True Prophets did not speak by Extasy, hut saw and
understood
what they dedar'd, arid were t!
Plato - 1701 - Works - a
\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>.
? ? The Use of Plato: 109
Immaterial and Eternal Original upon which every thingwas made, andindeedisnothingbuttheDivine Knowledg, the first Cause of all created Beings -, forthoseIdeasareinGodhisNotions, whichare
eternal and perfect of themselves, and as Alcfnous fays, Idea withreferencetoGod istheEternalIntel ligence, and with respeS to w, itis thefirst Intelli gible;inreferencetoMatteritisMeasure, inrefe
r e n c e t o t h e U n i v e r s e ' 'tis t h e E x e m p l a r , a n d i n r e s p e E l toitselfitisEssence. IfAristotle had rightly un- M W stood this Doctrine, he would not have oppos'd it,counvti nor have given Ib ram a decision as he has done, thtjiideas affirming that to establish these Ideas as the Exem- TM Eff1*"* plarsofsensiblethings,istospeak tonopurpose,andW'TM"od
to amuse onesself in imagining Poetick Metaphors. Eufebiuswas betteracquaintedwiththeexcellencyi<<IPrepar. of it, for he fays in express Terms, that this Doc- EvaJ%'llb'
trine which teaches that there is an Intelligence 3" which has taken all things from Incorporeal Ideas, which are their Patterns, was conceived by Plato withagreatdealofReason, andbyveryjustand neceflary Consequences.
When God was pleas'd to create Time, he created the Sun and Moon, whose Course is the measure of Days, Nights, Months, Years and Sea sons, and gave motion to the other Celestial Spheres. He afterwardproceededto thecreationofAnimals, without which the World could not be perfect ; and ofthesehewaspleas'dtomakeasmanySpeciesas the World had parts -, that is, Celestial, Aerial, Aquatile, and Terrestial.
And God created the Demons (or Angels) thoseThtcmt'wi Inferiour Intelligences, to w h o m he gave order to ofAi&is.
create three other forts of Animals, because if he hadcreated'emhimselftheywouldhavebeenIm mortal-,' for all that proceeds immediately from God,mustnecessarilybeImmortal initsNature; So thattheseIntelligencescreatedMan, thatisthey form'dtheHumaneBody, Godhavingreservedto
himselftherightofgivingitaSoul, whichhemade
. os *
? ? Lavs,
(? ySj^ tjjattj}g*jjrisfiipfrwithgoodandbad
Genii, which are entirely opposite to each other, t this occasionsan ImmortalCombate, and requires a continual Attention on our part : The Gods and the Good Angels are ready to help its, for we are their Possession.
Plato adds that God at once created the Souls of all Mankind, who were to live in all Ages of the
* Eufebius amaz'd and surpriz'd ac the Befluty of this Passage, fliews that Plato could nor have it but out of the Book of Job, whomanyAgesbeforehimrelatesthactheDevilappear'dbefo%; God with the Good Angels. + A very surprizing Truch tobefoundintheWritingsofaPagan,andthefamewhichisad mirably explain'd by St. Paul, when he fays, Eph. 6. 12. For vet wrestlenotagainstFleshandBlood, butagainstPrincipalities,against Powirs, agahst. the Rulers of the Darkness of ibis World, against SfirmtLWic^dneJsinhigb Plain:
11o
The Life of Plated
ofthelameNaturewiththatoftheWorld, onlyhe madeitlessperfect. For(fayshe)itwasnotjust that Man who was buta part oftheUniverse should be more perfect: than the Universe it ielf, or soper fect. ThesewerePlato'sThoughtsonthecreation
'ofMan, and'tisnotdifficulttoknowtheSourceof this Opinion, in which there is such a Mixture of Truth and Error^ for it springs from a misinterpreta tionoftheWordsofMoses. AfterGodhadcreated the Heavens, the Earth, the Stars, and the Celestial Intelligences, that is, the Angels, he fays, Let us makeMan afterourown Image. Upon thistheE- gyptians, and Pythagoreans not understanding the MysteryhidunderthePluralNumber, thoughtGod spoke to the Intelligences he had created, and said to them, Let w noia make M a n after our Image ;
youinformingthatpartofhimwhichmust bemortal, and I in creating that which shall be of an immortal Nature.
TheAlt HemaintainsasamostcertainTruth,thatas fwimt^ thereisaninfinite. number ofGoodAngelsinthe
vUAngels'. 'Heavens (thatisintheAir) sothereisalsoamulti-
inhislorKudeofEvilOnes,thatseeknothingelsebuthow to Boo^ of do mischief to Mankind. Seeing we are agreed
Wortd?
? ? 7 k Use of Plato^ i n
World, and that he distributed them into all the Celestial Spheres, teaching them the Nature of all
things, and giving them his Eternal Laws which he
calls Destiny, and to which he also gives the name Destinywhy ofNece/fity,and sometimesthatofFortune;not<<j^Ne-
thatanythingisfortuitous,butonlytodenote,thatp^fnc ? thisDestinybrings topassan infiniteNumber of
things, which are unforeseen by us, and which are commonly imputed to Chance, altho their Cause is
designed and fixed. The Poets understood this,
when they call'd Destiny, that which has been once
fail Inwhichtheyseemtohavehadsemeknow-*g^e^J
ledgofwhatDavidsaysinthe65th. Psalm. Godnomt. hathspoken once, thatistofay, he hasspokenwith
an immutable Word ^ for Destiny is nothing hutWhatVisti- thatLaw whichflowsfromtheWillofGod. V*?
FromthisCreationofSoulsbeforetheirBodies, . . P/atodrawshisOpinionofReminiscence. Forif(tm. the Soul existed before the Body, it must have had
in itall Notions, and by consequence all that we
learn through the Course of our Life, is only the remembrance of what we had forgotten. For to learn is nothing else but to recover the knowledg w e hadbeforewecameintotheWorld, andwhichthe Passionsof theBodymadeusforget.
However Plato in his Menon seems not to be en tirely convine'd of the truth of thisOpinion ofRe miniscence ; but to perceive that it might be reaso
nably objected, that God actually illuminates the Soul, and that by the Light he communicates to it he renders it capable of Seeing and Learning that whichitneversaw,orknewbefore. Andthisinall Appearance isthe reason, that he does not establish it as an absolute Certainty, but only makes use of
it t o ( h e w t h a t w e o u g h t n o t t o d e s p a i r o f L e a r n i n g
that of which we are ignorant.
From the Union of the Body and Soul resultthetbt^ni
PassionsandSensations. WhentheSoulisMistress,2iSns
she leads a Lite of Temperance and Justice, and whensheleavestheBody, shereturnstotheStarto which
? ? 11i Ihe Use ofPlato;
which she was formerly assigned ; but when (he be comes a Slave, and plunges her self into all sorts of Corruption ? ,she suffersa Punishment tenfold more
than all her Pollutions and Impurities, and after a thousand years has the Liberty to chuse what kind of Life lbe likes best : if she stillchuses to live ir regularly, she goes to animate Beasts, that is, she becomes from day to day more and more vile and vitious, which continues tillatlastshe comes toac- knowledg the Empire of Reason ; and follows this Guidewhichisgiventoherjandsobypurgingher self from all the Filth of the Elements, returns to her firstState.
_ . . MoreoverfromthefameSourcePlatodrawsthe offaije'ovi-Origin ofthe false Opinions, Errors, and all the nions,Er- FolliesofMen,asalsooftheirKnowledgandWis-
ms,Know-dom. WhentheSoulisasitweredelug'dbythe iidg and. Torrent 0f Matter, it can no longer distinguish H>>>n. Truth;andislikeaMangoingwithhisheaddown,
and his heels up, to w h o m all Objects are inverted. When shemoderatestheCourseofthisTorrent, so that what is the/ame is neither surmounted nor
obscur'd by the Mists of what he calls the other : then she sees all things as they are ; and being for tified by Study and Experience penetrates their Cau- ies, and by those means arrives at true Knowledg, and perfect Health, as much as 'tis possible in this Life.
