No More Learning

At the left Hand there is an open Meadow, that
is only a green Plot enclos'd with a quick-set Hedge. There sometimes I
take the Air, and divert myself with good Company. Upon the right Hand
there's an Orchard, where, when you have Leisure, you shall see a great
Variety of foreign Trees, that I have brought by Degrees to endure this
Climate.

_Ti. _ O wonderful! the King himself has not such a Seat.

_Eu. _ At the End of the upper Walk there's an Aviary, which I'll shew
you after Dinner, and there you'll see various Forms, and hear various
Tongues, and their Humours are as various. Among some of them there is
an Agreeableness and mutual Love, and among others an irreconcilable
Aversion: And then they are so tame and familiar, that when I'm at
Supper, they'll come flying in at the Window to me, even to the Table,
and take the Meat out of my Hands. If at any Time I am upon the
Draw-Bridge you see there, talking, perhaps with a Friend, they'll some
of them sit hearkening, others of them will perch upon my Shoulders or
Arms, without any Sort of Fear, for they find that no Body hurts them.
At the further End of the Orchard I have my Bees, which is a Sight worth
seeing. But I must not show you any more now, that I may have something
to entertain you with by and by. I'll shew you the rest after Dinner.

_Boy. _ Sir, my Mistress and Maid say that the Dinner will be spoil'd.

_Eu. _ Bid her have a little Patience, and we'll come presently. My
friends, let us wash, that we may come to the Table with clean Hands as
well as Hearts. The very _Pagans_ us'd a Kind of Reverence in this Case;
how much more then should _Christians_ do it; if it were but in
Imitation of that sacred Solemnity of our Saviour with his Disciples at
his last Supper: And thence comes the Custom of washing of Hands, that
if any Thing of Hatred, Ill-Will, or any Pollution should remain in the
Mind of any one, he might purge it out, before he sits down at the
Table. For it is my Opinion, that the Food is the wholesomer for the
Body, if taken with a purified Mind.

_Ti. _ We believe that it is a certain Truth.

_Eu. Christ_ himself gave us this Example, that we should sit down to
the Table with a Hymn; and I take it from this, that we frequently read
in the Evangelists, that he bless'd or gave Thanks to his Father before
he broke Bread, and that he concluded with giving of Thanks: And if you
please, I'll say you a Grace that St. _Chrysostom_ commends to the Skies
in one of his Homilies, which he himself interpreted.

_Ti. _ We desire you would.

_Eu. _ Blessed be thou, O God, who has fed me from my Youth up, and
providest Food for all Flesh: Fill thou our Hearts with Joy and
Gladness, that partaking plentifully of thy Bounty, we may abound to
every good Work, through _Christ Jesus_ our Lord, with whom, to thee and
the Holy Ghost, be Glory, Honour, and Power, World without End. _Amen. _

_Eu. _ Now sit down, and let every Man take his Friend next him: The
first Place is yours, _Timothy_, in Right of your Grey Hairs.

_Ti. _ The only Thing in the World that gives a Title to it.

_Eu. _ We can only judge of what we see, and must leave the rest to God.
_Sophronius_, keep you close to your Principal. _Theophilus_ and
_Eulalius_, do you take the right Side of the Table; _Chrysoglottus_ and
_Theodidactus_ they shall have the left. _Uranius_ and _Nephalius_ must
make a Shift with what is left. I'll keep this Corner.

_Ti. _ This must not be, the Master of the House ought to take the first
Place.

_Eu. _ The House is as much yours as mine, Gentlemen; however, if I may
rule within my own Jurisdiction, I'll sit where I please, and I have
made my Choice already. Now may Christ, the Enlivener of all, and
without whom nothing can be pleasant, vouchsafe to be with us, and
exhilarate our Minds by his Presence.

_Ti. _ I hope he will be pleased so to do; but where shall he sit, for
the Places are all taken up?

_Eu. _ I would have him in every Morsel and Drop that we eat and drink;
but especially, in our Minds. And the better to fit us for the Reception
of so divine a Guest, if you will, you shall have some Portion of
Scripture read in the Interim; but so that you shall not let that hinder
you from eating your Dinner heartily.

_Ti. _ We will eat heartily, and attend diligently.

_Eu. _ This Entertainment pleases me so much the better, because it
diverts vain and frivolous Discourse, and affords Matter of profitable
Conversation: I am not of their Mind, who think no Entertainment
diverting, that does not abound with foolish wanton Stories, and bawdy
Songs. There is pure Joy springs from a clear and pure Conscience; and
those are the happy Conversations, where such Things are mentioned, that
we can reflect upon afterwards with Satisfaction and Delight; and not
such as we shall afterwards be ashamed of, and have Occasion to repent
of.

_Ti. _ It were well if we were all as careful to consider those Things as
we are sure they are true.

_Eu. _ And besides, these Things have not only a certain and valuable
Profit in them, but one Month's Use of them, would make them become
pleasant too.

_Ti. _ And therefore it is the best Course we can take to accustom
ourselves to that which is best.

_Eu. _ Read us something, Boy, and speak out distinctly.

