nat butthatwhatsoeverhat beenjoinedto
getheritofariottirecapableofbeingdisunited; butit
becomes not ah-infinitely "good Creator to deftroy his Work, whth thisWork has nothing ofevilinit. uTon
have beencreated, and consequentlyyou can'tbeen t i r e l y I m m o r t a l , a n d I n d i s s o l u b l e "'5 h o w e v e r y o u s h a l l never be-dejiroy]d; and Death shallhave no dominion over you ; my Will being V;'stronger Bond to ascertain
your Immortality, than allthat wherewith you have beenbbitndatyoirrBirth. We haveyetthreesort's oj Animals toftrm of mortal Matter, without which the Wdrld would, not bepetsets, for to make it perse3 itoughtto'e'intutnAnimalsof-everySpecies; butif Ishouldcreatethemmyself theywouldbeequalto theGods. Thereforethattheymaybemortals and that the World may be compleated, dd you form them
yourselvesaccordingtoyourNature, byimitating '? * t h e P o w e r I d i s p l a y e d i n f o r m i n g y o u : a n d s e e i n g t h e
"moftexcellentof"'on oughttohavesomethingDivineto render V#z worthy to rule the reft, and td Engage
* Therefore the Holy Scripture commonly speaks of the Soul with reference to Vifces andVertues; The Soul thai sinhitbi isa. Soultouch, &c
Wei
? ? she Lifeof Plato. xtj
them to obey Laws and Justice ; I will provide that Divine Seedwhich is the Soul. Do youfinishthis Com
position, byaddingthatwhichistobemortals andby furnishing it with necessary Aliments, raise them up and. make ''cmgrow, and when theyare destroyed re'
ceive them again intoyour Bosom,
Plato here after a very Magnificent and Poetical
mannerdescribeshowGodcreatedMan andtheother Animalsby means ofsecond Causes, which he calls Gods; and itisnodifficultMatterto. findinhis Words the Beams of those Eternal Truths which Moses teaches us. Platofafter Mo/es)brmgs G o d in as ifspeaking to other Gods when he isabout to create
Man; thoughhedidnot comprehendthe Mystery hiddenunderthosedivineWords. -InPlatoaswell asintheWritingsofMoseswefeeManwasform'd after the Image of God ; not as to his Body, but
astohisMind;thathewastoruleoverotherAni mals. ;andthatheonly iscapableof. Tendering God trueWorship PlatoteachesusafterMosesthatthese very Animals serve to perfectionate the Universe j contrarytotheopinion ofcertainHeretiques, who accused God for having made many Animals that wereeitherdangerousoruseless. Infineweseein Plato as well as in the Holy Scriptures that Impor tantTruth * that theImmortalityoftheAngelsis not an effect of their Nature, but a Privilege of mere Grace, . which depends only on. the Divine Will.
Tis furpriii&g that such a M a n as Plato, w h o un- WhethtrGod derstoodtheseGreatTruths,andspokeofGod afterf<<*"fe,; ibadmirableamanned, aswe shallseeindiverspla-buuMtr* cesofthisTreatise, shouldnotwithstandingmaintain, ashehasdoneinthenthBockofhisRepublick,Tori,i, thatGod beingperfectionitself,cannotshewhim
selfto M e n under any visible Figure, and he reasons
* ThisiswhatSt. AmbrosefaysinexpressTermsinhis3dBook utFide. Ntc& Angtltuimmortalkeflnaturditir,cu[>>simmortalU t'dit[liiQtltmtattCreittris. . Angelsthemselves arenatImmortal hyNatnrfi, bitIheirImmoralitydependsontheWillofthei* ssfcatoK
& thus I
? ? ijo . TheLifeofPlato.
p, ,flsthus; IfGodshouldmetamorphosehimselfhewould Ktdoling! assume a Form more perfell than his own, or a Form lessperse3. Now 'tisridiculoustofayhechangesfor
the better,for then there would besomething more per- sett than he, which is absurd ; and 'tis Impious to admit that he changeshimselfintosomething lessper- fell, for God can't degrade himself -,besides if he shouldappearunderanyotherFormthanhisown, he would lye, because he would appear to be what he is not. Hencethereforeitmustbeconcludedthathecon tinuesinhisSimpleForm, whichaloneisBeautyand Perfellion itself. And upon thishe condemns Homer
for havingattributed toGod those Visible Forms. IfPlatohad only employ'd thisArgument ofhis tobeatdown theridiculousMetamorphoses which
thePoetsattributedtotheGods, hewouldhavehad
Reason ; but to make use of it to oppose the man
ner by which G o d has often render'd himself visible,
viz. UndertheFormofanAngelorMan,whom
he created after his Image, and whose Figure he
mighttake,withoutdeceivingMen, orlayingaside hisPerfections,? isanError. Andthisdidnote-
scape rhe knowledg of his Disciple Aristotle, who though otherwise less illuminated in what be longs to the Divine Nature, understood better than Plato the Beauty and Truth of that Sentiment of Homer,whointheXlVthBookofhisOdyjfesfays that the Gods, -who can easily clothe themselves with allsensofForms,sometimestakethefigureof Tra vellers and go into Cities to be Witnesses both of the SinsofMenandoftheirGoodAHions. Instructed by thisgreatPoetheunderstood thatitisnotun worthy ofGod to alTume Humane Nature, to deli verMenfromtheirErrors. UponwhichhistooZea lous Admirers have advane'd that he had some pre s a g e o f t h e Ii x a r n a t i o n o f t h e M e s s i a h . . B u t w h a t a n Honour is it xoHomcr, that his Notions agree better
with the Ttuths contain'd in the Holy Scriptures,than thoseoftheGreatestPhilosophers. When God ap- pear'dtoMen underavisibleForm he hadbothwhat was visible and what was invisible. B u t
? ? TheLifeof Plato. im
? ButtoreturntoPlato'sPhysicks. Onemayverym ,. welldissentbothfromthosewhowillhave'emvemmllX xy perfect: ; and from the Sentiment of those that made of Account'emverydefective. TheformerhavetooPlato*
good an Opinion of 'em ; seduc'd perhaps by the ***&& great pleasure they have found in penetrating the greatObscurities ofhisT'mteus5andothersspeak
too meanly of 'em, because they have not given them
selves time to found those Deeps, having been dis- courag'd by the dryness of his Principles, which he does not give himself the trouble of unfolding ; but leaves others the labour of explaining and finding
outthemeaningof'em. ButinthisthereisaMe diumtobeoblerv'd. 'TiscertainPlatoknewthe chiefPrinciplesoftrueNaturalPhilosophy. This sufficiently appears by what has been already said
onthisSubject. WefindinhisTimoeusanexpli cation of the Nature of the Elements, only by the Disposition and Configuration of the parts of Mat ter, which also cause the different Sensations and AffectionsoftheBody. TherewefindtheExplica tion ofColours, which are only the Reflexion of Light. BythedifferentMixture,bythediversified Figure and Motion of the Elements, each of which
has many different Qualities or Forms, he explains the Production and Nature of Minerals, Metals, Oils, Salt, Liquors, Meteors, &c. ForExample, speaking of the Loadstone, and Amber, he fays, Their Vertue. comes from the Motion ofthe Matter whichgoesoutoftheirPeres. Butallthistogether can't make a well methodiz'd System of Physicks : Nor is ithis design to give the World a Treatise of Physicks : He swiftly runs through that which is
transitory, to find that which is permanent, and to dwell upon itj he forgets nothing that is necessary, but rejects whatsoever is useless or superfluous ; he so little designs to enter into a deep research of this Matter, that he lets us know, that if any one has a mind to break off his Meditation from things that, truly exist and abide, to apply himself
K2 " to
? ? 131 Tfo Life of Plated
toamoreparticularknowledgof suchasareonly Natural transitoryandmomeiitany,andfindspleasureinsodo-
mBdtfd illg'ltwi^notbedi^cu^^orhimtosatisfyhimself "yPlatoasm followinghisPrinciples? ,andtogivehimselfa
aDivertife-Divertisement ofLife, which he callsWise andMo ment, derate.
By theseWords P/atogivesustounderstandthat he look'd upon this part of Natural Philosophy ra
therasaPlay,thananEmployment;andthisob- lig'd him, to give only a iuperficial Account of it5 that he might more usefully employ his Time in searching for more important and Solid Truths. A n d one m a y fay, that in this again he imitates Moses, who in the History of the Creation has wifely sup- preis'd whatsoever might flatter the Vanity and Cu riosity of Men, to insist only on that which was propertoaugmenttheirHumilityandPiety. There foreweshouldbesofarfromwonderingthatNa tural Philosophy was not rais'd to its perfection in those Ancient Times when itwas look'd upon at best but as an Amusement more curious than useful, and whenthegreatestMen appliedthemselvesonlyto
Morality which is concern'd only about our true HappinessandMisery;thatIknow notwhetherwe should not have more reason to be surpriz'd that it shouldbesomuch esteem'dinAges whereinwe ought eventomakelessaccountofitthanPlatodoes. So lomon does not advise Men to acquire Natural Phi losophybuttogetWisdom. For'tisWisdomonlythat teachesus toknow God ; and thisisPlato'sLan guage, whotopromotehisDesignalwaysreasons morally in his Physical Discourses :and instead of insistingon the Consideration ofMechanique Reasons taken from the Motion, and Succession of Bodies, applies himself,as Socrates did before him,to discover the first Cause, and to penetrate the Designs of the
Soveraign Spirit which governs the World ; and en deavours to explain whole Nature by Harmony aud Proportion? ,Seekingnot so much toteach Men
Physicks, as to give 'em great Prospects, and to elevate
? ? Ihe Life osPlato. nj
elevate theirMinds. Nay Socrates formally fays in Pboedon that the manner of teaching Physicks by t h e S u c c e s s i o n a n d M o t i o n o f B o d i e s is v e r y d e f e c t i v e , a n d c a u s e s m o r e E r r o r s t h a n it c u r e s ^ b e c a u s e b y d e taining the Mind too much upon Matter, and that which is but a Second Cause, ithinders it from rai singitselfup toGod, whoistheonlytrueand firstCauseofallthings;andhe blamesAnaxagcras, whothoheknewthisTruth, dissemblesitinhis practise, anddeceivestheexpectationofhisReaders. 3Tis luch a Research as this that Solomon represents as a very Evil ani Dangerous Employment and the Truth of this has been but too much confirm'd by Experience.