Plato afterwards descends to the Consideration of allthepartsofahumaneBody,toshewwithwhat exactness they answer the design of Providence. And the Description he makes of it is so fine, that Longinus calls it divine.
1- T h e E x c e l l e n c y o f t h i s D e s c r i p t i o n d o e s n o t c o n s i s t mch? skiWd'm tne trutsl. J>f his Anatomick Discoveries: for on h Anatomy. tne contrary Plato seerns to have been lels skilFd in
A n a t o m y t h a n h i s P r e d e c e s s o r s -, b u t i t c o n s i s t s i n t h e ElegancyofhisExpressions, intherustRelationhe finds between all the parts of the Body of Man, and in the Reasons he gives of their different use,
Ons
? ? The Lifeof Plato. \\t
? OneofthegreatFaultsofwhichhehasbeenre-D, ;i. proaeh'd, was, for having said,- that Drink passes? ? throughtheLungs. Plutarchhasmadeanexpress Treatise to justify him m this by- the Authority of thePoetsandthatofPhysicians. ThatofthePoets
istooweak: forwhenaPoet,speaksofwatering . - 'theTungsfordrinking,heconformshimselftothe ? '. ,i
vulgarOpinion and Language: And that of Physici ansisnotstrong enough tomake anErrorpassfor Truth. ButindeedPlutarchismistakenwhenhe affirms this to have been the Sentiment of'Plato; and o f H i p p o c r a t e s t o o ? , f o r n e i t h e r o n e h e r t ' o t h e r e v e r
fellinto this Error. On the contrary Hippocrates fays, that? )rmk does riotpass'through the Lungs, butgoesintotheStomach, andthencerunsintothe BowelsVHe onlyassertsthatasmallinsensiblepart of it slides into the Afpera AYteria, only to help to cool the Air which goes . into the Lungs ; and this l i k e w i s e is w h a t P l a t o m e a n s \ n o r c o u l d h e h a v e a n y
other Thought, feeing he often in the lame Trea- ?
tileteaches,thattheStomachismade toreceiveall t h a t w e e a t a n d d r i n k ? , . a n d t h a t t h e n a t u r a l H e a t
afterithasmix'd, dissolv'danddividedtheMeat and Drink, fends the Liquor 'into the Veins, which car ry it to the Heart, and from thence into all the B o dybythePipesthatproceedfromthatpart. And the distribution of this Liquor of the Chyle which passes from the Stomach into the Veins he calls Irrigation. Sothat'tisbutasmallinsensiblepart ofwhatwedrinkthatgoesintotheLungs;asHip
pocrates and after him Galen have justified by Ex perience. ? ?
Plato afterwards treats of the wonderful things to_, , beobservedintheSightandHearing,whicharethe? S f "
mostperfect:Senses. Andinexplainingtheadrrri-XrHmk. rable Construction of theEyes, he discoversthetothiSigli Causes of Waking andSleep, and descends even to? **a"r', thatofDreamswhichmaybesaidtobeMaterial. JMJf For he Ilys they ,that are in a deep Sleep have either '
n9 Dreams Or very short ones; because all their I Senses
? ? H 4
The Life os Plato.
Sensesareatrest:buttheywho arebathalfafleep, i t o n e m a y s o s p e a k , d o n o t f a i l o s h a v i n g D r e a m s -, because their Senses being still in motion, preserve the Vestiges of those things that have . mov'd 'em, and imprint 'em on the Imagination.
- tmnsl HelaysthattheEyesfirsttaughtusPhilosophy, tftbtEyh. which is the greatest favour Men can receive from theliandofGod:andheissowellperswadedthat t h e y a r e g i v e n u s o n l y f o r t h i s e n d :, t h a t h e m a k e s nodifficultyofaffirming,thatifaMan, whodoes notuie'emtothispurpose,becomesblind, hehas no reason tocomplain, becausehisEyes havingbeen
always useless to him, he has no loss in losing 'em. Tom. 3. Intruth(layshe)GodhatformedourEyes,onlyto
contemplate the Works ofhis Providence, and toJee theregularMotion oftheHeavenswhichsoconstantly obey the Spirit thatguides 'em, thatso we might ac customourJelvestolovethatwhich isComely and Regular : and that w-e might learn to regulate all the
. MotionsofourSouls,whichareofthefameNature with that Divine Intelligence, but are disordered by
our Pajfions. ? ? . ?
_,. A HelaysthefameoftheVoiceandoftheHearing? , Thetrueuse, . }_ jit- ? ? ' 0}the Voicethat the Tongue and die tars are given us particu-
a n d oj the l a r l y t h a t w e m i g h t d e c l a r e a n d h e a r t h e W o n d e r s t o Hearing, beremark'dintheWorksofGod? ,andthatMusick
was invented only to furnishus, ifwe may lo lay,
withRuleandHarmony. Forbecauseishasawon- ,derfulrelationtoalltheMotionsofourSouls, he fays,WifeMenmakeuseofit,notas'tisnowussd Tom. 3. forfoolishnayperniciousMirth;buttocalmandme- derate the Passions, and to corrett the horrible Dis-
ccrls which they occasion.
Thtfymtti- HefaystheHeartistheSourceoftheVeins,and onofthe theFountainofthe Bloodwhichrunsfromthence Heartandwitnau^ Courseintoalltheotherparts; and
Tom? 3. t;iatlt1Sasllwere*naF? rtguardedonallSides; ' thatsowhentheCholercomestobeinflam'd, when R e a s o n g i v e s it n o t i c e t h a t it is t h r e a t e n ' d w i t h s o m e Mischief from without by external Causes, or from
within
? ? TheLifeof Placo* 11j
within by the Disorder or Tumult of the Passions ? itmay speedilywarnthewholeBodyofwhatpasses' and dispose it to obey its Orders, to prevent the
Dangerimpending. AndbecauseGodknewthatthe ? unexpectedsight of any terriblething, and the motion
oftheCholerwouldmaketheHeart beatviolently,he contrivedaveryusefulRemedyforthissort oflnfla-
mation ; and put the Lungs under it, thesubstance ofwhichbeingsoftandnotfurnish''dwithmuch Bloods andhavinglittleholeswithin itlikeaSpunge,serves a* a Pillow to the Heart, incessantly refreshes it with
the Air and Moisture which it attraSs, and moderates t h a t v i o l e n t H e a t w h i c h w o u l d o t h e r w i s e c o n s u m e it.
InthelowerVentriclewheretheNourishmentismfm. made, are the Spleen and Liver-, the Spleen is a w <</ the hollowandsoftSubstance, andconsequentlyverysP. lmani
proper to perform those Functions which it hast"cSTM"'". pleas'd God to assign it. For he thought fit, that '
it should be (not the Kitchen, as 'tis expreis'd
in a corrupt Copy, but) the Spunge to wipe and^mt t>*ii cleansetheIntestines; andtotakeoffallthef/itbWP*rsid. :
which gathersabouttheLiver intime ofSickness\TiStcui
andthisswellsandpuffsitup; asitonthecontraryforiKua,.
flags, and returns to itsformerstate when the hoJyywv, << is cleansed. Sfunge.