_Boy. _ Prov. xxi. _The King's Heart is in the Hand of the Lord; as the
Rivers of Waters, he turneth it whither soever he will. Every Man is
right in his own Eyes, but the Lord pondereth the Hearts. To do Justice
and Judgment, is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice_, ver. 1, 2,
3.

_Eu. _ Hold there, that's enough; for it is better to take down a little
with an Appetite, than to devour more than a Man can digest.

_Ti. _ 'Tis better, I must confess, in more Cases than this: _Pliny_
would have one never have _Tully's_ Offices out of ones Hand; and in my
Opinion, it were well if all Persons, but especially Statesmen, had him
every Word by Heart: And as for this little Book of Proverbs, I have
always look'd upon it the best Manual we can carry about with us.

_Eu. _ I knew our Dinner would be unsavoury, and therefore I procured
this Sauce.

_Ti. _ Here is nothing but what is very good; but if you had given us
this Lecture to a Dish of Beets only, without either Pepper, Wine or
Vinegar, it would have been a delicious Treat.

_Eu. _ I could commend it with a better Grace, if I did but perfectly
understand what I have heard. And I would we had some able Divine among
us, that did not only understand it, but would thoroughly expound it.
But I don't know how far it may be lawful for us Laymen to descant upon
these Matters.

_Ti. _ Indeed, I see no Hurt in't, even for a _Tarpawlin_ to do it,
abating the Rashness of passing Sentence in the Case. And who knows but
that _Christ_ himself (who has promis'd to be present, where two or
three are gathered together in his Name) may vouchsafe his Assistance to
us, that are a much larger Congregation.

_Eu. _ What if we should take these three Verses, and divide 'em among us
nine Guests?

_Guests. _ We like it well, provided the Master of the Feast lead the
Way.

_Eu. _ I would not refuse it; but that I am afraid I shall entertain you
worse in my Exposition, than I do in my Dinner: But however, Ceremony
apart, that I may not seem to want much Persuasion, omitting other
Meanings that Interpreters put upon the Place: This seems to me to be
the moral Sense; "That private Men may be wrought upon by Admonition,
Reproofs, Laws and Menaces; but Kings who are above Fear, the more they
are opposed, the fiercer their Displeasure; and therefore Kings, as
often as they are resolutely bent upon any, should be left to
themselves: Not in respect of any Confidence of the Goodness of their
Inclinations; but because God many Times makes Use of their Follies and
Wickedness, as the Instruments for the Punishment of the Wicked. " As he
forbad that _Nebuchodonosor_ should be resisted, because he had
determin'd to chastise his People by him, as an Instrument. And
peradventure, that which _Job_ says, looks this Way: _Who maketh the
Hypocrite reign for the Sins of his People. _ And perhaps, that which
_David_ says, bewailing his Sin, has the same Tendency: _Against thee
only have I sinned, and done this Evil in thy Sight:_ Not as if the
Iniquity of Kings were not fatal to the People; but because there is
none that has Authority to condemn them, but God, from whose Judgment
there is indeed no Appeal, be the Person never so great.

_Ti. _ I like the Interpretation well enough thus far; but what is meant
by _the Rivers of Waters? _

_Eu. _ There is a Similitude made Use of that explains it. The Wrath of a
King is impetuous and unruly, and not to be led this Way or that Way,
but presses forward with a restless Fury: As the Sea spreads itself over
the Land, and flows sometimes this Way, and sometimes that Way, not
sparing Pastures nor Palaces, and sometimes buries in its own Bowels all
that stands in its Way; and if you should attempt to stop its Course, or
to turn it another Way, you may e'en as well let it alone: Whereas, let
it but alone, and it will sink of itself, as it happens in many great
Rivers, as is storied of _Achelous. _ There is less Injury done by
quietly yielding, than by violently resisting.

_Ti. _ Is there no Remedy then against the Unruliness of wicked Kings?

_Eu. _ The first will be, not to receive a Lion into the City: The
second, is to tie him up by parliamentary and municipal Laws, that he
can't easily break out into Tyranny: But the best of all would be, to
train him up from his Childhood, in the Principles of Piety and Virtue,
and to form his Will, before he understands his Power. Good Counsels and
Persuasions go a great Way, provided they be seasonable and gentle. But
the last Resort must be to beg of God, to incline the King's Heart to
those Things that are becoming a Christian King.

_Ti. _ Do you excuse yourself, because you are a Layman? If I were a
Batchelor in Divinity, I should value myself upon this Interpretation.

_Eu. _ I can't tell whether it is right or wrong, it is enough for me if
it were not impious or heretical. However, I have done what you required
of me; and now, according to the Rules of Conversation, 'tis my Turn to
hear your Opinion.

_Ti. _ The Compliment you pass'd upon my grey Hairs, gives me some kind
of Title to speak next to the Text, which will bear yet a more
mysterious Meaning.

_Eu. _ I believe it may, and I should be glad to hear it.