Beforewe quitthisSubject,letusseehowhe *S>>ordn rangestheCelestialSpheres,andwhatVertueshesup-? **f"<L
posesthemtodisplaybytheirInfluences, FirstheI*"1*? "TM' placestheEarthastheCenteroftheWorld. Tis
true Theophrastus writes, that in his Old Age he
r e p e n t e d t h a t h e h a d g i v e n it t h a t p l a c e , w h i c h is n o t suitabletoit, HefaysitistheBoundaryofthe
Rising and Setting of the Sun, and consequently the InstrumentofTime, asthePlanetsare,andGuardian orMotheroftheDayandNight. AftertheEarth
he places the Sphere of the -Moon, then that of the Sun,thatofVenusand thatofMercury ;afterMercu ryhe places Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
He faysthat inthebeginningafterGodhadcrea-xheinfam- tedtheSoulsofMen, hedistributedthemintoallm ojtbt
the Planets ; by which he would signifie, that the stars. Bodies which those Souls animated inthe time mark'd
out byProvidence, shouldbesubjecttotheInfluences
of those Stars. Which he explains more sensibly when hefeignsthatthereareThreeParcoetheDaugh
tersofNecessity,whichturnagreatSpindle, that's<4<<? */>/? <<. theAxle-treeoftheWorld, withitsrightSpheres,timojthe whose Motions and Revolutions produce all things. thm^a! C? -
N e c e s s i t y is D e s t i n y , w h i c h is n o t h i n g b u t t h e O r d e r and Concatenation of Causes, which ought to pro duce such or such Effects. This Necessity has 3 Daugh-
K3 ters
? ? ij4 TheLifeofPlato.
t e r s w h i c h d e n o t e th. e t h r e e d i f f e r e n c e s o f T i m e w h i c h
iseitherPalt,PresentorFuture. Thefirstwhichis
the Eldest is nam'd Lachejis that is, a Lot, because ? the Lots of all things have been regulated from all
Eternity,thatisbeforeTime. ThesecondisC/othon, Thisis(hethatexecutes, andaddsthepresentto the past. And the third is Atropos which signifies that the future is no less certain or invariable than the two others ; but is the Consequence of one and andthesameLawwhichneveralters. TheseParae arecloth'dinwhite, andseatedonThrones with Crowns on their Heads, to signify on one hand their Purity and Innocence, and on the other the Dominion they exercise over all that is subjected to 'em ; they areplac'dat equaldistancesovertheseEightSpheres, upon each of which there is a Siren which Sings with'allhermight, andtheParcxanlwerthisSing ing after such a manner, that all these different VoicesmakebutoneHarmony. Platowouldhere by signify that all things obey the Divine Law and
concur to produce those Effects, which are Conse-
. quences of the Causes G o d has established. &>'s'fl'" ButifourBodiesdependonthesePlanetsand
'toDi/iiiy.
?
kevtneLawsofthisfatalNecessity,ourSoulsmay preserve themselves independant, and only obey God, who isMaster ofNecessity it self. The Planets may by their Influence produce in us such or such Manners, and by these such or such Actions or Passi
o n s ? , b u t i f o u r S o u l s w i l l , t h e y h a v e p o w e r t o m o
derateandregulate'em. AndwhentheSouldoes
the conrrary, and suffers her self to be carried d o w n t h e S t r e a m ? , s h e d e p r i v e s h e r s e l f o f h e r o w n L i b e r t y ,
and loses all her Privileges. For this is that in which that Free will, that God has left her to de noteherOrigin, consists: She caneithersubmither selfto that Fatal Necessity which Zoroaster calls an Augmenting the power of Destiny ; or subject that toherself! ,byunitingherselftohim, towhom all things are subject, and in w h o m alone she can enjoy her Liberty h And this is. what Plato means, when
he
? ? The Lifeos Plato. 135
he says a Prophet having taken the Lots out of the
Lap of the first Parcoe, ascended a Throne, and ad dressing himlelf to all the Souls that had been crea ted,spoketoemintheleTerms. HearwhatLache-^7*tbtx
sistheDaughterofNecessitysays. 0MortalSouls^00k. >>/his hereisthe beginningof aNew Period, or Life,^b[
Tou aregoing toanimate Bodies that are destined to
Death ;Tour Demon {orAngel) shallnot makechoice osyou, butyoushallchooseyourDemon (crAngel) yourselves. LetthatSoulthereforethathasthe firstLot, firstchoose thekindofLifewhichshewill leadbytheLawsofNecessity,andsoostherest. There is nothing but only Vertue that does not acknowledg her Laws :sheisfree,andgivesnotherselftoany but such as know how to honour her : Thus the faultisin theSoulwhich chooses, andGodisnot
to. beblamed. AfterthisProclamation,allimagina ble ways of living are propos'd, and the Soul chooses.
W e cannot finish this Matter without speaking somewhatoftheseDemons, aslign'dasGuidestochoiceofa.
each Soul ; and this Article would indeed require a T>imm or long Chapter of it self, or ratheran entire Volume, Gm'"
if we would found the bottom of this Doctrine ;"mdtrstLd. but 'tis sufficient for us here to know in general,
that when Plato fays the Soul immediately afterher animatingtheBody,choosesherDemon orGenius? ,
Ms designisonlytosignifytheLiberty-oftheSoul, and that she is able to choose between G o o d and Evil. That is, that as w e are compos'd of 2 different N a tures, by one of which w e partake of this gross and
Terrestrial World, and by the other of the Intelligible World-,bywhichwearerailedtothatwhichis most Sublime and Spiritual; Ifthe Soul immerses herselfinMatter,shehasamaterialDemon, that hinders her from raising her self up to Celestial Things 5 and if on the contrary she keeps her self pure,andlivesonlybytheUnderstanding, (hehas a good Demon, or perfect Genius, which supports and hinders her from descending to that which is
K 4 ir. a-
Hew tbt
? ? 136 The lifeifVhtpl
material and corruptible-, if she changes her Life, s h e a l s o c h a n g e s h e r D e m o n ? , a n d a f t e r " D e a t h , t h e
D e m o n that ihe chose, leads her either to her Re- ? ward or Punishment. This was Plato's Doctrine, which hefrequentlydelivers inAllegories,verydiffi cult to be understood, but by which he seems to have known, or at least had some Glances of very great Truths concerning the Nature and Difference of
those Spirits, which are between God and Men,
Truths which the Christian Religion has consecrated
Without divesting them of their Obscurity. For
Who isitthatunderstandsthosedifferentOrders of
Spirits which St. Paul describes by those different
Names, of Powers, Thrones, Principalities, and
Mights ? St. Augustine confesses he does not under
stand'em, andSt. Ireneusassuresusthattheycannot
beunderstood. ItisprobablePlatohadreceived-al-
most the fame Ideas from the Theology of the He
brews, which we shall speak of in the Argument of S o c r a t e s h i s A p o l o g y ? , a n d i t w a s w i t h o u t d o u b t o u t
6frespecttotheirBooks, that headvanc'd thatex cellent Maxim, that inthose matters we ought to receive nothing for Truth, but what is found con formable to the Word of God, and the Divine Oracles.
N o n e ever proy'd the Immortality of the Soul bet terthanPlaid. HisProofsofitaretobeseenin hisVhoedrits,intheX BookofhisRepublickandin
^faming hisPhiedbn*. Inthe:meantimeIcan'tchoosebutspeak
AEftffif" here,ofaseemingContradictionwhich isfoundin
Mito. ~ tysWritings. - InVhtsdroehefaysinexpressTerms, ThattheSouliseternal, and. thatitcanxtperish^Ji? -
caufeifwa^notbegotten: Andonthecontraryhe laysinTimoeus, ThattheSoulwascreatedbeforethe Body, andthatit'wasbegottenbythebestofintellec tual and eternal Causes, as it is also the kejh df all things that are generated and temporal.
ffr'utarci? ? Phaarch to reconcile this Contradiction, into
tol'Sntiii whichhe is suie F/<! s0 "ever fell, assures us that by *? ? ? ? Contti- &is unbegotten'aud eternal Soul he understands- tha* "''? '? 1; void
? ? The Life of Plato^ 137
void and disorderlySpiritwhich mov'd allthingsir regularly before the-Constitution of theWorld; and on the contrary that he calls that the begotten Soul which God compos'd ofthatfirstSpirit and of the p e r m a n e n t a n d e t e r n a l S u b s t a n c e ? , o f w h i c h ; h e m a d e awifeandregularSoul, becauseheputsomething o f h i s o w n i n t o it, a n d a d d e d U n d e r s t a n d i n g t o S e n s e ,
and Order and Harmony toMotion. ButatthisratetheSoulwouldbeaCompoundof
a foolish thing and a wise, which is the grossest ofall w p ^ ' J ^ Errors. ItwouldlikewisebeaCompositionoftwo? } thingsequallyEternal, whichbytheirUnion would constitute one entire begotten Substance, which is a - Contradiction. InfinethisvoidandprecipitantSpi
rit which animated the first Matter is not Eternal
in P/ato's Opinion, for he makes it a Creature, and
callsitEternalonlyinreferencetoTime, theBirth
ofwhichitpreceded. ThereforetoreconciletheseTheway>>/
two different Ideas which he gives of the Soul, Iruouciiing suppose when he calls itbegotten he has regard sim- '*# rw>>
ply to the Essence 'of it, which began to exist faytheWillofGod;andwhenhecallsitEternal, 'tis with respect to the Principle of it which is God, who communicatestoitallitsQualities, andin whom itisproperly Eternal.