As for the Lrver he fays i*Was destined to a usefom. j>> which deserves to be related for its singularity : H e tellsusthatbecauseGod knewthatwhen theSpirit
was busy in:distributing the Aliment in this lower partoftheBelly, itwouldbe butlittleconcern'd
inwhatpassedintheupperRegion, andintheSeat ofReason, whose Ordersitwouldneverhearj he to provide against thisInconvenience, made the Li verofahardSubstance, havingamixtureofSweet ness and Bitterness ; and of a smooth and even Super ficieslikeaLooking-Glass. WhentheSoulwould advertise this Animal Spirit of what passes, ihe by means of the Thoughts, imprints on thisSuperficies the Image of all things of which she1would give it Information j and by these Images gives it either
I2 Joy
. ,
_3
r> ! ;i
? ? no*
7be Life of Plato. "
JoyorSorrow. WhentheSouldoeshotactupon
this part, but leaves it at rest, as during the time of
Sleep, those Gods who form'd the"Body, or the
great God himself impripts on this Imooth Superfi
ciestheImagesofsuchthingsasmustcome topals,
and these Images being carried to the Imagination
produce Divination or Prophesy, t^e Seat Or which
the Ancients for thisreason plac'd hi the Liver ; but
This (sayshe) neverhappensunlessitbewhenthat <<ktfTM** part 0f the Soul is not in a condition to obey the Spi-
''*tit, which ought toguide it;for God hatjoinedPro- phesywith Madness;and 'tiseasytoconvinceany oneosthisTruth, whoconsiders thatnopersonpro-
phe/icstrulybutwhenheisoutofhis. Senses, that is when God, or Sleep, orsome Disease deprive him of the use osReason 5 find because 'tis . only by Reason thisMen canjudge,ofthings,thereforeProphets never * underjiand what tbeyfee; andwe'-arethere
fore obligedtohave recourse to Interpreters, who not being transported withPaJJion are capable pfexplaining what the Prophets haveseen, by Reasonings founded on Experience. But all this Construction of the Liver looks more like one of Pythagorju his Enig mas, than a Physical Explication ; and seems much less proper to prove that prophesy cpmes from God, thanto discoverthat itistheeffect'os'someVa pours of the lower Ventricle which darken and stain the Imagination. , .
He endeavours toshewthatGod knowingMan
* would be intemperate in Eating and Drinking, and
that nothing would be more capable of destroying
himbeforeheadvane'dtoripenessofAge, hemade
winthe asitwereaLabyrinth ofBowelsinthelowerVen-
Bowels tricle,thatbytheirturningsandwindingstheFood in*iiboit. mightbeliinder'dfrompastingofftoosoon;for if
*ThisisoneofPlato'sErrofs,whoabsurdlyconfoundsPro phets divinely inspir'd with false Prophet? , and thereby, gave 0 0 culon to the Error of the JHo-itanifis.
True Prophets did not speak by Extasy, hut saw and understood what they dedar'd, arid were t! . ere! ore call'd Stirs,
the
? ? 7heLife ofPlato. H7
the Bowels were all streight, the Food would be,
continually- passing; and Men by this means ren dered insatiable would think of nothing else but eat
ing, which would make 'em uncapable of applying themselves to Learningand Philosophy, and would speedilyoccasiontheirDeath; thenaturalHeat not beingsufficienttodigestso much Food, besidesthat
itwould want time to do,it.
After this he explains the nature, and production,
oftheFlesh, Blood, Bones,Muscles,Sinews,Brain,
Marrow, andalltheotherparts? ofwhichourBo diesaiecompos'd? ,hecallstheBloodthefoodofthe ,
flesh, and fays the whole Body is encompass'd with Flesh, likesomuchsoftWool, laidclosetogether, which serves tofortifyitagainstthe. Injuriesofthe.
Air, and all other Accidents, as falls, &V. .
Inspeaking oftheConstructionoftheHead, he TheCeo-
says'tisboththemost beautiful, and weakest ofallPTMmm $? thepartsoftheBody, thatGodindeedcouldhavejJ^T . given Man a Head much better fortified with Bones,
Sinews and Flesh, which would have extremely pro longshisLife,aswellasmadehimleaditmore commodioufly ; but because itwas not possible that,
a part cover'd over with a very hard Bone, a great many Sinews, and very thick Flesh, should have x veryquickSense;andtheHeadwastobetheSeat ofSense, Reason and Prudence. ,; God having well- weigh'd the advantages, of a very strong and robust, but ill-contriv'd Body, that is heavy and uncapable, ofSense and Prudence, against those of a Body more feeble but more elegant, that is to fay, lively and; lightsome, he prefer'd this to the other, . and. chose, togiveusashortratherthana long Life-, forthe Spirit was, not created, for the Body, but the Body fprthe Spirit,,
He goes,. on to speak. ofSanguification,Nutrition, Respiration, Transpiration, natural Heat, the dimi nution, andaugmentationoftheBody, whichleads, him to speak of Old Age, Diseases and Death, which, happens, when the Machine is w:rn out, and the
I 3 Strings,,
? ? j18 TheLifeof? hto.
Stringsthatholdittogethergrowslack, andgivethe Soul liberty to fly out of her Prison with extreme Pleasure.
As forDiseasesheexplainstheCausesofthemby the fame Principles which Hippocrates had establish'a Tom. 3. "3beforehim. ForheseysManbeingaCompoundof
the four Elements, Fire, Air, Earth, and Water, or
whichisthefamething,Cold, Hot, Moist, andDry ;
thejustProportionandevenTemperament ofthese4
Qualities preserve Union and Peace, from whence
Health results; and on the contrary theirunequal
mixturewhichproceedsfromExcess, Defect, orthe
Change of the Situation of some or other of 'em, pro
duces Disorder and Division, the only source of D i s
ease's. ForthenthatwhichwasColdbecomesHot, t h a t w h i c h w a s D r y , M o i s t ? , a n d t h a t w h i c h w a s H e a
vy Light, and the Blood being corrupted by this Alteration, as well as the Spirits, and overcharged with Acid, or Salt Particles, instead of producing New tonourishtheFlesh, breedsnothingbutCholer Flegm,andWater, whichgeneratediversfortsof Feversand otherDistempers.
tttvifetsts FromtheseDiseasesoftheBodyspringthoseof ojthtSoul, the Soul which Plato divides into two forts, that of
Folly, andthatjofIgnoranceorStupidity, Ignorance
is p r o p e r l y t h e S o u l ' s f o r g e t f u l n e s s : a n d w h e n g r e a t
Pleasure or excessiveSorrows take away Knowledg
from the Soul, so that she is not in a condition to.
understandanything,thisisFolly, Forexample,a
ManwhoseTemperinclineshim toLove, isalways mad while the rage of thisPassion lasts? , he is
therefore call'd a profligate Person, oraDebauchee, asifhe willingly plung'd himselfintothisDisorder; But he ought to be call'd a Fool, and look'd upon, as a Diseas'd Person ; for according to Socrates no Man isvitiousbutagainsthiswill. This Man is carriedaway byhisConstitution,andtheillEducati onhehashad. Andthefamemaybesaidofall othersbrtsofSensuality.
? Sorrow
? ? The Life of Plato. 1 19
Sorrow likewiseproceedsfromtheIntemperatureTh(Caurtot of the Body, for itiscaus'd by an acrimonious Flegm, sorrow! and Bilious Humors which disperse themielves
through the Body, and not finding vent obscure
the Soul with their Vapours, disturb her motion,
and bring grievous Distempers upon her, but different
according to the Parts on which they fix. To. thisIntemperatureof theBodyhe joinsthe Thtmrd
Intemperature ofwholeCities,whichbytheper-^rTT"^ nicious Example of their corrupt Manners, and the*^ wicked Discourse which they suffer both in publick
and in private, and infineby thelittle Care they take to have young People well educated, frequently precipitate us into alt these Mischiefs. Thus our Corruption comes properly from two Causes that are abfblutly involuntary ; which render us wicked" a- gainst our Wills ; And instead of accusing us, there is reason only to accuse our Parents and Teachers.