_Ti. _ "By the Word King, may be meant, a Man so perfected, as to have
wholly subdued his Lusts, and to be led by the Impulse of the Divine
Spirit only. Now perhaps it may not be proper to tie up such a Person to
the Conditions of human Laws; but to leave him to his Master, by whom he
is govern'd: Nor is he to be judg'd according to the Measures by which
the Frailty of imperfect Men advances towards true Holiness; but if he
steers another Course, we ought to say with St. _Paul, God hath accepted
him, and to his own Master he stands or falls. He that is spiritual,
judgeth of all Things, but he himself is judged of no Man_. " To such,
therefore, let no Man prescribe; for the Lord, who hath appointed Bounds
to the Seas and Rivers, hath the Heart of the King in his Hand, and
inclines it which Way soever it pleases him: What need is there to
prescribe to him, that does of his own accord better Things than human
Laws oblige him to? Or, how great a Rashness were it, to bind that
Person by human Constitutions, who, it is manifest, by evident Tokens,
is directed by the Inspirations of the Holy Spirit.

_Eu. _ O _Timothy_, thou hast not only got grey Hairs on this Head, but
you have likewise a Mind venerable for experimental Knowledge. And I
would to God, that we had more such Kings as this King of yours among
Christians, who, indeed, all of them ought to be such. But we have dwelt
long enough upon our Eggs and Herbs; let them be taken away, and
something else set in their Room.

_Ti. _ We have done so well already on this Ovation, that there is no
Need of any more, either of Supplication or Triumph.

_Eu. _ But since, by God's Assistance, we have succeeded so well in the
first Verse, I wish your _Umbra_ would explain the other, which seems to
me a little more obscure.

_Soph. _ If you'll put a good Construction upon what I shall say, I will
give you my Thoughts upon it. How else can a Shadow pretend to give
Light to any Thing?

_Eu. _ I undertake that for all the Company; such Shadows as you give as
much Light as our Eyes will well bear.

_Soph. _ The same Thing seems to be meant here, that _Paul_ says: _That
there are several Ways of Life, that lead to Holiness_. Some affect the
Ministry, some Celibacy, others a married State; some a retired Life,
others publick Administrations of the Government, according to the
various Dispositions of their Bodies and Minds: Again, to one Man all
Meats are indifferent, another puts a Difference betwixt this Meat and
that; another he makes a Difference of Days, another thinks every Day
alike. In these Things St. _Paul_ would have every one enjoy his own
Freedom of Mind, without reproaching another; nor should we censure any
Man in those Cases, but leave him to be judg'd by him that weigheth the
Heart. It oftentimes happens, that he that eats may be more acceptable
to God, than he that forbears; and he that breaks a Holy-day, than he
that seems to observe it; and he that marries, is more acceptable to
God, than a great many that live single. I who am but a Shadow, have
spoken my Mind.

_Eu. _ I wish I could have Conversation with such Shadows often. I think
you have hit the Nail on the Head: But here is one that has lived a
Batchelor, and not of the Number of Saints, who have made themselves
Eunuchs for the Sake of the Kingdom of God but was made so by force, to
gratify our Bellies, _till God shall destroy both them and Meats_. It is
a Capon of my own feeding. I am a great Lover of boil'd Meats. This is a
very good Soop, and these are choice Lettuces that are in it. Pray every
one help himself to what he likes best. But that you may not be
deceiv'd, I tell you, that we have a Course of Roast a coming, and after
that some small Desert, and so conclude.

_Ti. _ But we exclude your Wife from Table.

_Eu. _ When you bring your own Wives, mine shall keep them Company. She
would, if she were here, be nothing but a Mute in our Company. She talks
with more Freedom among the Women, and we are more at Liberty to
philosophise. And besides that, there would be Danger, lest we should be
serv'd as _Socrates_ was, when he had several Philosophers at Table with
him, who took more Pleasure in talking than they did in eating, and held
a long Dispute, had all their Meat thrown on the Floor by _Xantippe_,
who in a Rage overturn'd the Table.

_Ti. _ I believe you have nothing of that to be afraid of: She's one of
the best-humour'd Women in the World.

_Eu. _ She is such a one indeed, that I should be loath to change her if
I might; and I look upon myself to be very happy upon that Account. Nor
do I like their Opinion, who think a Man happy, because he never had a
Wife; I approve rather what the _Hebrew_ Sage said, _He that has a good
Wife has a good Lot_.

_Ti. _ It is commonly our own Fault, if our Wives be bad, either for
loving such as are bad, or making them so; or else for not teaching them
better.

_Eu. _ You say very right, but all this While I want to hear the third
Verse expounded: And methinks the divine _Theophilus_ looks as if he had
a Mind to do it.

_Theo. _ Truly my Mind was upon my Belly; but however, I'll speak my
Mind, since I may do it without Offence.

_Eu. _ Nay, it will be a Favour to us if you should happen to be in any
Error, because by that Means you will give us Occasion of finding the
Truth.