PlatonotonlyprovestheImmortalityoftheSoul, THcmst. but also knew all the Consequences of it, as the Vmt" fi
Resurrection, and Final Judgment, when all Good TMTMntstl
Men shall be rewarded and the Wicked punished. Plato. '
Nay he penetrated so far into theseDivine Truths,
that his Expressions are entirely conformable to those
oftheHoly Prophets, andeventothoseoftheE-
vangelistsandApostles. Forheexpresslyobserves
that'atthe time'ofthisJudgment goodMenshall Intyx
be dt the right hand of God, and the Wicked at the Boob os bit
lest, from whence they shall be thrown down into the Rtpubli-^ Abyss and into outward Darkness, bound hand and^om'2'
foot, where they shall be tormented, and torn by
Spirits, whichhecallsFire,andwherenothing (hail
ht heard but horrible Groaning and Howling, '
? ? i;8 The Life of Plato:
Thatthe ^e*aug^tasacertainTruththatthedeadknow deadknow whatpassesinthisLife? ,Forhefaysinexpressterms,
whatpasesthat SoulsaftertheyareseparatedfromtheirBodies hereinthisfcavg ft}//jome power bywhichtheytakecareofhu-
in theX\mane Affa,rs- i*R>'u Truth isprov'd by a longtrain Bookof ofReasons, We ought thereforetobelievethese'Jo
Laws certain and Ancient Traditions : and to credit the ' Tom. 2. TestimonyofthoseLegislatorswhohavetransmitted
themtous. Unlesswewillreproachthemassoma-
Tom. z. ny V? ? IS- And in another place he fays, Hence I
conclude, that the Dead retain some knowledge of ? whatpassesherebelow. GoodMenhavesomesenti
ment before hand os this Matter $ and the Wicked deny it: But the Presages of divine Men are more certain than thoseofsuch Miserable Wretches as are always immers'a in Vice.
TheSource ^at0receivedalltheseIdeasfromtheTraditions
oftheseTra-oftheEgyptians, whohad'emfromthePeopleof Mtias. God,andtheAncientPatriarchs. Butinprocess
ofTime, theseTraditionsweresocorruptedbythose Idolaters, and mix'd with so many Errors, that 'tisnotto be wonder'dat that Platohas explain'd one and the fame Truth by Descriptions so different and fabulous as those of his Phoedon, his Gorgias, and the lastBook ofhisRepublick.
Those who havecarefullyreadthewritingsof
this Philosopher, discoveryet more surprisingTruths
TheUvini-m 'em'? >^ortnevfinc*tstat^ebeliev'dtheDivinity
tyojthesonofthe, Son of God, which he has explain'd by Enig-
ofGod mas,thatthoseSublimeTruthsmightnotbeexpos'd Pkto"f" totheRailleryoftheProfane.
Tom'. 2. ^n^sEpinomis,afterhehadspokenoftheHo
nour due to the Sun and other Planets, as they were
thewonderfulWorksofGodonwhichhehadprin
ted the Character ofhisOmnipotence, and which in
performing their Revolutions inthe Time prescrib'd
to 'em, contribute to the perfection of the Universe
by thisObedience of theirs : He adds, The most Di vine W O R D fram'd this Universe and rendered it
visible. AndthatMan thatistrulyhappy\firstad mires
? ? The Life of Plato. ijp
miresthis WORD, andisafterwardinflanHdwith
a desire of learning nil that can be known by a mortal Nature, beingconvincedthatthisistheonlyway, to
lead a happy Life here below, and after Death to ar rive at those places that are prepared for Vertue *,
where he shall be truly initiated and united with Wisdom ; and always enjoy themost wondersulDisco veries. Here Plato,very exquisitly maintainsthat theknowledgesthe W O R D leadstoallsublime ' Discoveries. FornoneknowstheFatherbutbythe Son. And'tisonlybyhimthatwecanattainaLife of Bliss.
Inthe Letter he wrote,to Tdermias, Erasm, and^MrVr Corifcm to exhort 'em to live in Peace, he fays. Ton. 3. You must readmy Letter all three together ; and that
you may profit by it, you ought to implore the Assist' anceofGod the SoveraignLordofallthingsthatei ther are or Jhallbe; and the Father of thisSoveraign, whoistheCauseofBeings. IfwearetrulyPhiloso
phersweshallknowthisGod asclearlyasBlessedMen arecapable of knowing him.
Does notPlatointhismanifestlyfollowtheOpi
nionoftheHebrews? Forwhencecould hereceive this knowledg of God, the Father, and the Lord ? ,E^-
ofGod thecauseofBeings>, butfromtheirWri-J2J; tings, w h o taught him to give the Son the name of xi. i<s. Lord, of which none of the Greeks before him had everheard, orhadtheleastIdea?
Nor isitonlypretended,thathehadsomeknow-piatohad ledg of the Word, the Eternal Son of God, but/>>>><<W<< of some farther maintain, that he had some discovery ^. ^oly of the Holy Spirit-, and so had a certain Idea of rmy'
the most Holy Trinity :For thus he writes to young Dionysus, ImustdeclaretoArchedemus, thatwhichLetUrIt is m u c h m o r e p r e c i o u s a n d d i v i n e ; a n d w h i c h y o u h a v e Torn. 3, avery ardentdesiretoknow;sinceyousentexpress lytome onthatAicount. forasfarasIunderstand byhimyoudon'tbelieve Ihavesufficientlyexplain'd.
what I think of the Nature of thefirst Principle; I
must writeofthistoyouinEnigmas, thatifmyLet
ter
? ? 140
The Life osPhto. ,
terJhoulibeinterceptedbySeaorLand, bethatreads itmaynotbeabletocomprehendanything. Allthings are round about their King ; they exist by him, and he alone is the cause of good things^ Secondforse condthings, andthirdforthird.
In his Epinomis, and elsewhere, he establishes for Principles, the firstGood, the Word, or Under standing,orSoul. ThefirstGoodisGod-,andwhen hecallsGod, Goodness, orthefirstGood, hehad an Idea of this Truth, that Good isnothing but the NatureofGod,andhisInfiniteGoodness. This Good he explains in Terms very well worth the reading. As the Sun (fays he) gives to visible things,notonlythefacuityofbeingseen, butalso, their Birth, Nourishment and Growth, jujlso this
Bm^vrofGood, notonlymakesintelligiblethingsknowable,but btxKepub. aij0giVes 'em being, although that isnot EssenceJ>ut om. 2. jomg ot^gr fang fat infinttely surpasses Essence by
its Power and Majesty. TheWordorUnderstandingistheSon ofthe
first Good, who hath begotten him like himself A n d t h e S o u l w h i c h is t h e T e r m b e t w e e n t h e F a t h e r and the Son, isthe Holy Spirit.
I don't know whether without having recourse to these great Truths, w e could by Plato's Philosophy , explain these Passages which seem so strange, so as to give 'em another sense that should be natural, andagreeabletohisPrinciples. Imustfay,Ivery muchdoubtit. Nay,Iamperswadeditwouldbe verygreatTemerity, orratherImpiety, tointerpret
. . 'emafteranyothermanneraftertheDecisionof*so stau- manyFatnersoftheChurchandEcclesiastickWriters, gufiin, F? rtheytellusinexpressTerms,thatPlatohadthis
I St. Jcrom,knowledgoftheFatherandtheSon,andofhim that St. Cyril, proceedsfromthemboth,namelytheHolySpirit.
Theodo-' Origenisnotcontenttoassureusof the. fame ret,st. ck- thing, but accuses Celsus for having purposely over man, &c. look'd the Passage of the 6th Letter, because Jesus
Christisplainlyspoken ofinit. Which proves, that the ( hristtans were not the only Persons who- found
? ? 7he Life os Plato. ' 141
found these great Mysteries in Plato's Writings-, but thatthe Enemies of Christianity found 'em thereas well as. they, and were uneasy at the light of 'em.
Let us not by our Darkness cast a ihade over those Rays of Light which proceed from the Foun tain of Light it self-, but let. us acknowledge that Tlato not only knew all that Natural Reason could discoverconcerning God toaPhilosopher; but was
illuminatedbysupernaturalReasontoo. Havingbeen
instructedintheBooksoftheHebrews, inthoseof theProphets,andintheTraditionsoftheEgyptians, ?
hebecame favourablydispos'dtoreceivetheSeeds of t h e s e E t e r n a l T r u t h s ? , a n d w a s a s s i s t e d b y G r a c e , f o r
St. Augustin asserts, that Jesus Christ revealed 'em to him. Thatwhichisdeplorableisthathehascorrupted Howplat0
5embyhisReasonings. ForhespeaksoftheThreeJJJgJgg Persons ofthe Deity as of Three Gods,and Three dis- roitbwhich
ferentPrinciples. ThuswhilethesupremeReason en-bewasi/u- lighten'dhimononefide, Philosophyseduc'dhim? &"***by
ontheother:Thecommon unhappinefsofthosewho merely by Humane Reason go about to explain the MysteriesofGod, which arenot to beknown but from himself, and from those he has truly inipir'd.
That Plato had a particular knowledg of the Sacred Writings appears by many Passages in his W o r k s , a n d b y h i s E r r o r s t h e m s e l v e s ? , f o r t h e g r e a
testpart of his most erroneous Opinions proceed in some sort from that Source ofLight which daz zled him, and on which he has spread so much Darkness. This severalhaveobservedbeforenow.
That of theCreationofSoulsbeforeBodiesseems
tohave had no other Foundation than that Passage ofJeremiahs where God fays to this Holy Prophet. T BeforeIformedthee inthebellyIknewthee, This"'"'*'5" Philosopher notunderstandingthatGod callsthings
that are not as if they were ; and that he knows net only all that is,but also all that shall ever be, builtonthisTextthatErrorofhis, thatSoulsex istedbefore Bodies.
From the iame Divine Writings he extracted all the
? ? 141 A IheLifeofPlato. -
the greatTruths which he teaches, as when he fays theName ofGod ishethatisforthere'snonebut Godthattrulyis. ThisNameofGod,asSt. Au-
gustin observes, is not found in any profane Book more ancient than P/ato $ and this Philosopher could not have it from any other Books than those of Moses.
Whoisitthatdoesnotdiscernthestileofthe Prophets in that place of Phoedon ; where he de- scribes a pure Earth which is a*bove this of ours in Heaven, andincomparisonofwhichthiswe inhabit is no better than Dirt > In this every thing is corrupt, a n d w e a r e e n c o m p a s s ' d w i t h D a r k n e s s -, o r i f w e f e e any Light, 'tisthrough great Clouds, and very thick
Mists: whereas in the other, the true Light is to be <, seen; and everything initisadmirable. All things thereIhinewiththeglitteringLustreofGold, Jas
pers, Saphirs, and Emeralds ; and those that inha bit it enjoy a long Life which is not cross'd with a- ny incommodious Accident. The Ancients who dis- cover'd the Truth hid under these Images, show that they were extracted out of the Books of the holy Prophets,whocallHeaventheCityofGod, and the Land of the Righteous j. and prove, that the Names ofthese precious Stones are taken from the 54th Chapter of Isaiah, where God promises to Jay
So the
lxxums- Jaspers.
dirit.