What Plato faysof theillEducation ofYourh,
and the fatal Examples which whole Cities give
them, is but too True, but what he adds, that our p^"* * C o r r u p t i o n is i n v o l u n t a r y o n o u r o w n p a r t o u g h t n o t that w e a >> tobetakeninastrict:LiteralSense. ForasAristotlewickeda- has very well observ'd, 'tis a great Error to fay w e w'? st *""*^
areonlyvitiousagainstourWills. SoundPhiloso-10L'Sr- p h y a n d R e l i g i o n t e a c h u s , t h a t G o d h a s g i v e n M e n flood,
a Liberty of chosing between Good and Evil, and
thatall vertuous or vicious Actions are purely volun
tary. IfitwerenotsoitwouldbeUnreasonableto blameViceorcommendVertue,norcouldanyreason , be assigned for the Establishment of Rewards and Pu
nishments, for none can be justly praised or dispraised onlyforwhathedidwhetherhewouldorno. How then did Plato understand this Notion of Socraterjo. embrace it as he did > without doubt he understood (and 'tis what Aristotle did not comprehend) thatGod,
has given m e n all that Light that is necessary to direct 'em toobey theLaw ofNaturewhichhehasengrav'd intheirhearts^andto inform'em ofcertainfundamen tal Truths,which enlighten the Universe like so many
I 4 Torches ;
#"? ***.
? ? SmI.
. testable Maxime ; thatwhatsoever isGoedjs Beau
tiful;thatGoodness consists inproportion and mea
sure ; aud that ifthis be true in all sensible things,
'tismuch more sointheUnion oftheSoul and
Body: ForfromtheirjustproportionspringHealth and Vertue ;as Diseases and Vices are produced by
the contrary : If the Soul be too strong for the Body, she weakens it, wears it out, and very often causessuchMaladiesasbaffletheArtofPhysicians. .
: O n the other fide if the B o d y is stronger than the S o u l ? , b e c a u s e i t t a k e s c a r e o n l y o f i t s e l f , i t g r o w s , a n d
fortifies it self daily, and leaves the Soul in an O b livion, and as it were in a Lethargy, which brings on her a Stupidity and Ignorance which she cannot dissipate. Therefore topreservethehealthof both parts, they both of 'em ought to be equally exercised. He that applies himself to Study ought not to de-< s p i s e t h e E x e r c i s e s o f t h e B o d y -, a n d h e w h o m a k e s Bodily Exercises his principal business, ought not to' neglectMeditationandStudy. Butinthesetwo Stateswe must take great care not to go from one. Extremetoanotherj nottopasssuddenly, forin--
?
i}'3 The Lifeofplato7
Torches -,but Men have despised these Helps ; and
by this voluntary Contempt, are justly fallen into
Blindness which hinders 'em from distinguishing
Truth from Error, or at least from obeying it-, and
thus all the vitious Actions of Men are atthe fame
time voluntary and involuntary ; voluntary in their Origin and Source? , for 'tistheir own Choice that
they have thrown offthe Yoke ofVertue and Righte ousness j aud involuntary often in the execurion ; for in spite of theRemorse of their Consciences, they are led away by the miserable propenfion of their.
Hearts, which induces 'em to commit the Evil whichtheywouldnotdo. Theyarethe. Slavesof Sin which rules over 'em, . and to the Service of which they have engag'd their Liberty.
,.
tirtheDij- t0 be applied against these two sorts of Diseases of t'ifa ojthethe Soul and Body ; and firstestablishes this Incon-
P/ato comes, next to shew the Remedies that are
'? stance,
? ? The Use\pfPlatoC 121
stance,fromgreatResttogreatLabour. Weshould imitate Nature whose Motions are always equal, withoutCatches,andShocks. NowofallMotions
the most Salutary is that which ismade of ones self"
inonesself-,because'tisNatural. Thatwhichcomes fromanotherBody isDetrimental? ,andthemost
mischievous of all is that which by means of Exter nalBodies, removesbypartsaBodywhichwasat
Rest.
Hence it follows, that the best Remedy, and most
wholesome Purgative isExercise, that is to fay that whichtheycall*Gymnafiick: Afterthis,comes theExercise of the. Horse, orthatofbeingcarried any other way, as in a Litter or Boat, which the Ancients called VeSatio ? , For this Exercise is com- p o s ' d o f M o t i o n a n d R e s t ? , t h e t h i r d f o r t i s n o t g o o d ,
but in pressing Necessity, and no M a n of Sense will ever uie. it but in an Extremity ; Such are Medici nal Purges: for we should never irritate those D i s e a s e s t h a t are. n o t d a n g e r o u s , b y s u c h k i n d o f M e . dicines. The formationofDiseasesislikethatof Animals, they require a certain space of time to bring 'em to perfection ; they have their Periods ^ andifweattempttooppose'embyviolentReme dies before the time of their declension, we often make many Distempers of one, or of a flight Dis
easeanincurableone. We oughttopreventor. ati tack them by a good Regiment, as much as oppor-. tunity will permit.
Plato divides the Soul into 3 parts ; the Reasona- TheSoul a. blepart, theIrasciblepart,andtheConcupisciblevUtduti5 part. HeplacesthefirstintheBrain,thesecondinfartt-
theHeart, and thethirdinth>>Liver^ healsocom: . paresittoaFlyingChariot havingtwo. Horsesand aCharioteer; one oftheHorsesis head-strong and
unruly,andtheothergentleandgovernable: The. Charioteer is Reason, which is to Command and. G u i d e ; t h e U n r u l y H o r s e is t h e C o n c u p i s c i b l e p a r t 5. for the Appetites know no Bridle or Restraint of.
*. SuchasWrestling, Leaping, Runc'iy, &c.
Rca-
? ? i<<
The Life of Plato. '
Reason : and the gentle Horse is rhe Irascible part, becauseitobeystheReason, andisservie<<ableto itonurgentOccasions. WhenaMandoesnotmo deratethesetwolatterparts, andpurgetheirPassions to reduce 'em to a useful Mediocrity, and sub mit them to the former, he can have no other than Earthly and Mortal Opinions -,and he renders him selfMortal, because he fortifies in himself those partsthatareMortal;whereas he that makes the f i r s t p a r t r e i g n o v e r t h e t w o o t h e r -, b e c a u s e h e h a s inaspecial manner adorn'd and cultivatedthatGod which was given to him,that is his Understanding or Mind ; and because the Mind comes immediady from the only true God, he is. hereby united to the Source of Life, and already tastes the first fruits of Immortality.
AnExfU- ThisDivisionoftheSouldeservestobeettplain'd tationosthisfor fome have keen mightily mistaken to think that Dmfion. pjafoma(je^ gQu^divisible,orthatheimagin'd
therewerediversSouls? ,asifheputasmany SohIs
intheBodyofMan, astherewereGrecianOfficers
(if I may so speak) in the famous Trojan Horse.
This Philosopher did not fall into such an Error as
thisjbutonthecontraryattacksitand exposesall
theAbsurdityofit,andwithmarvellous strengthof
Argument establishes the Simplicity and Indivisibili ty of the Sonl ? ,but his design was to (how (as he
explaineshimselfinhisTbeoetititsand the 4thBook of his Republick) that there are some things that depend only on the Soul, such are all the Acts of t h e W i l l -, a n d t h a t t h e r e a r e o t h e r s w h i c h d e p e n d o n the Corporeal Faculties^ and these Corporeal Fa cultiesorPowerscompose thosetwoparts,thatmay be calFd the two Corporeal and Mortal parts of the Soul, viz. the Concupiscible and Irascible^ which cause all our Passions, and the feat of which he places intheHeartandLiver,whichhelooksuponasthe two Sources of the Blood and Spirits, on which alone the Corporeal Faculties depend, and which alone excite all the Motions and Passions of the Body.
Thus
? ? T h e Life of Plated
1 1 j
ThusaccordingtoPlatothereisbut onesimpleSoul withoutanydiversityofparts, thefeatofwhichis inthe Brain, whence itirradiates thewhole Body by meansoftheNerves, BloudandSpirits? ,butitsMo tions,thatistheActsoftheWill, maybeopposed
b y t h e M o t i o n s , a n d I m p u l s i o n s o f t h e B o d y 5 a n d 'tis this which makes these Combates between the Su perior and Inferior Soul, (that is betwixt the Soul and the Body) mention'd in the 4th Book of the Bfpcbhck. 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.