_Th. _ The Sentence seems to be of the same Importance with that the Lord
expresses by the Prophet _Hosea_, Chap. vi. _I desire Mercy and not
Sacrifice, and the Knowledge of God more than Burnt-Offerings_. This is
fully explain'd, and to the Life, by the Lord _Jesus_, in St. _Matthew_,
Chap. ix. who being at Table in the House of _Levi_ the Publican, with
several others of the same Stamp and Profession, the _Pharisees_, who
were puff'd up with their external Observance of the Law, without any
Regard to the Precepts of it, whereupon the whole Law and Prophets
depend, (with a Design to alienate the Affections of his Disciples from
him) ask'd them, why their Master sat at the Table of Publicans and
Sinners. From whose Conversation those _Jews_, that would be accounted
the more holy, abstain'd; to that Degree, that if any of the stricter
Sort had met any of them by Chance, as soon as they came Home they would
wash themselves. And when the Disciples, being yet but raw, could give
no Answer; the Lord answer'd both for himself and them: _They_ (says he)
_who are whole need not a Physician, but they that are sick; but go you
and learn what that meaneth, I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice; for I
came not to call the Righteous but Sinners_.

_Eu. _ Indeed you have very handsomely explain'd the Matter, by the
comparing of Texts, which is the best Way of expounding Scripture. But I
would fain know what it is he calls Sacrifice, and what Mercy. For how
can we reconcile it, that God should be against Sacrifices, who had
commanded so many to be offered?

_Th. _ How far God is against Sacrifices, he himself teaches us in the
first Chapter of the Prophecy of _Isaiah_. There were certain legal
Obligations among the _Jews_, which were rather Significations of
Holiness, than of the Essence of it; of this Sort are Holy-Days,
Sabbatisms, Fasts, Sacrifices; and there were certain other Obligations
of perpetual Force, being good in their own Nature, and not meerly by
being commanded. Now God was displeased with the _Jews_, not because
they did observe the Rites and Ceremonies, but because being vainly
puffed up with these, they neglected those Things which God does in a
more especial Manner require of us; and wallowing in Avarice, Pride,
Rapines, Hatred, Envy, and other Iniquities, they thought they merited
Heaven, because that upon Holy-Days, they visited the Temple, offered
Sacrifices, abstained from forbidden Meats, and frequently fasted;
embracing the Shadow of Religion, and neglecting the Substance. But in
that, he says, _I will have Mercy, and not Sacrifice_; I take it to be
said according to the Idiom of the _Hebrew_ Tongue; that is to say,
_Mercy rather than Sacrifices, as Solomon_ interprets it in this Text,
_to do Mercy and Judgment, is more acceptable to the Lord than
Sacrifices_. And again, the Scripture expresses all the charitable
Offices to our Neighbour, under the Terms of Mercy, and eleemosynary
Tenderness, which takes its Name from Pity. By Sacrifices, I suppose is
intended, whatsoever respects corporal Ceremonies, and has any Affinity
with Judaism, such as are the choice of Meats, appointed Garments,
Fasting, Sacrifices, the saying over of Prayers, as a Boy says his
Lesson: resting upon Holy-Days. These Things, as they are not to be
neglected in their due Season, so they become displeasing to God, if a
Man relying too much upon these Observances, shall neglect to do Acts of
Mercy, as often as his Brother's Necessity requires it. And it has some
Appearance of Holiness in it, to avoid the Conversation of wicked Men:
But this ought to give Place as oft as there is an Opportunity offer'd
of shewing Charity to our Neighbour. It is a Point of Obedience to rest
upon Holy Days: But it would be very impious to make such a Conscience
of a Day as to suffer a Brother to perish upon it. Therefore to keep the
Lord's Day is a Kind of _Sacrifice_: But to be reconcil'd to my Brother
is a Point of _Mercy_. And then, as for _Judgment_, though that may seem
to respect Persons in Power; who oftentimes oppress the weak therewith,
yet it seems reasonable enough in my Opinion that the poor Man should
remind him of that in _Hosea, And the Knowledge of God more than burnt
Offerings_. No Man can be said to keep the Law of God, but he that keeps
it according to the Mind of God. The _Jews_ could lift up an Ass upon
the Sabbath that was fallen into a Pit, and yet calumniated our Saviour
for preserving a Man upon that Day. This was a preposterous Judgment,
and not according to the Knowledge of God; for they did not consider
that these Things were made for Man, and not Man for them.
But I should
have esteem'd it Presumption in me to have said these Things, if you had
not commanded it; and I had rather learn of others Things more _à
propos_.

_Eu. _ This is so far from being a Presumption, that it looks rather like
an Inspiration. But while we are thus plentifully feeding our Souls, we
must not neglect their Companions.

_Ti. _ Who are those?

_Eu. _ Our Bodies; are not they the Soul's Companions? I had rather call
them so, than Instruments, Habitations or Sepulchres.

_Ti. _ This is certainly to be plentifully refresh'd when the whole Man
is refresh'd.

_Eu. _ I see you are very backward to help yourselves; therefore, if you
please, I'll order the Roast-Meat to be brought us, lest instead of a
good Entertainment I should treat you with a long one. Now you see your
Ordinary. Here is a Shoulder of Mutton, but it is a very fine one, a
Capon and two Brace of Partridges. These indeed I had from the Market,
this little Farm supply'd me with the rest.

_Ti. _ It is a noble Dinner, fit for a Prince.

_Eu. _ For a _Carmelite_, you mean. But such as it is you are welcome to
it. If the Provision be not very dainty you have it very freely.