Ishould be too prolix if I should here relate all
thatPlatohasdrawnfromthisFountain. 'Tissuf ficient to know, that what we find inhim of this kind, isso considerable, that it ought to'render his Writings very precious to us -, and that of all the Works ofthePagans, thereisnonemoreuseful,or that can be more serviceable to establish eternal
. Truths, to raise the Soul to the solid Contemplati on of the divine Essence, and to manifest the Beau tiesofthesacredScriptures. And"tisontheseAc-
the Foundation of his Church with Saphirs, and
Boot1. countsthathemeritedthatgreatEncomium, given "L;? . jf him byProcli/s. Truth (layshe)isspreadthrough
all
? ? The Use of Platb. , 143
'alPlato'i- Dialogues, more obscurely in some, and moreclearlyinothers. Wefindin'emev&rywhere grave,sensible,supernatural thoughts of thefirst
Philosophy, whichcarrythoseup tothepure imma terial Essence of God, who are in some sort in a condition,toparticipateofit. Andashewhohas
created every thing in the Wcrld by hispower, has in every part of this Universe placed Images of the
Gods, which areso many Proofs oftheir Existence, thatallthingsintheWorld might turntowards tbe Deity, because ofthe Union, and ifI may so say, n a t u r a l R e l a t i o n t h a t is b e t w e e n t h e m ; s o t h e M i n d o f Plato beingfilPd withtheDeity, hasdispersedhis ThoughtsofGodthroughallhisWorks. Hewould not suffer any single TraS to be destitute of this CharaSer, and without any thing spoken of God; that such as are truly enflanid with the Love of Divine thingsmightreceivesotneknowledgofthe
supreme Being from all his Writings, and so might have a fust Idea ofevery thing which cannot be known butinGodwho isTruthitself.
Having spoken ofNatural Philosophy and Mora- lity let us pals to the third part which isDialeffick. The Ancientswrite, thatPlatoperfectedPhiloso phy, by adding this part to Physicks and Ethicks : Butby thistheyonlymeanhe broughtDialellick,
Dhltftict.
whichistrueLogicktoitsperfection. IndeedPlato's Logick is more natural, more exact, and more solid than that which was in use before him, and than that the Rules of which have been published after him. For he teaches more by examples, than Precepts :
He alwayschoosesSubjectsthatarefamiliarand u s e f u l t o M o r a l i t y ? , a n d t r e a t e s ' e m n o t a s a D o c t o r ,
and as they do in the Schools, by Methodical Dis coursesandstudiedSyllogisms,butlikeaMan of Conversation by free Diicourfes, which properly maketheCharacterofDialectick. ThereforePlato preserv'd Socrates his method of Dialogue being fully convinc'd that Sciences ought to be taught by WordofMouth, andnotbyWriting,becauseMen
are
? ? ? 44
Ike Life of Plato. '
are better persuaded by the Tongue thafi the Pert} because the Answers, and Objections of the Learner, not only shew what progress Truth makes in his Mind jbut besidesgive an occasionofclearingup many Difficulties that lie in his Way, and which can'tallbeforeseeninWriting. Platoteachesbet terthan any Man how to speak with justness, to answerpreciselytowhatisasked, tolaydownthe
State of a Question exactly, and lead on the Argu ment directly. He shews perfectly well how to' make accurate Divisions, to define well, and to ex amine Definitions aright, that none may be suffer'd to escape that are not true.
He not only brought this Science to perfection but also regulated the study of it; forto avoid the unhappyInconveniencesthatbefalthosewho apply
themselves to it too Young, and who commonly
make use of itrather to contradict than rO investi-
At what gate Truth, he would have none apply themselves sge Piaco to it, till they were above thirty Years of Age, and
Men /hub* r^en w o u ^ nave 'ern employ five Years in it, being Dhleffick. P^rswaded that on this alone depends all the Progress aManiscapableofmakingintheSciences,andin
theperfectknowledgoftrueandsolidGood. And indeed, Dialellick being the Art of Reasoning, 'tis not only the Foundation of all the Sciences, but the only Guide that can conductMentotrue Happiness^
bymaking'emdistinguishTruthfromError. And for this fame Reason, near six hundred Years before Platp, the Holy Spirit exhorted M e n to learn Dialec tick, when he signifies by the Mouth of Solomon,
thatallScience withoutExamination and Vroofserves onlytodeceiveMen. Andalsothattheknowledg os a fool, is but a Discourse in the Air without E x aminationandProof. Andforthesame. Reason
tici. p. and^-Pau? %S5 aBishopoughttoholdfastthefaith- u% J fullWordashehathbeentaught,thathemaybea-
blebyfound do3rine, both toexhort, and toconvince Gainsayers. whohy their false Principlesy^faw/- whole Houses-,teachingthingswhichtheyoughtnot; And
?
goodbyNature, andmaybeusedtogoodadvantage, when the Soul is Mistress of 5em, and so regulates and conducts 'em.
He nextexplainstheProductionofthefirstWo-Theenau man,andthatofAnimals. HavingunderstoodbyJ? /the
theHistoryofMoses,thatthefirstManbeingcast2 4T into a deep sleep, God extracted the Woman from Animals. him ^ this gave rife to all those Imaginations, which
he exposes in his Timem ; where he teaches, that
the first Woman, and all Animals sprang from Man,
but through that thick Darkness he has spread upon
thisWork ofGod, inexplainingitafteraMysteri
ous and Poetical manner, the Foot-steps of Ancient
Truth are to be discovered 5 and one may perceive,
that he thus obscur'd and cOnceal'd 'em, only that
he might thence draw a Doctrine useful to regulate
theMannersofMen. HisdesignistoengageMan
always to render his Creator that Worship which is
duetohim^andtodonothingthatmayrenderhim
unworthy of that great Advantage of having been form'dbytheHandsofGod himielf? ,thereforehe
represents to him, not only that he degenerates into < a Woman, when he isunjust,timorousand voluptu ous, but moreover that he sinks into the Condition
of
? ? ^ 4
The Life osPlato. '
ofAnimals. ForwhenheisInconstant,Rashand. Unsteady, andamuseshimselfaboutpenetratingthe Heavens, by a vain Curiosity, imagining that only by the Organ of hisSight he is able to. judg of allthat appears there, he becomes a Bird : if he has, no re lish of true Philosophy ; but instead of contempla ting the Heavens, that by. the marvellous W o r k m a n ship of 'em, he might seek the knowledg of him thatmadethem, heonlythinksonEarthlyThings, and how to gratify his sensual Desires, he degene rates into,a brute Beast, and is always fix'd to the E a r t h ? , i f h e b e y e t m o r e c o r r u p t e d , h e b e c o m e s a .
Reptile, and always touches the Earth with allthe partsofhisBody;andinfine,ifhepushhisFol ly and Ignorance to the last Extremity, he becomes a, Fish, unworthy to breath in the Air -, and conse quentlyplung'dinthemostfilthyand troubledEle mentofall. ThiswastheMetempsychosisofwhich Platospeaks, andImake nodoubt, butthiswas the Sentiment of Pythagoras, and of the Egyptians, which has been made ridiculous in taking itvery un
justlyinaliteralSense. ForwhatProbabilityis there that Philosophers, who never spoke without Enigmas should with so much Simplicity explaia so wonderful a Secret as that of the Passage of Souls into various Bodiesofa different Species? And
Whatgaveperhaps it would be no ilhfounded Opinion that ueitfionto this Idea came into the head of Pythagoras, upon. thtopinion what"happen'd in hislime to&ing Nebuchad/iezzar,.
tmlsrcbosis. ^y*10 f? ? his Sins. was turn'd out among the Beasts, 'andforspvenYearsgrazed likeanOx.
A Philosopherwho explains hisDoctrine only by Enigmatick Expressions could not but be taken With this Idea, which naturally informs us, that Vice degrades us from our Dignity, and' transforms us
intoBeasts,more orlessSavage, accordingas. we aremore orlessvitious:,anda certainsign, that this was the sense of this Metempsychosis, is, that the Pythagorean Philosophers conceiv'd itjust after this manner jand prov'd that Man- inhis Essence is.
inferior
? ? fk:lJffieoJsPkto. iij
i n f e r i o r t o G o d , a n d A n g e l s , a n d s u p e r i o r jti? ' A n i m a l s ,
Plants^ and. other Terrestrial and Mortal Natures :
and that asthatMan who shouldflatterhimselfthat
he/should become a God,'. 'or an Angel, would be
infinitely mistaken, hot understanding the Limits of Nature? ,hethatsliouldthinkheshouldbecome a
BeastforhisWickedness, oraPlant becauseofhis heavy and sluggish Temper, would likewise be
deceived, beingignorantoftheessentialFormosthe Soul,tchichcanneveralter-,butbeingandcontinuing
^? ^eS
alwaysMan, issaid,tobecomeaGod:'oraBrutebyres0iPyI VertueorVice, AlthoughbyNatureitcan-notbeeitherthagoras. t h e o n e o r t h e o t h e r , a n d t h e r e f o r e i s s o ' 'o n l y b y r e
semblance.
Moreover Pythagoras might take this Idea from
the:AncientHebrews, who gaveMen suchNames' aswere descriptiveoftheirNature,callingthem Wolves,Dogs,Swine,Serpents,Fishes,&c. asthey remark'd in 'em such Vices as render'd 'em very like tholeAnimals. ThereforethefirstMan thatwascele bratedforPiety,andbegantocallontheNameof theLordwascall'dEnos, thatistofay,aTrueMan ,_ . as*if'therehadbeennotrueManbeforehim,*be- '_VU. ,) causetherewasnopiousMan. Thisisall,theMys . ? . . *, tery of Pythagoras his Metempsychosis ? * which has
beenturn'dintoaMonsterby alowliteralExplica tionofit. Platounderstooditinpart,buthealterM it in connecting it with an Error into which he fell, about rhe Return of Souls into this Life after a cer tain space of time. As I take it, he conceiv'd that a Soul camediverstimestoanimatethefameBody, thus itrwa$ rather'a. Resurrection several' times, re peated,thenaMetempsychosis. ButofthisMatter weshall_ treat more largely in its place. '
1 SomeJof Plato's Interpreters have said that in the W;tm ? . ,
CreationsofMan, God ordefdtheInferiorDeitiesvilcomts, to'make theBody, thatso,becauseallEvilwastoandwhnhti
proceed fromMatter, hemightnotbecharg'dWithf/rffi**
* IsupposetheAuthor meansinthatGsntratitn; firothittvise'tis nldtnt, thai Abel vis a. flom Mm.
it.
