No More Learning

PlatohastreatedthisbusinessofPlaysand Shows thoroughly, because 'tis a very important matter in relation
? ? The Lifeos Plato. 101
relation to States-, all he fays of it is admirable, and deserves to be carefully recollected. What I have recited is sufficient to give a just Idea of it : Wise Men may make on it what Reflections they thinkfit:My scopehasbeenonlytoshowthatPlato after the Example of Moses, would permit only such Divertifements as were decent, and tended to supportReligion, oratleastwerenotcontrarytoit. They who are for advancing farther, and for parti cularlyexamining theconformity theLaws ofPlato have in many things, with those that were given the
PeopleofGod, willstillbetterdiscoverthisResem blanceh which made Clemens Alexandrinus fay,that Moses assisted Plato in making his Laws; and' that Platowas onlyMosesspeakingtheAttickLanguage. Not but that some Laws are to be found inPlato ve
ry remote from the Spirit of Moses, and very contra ry to Equity : but the number of 'em is but small.
The Emperour Marcus Aurehm had reason to lay, That such a Commonwealth as Plato's is not to beexpelledinthisWorld. Notbutthattherehad already heen one which was still better, and more wisely constituted; and when Antoninus said this therewasoneinfinitelymoreperfect, ofwhichthe former was but a shadow ; but it was the work of G o d -, a n d n o n e b u t G o d c a n p u t t h i s I d e a i n t o A c t , because 'tis only he that can change the Hearts'of Men:ofwhichwehaveaveryevidentProof. A
greatEmperourhadamind toestablishPlatos. Re- publick in his Territories, to which purpose he em ploys divers Philosophers whose Knowledg was ve ryextensive, andtheirEloquenceveryperswasive: hut all his Efforts were in vain, he could never gain his end so m u c h as to establish it in one single Vil
lage-, whereas the Christian Religion was establish. ed by the Ministry ofilliterate Men, and that in spite oftheEmperours themselves.
As for Physicks in which also Meraphyficks are r,vsl. y comprehended;Platointhefirstplaceacknowledges' ' that since we are but Men, we mult not hope per
? il i fcctly
? ipi
The Life of Plato.
flctlytogaintheknowledgesNature, andthatall a Philosopher can do is to find out Probabilities -, pure and simple Truths being only known to God, whoalonecandiscover'em,toMen. Afterthisac knowledgment he divides Nature into two parts, Sprit which acts, and Matter upon which it acts.
He calls the Spirit which acts, a Being eternal, infinite, very good, immutable, which hath neither beginning nor end, but. is always the sarne, and he callsMatter, aMasswithoutformandvoid,which is always ready to be produe'd, and never exists.
Atimeuf,HisWordsareremarkable. Eirst(fayshe)allthese torn,3. thingsoughttobewelldistinguished,andwemust well establish what it is thai always exists and is never
froditeld; and what itisthatneverexists, and isal waysproducing. Thefirjiisnotconceivedbutbythe Understanding assistedbyReason. Thiswe discern
Maturhn>>tobealwaysoneandthefame. Andtheotherisonly tya-ipa. opinable,thatisknownbyOpinionassistedbytheSen
t i m e n t d i v e s t e d o f R e a s o n -, i v h i c h w e s e e t o b e a l w a y s producing,anddyingwithouteverexisting. There- Wbi ctUid f? re he gives Matter the N a m e of Other, because of
o. hcrand thecontinualChangesitundergoes:Healsogivesit Necessity. theNameofNecejfity,becauseitonlyfollowsthe
order and determination of the Spirit which governs it.