_Ti. _ Your House is so full of Talk, that not only the Walls but the
very Cup speaks.

_Eu. _ What does it say?

_Ti. No Man is hurt but by himself. _

_Eu. _ The Cup pleads for the Cause of the Wine. For it is a common
Thing, if Persons get a Fever or the Head-ach by over drinking, to lay
it upon the Wine, when they have brought it upon themselves by their
Excess.

_Soph. _ Mine speaks _Greek_. [Greek: En oinô alêtheia. ] _In Wine there's
Truth_ (when Wine is in the Wit is out. )

_Eu. _ This gives us to understand that it is not safe for Priests or
Privy-Counsellors to give themselves so to Wine, because Wine commonly
brings that to the Mouth that lay conceal'd in the Heart.

_Soph. _ In old Time among the _Egyptians_ it was unlawful for their
Priests to drink any Wine at all, and yet in those Days there was no
auricular Confession.

_Eu. _ It is now become lawful for all Persons to drink Wine, but how
expedient it is I know not. What Book is that, _Eulalius_, you take out
of your Pocket? It seems to be a very neat one, it is all over gilded.

_Eulal. _ It is more valuable for the Inside than the Out. It is St.
_Paul's_ Epistles, that I always carry about me, as my beloved
Entertainment, which I take out now upon the Occasion of something you
said, which minds me of a Place that I have beat my Brains about a long
Time, and I am not come to a full Satisfaction in yet. It is in the 6th
Chapter of the first Epistle to the _Corinthians_, _All Things are
lawful for me, but all Things are not expedient; all Things are lawful
for me, but I will not be brought under the Power of any_. In the first
Place (if we will believe the Stoicks) nothing can be profitable to us,
that is not honest: How comes _Paul_ then to distinguish betwixt that
which is lawful, and that which is expedient? It is not lawful to whore,
or get drunk, how then are all Things lawful? But if _Paul_ speaks of
some particular Things only, which he would have to be lawful, I can't
guess by the Tenor of the Place, which those particular Things are.
From that which follows, it may be gather'd, that he there speaks of the
Choice of Meats. For some abstain from Things offer'd to Idols, and
others from Meats forbidden by _Moses_'s Law. In the 8th Chapter he
treats of Things offer'd to Idols, and in the 10th Chapter explaining
the Meaning of this Place, says, _All Things are lawful for me, but all
Things are not expedient; all Things are lawful for me, but all Things
edify not. Let no Man seek his own, but every Man the Things of another.
Whatsoever is sold in the Shambles, eat ye_. And that which St. _Paul_
subjoins, agrees with what he said before: _Meats for the Belly, and the
Belly for Meats; but God shall destroy both it and them_. Now that which
has Respect to the _Judaical_ Choice of Meats, is in the Close of the
10th Chapter. _Give none Offence, neither to the Jews nor the Gentiles,
nor to the Church of God; even as I please all Men in all Things, not
seeking my own Profit, but the Profit of many, that they may be sav'd_.
Where in that he saith to the _Gentiles_, he seems to have Respect to
Things offer'd to Idols; and where he speaketh to the _Jews_ he seems to
refer to the Choice of Meats; what he says to the Church of God
appertains to the Weak, collected out of both Sorts. It was lawful, it
seems, to eat of all Meats whatsoever, and all Things that are Clean to
the Clean. But the Question remaining is, Whether it be expedient or no?
The Liberty of the Gospel makes all Things lawful; but Charity has
always a Regard to my Neighbour's Good, and therefore often abstains
from Things lawful, rather chasing to condescend to what is for
another's Advantage, than to make Use of its own Liberty. But now here
arises a double Difficulty; first, that here is nothing that either
precedes or follows in the Context that agrees with this Sense. For he
chides the _Corinthians_ for being Seditious, Fornicators, Adulterers,
and given to go to Law before wicked Judges. Now what Coherence is there
with this to say, _All Things are lawful for me, but all Things are not
expedient_? And in the following Matter, he returns to the Case of
_Incontinence_, which he had also repeated before, only leaving out the
Charge of Contention: _But the Body_, says he, _is not for Fornication,
but for the Lord, and the Lord for the Body. _ But however, this Scruple
may be solv'd too, because a little before, in the Catalogue of Sins, he
had made Mention of Idolatry. _Be not deceived, neither Fornicators, nor
Idolaters, nor Adulterers_; now the Eating of Things offer'd to Idols is
a certain Kind of Idolatry, and therefore he immediately subjoins, _Meat
is for the Belly, and the Belly for Meat_. Intimating, that in a Case of
Necessity, and for a Season, a Man may eat any Thing, unless Charity
towards his Neighbour shall dissuade it: But that Uncleanness is in all
Persons, and at all Times to be detested. It is Matter of Necessity that
we eat, but that Necessity shall be taken away at the Resurrection of
the Dead. But if we are lustful, that proceeds from Wickedness. But
there is another Scruple that I can't tell how to solve, or how to
reconcile to that Passage: _But I will not be brought under the Power of
any_. For he says, he has the Power of all Things, and yet he will not
be brought under the Power of any one. If he may be said to be under
another Man's Power, that abstains for Fear of offending, it is what he
speaks of himself in the ninth Chapter, _For though I be free from all
Men, yet have made myself Servant to all, that I may gain all. _ St.
_Ambrose_ stumbling, I suppose, at this Scruple, takes this to be the
Apostle's genuine Sense for the better Understanding of what he says in
the 9th Chapter, where he claims to himself the Power of doing that
which the rest of the Apostles (either true or false) did, of receiving
a Maintenance from them to whom he preach'd the Gospel. But he forbore
this, although he might have done it, as a Thing expedient among the
_Corinthians_, whom he reprov'd for so many and enormous Iniquities. And
moreover, he that receives, is in some Degree in the Power of him from
whom he receives, and suffers some Kind of Abatement in his Authority.
For he that takes, cannot so freely reprove his Benefactor; and he that
gives will not so easily take a Reprehension from him that he has
obliged. And in this did the Apostle _Paul_ abstain from that which was
lawful, for the Credit of his apostolical Liberty, which in this Case he
would not have to be rendered obnoxious to any one, that he might with
the greater Freedom and Authority reprehend their Vices. Indeed, I like
this Explication of St. _Ambrose_ very well. But yet, if any Body had
rather apply this Passage to Meats, St. _Paul_'s, Saying, _but I will
not be brought under the Power of any_, may be taken in this Sense:
Although I may sometimes abstain from Meats offered to Idols, or
forbidden by the _Mosaical_ Law, out of Regard to the Salvation of my
Brothers Souls, and the Furtherance of the Gospel; yet my Mind is free,
well knowing that it is lawful to eat all Manner of Meats, according to
the Necessity of the Body. But there were some false Apostles, who went
about to persuade them, that some Meats, were in themselves, by their
own Nature unclean, and were to be forborn, not upon Occasion only, but
at all Times; and that as strict as Adultery or Murder. Now those that
were thus misled, were reduced under another's Power, and fell from
their Gospel Liberty. _Theophylact_ (as I remember) is the only Man that
advances an Opinion different from all these. _It is lawful_, says he,
_to eat all Sorts of Meats; but it is not expedient to eat to Excess;
for from Luxury comes Lust. _ There is no Impiety, indeed, in this Sense;
but it does not seem to me to be the genuine Sense of the Place. I have
acquainted you with my Scruples, it will become your Charity to set me
to Rights.