? ? no"
Ihe Use osPlato;
it, and that it might not be said, that Evil came fromGodhimself. Butthisexpedientwouldhave been very useless, for ifEvil were a quality adherent to Matter, God having created this, the other must needs have come from him ; though the Body had beencreatedby inferiorDeities; whichisimpious andveryremotefromPlato'sThoughts. Whenthis Philosopher says Evils could notbe banish'd from Nature, and that they arose from Necessity, that is from Matter ; he had no design to fignifiy that Mat terwas Evil of it self} but he meant to shew, that as'it is always opposite to the Nature of God, it c a u s e s a l l t h e P a s s i o n s a n d a l l t h e M i s e r i e s o f M e n ? , whobyhow muchthemoretheyapproachitbyso muchthemoredistanttheyremovefromGod. For Matter does not only corrupt those who immerse themselves in it, but also such aslook on it;because every thing that inclines or turns it self towards it, necessarily turns away from God, aud leaves Light fo'r D a r k n e s s , w h i c h is a P r i n c i p l e c o n f i r m ' d e q u a l l y by Religion and Experience, sothat'tisuimeceflaryto
bringProofstosupportit. Itwillbesufficientto />>tortlie*-cite here Plato's own words. It isimpojstble my
5? J|S"
DearTheodore, thatEvilsJhouldbeentirelyexpesd
humaneSociety, for'tisnecessarythereJhouldbe alwayssomethingoppositetoGood, letitmujlnot be thought that Evil can ever approach the Deity, 'tisonlyannex'dtomortalNatures;andisalways about theEarth which we inhabit, becauseitspringsonly fromNeceJJity. Tliere/ereweJhouldendeavourto
flyfromhenceasswiftlyaswecan. Nowtoflyaway isto labourtouniteourselves toGod, asmuch as pojsible ; and we can't be united to him, but by Wisdom, Righteousness and Holiness.
Evildoes
frmfMt ^oesnotQ^ngfromMatter,butfromMotion,which tn. *'bringsittoitsfirstConfusionandDisorder. The
World (says he) had allgood things from its Maker, butfromtheExternalHabitude, whichithadbefore it had all that isEvil, wicked and vitiout in Nature*
InthisBookofaRepublick,heshews thatEvil
and
? ? ThtLiseof Plato. " 117
and communicates it U Animals. So that by his Account, Evil is properly only a Return to the first Disorder, an Irregularity, a Distocation,, and Dis- ;. obedience, and consequently subsistsnot by it self$ whereas Good subsists independantly of the things
thatpossessit-,foritsubsistsinGod, who istheAu thorofallGood,andisGoodness itself. But whence comes this Motion that leads to Disorder ? ItproceedsnotfromMatter, seeingthatiswithout
quality. ItcomesaccordingtoPlatofromtherash and disorder'd Spirit which heated and animated tht first M a t t e r , b e f o r e G o d b y f r a m i n g t h e W o r l d , h a d render'd it capable of Order and Harmony by an Understanding.
Bythiswe aretounderstand,thatEvilisapri vation of Order and Harmony, which proves true inallfortsofEvil, andaboveallinthoseoftheSoul, that is in Vices which are the only proper Evils. When a man disobeys the Law, one can't fay his
Disobedience is a Being which exists and springs from the Law, but 'tis an Alienation from what theLawcommands. TheLawisHolyandtheCom mandment isJustandGood, butConcupiscencehas produc'dSin. When aSonlovesnothisFatherwho has done him nothing but Good, one can't fay this AversionproceedsfromtheFatherj onthecontra ry, 'tis only a Refusal of Love and Submission which heoweshim,andwhichtheLawofNatureteaches him. JustsotheEvilsoftheSoul,arenotafault of Nature ; but a fault of the Will, which being
free uses its liberty to reject: that which isGood.
So that Vices are only voluntary Aversions which
alienate us from right Reason, inwhich alone Or
der, and Harmony consist-, and consequently, as the
Pythagoreans andrlatonists knew very well there isEwldoei
no necessityofestablishingaPrincipleofEvil, whe->>otlxiP? f ther we make itspring from Matter, orderive itif^'
from without;weneedonlyoneprincipleofGood whichtruelyexists,andthisisGod. ByhisEssence he is separated from Rational Substances but he
com-
? ? are.
iuwbae
aSISS. tmsdtds.
S o u l s , a r e t h e C a u s e o f b o t h , a $ P l a t o V e r y s o l i d l y provesinhisXthBookofLaws". . ;;j:,:
ft has been charg'd oh Plato as a Crime, that he
SivestheNanleofGodt6Creatures:But-besides tnat he has done nothingIn this but what we find done in the Holy Scripture, where Men and:Angels Sre called Gods ; Never did any one better observe the infiniteSovereigntyofthe trueGod overmortal CreaturestowhomhehasgiventhisName, than Plato has done. . Thus he feigns God ipeaking to
n 8 fhetife of Plato/
communicates' and unitesiiimself to them by Rea- What Good, fon: to obey thisReafbri isrVertue and to disobey and Evil, \t^ Vfcip- ? Thus put 'Bodies are neither the Cause
anTvice ^fourVices, nor1thatofoutVertues-,*But pur
inbisTi-'emastheirSupremeLord. ChildrenoftheGods^ TMarus> all the. Works that have gone out of my Hands tire in-
,*s" dissolubleasmuchdtIplease,andatlongdtIjhallsus tain 'em. Nat butthatwhatsoeverhat beenjoinedto
getheritofariottirecapableofbeingdisunited; butit
becomes not ah-infinitely "good Creator to deftroy his Work, whth thisWork has nothing ofevilinit. uTon
have beencreated, and consequentlyyou can'tbeen t i r e l y I m m o r t a l , a n d I n d i s s o l u b l e "'5 h o w e v e r y o u s h a l l never be-dejiroy]d; and Death shallhave no dominion over you ; my Will being V;'stronger Bond to ascertain
your Immortality, than allthat wherewith you have beenbbitndatyoirrBirth. We haveyetthreesort's oj Animals toftrm of mortal Matter, without which the Wdrld would, not bepetsets, for to make it perse3 itoughtto'e'intutnAnimalsof-everySpecies; butif Ishouldcreatethemmyself theywouldbeequalto theGods. Thereforethattheymaybemortals and that the World may be compleated, dd you form them
yourselvesaccordingtoyourNature, byimitating '? * t h e P o w e r I d i s p l a y e d i n f o r m i n g y o u : a n d s e e i n g t h e
"moftexcellentof"'on oughttohavesomethingDivineto render V#z worthy to rule the reft, and td Engage
* Therefore the Holy Scripture commonly speaks of the Soul with reference to Vifces andVertues; The Soul thai sinhitbi isa. Soultouch, &c
Wei
? ? she Lifeof Plato. xtj
them to obey Laws and Justice ; I will provide that Divine Seedwhich is the Soul. Do youfinishthis Com
position, byaddingthatwhichistobemortals andby furnishing it with necessary Aliments, raise them up and. make ''cmgrow, and when theyare destroyed re'
ceive them again intoyour Bosom,
Plato here after a very Magnificent and Poetical
mannerdescribeshowGodcreatedMan andtheother Animalsby means ofsecond Causes, which he calls Gods; and itisnodifficultMatterto. findinhis Words the Beams of those Eternal Truths which Moses teaches us. Platofafter Mo/es)brmgs G o d in as ifspeaking to other Gods when he isabout to create
Man; thoughhedidnot comprehendthe Mystery hiddenunderthosedivineWords. -InPlatoaswell asintheWritingsofMoseswefeeManwasform'd after the Image of God ; not as to his Body, but
astohisMind;thathewastoruleoverotherAni mals. ;andthatheonly iscapableof. Tendering God trueWorship PlatoteachesusafterMosesthatthese very Animals serve to perfectionate the Universe j contrarytotheopinion ofcertainHeretiques, who accused God for having made many Animals that wereeitherdangerousoruseless. Infineweseein Plato as well as in the Holy Scriptures that Impor tantTruth * that theImmortalityoftheAngelsis not an effect of their Nature, but a Privilege of mere Grace, . which depends only on. the Divine Will.
Tis furpriii&g that such a M a n as Plato, w h o un- WhethtrGod derstoodtheseGreatTruths,andspokeofGod afterf<<*"fe,; ibadmirableamanned, aswe shallseeindiverspla-buuMtr* cesofthisTreatise, shouldnotwithstandingmaintain, ashehasdoneinthenthBockofhisRepublick,Tori,i, thatGod beingperfectionitself,cannotshewhim
selfto M e n under any visible Figure, and he reasons
* ThisiswhatSt. AmbrosefaysinexpressTermsinhis3dBook utFide. Ntc& Angtltuimmortalkeflnaturditir,cu[>>simmortalU t'dit[liiQtltmtattCreittris. . Angelsthemselves arenatImmortal hyNatnrfi, bitIheirImmoralitydependsontheWillofthei* ssfcatoK
& thus I
? ? ijo . TheLifeofPlato.