He also sometimes calls Matter Eternal, which has given occasion to some to accuse him of believ ingitto have been with God from all Eternity. But a Philosopher who in so many places maintains the unity of G o d could not fall into io gross an Error : IfMatterwereEternal, itmustthenbeGod, and sotherewouldbetwoGods, contrarytowhathe
. . . had laiddown. When thereforePlatocallsMatter itEternd! Eternal he would not be understood as if it visibly
subsistedfromallEternity, butthatitsubsistedintel ligibly in the eternal Idea of God ; and in this re- . specttheWorldissometimeslaidtobeEternal. Let us lee the very Terms Plato uses, which will leave
asijoroomtodoubtwhathisThoughtswere. Tb^ Pattern
? ? 7be Life ofPhtol 103
Patter/2oftheWorld (sayshe) isfromallEternity-,Jn^Tjme. and the World, thisvijible World is from the begin- us,Tom. 3. ning of Time, and will always thus fubfijl alone. . Plato could not think Matter to be Eternal : seeing
heaffirmstheSoultobeolderthantheBody ? ,for
iftheSoulisolderthantheBody,theBodymust
needs have been created, and consequently can't be
Eternal. AndforthisreasonhecallsGodtheFather orCreator,andFormeroftheWorld. BytheQua- neWmli
lityof Creator he signifies that he made the World7 jJ^J*'' out of Nothing, and by that of Former he figni- " H'
fies, that God after-he had created it, gave it its Form and orderly Disposition. Plato derived this Idea from the Tradition of the Hebrews, of which the Greeks had some knowledg long before him^ as
appears from Hefod's speaking of the Birth of the
Chaos. PerhapsalsohehadreadtheseWordsin
hi the Prophesy of Isaiah, God himself that,formed cbap. &f. '. li the Earth and made it, he hath efablijhed it.
OfthiscreatedMatterGod formedtheWorld,by separatinganddisposingtheElements, whichhaving simple qualities of themselves, form by their diffe rentUnion, andvariousFiguresaninfinitenumber of compounded Qualities : for Matter isdivisible to Infinity.
The Universe must necessarily comprehend all sen s i b l e t h i n g s ? , f r o m w h e n c e P l a t o d r a w s t h r e s C o n s e
quences : The first is that it can be but one : For therecanbenothingbeyondAll. Thesecondisthat it is o f a Spherical Figure-, because besides that that isthemostperfectofallFigures, 'tistheonlyone that can agree to a Being that comprehends any thing. . And thethirdisthatitcanhavenoendbutonly by theWill ofhimwhoform'dit;forsincetheChange ofallBeings can never proceed but from that which is without 'em, and since there is nothing out of the
World, thereisbyconsequencenothingthatcande stroyitbutGod inwhom alonetheWorld iscontained.
SeeingthetwofirstQualitiesoftheWorldareto. * ^ be,visibleandpalpable,-, andsircethereisnothing
H 4 visible
? ? j04 TheLifeofPlato.
visible without Fire, nor solid without Earth, Plata laysGodatfirstcreatedEarth andFire. Inwhich one may discern some Vestiges oi those words in Genesis, fathebeginningGodcreatedtheHeavens andtheEarth. ForbytheHeavensheremostIn terpretersunderstandtheEmpyrean Heaven, andnot
the Firmament,
Itwas very difficult, orrather impossiblethattwo.
thingssocontraryshouldbelongunited. There ofTimeus,foreq0(jC0Btriv'dawaytohold themtogether by -0I^-'3' aMedium, whichpartakingoftheNatureofthem
both, shouldmakeoneWholeofthemtogetherwith itself. ButifoneMedium issufficienttojoin
plain Points and Numbers, two are necessaryto join s o l i d N u m b e r s . F o r E x a m p l e ? , t h e N u m b e r s S i x a n d
. Twentyfour,whicharealikeplainNumbers, may be united by one sole Medium, which is Twelve ;
. that istofayTwelveistheproportionalNumber o r M e a n b e t w e e n S i x a n d T w e n t y f o u r -, i n l i k e m a n ner between Nine and Sixteen, the proportional Number isTwelve.
The Numbers Eighteen and Fifty four are alike solid Numbers, which cannot be united by one M e dium ? , that is, one cannot find one sole proportio
nalNumber orMean to'em:Sothat there's need oftwo-7asTwentyfourand Thirty fix;forFif ty four is to Thirty six as Thirty six is toTwenty four, and as Twenty four isto Eighteen.
'Tis thefame withplainand solidDimensions. If the World could have been plain, one Medium would have been sufficient for it; but being round, ithasneedoftwotouniteit. And'tisforthis reason that Plato says God put Air and Water between Fire and Earth ; for the fame proportion that is between Water and Earth is between Air and Fire^ this Proportional Bond, is the Divine Bond that renders the World so solid, that it can never
have an end but only by the Will of him who is theAuthorofit;on thecontrary,the. Alteration gpd Age of its Parts, serve to support and renew it.