_Eu. _ Your Discourse is, indeed, answerable to your Name, and one that
knows how to propound Questions as you do, has no Need of any Body to
answer them but himself. For you have so proposed your Doubts, as to put
one quite out of doubt, altho' St. _Paul_, in that Epistle, (proposing
to handle many Things at once) passes often from one Argument to
another, repeating what he had intermitted.

_Ch. _ If I were not afraid, that by my Loquacity I should divert you
from eating your Dinners, and did think it were lawful to intermix any
Thing out of profane Authors with sacred Discourses, I would venture to
propose something that I read to Day; not so much with Perplexity, as
with a singular Delight.

_Eu. _ Whatsoever is pious, and conduces to good Manners, ought not to be
called profane. The first Place must indeed be given to the Authority of
the Scriptures; but nevertheless, I sometimes find some Things said or
written by the Antients; nay, even by the Heathens; nay, by the Poets
themselves, so chastly, so holily, and so divinely, that I cannot
persuade myself, but that when they wrote them, they were divinely
inspired; and perhaps the Spirit of Christ diffuses itself farther than
we imagine; and that there are more Saints than we have in our
Catalogue. To confess freely among Friends, I can't read _Tully_ of _Old
Age_, of _Friendship_, his _Offices_, or his _Tusculan Questions_,
without kissing the Book, and Veneration for that divine Soul. And on
the contrary, when I read some of our modern Authors, treating of
_Politics, Oeconomics_ and _Ethics_, good God! how cold they are in
Comparison of these? Nay, how do they seem to be insensible of what they
write themselves? So that I had rather lose _Scotus_ and twenty more
such as he, than one _Cicero_ or _Plutarch_. Not that I am wholly
against them neither; but because, by the reading of the one, I find
myself become better; whereas, I rise from the other, I know not how
coldly affected to Virtue, but most violently inclin'd to Cavil and
Contention; therefore never fear to propose it, whatsoever it is.

_Ch. _ Although all _Tully_'s Books of Philosophy seem to breathe out
something divine; yet that Treatise of _Old Age_, that he wrote in old
Age, seems to me to be according to the _Greek_ Proverb; _the Song of
the dying Swan_. I was reading it to Day, and these Words pleasing me
above the rest, I got 'em by Heart: _Should it please God to give me a
Grant to begin my Life again from my very Cradle, and once more to run
over the Course of my Years I have lived, I would not upon any Terms
accept of it: Nor would I, having in a Manner finished my Race, run it
over again from the starting Place to the Goal: For what Pleasure has
this Life in it? nay, rather, what Pain has it not? But if there were
not, there would be undoubtedly in it Satiety or Trouble. I am not for
bewailing my past Life as a great many, and learned Men too, have done,
nor do I repent that I have liv'd; because, I have liv'd so, that I am
satisfy'd I have not liv'd in vain. And when I leave this Life, I leave
it as an Inn, and not as a Place of Abode. For Nature has given us our
Bodies as an Inn to lodge in, and not to dwell in. O! glorious Day will
that be, when I shall leave this Rabble-rout and Defilements of the
World behind me, to go to that Society and World of Spirits! _ Thus far
out of _Cato_. What could be spoken more divinely by a Christian? I wish
all the Discourses of our Monks, even with their holy Virgins, were such
as the Dialogue of this aged Pagan, with the Pagan Youths of his Time.