p, ,flsthus; IfGodshouldmetamorphosehimselfhewould Ktdoling! assume a Form more perfell than his own, or a Form lessperse3. Now 'tisridiculoustofayhechangesfor
the better,for then there would besomething more per- sett than he, which is absurd ; and 'tis Impious to admit that he changeshimselfintosomething lessper- fell, for God can't degrade himself -,besides if he shouldappearunderanyotherFormthanhisown, he would lye, because he would appear to be what he is not. Hencethereforeitmustbeconcludedthathecon tinuesinhisSimpleForm, whichaloneisBeautyand Perfellion itself. And upon thishe condemns Homer
for havingattributed toGod those Visible Forms. IfPlatohad only employ'd thisArgument ofhis tobeatdown theridiculousMetamorphoses which
thePoetsattributedtotheGods, hewouldhavehad
Reason ; but to make use of it to oppose the man
ner by which G o d has often render'd himself visible,
viz. UndertheFormofanAngelorMan,whom
he created after his Image, and whose Figure he
mighttake,withoutdeceivingMen, orlayingaside hisPerfections,? isanError. Andthisdidnote-
scape rhe knowledg of his Disciple Aristotle, who though otherwise less illuminated in what be longs to the Divine Nature, understood better than Plato the Beauty and Truth of that Sentiment of Homer,whointheXlVthBookofhisOdyjfesfays that the Gods, -who can easily clothe themselves with allsensofForms,sometimestakethefigureof Tra vellers and go into Cities to be Witnesses both of the SinsofMenandoftheirGoodAHions. Instructed by thisgreatPoetheunderstood thatitisnotun worthy ofGod to alTume Humane Nature, to deli verMenfromtheirErrors. UponwhichhistooZea lous Admirers have advane'd that he had some pre s a g e o f t h e Ii x a r n a t i o n o f t h e M e s s i a h . . B u t w h a t a n Honour is it xoHomcr, that his Notions agree better
with the Ttuths contain'd in the Holy Scriptures,than thoseoftheGreatestPhilosophers. When God ap- pear'dtoMen underavisibleForm he hadbothwhat was visible and what was invisible. B u t
? ? TheLifeof Plato. im
? ButtoreturntoPlato'sPhysicks. Onemayverym ,. welldissentbothfromthosewhowillhave'emvemmllX xy perfect: ; and from the Sentiment of those that made of Account'emverydefective. TheformerhavetooPlato*
good an Opinion of 'em ; seduc'd perhaps by the ***&& great pleasure they have found in penetrating the greatObscurities ofhisT'mteus5andothersspeak
too meanly of 'em, because they have not given them
selves time to found those Deeps, having been dis- courag'd by the dryness of his Principles, which he does not give himself the trouble of unfolding ; but leaves others the labour of explaining and finding
outthemeaningof'em. ButinthisthereisaMe diumtobeoblerv'd. 'TiscertainPlatoknewthe chiefPrinciplesoftrueNaturalPhilosophy. This sufficiently appears by what has been already said
onthisSubject. WefindinhisTimoeusanexpli cation of the Nature of the Elements, only by the Disposition and Configuration of the parts of Mat ter, which also cause the different Sensations and AffectionsoftheBody. TherewefindtheExplica tion ofColours, which are only the Reflexion of Light. BythedifferentMixture,bythediversified Figure and Motion of the Elements, each of which
has many different Qualities or Forms, he explains the Production and Nature of Minerals, Metals, Oils, Salt, Liquors, Meteors, &c. ForExample, speaking of the Loadstone, and Amber, he fays, Their Vertue. comes from the Motion ofthe Matter whichgoesoutoftheirPeres. Butallthistogether can't make a well methodiz'd System of Physicks : Nor is ithis design to give the World a Treatise of Physicks : He swiftly runs through that which is
transitory, to find that which is permanent, and to dwell upon itj he forgets nothing that is necessary, but rejects whatsoever is useless or superfluous ; he so little designs to enter into a deep research of this Matter, that he lets us know, that if any one has a mind to break off his Meditation from things that, truly exist and abide, to apply himself
K2 " to
? ? 131 Tfo Life of Plated
toamoreparticularknowledgof suchasareonly Natural transitoryandmomeiitany,andfindspleasureinsodo-
mBdtfd illg'ltwi^notbedi^cu^^orhimtosatisfyhimself "yPlatoasm followinghisPrinciples? ,andtogivehimselfa
aDivertife-Divertisement ofLife, which he callsWise andMo ment, derate.
By theseWords P/atogivesustounderstandthat he look'd upon this part of Natural Philosophy ra
therasaPlay,thananEmployment;andthisob- lig'd him, to give only a iuperficial Account of it5 that he might more usefully employ his Time in searching for more important and Solid Truths. A n d one m a y fay, that in this again he imitates Moses, who in the History of the Creation has wifely sup- preis'd whatsoever might flatter the Vanity and Cu riosity of Men, to insist only on that which was propertoaugmenttheirHumilityandPiety. There foreweshouldbesofarfromwonderingthatNa tural Philosophy was not rais'd to its perfection in those Ancient Times when itwas look'd upon at best but as an Amusement more curious than useful, and whenthegreatestMen appliedthemselvesonlyto
Morality which is concern'd only about our true HappinessandMisery;thatIknow notwhetherwe should not have more reason to be surpriz'd that it shouldbesomuch esteem'dinAges whereinwe ought eventomakelessaccountofitthanPlatodoes. So lomon does not advise Men to acquire Natural Phi losophybuttogetWisdom. For'tisWisdomonlythat teachesus toknow God ; and thisisPlato'sLan guage, whotopromotehisDesignalwaysreasons morally in his Physical Discourses :and instead of insistingon the Consideration ofMechanique Reasons taken from the Motion, and Succession of Bodies, applies himself,as Socrates did before him,to discover the first Cause, and to penetrate the Designs of the
Soveraign Spirit which governs the World ; and en deavours to explain whole Nature by Harmony aud Proportion? ,Seekingnot so much toteach Men
Physicks, as to give 'em great Prospects, and to elevate
? ? Ihe Life osPlato. nj
elevate theirMinds. Nay Socrates formally fays in Pboedon that the manner of teaching Physicks by t h e S u c c e s s i o n a n d M o t i o n o f B o d i e s is v e r y d e f e c t i v e , a n d c a u s e s m o r e E r r o r s t h a n it c u r e s ^ b e c a u s e b y d e taining the Mind too much upon Matter, and that which is but a Second Cause, ithinders it from rai singitselfup toGod, whoistheonlytrueand firstCauseofallthings;andhe blamesAnaxagcras, whothoheknewthisTruth, dissemblesitinhis practise, anddeceivestheexpectationofhisReaders. 3Tis luch a Research as this that Solomon represents as a very Evil ani Dangerous Employment and the Truth of this has been but too much confirm'd by Experience.
Beforewe quitthisSubject,letusseehowhe *S>>ordn rangestheCelestialSpheres,andwhatVertueshesup-? **f"<L
posesthemtodisplaybytheirInfluences, FirstheI*"1*? "TM' placestheEarthastheCenteroftheWorld. Tis
true Theophrastus writes, that in his Old Age he
r e p e n t e d t h a t h e h a d g i v e n it t h a t p l a c e , w h i c h is n o t suitabletoit, HefaysitistheBoundaryofthe
Rising and Setting of the Sun, and consequently the InstrumentofTime, asthePlanetsare,andGuardian orMotheroftheDayandNight. AftertheEarth
he places the Sphere of the -Moon, then that of the Sun,thatofVenusand thatofMercury ;afterMercu ryhe places Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
He faysthat inthebeginningafterGodhadcrea-xheinfam- tedtheSoulsofMen, hedistributedthemintoallm ojtbt
the Planets ; by which he would signifie, that the stars. Bodies which those Souls animated inthe time mark'd
out byProvidence, shouldbesubjecttotheInfluences
of those Stars. Which he explains more sensibly when hefeignsthatthereareThreeParcoetheDaugh
tersofNecessity,whichturnagreatSpindle, that's<4<<? */>/? <<. theAxle-treeoftheWorld, withitsrightSpheres,timojthe whose Motions and Revolutions produce all things. thm^a! C? -
N e c e s s i t y is D e s t i n y , w h i c h is n o t h i n g b u t t h e O r d e r and Concatenation of Causes, which ought to pro duce such or such Effects. This Necessity has 3 Daugh-
K3 ters
? ? ij4 TheLifeofPlato.
t e r s w h i c h d e n o t e th. e t h r e e d i f f e r e n c e s o f T i m e w h i c h
iseitherPalt,PresentorFuture. Thefirstwhichis
the Eldest is nam'd Lachejis that is, a Lot, because ? the Lots of all things have been regulated from all
Eternity,thatisbeforeTime. ThesecondisC/othon, Thisis(hethatexecutes, andaddsthepresentto the past. And the third is Atropos which signifies that the future is no less certain or invariable than the two others ; but is the Consequence of one and andthesameLawwhichneveralters. TheseParae arecloth'dinwhite, andseatedonThrones with Crowns on their Heads, to signify on one hand their Purity and Innocence, and on the other the Dominion they exercise over all that is subjected to 'em ; they areplac'dat equaldistancesovertheseEightSpheres, upon each of which there is a Siren which Sings with'allhermight, andtheParcxanlwerthisSing ing after such a manner, that all these different VoicesmakebutoneHarmony. Platowouldhere by signify that all things obey the Divine Law and
concur to produce those Effects, which are Conse-
. quences of the Causes G o d has established. &>'s'fl'" ButifourBodiesdependonthesePlanetsand
'toDi/iiiy.
?
kevtneLawsofthisfatalNecessity,ourSoulsmay preserve themselves independant, and only obey God, who isMaster ofNecessity it self. The Planets may by their Influence produce in us such or such Manners, and by these such or such Actions or Passi
o n s ? , b u t i f o u r S o u l s w i l l , t h e y h a v e p o w e r t o m o
derateandregulate'em. AndwhentheSouldoes
the conrrary, and suffers her self to be carried d o w n t h e S t r e a m ? , s h e d e p r i v e s h e r s e l f o f h e r o w n L i b e r t y ,
and loses all her Privileges. For this is that in which that Free will, that God has left her to de noteherOrigin, consists: She caneithersubmither selfto that Fatal Necessity which Zoroaster calls an Augmenting the power of Destiny ; or subject that toherself! ,byunitingherselftohim, towhom all things are subject, and in w h o m alone she can enjoy her Liberty h And this is. what Plato means, when
he
? ? The Lifeos Plato. 135
he says a Prophet having taken the Lots out of the
Lap of the first Parcoe, ascended a Throne, and ad dressing himlelf to all the Souls that had been crea ted,spoketoemintheleTerms. HearwhatLache-^7*tbtx
sistheDaughterofNecessitysays. 0MortalSouls^00k. >>/his hereisthe beginningof aNew Period, or Life,^b[
Tou aregoing toanimate Bodies that are destined to
Death ;Tour Demon {orAngel) shallnot makechoice osyou, butyoushallchooseyourDemon (crAngel) yourselves. LetthatSoulthereforethathasthe firstLot, firstchoose thekindofLifewhichshewill leadbytheLawsofNecessity,andsoostherest. There is nothing but only Vertue that does not acknowledg her Laws :sheisfree,andgivesnotherselftoany but such as know how to honour her : Thus the faultisin theSoulwhich chooses, andGodisnot
to. beblamed. AfterthisProclamation,allimagina ble ways of living are propos'd, and the Soul chooses.