But
? ? T h e Life of Plato. '
1 0 5
But thoughtheWorldinthisStatewassolid,yet it still wanted perfection, for no Body is perfect: without Intelligence. Therefore God, who design'd the Universe should be asperfect asit could be, gave itaSpirit, whichPlatocallstheSouloftheWorld,
which governs in it, and preserves Harmony in it, maugrethediscordoftheElements. Hefaysthis Soulwas createdbeforetheWorld;andperhapshe imagin'd this from a misconstruction of those words inGenesis. AndtheSpiritofGodmoveduponthe face of the waters, Tis true, he also calls this Soul proportion, and Symmetry- which might induceonetosupposethathemeans nothingelseby it, but the just Temperament of the Elements themselves: But the definition he gives of the Soul, will not suffer his words to be taken in this fense ; for he says 'tis a Substance that partici pates of the indivisible Substance, a Composition of thefame andtheother;thatis,ofthefirstMatter, and theUniversalSpirit;andherebyhewouldihew that Matter was a Medium that contained an Immor tal, Immaterial, andconsequentlyIndivisibleSpirit-, andanAnimalandCorporeal Spirit;justlikeour- Bodies which are compos'd of three things, of the
fame, of the other, and of Substance, which he ex plainsby very obscureExamplestakenfromNum-
iers, and Mufick. And herein Plato's Error con<
isted, namely in giving the World a Soul like ours, and still more perfect. Therefore he calls the WorldGod, butaGodthatiscreatedanddissoluble. So that he was so far however from confounding Nature with God himself, that he has thoroughly distinguished them, for he calls God alone the ef
f i c i e n t C a u s e , o r P o w e r -, a n d h e c a l l s N a t u r e t h e Consequent, whichobeysthefrfiCauseforthecrea
tion of Beings; And subjects it entirely to. the Go-Inbis Phi- vernmentofthatfirstCause. Platodid,notcontentleb-Tora-2-
himself in giving the World a Soul, he also gives onetotheHeavensandtotheStars. Andperhaps this false Idea of his, was occasioned by his mis
under-
? ? \o6 The Life ofPlata
understanding of some Passages of the Prophets, for
instance, that which God fays in Isaiah. Ihave cbtp. 45. commandedalltheHostoftheHeavens. Or itmay
i2. '
be, this Language of Plato's is only Poetical ; and being Homer's Scholar and Rival, he was willing to animate every thing like his Master, who inspires Life into the most insensible Beings, insomuch that hegivesaSoultoaSpear. AndtheHolyProphets sometimes speak after the same manner.
Md Motion A11 the ^a? an PhilosoPhers before W<<ty had hadabegin-taught that Motion, and consequently that Time ring, was Eternal ; and itwas on this Principle that De-
mocritmfounded hisArguments when hemaintain'd that all could not be created, and thence infer'd theEternityoftheWorld, Platowasthefirstwho by a Beam of Truth, difcover'd through this thick Darkness, that Time and Motion had a beginning aswellastheUniverse. Foritbeingimpossiblethat Matter should be of it self, as one must be fcrc'd to acknowledge, neither is it any more possible for Motion either to exist of it self, or to be a Qua
lityaffix'dtoMatter, whichthenwould neverrest. Motion therefore must proceed from without, and was imprinted on Matter by the fame Spirit that c r e a t e d it. P l a t o w a s s o d e e p l y s e n s i b l e o f t h i s T r u t h , thathe made use of itto dissipatethe Errors of that senseless Philosophy which had reign'd to hisTime ; N o w he fays, when God had created the World,
and communicated to itthe Motion that was most . y. suitable^ He was extremely pleased tosee his, man Tom, Wcrk move, live, and almost resemble the Immortal
3. '
Godsthemselves. (AndforthisreasonPlatocallsit God:) Andhewouldhaverendereditmoreconfor
mable to his eternal,Idea, but that it was impossible
to communicate Eternity to a created Being, there fore he took this expedient to create as it were a. moving Image of Eternity, And indisposing the
Heavens he made this Image of Eternity, which is. permanentinBeingonly; ThisImagewhichgoeson] byNumbers, thatistofay, Time,whichdidnotsub-
sijh
? ? The Life of J*lato7 1oy
siftbeforetheCreationoftheWorld. Timenotbe ing capable of subsisting but with Motion, whereas Eternity subsists alone by it self, without being ei therOldorYoung; and'tisonlyofthisthatone
can properly fay // is ; the Terms of past, present, and future, cannot agree to it, because they are fluid parts of Time, whose property itis to be al
ways just producing, but never existing.