_Eu. _ It may be objected, that this Colloquy of _Tully_'s was but a
Fiction.

_Ch. _ It is all one to me, whether the Honour of these Expressions be
given to _Cato_, who thought and spoke them, or to _Cicero_, whose Mind
could form such divine Things in Contemplation, and whose Pen could
represent such excellent Matter in Words so answerable to it; though
indeed I am apt to think that _Cato_, if he did not speak these very
Words, yet that in his familiar Conversation he us'd Words of the very
same Import. For indeed, _M. Tully_ was not a Man of that Impudence, to
draw _Cato_ otherwise than he was. Beside, that such an Unlikeness in a
Dialogue would have been a great Indecorum, which is the thing chiefly
to be avoided in this Sort of Discourse; and especially, at a Time when
his Character was fresh in the Memories of all Men.

_Th. _ That which you say is very likely: But I'll tell you what came
into my Mind upon your Recital. I have often admired with myself, that
considering that all Men wish for long Life, and are afraid of Death;
that yet, I have scarce found any Man so happy, (I don't speak of old,
but of middle-aged Men); but that if the Question were put to him,
whether or no, if it should be granted him to grow young again, and run
over the same good and ill Fortune that he had before, he would not make
the same Answer that _Cato_ did; especially passing a true Reflection
upon the Mixture of Good and Ill of his past Life. For the Remembrance
even of the pleasantest Part of it is commonly attended with Shame, and
Sting of Conscience, insomuch that the Memory of past Delights is more
painful to us, than that of past Misfortunes. Therefore it was wisely
done of the ancient Poets in the Fable of _Lethe_, to represent the Dead
drinking largely of the Waters of Forgetfulness, before their Souls were
affected with any Desire of the Bodies they had left behind them.

_Ur. _ It is a Thing well worthy of our Admiration, and what I myself
have observ'd in some Persons. But that in _Cato_ that pleases me the
most is his Declaration. _Neither am I sorry that I have liv'd. _ Where
is the _Christian_, that has so led his Life, as to be able to say as
much as this old Man? It is a common Thing for Men, who have scrap'd
great Estates together by Hook or by Crook, when they are upon their
Death Beds, and about to leave them, then to think they have not liv'd
in vain. But _Cato_ therefore thought, that he had not liv'd in vain,
upon the Conscience of his having discharg'd all the Parts of an honest
and useful Citizen, and an uncorrupted Magistrate; and that he should
leave to Posterity, Monuments of his Virtue and Industry. And what could
be spoken more divinely than this, _I depart as from an Inn, and not an
Habitation_. So long we may stay in an Inn till the Host bids us be
gone, but a Man will not easily be forc'd from his own House. And yet
from hence the Fall of the House, or Fire, or some Accident drives us.
Or if nothing of these happen, the Structure falls to Pieces with old
Age, thereby admonishing us that we must change our Quarters.

_Neph. _ That Expression of _Socrates_ in _Plato_ is not less elegant:
_Methinks_, says he, _the Soul of a Man is in the Body as in a
Garrison, there is no quitting of it without the Leave of the Generals,
nor no staying any longer in it, than during the Pleasure of him that
plac'd him there. _ This Allusion of _Plato'_s, of a Garrison instead of
a House, is the more significant of the two. For in a House is only
imply'd Abode, in a Garrison we are appointed to some Duty by our
Governor. And much to the same Purpose is it, that in Holy Writ the Life
of Man is sometimes call'd a Warfare, and at other times a Race.

_Ur. _ But _Cato_'s Speech, methinks, seems to agree very well with that
of St. _Paul_, who writing to the _Corinthians_, calls that heavenly
Mansion, which we look for after this Life in one Place [Greek: oikian]
a House, in another [Greek: oikêtêrion] a Mansion, and moreover (besides
that) he calls the Body [Greek: skênos] a Tabernacle. For _we also_,
(says he) _who are in this Tabernacle, groan, being burthened. _

_Neph. _ Much after this Manner says St. _Peter; And I think it meet_
(says he) _as long as I am in this Tabernacle, to stir you up by putting
you in Mind, being assured that I shall shortly put off this
Tabernacle. _ And what else does _Christ_ himself say to us, but that we
should live and watch, as if we were presently to die: And so apply
ourselves to honest Things, as if we were to live for ever? And when we
hear these excellent Words of _Cato, O that glorious Day_, do we not
seem to hear St. _Paul_ himself saying, _I desire to be dissolved, and
to be with Christ_?