W e cannot finish this Matter without speaking somewhatoftheseDemons, aslign'dasGuidestochoiceofa.
each Soul ; and this Article would indeed require a T>imm or long Chapter of it self, or ratheran entire Volume, Gm'"
if we would found the bottom of this Doctrine ;"mdtrstLd. but 'tis sufficient for us here to know in general,
that when Plato fays the Soul immediately afterher animatingtheBody,choosesherDemon orGenius? ,
Ms designisonlytosignifytheLiberty-oftheSoul, and that she is able to choose between G o o d and Evil. That is, that as w e are compos'd of 2 different N a tures, by one of which w e partake of this gross and
Terrestrial World, and by the other of the Intelligible World-,bywhichwearerailedtothatwhichis most Sublime and Spiritual; Ifthe Soul immerses herselfinMatter,shehasamaterialDemon, that hinders her from raising her self up to Celestial Things 5 and if on the contrary she keeps her self pure,andlivesonlybytheUnderstanding, (hehas a good Demon, or perfect Genius, which supports and hinders her from descending to that which is
K 4 ir. a-
Hew tbt
? ? 136 The lifeifVhtpl
material and corruptible-, if she changes her Life, s h e a l s o c h a n g e s h e r D e m o n ? , a n d a f t e r " D e a t h , t h e
D e m o n that ihe chose, leads her either to her Re- ? ward or Punishment. This was Plato's Doctrine, which hefrequentlydelivers inAllegories,verydiffi cult to be understood, but by which he seems to have known, or at least had some Glances of very great Truths concerning the Nature and Difference of
those Spirits, which are between God and Men,
Truths which the Christian Religion has consecrated
Without divesting them of their Obscurity. For
Who isitthatunderstandsthosedifferentOrders of
Spirits which St. Paul describes by those different
Names, of Powers, Thrones, Principalities, and
Mights ? St. Augustine confesses he does not under
stand'em, andSt. Ireneusassuresusthattheycannot
beunderstood. ItisprobablePlatohadreceived-al-
most the fame Ideas from the Theology of the He
brews, which we shall speak of in the Argument of S o c r a t e s h i s A p o l o g y ? , a n d i t w a s w i t h o u t d o u b t o u t
6frespecttotheirBooks, that headvanc'd thatex cellent Maxim, that inthose matters we ought to receive nothing for Truth, but what is found con formable to the Word of God, and the Divine Oracles.
N o n e ever proy'd the Immortality of the Soul bet terthanPlaid. HisProofsofitaretobeseenin hisVhoedrits,intheX BookofhisRepublickandin
^faming hisPhiedbn*. Inthe:meantimeIcan'tchoosebutspeak
AEftffif" here,ofaseemingContradictionwhich isfoundin
Mito. ~ tysWritings. - InVhtsdroehefaysinexpressTerms, ThattheSouliseternal, and. thatitcanxtperish^Ji? -
caufeifwa^notbegotten: Andonthecontraryhe laysinTimoeus, ThattheSoulwascreatedbeforethe Body, andthatit'wasbegottenbythebestofintellec tual and eternal Causes, as it is also the kejh df all things that are generated and temporal.
ffr'utarci? ? Phaarch to reconcile this Contradiction, into
tol'Sntiii whichhe is suie F/<! s0 "ever fell, assures us that by *? ? ? ? Contti- &is unbegotten'aud eternal Soul he understands- tha* "''? '? 1; void
? ? The Life of Plato^ 137
void and disorderlySpiritwhich mov'd allthingsir regularly before the-Constitution of theWorld; and on the contrary that he calls that the begotten Soul which God compos'd ofthatfirstSpirit and of the p e r m a n e n t a n d e t e r n a l S u b s t a n c e ? , o f w h i c h ; h e m a d e awifeandregularSoul, becauseheputsomething o f h i s o w n i n t o it, a n d a d d e d U n d e r s t a n d i n g t o S e n s e ,
and Order and Harmony toMotion. ButatthisratetheSoulwouldbeaCompoundof
a foolish thing and a wise, which is the grossest ofall w p ^ ' J ^ Errors. ItwouldlikewisebeaCompositionoftwo? } thingsequallyEternal, whichbytheirUnion would constitute one entire begotten Substance, which is a - Contradiction. InfinethisvoidandprecipitantSpi
rit which animated the first Matter is not Eternal
in P/ato's Opinion, for he makes it a Creature, and
callsitEternalonlyinreferencetoTime, theBirth
ofwhichitpreceded. ThereforetoreconciletheseTheway>>/
two different Ideas which he gives of the Soul, Iruouciiing suppose when he calls itbegotten he has regard sim- '*# rw>>
ply to the Essence 'of it, which began to exist faytheWillofGod;andwhenhecallsitEternal, 'tis with respect to the Principle of it which is God, who communicatestoitallitsQualities, andin whom itisproperly Eternal.
PlatonotonlyprovestheImmortalityoftheSoul, THcmst. but also knew all the Consequences of it, as the Vmt" fi
Resurrection, and Final Judgment, when all Good TMTMntstl
Men shall be rewarded and the Wicked punished. Plato. '
Nay he penetrated so far into theseDivine Truths,
that his Expressions are entirely conformable to those
oftheHoly Prophets, andeventothoseoftheE-
vangelistsandApostles. Forheexpresslyobserves
that'atthe time'ofthisJudgment goodMenshall Intyx
be dt the right hand of God, and the Wicked at the Boob os bit
lest, from whence they shall be thrown down into the Rtpubli-^ Abyss and into outward Darkness, bound hand and^om'2'
foot, where they shall be tormented, and torn by
Spirits, whichhecallsFire,andwherenothing (hail
ht heard but horrible Groaning and Howling, '
? ? i;8 The Life of Plato:
Thatthe ^e*aug^tasacertainTruththatthedeadknow deadknow whatpassesinthisLife? ,Forhefaysinexpressterms,
whatpasesthat SoulsaftertheyareseparatedfromtheirBodies hereinthisfcavg ft}//jome power bywhichtheytakecareofhu-
in theX\mane Affa,rs- i*R>'u Truth isprov'd by a longtrain Bookof ofReasons, We ought thereforetobelievethese'Jo
Laws certain and Ancient Traditions : and to credit the ' Tom. 2. TestimonyofthoseLegislatorswhohavetransmitted
themtous. Unlesswewillreproachthemassoma-
Tom. z. ny V? ? IS- And in another place he fays, Hence I
conclude, that the Dead retain some knowledge of ? whatpassesherebelow. GoodMenhavesomesenti
ment before hand os this Matter $ and the Wicked deny it: But the Presages of divine Men are more certain than thoseofsuch Miserable Wretches as are always immers'a in Vice.
TheSource ^at0receivedalltheseIdeasfromtheTraditions
oftheseTra-oftheEgyptians, whohad'emfromthePeopleof Mtias. God,andtheAncientPatriarchs. Butinprocess
ofTime, theseTraditionsweresocorruptedbythose Idolaters, and mix'd with so many Errors, that 'tisnotto be wonder'dat that Platohas explain'd one and the fame Truth by Descriptions so different and fabulous as those of his Phoedon, his Gorgias, and the lastBook ofhisRepublick.
Those who havecarefullyreadthewritingsof
this Philosopher, discoveryet more surprisingTruths
TheUvini-m 'em'? >^ortnevfinc*tstat^ebeliev'dtheDivinity
tyojthesonofthe, Son of God, which he has explain'd by Enig-
ofGod mas,thatthoseSublimeTruthsmightnotbeexpos'd Pkto"f" totheRailleryoftheProfane.
Tom'. 2. ^n^sEpinomis,afterhehadspokenoftheHo
nour due to the Sun and other Planets, as they were
thewonderfulWorksofGodonwhichhehadprin
ted the Character ofhisOmnipotence, and which in
performing their Revolutions inthe Time prescrib'd
to 'em, contribute to the perfection of the Universe
by thisObedience of theirs : He adds, The most Di vine W O R D fram'd this Universe and rendered it
visible. AndthatMan thatistrulyhappy\firstad mires
? ? The Life of Plato. ijp
miresthis WORD, andisafterwardinflanHdwith
a desire of learning nil that can be known by a mortal Nature, beingconvincedthatthisistheonlyway, to
lead a happy Life here below, and after Death to ar rive at those places that are prepared for Vertue *,
where he shall be truly initiated and united with Wisdom ; and always enjoy themost wondersulDisco veries. Here Plato,very exquisitly maintainsthat theknowledgesthe W O R D leadstoallsublime ' Discoveries. FornoneknowstheFatherbutbythe Son. And'tisonlybyhimthatwecanattainaLife of Bliss.
Inthe Letter he wrote,to Tdermias, Erasm, and^MrVr Corifcm to exhort 'em to live in Peace, he fays. Ton. 3. You must readmy Letter all three together ; and that
you may profit by it, you ought to implore the Assist' anceofGod the SoveraignLordofallthingsthatei ther are or Jhallbe; and the Father of thisSoveraign, whoistheCauseofBeings. IfwearetrulyPhiloso
phersweshallknowthisGod asclearlyasBlessedMen arecapable of knowing him.
Does notPlatointhismanifestlyfollowtheOpi
nionoftheHebrews? Forwhencecould hereceive this knowledg of God, the Father, and the Lord ? ,E^-
ofGod thecauseofBeings>, butfromtheirWri-J2J; tings, w h o taught him to give the Son the name of xi. i<s. Lord, of which none of the Greeks before him had everheard, orhadtheleastIdea?
Nor isitonlypretended,thathehadsomeknow-piatohad ledg of the Word, the Eternal Son of God, but/>>>><<W<< of some farther maintain, that he had some discovery ^. ^oly of the Holy Spirit-, and so had a certain Idea of rmy'
the most Holy Trinity :For thus he writes to young Dionysus, ImustdeclaretoArchedemus, thatwhichLetUrIt is m u c h m o r e p r e c i o u s a n d d i v i n e ; a n d w h i c h y o u h a v e Torn. 3, avery ardentdesiretoknow;sinceyousentexpress lytome onthatAicount. forasfarasIunderstand byhimyoudon'tbelieve Ihavesufficientlyexplain'd.
what I think of the Nature of thefirst Principle; I
must writeofthistoyouinEnigmas, thatifmyLet
ter
? ? 140
The Life osPhto. ,
terJhoulibeinterceptedbySeaorLand, bethatreads itmaynotbeabletocomprehendanything. Allthings are round about their King ; they exist by him, and he alone is the cause of good things^ Secondforse condthings, andthirdforthird.