We don'tperceive (continues he) that we very un fitlyattributeto the Eternal Being thesepartsofV* lmF? ~
Time,andtheTermsITWAS andIT SHALL BE,Sg*S\
for we Jay of this true Being, It was, is, and isto bout thee come. But we oughtalwaystofay,Itis;forthis*tnriBiing.
onlyagreestoitaccordingtotrueReason. Itwas,and itshall beought nevertobesaidbutofthatwhich isproduced in Time : These are but Motions, that which always is, and is always the fame, without: any Change, can't be called either Old or Tourig at any time, nor receive any of the Modes which Birth crProduffionaffixestothingsthataremoveable, and theObjelisofSense;these aretheparts ofTime which imitates Eternity, and proceeds by Number and Measure, &c. so that Time was created with the Heavens, that as they were producd together,
sothey might endtogether, ifeverthey cometobe dissolved.
This Truth isconfirm'd by the Writings of the Saints,whoteachthatTimeandMotionhadabe ginning, and must have an end. The Beauty of
this Discovery, and the Strength of this proof, whichmay be calledaDemonstration, didnothin
der Aristotle from contradicting his Master in this
point, and from maintaining his Error by the fol
lowing Argument, which has nothing of Solidity in AriflotleV
sentInstantisafortofMedium whichhasabe-thustt. bip, ginning and end, a beginning of the Ensure, and an ? 1 bisPby-
endofthePast,Timemust neceifc. ri'ybefromcllf"1-*' Eternity,
? ? mre'
hadconceivedinhimself. AsanableWorkman has
inhisHead thewhole dispositionand formofhis
W o r k b e f o r e h e b e g i n s it-, s o t h a t h e w o r k s a c c o r d
ing to his Idea after such a manner that what he.
performsis(ifImaysosay)onlytheCopyofthat Original which he has imagined ? ,the whole Work
that subsists being a mere Imitation : After the like manner, God in creating the World only ;executed that eternal Idea he had conceived of it-, for the World andallthatitcontainsexistedintelligiblyin
io8
The Life of Plato. 1
Eternity, because the most remote Time one can take, is in some present Instant; for in Time one can only take thepresent Instant :so that seeing the present Instant is a beginning and end, Time must needs havebeenfromallEternity;nopersonbeing ableto assign aTime which has not been preceded by Time, andsoadinfinitum. AndifTimeiseternal,Mo tionmust besotoo,sinceTime is only aTaJJionof Motion.
This isthe Language of a Philosopher, so blind . . thathecouldnotconceivethattheWorldwascrea- ^*/>><<. ted, and that before the Creation there was neither tbtrTme TimenorMotion,butEternity, inwhichnothing totMotion, ran from the present to the pate, but all was present
and stable: God alone being beforeTime, in whom there is no successive Course either of Time or Motion.
Before we pursuethisMatterwe mustexplain
Whatviz-whatPlatomeans, whenhefaysGodcreatedthe to'*Hits World according to that Eternal Pattern which he
litOriginGod, beforeitexistedreallyinNature. Thisisthe
ofthose meaningofPlato'sIdeaswhichthePythagoreansand idiot. h. e had taken out of the History of the Hebrews j
where we fee God gives Moses the Models of all thoseWorkshewouldhavehimmake:Butitought to be remember'd that these Ideas are universal and notparticular-,thatisthey comprehend theSpecies, asMan, andnottheIndividuals,asAlexander: And it must father be minded that they are not a Being separate from God, but are in God. . This is the
lm>.
? ? 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.