_Ch. _ How happy are they that wait for Death with such a Frame of Mind?
But as for _Cato_'s Speech, altho' it be an excellent one, methinks
there is more Boldness and Arrogance in it, than becomes a Christian.
Indeed, I never read anything in a Heathen, that comes nearer to a
Christian, than what _Socrates_ said to _Crito_, a little before he
drank his Poison; _Whether I shall be approv'd or not in the Sight of
God, I cannot tell; but this I am certain of, that I have most
affectionately endeavoured to please him; and I have a good Hope, that
he will accept of my Endeavours. _ This great Man was diffident of his
own Performances; but so, that being conscious to himself of the
Propensity of his Inclination to obey the divine Will, he conceived a
good Hope, that God, of his Goodness, would accept him for the Honesty
of his Intentions.

_Neph. _ Indeed, it was a wonderful Elevation of Mind in a Man, that knew
not Christ, nor the holy Scriptures: And therefore, I can scarce
forbear, when I read such Things of such Men, but cry out, _Sancte
Socrates, ora pro nobis; Saint_ Socrates, _pray for us. _

_Ch. _ And I have much ado sometimes to keep myself from entertaining
good Hopes of the Souls of _Virgil_ and _Horace. _

_Neph. _ But how unwillingly have I seen many Christians die? Some put
their Trust in Things not to be confided in; others breathe out their
Souls in Desperation, either out of a Consciousness of their lewd Lives,
or by Reason of Scruples that have been injected into their Minds, even
in their dying Hours, by some indiscreet Men.

_Ch. _ It is no wonder to find them die so, who have spent their Time in
philosophizing about Ceremonies all their Lives.

_Neph. _ What do you mean by Ceremonies?

_Ch. _ I'll tell you, but with Protestation over and over beforehand,
that I don't find Fault with the Sacraments and Rites of the Church, but
rather highly approve of them; but I blame a wicked and superstitious
Sort of People, or (to put it in the softest Term) the simple and
unlearned Persons, who teach People to put their Confidence in these
Things, omitting those Things which make them truly Christians.

_Neph. _ I don't yet clearly understand what it is you aim at.

_Ch. _ I'll be plainer then. If you look into Christians in common, don't
you find they live as if the whole Sum of Religion consisted in
Ceremonies? With how much Pomp are the antient Rites of the Church set
forth in Baptism? The Infant waits without the Church Door, the Exorcism
is performed, the Catechizing is performed, Vows are made, Satan is
abjured, with all his Pomps and Pleasures; then the Child is anointed,
sign'd, season'd with Salt, dipt, a Charge given to his Sureties to see
it well brought up; and the Oblation-Money being paid, they are
discharged, and by this Time the Child passes for a Christian, and in
some Sense is so. A little Time after, it is anointed again, and in Time
learns to confess, receives the Sacrament, is accustom'd to rest upon
Holy-Days, to hear Divine Service, to fast sometimes, to abstain from
Flesh; and if he observes all these, he passes for an absolute
Christian. He marries a Wife, and then comes on another Sacrament; he
enters into Holy Orders, is anointed again, and consecrated, his Habit
is chang'd, and then to Prayers. Now I approve of the doing of all this
well enough; but the doing of them more out of Custom than Conscience, I
don't approve; but to think that nothing else is requisite for the
making a Christian, I absolutely disapprove: For the greatest Part of
Men in the World trust to these Things, and think they have nothing else
to do, but get Wealth by Right or Wrong, to gratify their Passions of
Rage, Lust, Malice, Ambition: And this they do till they come upon their
Death Bed; and then there follows more Ceremonies; Confession upon
Confession, more Unction still, the Eucharist is administred; Tapers,
the Cross, holy Water are brought in; Indulgencies are procured, if they
are to be had for Love or Money; Orders are given for a magnificent
Funeral; and then comes on another solemn Contract: When the Man is in
the Agony of Death, there's one stands by bawling in his Ear, and now
and then dispatches him before his Time, if he chance to be a little in
Drink, or have better Lungs than ordinary. Now although these Things may
be well enough, as they are done in Conformity to ecclesiastical
Customs; yet there are some more internal Impressions, which have an
Efficacy to fortify us against the Assaults of Death, by filling our
Hearts with Joy, and helping us to go out of the World with a Christian
Assurance.

_Eu. _ You speak very piously and truly; but in the mean Time here is no
Body eats; I told you before, that you must expect nothing after the
second Course, and that a Country one too, lest any Body should look for
Pheasants, Moorhens, and fine Kickshaws. Here, Boy! take away these
Things, and bring up the rest. You see, not the Affluence, but the
Straitness of my Fortune. This is the Product of my Gardens you have
seen; don't spare, if you like any Thing.

_Ti. _ There's so great a Variety, it does a Man good to look upon it.

_Eu. _ That you mayn't altogether despise my Thriftiness, this Dish would
have chear'd up the Heart of old _Hilarion_, the evangelical Monk, with
a hundred more of his Fellows, the Monks of that Age. But _Paul_ and
_Anthony_ would have lived a Month upon it.

_Ti. _ Yes, and Prince _Peter_ too, I fancy would have leap'd at it, when
he lodg'd at _Simon_ the Tanner's.

_Eu.