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>.
? ? The Use of Plato: 109
Immaterial and Eternal Original upon which every thingwas made, andindeedisnothingbuttheDivine Knowledg, the first Cause of all created Beings -, forthoseIdeasareinGodhisNotions, whichare
eternal and perfect of themselves, and as Alcfnous fays, Idea withreferencetoGod istheEternalIntel ligence, and with respeS to w, itis thefirst Intelli gible;inreferencetoMatteritisMeasure, inrefe
r e n c e t o t h e U n i v e r s e ' 'tis t h e E x e m p l a r , a n d i n r e s p e E l toitselfitisEssence. IfAristotle had rightly un- M W stood this Doctrine, he would not have oppos'd it,counvti nor have given Ib ram a decision as he has done, thtjiideas affirming that to establish these Ideas as the Exem- TM Eff1*"* plarsofsensiblethings,istospeak tonopurpose,andW'TM"od
to amuse onesself in imagining Poetick Metaphors. Eufebiuswas betteracquaintedwiththeexcellencyi<<IPrepar. of it, for he fays in express Terms, that this Doc- EvaJ%'llb'
trine which teaches that there is an Intelligence 3" which has taken all things from Incorporeal Ideas, which are their Patterns, was conceived by Plato withagreatdealofReason, andbyveryjustand neceflary Consequences.
When God was pleas'd to create Time, he created the Sun and Moon, whose Course is the measure of Days, Nights, Months, Years and Sea sons, and gave motion to the other Celestial Spheres. He afterwardproceededto thecreationofAnimals, without which the World could not be perfect ; and ofthesehewaspleas'dtomakeasmanySpeciesas the World had parts -, that is, Celestial, Aerial, Aquatile, and Terrestial.
And God created the Demons (or Angels) thoseThtcmt'wi Inferiour Intelligences, to w h o m he gave order to ofAi&is.
create three other forts of Animals, because if he hadcreated'emhimselftheywouldhavebeenIm mortal-,' for all that proceeds immediately from God,mustnecessarilybeImmortal initsNature; So thattheseIntelligencescreatedMan, thatisthey form'dtheHumaneBody, Godhavingreservedto
himselftherightofgivingitaSoul, whichhemade
. os *
? ? Lavs,
(? ySj^ tjjattj}g*jjrisfiipfrwithgoodandbad
Genii, which are entirely opposite to each other, t this occasionsan ImmortalCombate, and requires a continual Attention on our part : The Gods and the Good Angels are ready to help its, for we are their Possession.
Plato adds that God at once created the Souls of all Mankind, who were to live in all Ages of the
* Eufebius amaz'd and surpriz'd ac the Befluty of this Passage, fliews that Plato could nor have it but out of the Book of Job, whomanyAgesbeforehimrelatesthactheDevilappear'dbefo%; God with the Good Angels. + A very surprizing Truch tobefoundintheWritingsofaPagan,andthefamewhichisad mirably explain'd by St. Paul, when he fays, Eph. 6. 12. For vet wrestlenotagainstFleshandBlood, butagainstPrincipalities,against Powirs, agahst. the Rulers of the Darkness of ibis World, against SfirmtLWic^dneJsinhigb Plain:
11o
The Life of Plated
ofthelameNaturewiththatoftheWorld, onlyhe madeitlessperfect. For(fayshe)itwasnotjust that Man who was buta part oftheUniverse should be more perfect: than the Universe it ielf, or soper fect. ThesewerePlato'sThoughtsonthecreation
'ofMan, and'tisnotdifficulttoknowtheSourceof this Opinion, in which there is such a Mixture of Truth and Error^ for it springs from a misinterpreta tionoftheWordsofMoses. AfterGodhadcreated the Heavens, the Earth, the Stars, and the Celestial Intelligences, that is, the Angels, he fays, Let us makeMan afterourown Image. Upon thistheE- gyptians, and Pythagoreans not understanding the MysteryhidunderthePluralNumber, thoughtGod spoke to the Intelligences he had created, and said to them, Let w noia make M a n after our Image ;
youinformingthatpartofhimwhichmust bemortal, and I in creating that which shall be of an immortal Nature.
TheAlt HemaintainsasamostcertainTruth,thatas fwimt^ thereisaninfinite. number ofGoodAngelsinthe
vUAngels'. 'Heavens (thatisintheAir) sothereisalsoamulti-
inhislorKudeofEvilOnes,thatseeknothingelsebuthow to Boo^ of do mischief to Mankind. Seeing we are agreed
Wortd?
? ? 7 k Use of Plato^ i n
World, and that he distributed them into all the Celestial Spheres, teaching them the Nature of all
things, and giving them his Eternal Laws which he
calls Destiny, and to which he also gives the name Destinywhy ofNece/fity,and sometimesthatofFortune;not<<j^Ne-
thatanythingisfortuitous,butonlytodenote,thatp^fnc ? thisDestinybrings topassan infiniteNumber of
things, which are unforeseen by us, and which are commonly imputed to Chance, altho their Cause is
designed and fixed. The Poets understood this,
when they call'd Destiny, that which has been once
fail Inwhichtheyseemtohavehadsemeknow-*g^e^J
ledgofwhatDavidsaysinthe65th. Psalm. Godnomt. hathspoken once, thatistofay, he hasspokenwith
an immutable Word ^ for Destiny is nothing hutWhatVisti- thatLaw whichflowsfromtheWillofGod. V*?
FromthisCreationofSoulsbeforetheirBodies, . . P/atodrawshisOpinionofReminiscence. Forif(tm. the Soul existed before the Body, it must have had
in itall Notions, and by consequence all that we
learn through the Course of our Life, is only the remembrance of what we had forgotten. For to learn is nothing else but to recover the knowledg w e hadbeforewecameintotheWorld, andwhichthe Passionsof theBodymadeusforget.
However Plato in his Menon seems not to be en tirely convine'd of the truth of thisOpinion ofRe miniscence ; but to perceive that it might be reaso
nably objected, that God actually illuminates the Soul, and that by the Light he communicates to it he renders it capable of Seeing and Learning that whichitneversaw,orknewbefore. Andthisinall Appearance isthe reason, that he does not establish it as an absolute Certainty, but only makes use of
it t o ( h e w t h a t w e o u g h t n o t t o d e s p a i r o f L e a r n i n g
that of which we are ignorant.
From the Union of the Body and Soul resultthetbt^ni
PassionsandSensations. WhentheSoulisMistress,2iSns
she leads a Lite of Temperance and Justice, and whensheleavestheBody, shereturnstotheStarto which
? ? 11i Ihe Use ofPlato;
which she was formerly assigned ; but when (he be comes a Slave, and plunges her self into all sorts of Corruption ? ,she suffersa Punishment tenfold more
than all her Pollutions and Impurities, and after a thousand years has the Liberty to chuse what kind of Life lbe likes best : if she stillchuses to live ir regularly, she goes to animate Beasts, that is, she becomes from day to day more and more vile and vitious, which continues tillatlastshe comes toac- knowledg the Empire of Reason ; and follows this Guidewhichisgiventoherjandsobypurgingher self from all the Filth of the Elements, returns to her firstState.
_ . . MoreoverfromthefameSourcePlatodrawsthe offaije'ovi-Origin ofthe false Opinions, Errors, and all the nions,Er- FolliesofMen,asalsooftheirKnowledgandWis-
ms,Know-dom. WhentheSoulisasitweredelug'dbythe iidg and. Torrent 0f Matter, it can no longer distinguish H>>>n. Truth;andislikeaMangoingwithhisheaddown,
and his heels up, to w h o m all Objects are inverted. When shemoderatestheCourseofthisTorrent, so that what is the/ame is neither surmounted nor
obscur'd by the Mists of what he calls the other : then she sees all things as they are ; and being for tified by Study and Experience penetrates their Cau- ies, and by those means arrives at true Knowledg, and perfect Health, as much as 'tis possible in this Life.