In his Epinomis, and elsewhere, he establishes for Principles, the firstGood, the Word, or Under standing,orSoul. ThefirstGoodisGod-,andwhen hecallsGod, Goodness, orthefirstGood, hehad an Idea of this Truth, that Good isnothing but the NatureofGod,andhisInfiniteGoodness. This Good he explains in Terms very well worth the reading. As the Sun (fays he) gives to visible things,notonlythefacuityofbeingseen, butalso, their Birth, Nourishment and Growth, jujlso this
Bm^vrofGood, notonlymakesintelligiblethingsknowable,but btxKepub. aij0giVes 'em being, although that isnot EssenceJ>ut om. 2. jomg ot^gr fang fat infinttely surpasses Essence by
its Power and Majesty. TheWordorUnderstandingistheSon ofthe
first Good, who hath begotten him like himself A n d t h e S o u l w h i c h is t h e T e r m b e t w e e n t h e F a t h e r and the Son, isthe Holy Spirit.
I don't know whether without having recourse to these great Truths, w e could by Plato's Philosophy , explain these Passages which seem so strange, so as to give 'em another sense that should be natural, andagreeabletohisPrinciples. Imustfay,Ivery muchdoubtit. Nay,Iamperswadeditwouldbe verygreatTemerity, orratherImpiety, tointerpret
. . 'emafteranyothermanneraftertheDecisionof*so stau- manyFatnersoftheChurchandEcclesiastickWriters, gufiin, F? rtheytellusinexpressTerms,thatPlatohadthis
I St. Jcrom,knowledgoftheFatherandtheSon,andofhim that St. Cyril, proceedsfromthemboth,namelytheHolySpirit.
Theodo-' Origenisnotcontenttoassureusof the. fame ret,st. ck- thing, but accuses Celsus for having purposely over man, &c. look'd the Passage of the 6th Letter, because Jesus
Christisplainlyspoken ofinit. Which proves, that the ( hristtans were not the only Persons who- found
? ? 7he Life os Plato. ' 141
found these great Mysteries in Plato's Writings-, but thatthe Enemies of Christianity found 'em thereas well as. they, and were uneasy at the light of 'em.
Let us not by our Darkness cast a ihade over those Rays of Light which proceed from the Foun tain of Light it self-, but let. us acknowledge that Tlato not only knew all that Natural Reason could discoverconcerning God toaPhilosopher; but was
illuminatedbysupernaturalReasontoo. Havingbeen
instructedintheBooksoftheHebrews, inthoseof theProphets,andintheTraditionsoftheEgyptians, ?
hebecame favourablydispos'dtoreceivetheSeeds of t h e s e E t e r n a l T r u t h s ? , a n d w a s a s s i s t e d b y G r a c e , f o r
St. Augustin asserts, that Jesus Christ revealed 'em to him. Thatwhichisdeplorableisthathehascorrupted Howplat0
5embyhisReasonings. ForhespeaksoftheThreeJJJgJgg Persons ofthe Deity as of Three Gods,and Three dis- roitbwhich
ferentPrinciples. ThuswhilethesupremeReason en-bewasi/u- lighten'dhimononefide, Philosophyseduc'dhim? &"***by
ontheother:Thecommon unhappinefsofthosewho merely by Humane Reason go about to explain the MysteriesofGod, which arenot to beknown but from himself, and from those he has truly inipir'd.
That Plato had a particular knowledg of the Sacred Writings appears by many Passages in his W o r k s , a n d b y h i s E r r o r s t h e m s e l v e s ? , f o r t h e g r e a
testpart of his most erroneous Opinions proceed in some sort from that Source ofLight which daz zled him, and on which he has spread so much Darkness. This severalhaveobservedbeforenow.
That of theCreationofSoulsbeforeBodiesseems
tohave had no other Foundation than that Passage ofJeremiahs where God fays to this Holy Prophet. T BeforeIformedthee inthebellyIknewthee, This"'"'*'5" Philosopher notunderstandingthatGod callsthings
that are not as if they were ; and that he knows net only all that is,but also all that shall ever be, builtonthisTextthatErrorofhis, thatSoulsex istedbefore Bodies.
From the iame Divine Writings he extracted all the
? ? 141 A IheLifeofPlato. -
the greatTruths which he teaches, as when he fays theName ofGod ishethatisforthere'snonebut Godthattrulyis. ThisNameofGod,asSt. Au-
gustin observes, is not found in any profane Book more ancient than P/ato $ and this Philosopher could not have it from any other Books than those of Moses.
Whoisitthatdoesnotdiscernthestileofthe Prophets in that place of Phoedon ; where he de- scribes a pure Earth which is a*bove this of ours in Heaven, andincomparisonofwhichthiswe inhabit is no better than Dirt > In this every thing is corrupt, a n d w e a r e e n c o m p a s s ' d w i t h D a r k n e s s -, o r i f w e f e e any Light, 'tisthrough great Clouds, and very thick
Mists: whereas in the other, the true Light is to be <, seen; and everything initisadmirable. All things thereIhinewiththeglitteringLustreofGold, Jas
pers, Saphirs, and Emeralds ; and those that inha bit it enjoy a long Life which is not cross'd with a- ny incommodious Accident. The Ancients who dis- cover'd the Truth hid under these Images, show that they were extracted out of the Books of the holy Prophets,whocallHeaventheCityofGod, and the Land of the Righteous j. and prove, that the Names ofthese precious Stones are taken from the 54th Chapter of Isaiah, where God promises to Jay
So the
lxxums- Jaspers.
dirit.
Ishould be too prolix if I should here relate all
thatPlatohasdrawnfromthisFountain. 'Tissuf ficient to know, that what we find inhim of this kind, isso considerable, that it ought to'render his Writings very precious to us -, and that of all the Works ofthePagans, thereisnonemoreuseful,or that can be more serviceable to establish eternal
. Truths, to raise the Soul to the solid Contemplati on of the divine Essence, and to manifest the Beau tiesofthesacredScriptures. And"tisontheseAc-
the Foundation of his Church with Saphirs, and
Boot1. countsthathemeritedthatgreatEncomium, given "L;? . jf him byProcli/s. Truth (layshe)isspreadthrough
all
? ? The Use of Platb. , 143
'alPlato'i- Dialogues, more obscurely in some, and moreclearlyinothers. Wefindin'emev&rywhere grave,sensible,supernatural thoughts of thefirst
Philosophy, whichcarrythoseup tothepure imma terial Essence of God, who are in some sort in a condition,toparticipateofit. Andashewhohas
created every thing in the Wcrld by hispower, has in every part of this Universe placed Images of the
Gods, which areso many Proofs oftheir Existence, thatallthingsintheWorld might turntowards tbe Deity, because ofthe Union, and ifI may so say, n a t u r a l R e l a t i o n t h a t is b e t w e e n t h e m ; s o t h e M i n d o f Plato beingfilPd withtheDeity, hasdispersedhis ThoughtsofGodthroughallhisWorks. Hewould not suffer any single TraS to be destitute of this CharaSer, and without any thing spoken of God; that such as are truly enflanid with the Love of Divine thingsmightreceivesotneknowledgofthe
supreme Being from all his Writings, and so might have a fust Idea ofevery thing which cannot be known butinGodwho isTruthitself.
Having spoken ofNatural Philosophy and Mora- lity let us pals to the third part which isDialeffick. The Ancientswrite, thatPlatoperfectedPhiloso phy, by adding this part to Physicks and Ethicks : Butby thistheyonlymeanhe broughtDialellick,
Dhltftict.
whichistrueLogicktoitsperfection. IndeedPlato's Logick is more natural, more exact, and more solid than that which was in use before him, and than that the Rules of which have been published after him. For he teaches more by examples, than Precepts :
He alwayschoosesSubjectsthatarefamiliarand u s e f u l t o M o r a l i t y ? , a n d t r e a t e s ' e m n o t a s a D o c t o r ,
and as they do in the Schools, by Methodical Dis coursesandstudiedSyllogisms,butlikeaMan of Conversation by free Diicourfes, which properly maketheCharacterofDialectick. ThereforePlato preserv'd Socrates his method of Dialogue being fully convinc'd that Sciences ought to be taught by WordofMouth, andnotbyWriting,becauseMen
are
? ? ? 44
Ike Life of Plato. '
are better persuaded by the Tongue thafi the Pert} because the Answers, and Objections of the Learner, not only shew what progress Truth makes in his Mind jbut besidesgive an occasionofclearingup many Difficulties that lie in his Way, and which can'tallbeforeseeninWriting. Platoteachesbet terthan any Man how to speak with justness, to answerpreciselytowhatisasked, tolaydownthe
State of a Question exactly, and lead on the Argu ment directly. He shews perfectly well how to' make accurate Divisions, to define well, and to ex amine Definitions aright, that none may be suffer'd to escape that are not true.
He not only brought this Science to perfection but also regulated the study of it; forto avoid the unhappyInconveniencesthatbefalthosewho apply
themselves to it too Young, and who commonly
make use of itrather to contradict than rO investi-
At what gate Truth, he would have none apply themselves sge Piaco to it, till they were above thirty Years of Age, and
Men /hub* r^en w o u ^ nave 'ern employ five Years in it, being Dhleffick. P^rswaded that on this alone depends all the Progress aManiscapableofmakingintheSciences,andin
theperfectknowledgoftrueandsolidGood. And indeed, Dialellick being the Art of Reasoning, 'tis not only the Foundation of all the Sciences, but the only Guide that can conductMentotrue Happiness^
bymaking'emdistinguishTruthfromError. And for this fame Reason, near six hundred Years before Platp, the Holy Spirit exhorted M e n to learn Dialec tick, when he signifies by the Mouth of Solomon,
thatallScience withoutExamination and Vroofserves onlytodeceiveMen. Andalsothattheknowledg os a fool, is but a Discourse in the Air without E x aminationandProof. Andforthesame. Reason
tici. p. and^-Pau? %S5 aBishopoughttoholdfastthefaith- u% J fullWordashehathbeentaught,thathemaybea-
blebyfound do3rine, both toexhort, and toconvince Gainsayers. whohy their false Principlesy^faw/- whole Houses-,teachingthingswhichtheyoughtnot; And
?