Plato afterwards descends to the Consideration of allthepartsofahumaneBody,toshewwithwhat exactness they answer the design of Providence. And the Description he makes of it is so fine, that Longinus calls it divine.
1- T h e E x c e l l e n c y o f t h i s D e s c r i p t i o n d o e s n o t c o n s i s t mch? skiWd'm tne trutsl. J>f his Anatomick Discoveries: for on h Anatomy. tne contrary Plato seerns to have been lels skilFd in
A n a t o m y t h a n h i s P r e d e c e s s o r s -, b u t i t c o n s i s t s i n t h e ElegancyofhisExpressions, intherustRelationhe finds between all the parts of the Body of Man, and in the Reasons he gives of their different use,
Ons
? ? The Lifeof Plato. \\t
? OneofthegreatFaultsofwhichhehasbeenre-D, ;i. proaeh'd, was, for having said,- that Drink passes? ? throughtheLungs. Plutarchhasmadeanexpress Treatise to justify him m this by- the Authority of thePoetsandthatofPhysicians. ThatofthePoets
istooweak: forwhenaPoet,speaksofwatering . - 'theTungsfordrinking,heconformshimselftothe ? '. ,i
vulgarOpinion and Language: And that of Physici ansisnotstrong enough tomake anErrorpassfor Truth. ButindeedPlutarchismistakenwhenhe affirms this to have been the Sentiment of'Plato; and o f H i p p o c r a t e s t o o ? , f o r n e i t h e r o n e h e r t ' o t h e r e v e r
fellinto this Error. On the contrary Hippocrates fays, that? )rmk does riotpass'through the Lungs, butgoesintotheStomach, andthencerunsintothe BowelsVHe onlyassertsthatasmallinsensiblepart of it slides into the Afpera AYteria, only to help to cool the Air which goes . into the Lungs ; and this l i k e w i s e is w h a t P l a t o m e a n s \ n o r c o u l d h e h a v e a n y
other Thought, feeing he often in the lame Trea- ?
tileteaches,thattheStomachismade toreceiveall t h a t w e e a t a n d d r i n k ? , . a n d t h a t t h e n a t u r a l H e a t
afterithasmix'd, dissolv'danddividedtheMeat and Drink, fends the Liquor 'into the Veins, which car ry it to the Heart, and from thence into all the B o dybythePipesthatproceedfromthatpart. And the distribution of this Liquor of the Chyle which passes from the Stomach into the Veins he calls Irrigation. Sothat'tisbutasmallinsensiblepart ofwhatwedrinkthatgoesintotheLungs;asHip
pocrates and after him Galen have justified by Ex perience. ? ?
Plato afterwards treats of the wonderful things to_, , beobservedintheSightandHearing,whicharethe? S f "
mostperfect:Senses. Andinexplainingtheadrrri-XrHmk. rable Construction of theEyes, he discoversthetothiSigli Causes of Waking andSleep, and descends even to? **a"r', thatofDreamswhichmaybesaidtobeMaterial. JMJf For he Ilys they ,that are in a deep Sleep have either '
n9 Dreams Or very short ones; because all their I Senses
? ? H 4
The Life os Plato.
Sensesareatrest:buttheywho arebathalfafleep, i t o n e m a y s o s p e a k , d o n o t f a i l o s h a v i n g D r e a m s -, because their Senses being still in motion, preserve the Vestiges of those things that have . mov'd 'em, and imprint 'em on the Imagination.
- tmnsl HelaysthattheEyesfirsttaughtusPhilosophy, tftbtEyh. which is the greatest favour Men can receive from theliandofGod:andheissowellperswadedthat t h e y a r e g i v e n u s o n l y f o r t h i s e n d :, t h a t h e m a k e s nodifficultyofaffirming,thatifaMan, whodoes notuie'emtothispurpose,becomesblind, hehas no reason tocomplain, becausehisEyes havingbeen
always useless to him, he has no loss in losing 'em. Tom. 3. Intruth(layshe)GodhatformedourEyes,onlyto
contemplate the Works ofhis Providence, and toJee theregularMotion oftheHeavenswhichsoconstantly obey the Spirit thatguides 'em, thatso we might ac customourJelvestolovethatwhich isComely and Regular : and that w-e might learn to regulate all the
. MotionsofourSouls,whichareofthefameNature with that Divine Intelligence, but are disordered by
our Pajfions. ? ? . ?
_,. A HelaysthefameoftheVoiceandoftheHearing? , Thetrueuse, . }_ jit- ? ? ' 0}the Voicethat the Tongue and die tars are given us particu-
a n d oj the l a r l y t h a t w e m i g h t d e c l a r e a n d h e a r t h e W o n d e r s t o Hearing, beremark'dintheWorksofGod? ,andthatMusick
was invented only to furnishus, ifwe may lo lay,
withRuleandHarmony. Forbecauseishasawon- ,derfulrelationtoalltheMotionsofourSouls, he fays,WifeMenmakeuseofit,notas'tisnowussd Tom. 3. forfoolishnayperniciousMirth;buttocalmandme- derate the Passions, and to corrett the horrible Dis-
ccrls which they occasion.
Thtfymtti- HefaystheHeartistheSourceoftheVeins,and onofthe theFountainofthe Bloodwhichrunsfromthence Heartandwitnau^ Courseintoalltheotherparts; and
Tom? 3. t;iatlt1Sasllwere*naF? rtguardedonallSides; ' thatsowhentheCholercomestobeinflam'd, when R e a s o n g i v e s it n o t i c e t h a t it is t h r e a t e n ' d w i t h s o m e Mischief from without by external Causes, or from
within
? ? TheLifeof Placo* 11j
within by the Disorder or Tumult of the Passions ? itmay speedilywarnthewholeBodyofwhatpasses' and dispose it to obey its Orders, to prevent the
Dangerimpending. AndbecauseGodknewthatthe ? unexpectedsight of any terriblething, and the motion
oftheCholerwouldmaketheHeart beatviolently,he contrivedaveryusefulRemedyforthissort oflnfla-
mation ; and put the Lungs under it, thesubstance ofwhichbeingsoftandnotfurnish''dwithmuch Bloods andhavinglittleholeswithin itlikeaSpunge,serves a* a Pillow to the Heart, incessantly refreshes it with
the Air and Moisture which it attraSs, and moderates t h a t v i o l e n t H e a t w h i c h w o u l d o t h e r w i s e c o n s u m e it.
InthelowerVentriclewheretheNourishmentismfm. made, are the Spleen and Liver-, the Spleen is a w <</ the hollowandsoftSubstance, andconsequentlyverysP. lmani
proper to perform those Functions which it hast"cSTM"'". pleas'd God to assign it. For he thought fit, that '
it should be (not the Kitchen, as 'tis expreis'd
in a corrupt Copy, but) the Spunge to wipe and^mt t>*ii cleansetheIntestines; andtotakeoffallthef/itbWP*rsid. :
which gathersabouttheLiver intime ofSickness\TiStcui
andthisswellsandpuffsitup; asitonthecontraryforiKua,.
flags, and returns to itsformerstate when the hoJyywv, << is cleansed. Sfunge.
As for the Lrver he fays i*Was destined to a usefom. j>> which deserves to be related for its singularity : H e tellsusthatbecauseGod knewthatwhen theSpirit
was busy in:distributing the Aliment in this lower partoftheBelly, itwouldbe butlittleconcern'd
inwhatpassedintheupperRegion, andintheSeat ofReason, whose Ordersitwouldneverhearj he to provide against thisInconvenience, made the Li verofahardSubstance, havingamixtureofSweet ness and Bitterness ; and of a smooth and even Super ficieslikeaLooking-Glass. WhentheSoulwould advertise this Animal Spirit of what passes, ihe by means of the Thoughts, imprints on thisSuperficies the Image of all things of which she1would give it Information j and by these Images gives it either
I2 Joy
. ,
_3
r> ! ;i
? ? no*
7be Life of Plato. "
JoyorSorrow. WhentheSouldoeshotactupon
this part, but leaves it at rest, as during the time of
Sleep, those Gods who form'd the"Body, or the
great God himself impripts on this Imooth Superfi
ciestheImagesofsuchthingsasmustcome topals,
and these Images being carried to the Imagination
produce Divination or Prophesy, t^e Seat Or which
the Ancients for thisreason plac'd hi the Liver ; but
This (sayshe) neverhappensunlessitbewhenthat <<ktfTM** part 0f the Soul is not in a condition to obey the Spi-
''*tit, which ought toguide it;for God hatjoinedPro- phesywith Madness;and 'tiseasytoconvinceany oneosthisTruth, whoconsiders thatnopersonpro-
phe/icstrulybutwhenheisoutofhis. Senses, that is when God, or Sleep, orsome Disease deprive him of the use osReason 5 find because 'tis . only by Reason thisMen canjudge,ofthings,thereforeProphets never * underjiand what tbeyfee; andwe'-arethere
fore obligedtohave recourse to Interpreters, who not being transported withPaJJion are capable pfexplaining what the Prophets haveseen, by Reasonings founded on Experience. But all this Construction of the Liver looks more like one of Pythagorju his Enig mas, than a Physical Explication ; and seems much less proper to prove that prophesy cpmes from God, thanto discoverthat itistheeffect'os'someVa pours of the lower Ventricle which darken and stain the Imagination. , .
He endeavours toshewthatGod knowingMan
* would be intemperate in Eating and Drinking, and
that nothing would be more capable of destroying
himbeforeheadvane'dtoripenessofAge, hemade
winthe asitwereaLabyrinth ofBowelsinthelowerVen-
Bowels tricle,thatbytheirturningsandwindingstheFood in*iiboit. mightbeliinder'dfrompastingofftoosoon;for if
*ThisisoneofPlato'sErrofs,whoabsurdlyconfoundsPro phets divinely inspir'd with false Prophet? , and thereby, gave 0 0 culon to the Error of the JHo-itanifis.
True Prophets did not speak by Extasy, hut saw and understood what they dedar'd, arid were t! . ere! ore call'd Stirs,
the
? ? 7heLife ofPlato. H7
the Bowels were all streight, the Food would be,
continually- passing; and Men by this means ren dered insatiable would think of nothing else but eat
ing, which would make 'em uncapable of applying themselves to Learningand Philosophy, and would speedilyoccasiontheirDeath; thenaturalHeat not beingsufficienttodigestso much Food, besidesthat
itwould want time to do,it.
After this he explains the nature, and production,
oftheFlesh, Blood, Bones,Muscles,Sinews,Brain,
Marrow, andalltheotherparts? ofwhichourBo diesaiecompos'd? ,hecallstheBloodthefoodofthe ,
flesh, and fays the whole Body is encompass'd with Flesh, likesomuchsoftWool, laidclosetogether, which serves tofortifyitagainstthe. Injuriesofthe.
Air, and all other Accidents, as falls, &V. .
Inspeaking oftheConstructionoftheHead, he TheCeo-
says'tisboththemost beautiful, and weakest ofallPTMmm $? thepartsoftheBody, thatGodindeedcouldhavejJ^T . given Man a Head much better fortified with Bones,
Sinews and Flesh, which would have extremely pro longshisLife,aswellasmadehimleaditmore commodioufly ; but because itwas not possible that,
a part cover'd over with a very hard Bone, a great many Sinews, and very thick Flesh, should have x veryquickSense;andtheHeadwastobetheSeat ofSense, Reason and Prudence. ,; God having well- weigh'd the advantages, of a very strong and robust, but ill-contriv'd Body, that is heavy and uncapable, ofSense and Prudence, against those of a Body more feeble but more elegant, that is to fay, lively and; lightsome, he prefer'd this to the other, . and. chose, togiveusashortratherthana long Life-, forthe Spirit was, not created, for the Body, but the Body fprthe Spirit,,
He goes,. on to speak. ofSanguification,Nutrition, Respiration, Transpiration, natural Heat, the dimi nution, andaugmentationoftheBody, whichleads, him to speak of Old Age, Diseases and Death, which, happens, when the Machine is w:rn out, and the
I 3 Strings,,
? ? j18 TheLifeof? hto.
Stringsthatholdittogethergrowslack, andgivethe Soul liberty to fly out of her Prison with extreme Pleasure.
As forDiseasesheexplainstheCausesofthemby the fame Principles which Hippocrates had establish'a Tom. 3. "3beforehim. ForheseysManbeingaCompoundof
the four Elements, Fire, Air, Earth, and Water, or
whichisthefamething,Cold, Hot, Moist, andDry ;
thejustProportionandevenTemperament ofthese4
Qualities preserve Union and Peace, from whence
Health results; and on the contrary theirunequal
mixturewhichproceedsfromExcess, Defect, orthe
Change of the Situation of some or other of 'em, pro
duces Disorder and Division, the only source of D i s
ease's. ForthenthatwhichwasColdbecomesHot, t h a t w h i c h w a s D r y , M o i s t ? , a n d t h a t w h i c h w a s H e a
vy Light, and the Blood being corrupted by this Alteration, as well as the Spirits, and overcharged with Acid, or Salt Particles, instead of producing New tonourishtheFlesh, breedsnothingbutCholer Flegm,andWater, whichgeneratediversfortsof Feversand otherDistempers.
tttvifetsts FromtheseDiseasesoftheBodyspringthoseof ojthtSoul, the Soul which Plato divides into two forts, that of
Folly, andthatjofIgnoranceorStupidity, Ignorance
is p r o p e r l y t h e S o u l ' s f o r g e t f u l n e s s : a n d w h e n g r e a t
Pleasure or excessiveSorrows take away Knowledg
from the Soul, so that she is not in a condition to.
understandanything,thisisFolly, Forexample,a
ManwhoseTemperinclineshim toLove, isalways mad while the rage of thisPassion lasts? , he is
therefore call'd a profligate Person, oraDebauchee, asifhe willingly plung'd himselfintothisDisorder; But he ought to be call'd a Fool, and look'd upon, as a Diseas'd Person ; for according to Socrates no Man isvitiousbutagainsthiswill. This Man is carriedaway byhisConstitution,andtheillEducati onhehashad. Andthefamemaybesaidofall othersbrtsofSensuality.
? Sorrow
? ? The Life of Plato. 1 19
Sorrow likewiseproceedsfromtheIntemperatureTh(Caurtot of the Body, for itiscaus'd by an acrimonious Flegm, sorrow! and Bilious Humors which disperse themielves
through the Body, and not finding vent obscure
the Soul with their Vapours, disturb her motion,
and bring grievous Distempers upon her, but different
according to the Parts on which they fix. To. thisIntemperatureof theBodyhe joinsthe Thtmrd
Intemperature ofwholeCities,whichbytheper-^rTT"^ nicious Example of their corrupt Manners, and the*^ wicked Discourse which they suffer both in publick
and in private, and infineby thelittle Care they take to have young People well educated, frequently precipitate us into alt these Mischiefs. Thus our Corruption comes properly from two Causes that are abfblutly involuntary ; which render us wicked" a- gainst our Wills ; And instead of accusing us, there is reason only to accuse our Parents and Teachers.
What Plato faysof theillEducation ofYourh,
and the fatal Examples which whole Cities give
them, is but too True, but what he adds, that our p^"* * C o r r u p t i o n is i n v o l u n t a r y o n o u r o w n p a r t o u g h t n o t that w e a >> tobetakeninastrict:LiteralSense. ForasAristotlewickeda- has very well observ'd, 'tis a great Error to fay w e w'? st *""*^
areonlyvitiousagainstourWills. SoundPhiloso-10L'Sr- p h y a n d R e l i g i o n t e a c h u s , t h a t G o d h a s g i v e n M e n flood,
a Liberty of chosing between Good and Evil, and
thatall vertuous or vicious Actions are purely volun
tary. IfitwerenotsoitwouldbeUnreasonableto blameViceorcommendVertue,norcouldanyreason , be assigned for the Establishment of Rewards and Pu
nishments, for none can be justly praised or dispraised onlyforwhathedidwhetherhewouldorno. How then did Plato understand this Notion of Socraterjo. embrace it as he did > without doubt he understood (and 'tis what Aristotle did not comprehend) thatGod,
has given m e n all that Light that is necessary to direct 'em toobey theLaw ofNaturewhichhehasengrav'd intheirhearts^andto inform'em ofcertainfundamen tal Truths,which enlighten the Universe like so many
I 4 Torches ;
#"? ***.
? ? SmI.
. testable Maxime ; thatwhatsoever isGoedjs Beau
tiful;thatGoodness consists inproportion and mea
sure ; aud that ifthis be true in all sensible things,
'tismuch more sointheUnion oftheSoul and
Body: ForfromtheirjustproportionspringHealth and Vertue ;as Diseases and Vices are produced by
the contrary : If the Soul be too strong for the Body, she weakens it, wears it out, and very often causessuchMaladiesasbaffletheArtofPhysicians. .
: O n the other fide if the B o d y is stronger than the S o u l ? , b e c a u s e i t t a k e s c a r e o n l y o f i t s e l f , i t g r o w s , a n d
fortifies it self daily, and leaves the Soul in an O b livion, and as it were in a Lethargy, which brings on her a Stupidity and Ignorance which she cannot dissipate. Therefore topreservethehealthof both parts, they both of 'em ought to be equally exercised. He that applies himself to Study ought not to de-< s p i s e t h e E x e r c i s e s o f t h e B o d y -, a n d h e w h o m a k e s Bodily Exercises his principal business, ought not to' neglectMeditationandStudy. Butinthesetwo Stateswe must take great care not to go from one. Extremetoanotherj nottopasssuddenly, forin--
?
i}'3 The Lifeofplato7
Torches -,but Men have despised these Helps ; and
by this voluntary Contempt, are justly fallen into
Blindness which hinders 'em from distinguishing
Truth from Error, or at least from obeying it-, and
thus all the vitious Actions of Men are atthe fame
time voluntary and involuntary ; voluntary in their Origin and Source? , for 'tistheir own Choice that
they have thrown offthe Yoke ofVertue and Righte ousness j aud involuntary often in the execurion ; for in spite of theRemorse of their Consciences, they are led away by the miserable propenfion of their.
Hearts, which induces 'em to commit the Evil whichtheywouldnotdo. Theyarethe. Slavesof Sin which rules over 'em, . and to the Service of which they have engag'd their Liberty.
,.
tirtheDij- t0 be applied against these two sorts of Diseases of t'ifa ojthethe Soul and Body ; and firstestablishes this Incon-
P/ato comes, next to shew the Remedies that are
'? stance,
? ? The Use\pfPlatoC 121
stance,fromgreatResttogreatLabour. Weshould imitate Nature whose Motions are always equal, withoutCatches,andShocks. NowofallMotions
the most Salutary is that which ismade of ones self"
inonesself-,because'tisNatural. Thatwhichcomes fromanotherBody isDetrimental? ,andthemost
mischievous of all is that which by means of Exter nalBodies, removesbypartsaBodywhichwasat
Rest.
Hence it follows, that the best Remedy, and most
wholesome Purgative isExercise, that is to fay that whichtheycall*Gymnafiick: Afterthis,comes theExercise of the. Horse, orthatofbeingcarried any other way, as in a Litter or Boat, which the Ancients called VeSatio ? , For this Exercise is com- p o s ' d o f M o t i o n a n d R e s t ? , t h e t h i r d f o r t i s n o t g o o d ,
but in pressing Necessity, and no M a n of Sense will ever uie. it but in an Extremity ; Such are Medici nal Purges: for we should never irritate those D i s e a s e s t h a t are. n o t d a n g e r o u s , b y s u c h k i n d o f M e . dicines. The formationofDiseasesislikethatof Animals, they require a certain space of time to bring 'em to perfection ; they have their Periods ^ andifweattempttooppose'embyviolentReme dies before the time of their declension, we often make many Distempers of one, or of a flight Dis
easeanincurableone. We oughttopreventor. ati tack them by a good Regiment, as much as oppor-. tunity will permit.
Plato divides the Soul into 3 parts ; the Reasona- TheSoul a. blepart, theIrasciblepart,andtheConcupisciblevUtduti5 part. HeplacesthefirstintheBrain,thesecondinfartt-
theHeart, and thethirdinth>>Liver^ healsocom: . paresittoaFlyingChariot havingtwo. Horsesand aCharioteer; one oftheHorsesis head-strong and
unruly,andtheothergentleandgovernable: The. Charioteer is Reason, which is to Command and. G u i d e ; t h e U n r u l y H o r s e is t h e C o n c u p i s c i b l e p a r t 5. for the Appetites know no Bridle or Restraint of.
*. SuchasWrestling, Leaping, Runc'iy, &c.
Rca-
? ? i<<
The Life of Plato. '
Reason : and the gentle Horse is rhe Irascible part, becauseitobeystheReason, andisservie<<ableto itonurgentOccasions. WhenaMandoesnotmo deratethesetwolatterparts, andpurgetheirPassions to reduce 'em to a useful Mediocrity, and sub mit them to the former, he can have no other than Earthly and Mortal Opinions -,and he renders him selfMortal, because he fortifies in himself those partsthatareMortal;whereas he that makes the f i r s t p a r t r e i g n o v e r t h e t w o o t h e r -, b e c a u s e h e h a s inaspecial manner adorn'd and cultivatedthatGod which was given to him,that is his Understanding or Mind ; and because the Mind comes immediady from the only true God, he is. hereby united to the Source of Life, and already tastes the first fruits of Immortality.
AnExfU- ThisDivisionoftheSouldeservestobeettplain'd tationosthisfor fome have keen mightily mistaken to think that Dmfion. pjafoma(je^ gQu^divisible,orthatheimagin'd
therewerediversSouls? ,asifheputasmany SohIs
intheBodyofMan, astherewereGrecianOfficers
(if I may so speak) in the famous Trojan Horse.
This Philosopher did not fall into such an Error as
thisjbutonthecontraryattacksitand exposesall
theAbsurdityofit,andwithmarvellous strengthof
Argument establishes the Simplicity and Indivisibili ty of the Sonl ? ,but his design was to (how (as he
explaineshimselfinhisTbeoetititsand the 4thBook of his Republick) that there are some things that depend only on the Soul, such are all the Acts of t h e W i l l -, a n d t h a t t h e r e a r e o t h e r s w h i c h d e p e n d o n the Corporeal Faculties^ and these Corporeal Fa cultiesorPowerscompose thosetwoparts,thatmay be calFd the two Corporeal and Mortal parts of the Soul, viz. the Concupiscible and Irascible^ which cause all our Passions, and the feat of which he places intheHeartandLiver,whichhelooksuponasthe two Sources of the Blood and Spirits, on which alone the Corporeal Faculties depend, and which alone excite all the Motions and Passions of the Body.
Thus
? ? T h e Life of Plated
1 1 j
ThusaccordingtoPlatothereisbut onesimpleSoul withoutanydiversityofparts, thefeatofwhichis inthe Brain, whence itirradiates thewhole Body by meansoftheNerves, BloudandSpirits? ,butitsMo tions,thatistheActsoftheWill, maybeopposed
b y t h e M o t i o n s , a n d I m p u l s i o n s o f t h e B o d y 5 a n d 'tis this which makes these Combates between the Su perior and Inferior Soul, (that is betwixt the Soul and the Body) mention'd in the 4th Book of the Bfpcbhck. 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.
