1000 sestertia, or decies sestertium, is the same thing as decies centena millia HS. mentioned above, and so of the following numbers. VOL. IIL 嫣 BOOK 258 BOOK V. OF PHILOSOPHY. SHOULD I undertake to treat Philosophy in all its extent, I might apply myself to the boys, for whom I write, in the words which Tully puts into the mouth of Anthony, who was once prevailed upon to talk of rhetoric against his inclination, [h]" Hear," said he, "hear a man that is going to instruct you in what he "has never learned himself." There would be only this difference in the case, that Anthony's ignorance was feigned and counterfeit, whereas mine is actual and true, having never applied myself to the study of Philosophy, but very superficially, for which I have often had cause to repent. Though perhaps if I had studied it under as skilful masters as have since been in the university, and are now there in great number, I might have had as much taste for it as for the study of polite learning, to'which alone I have given up all my time. But however, I am enough acquainted with the usefulness and great advantages deducible from it, to exhort youth not to fail in giving all the application they possibly can to so important a science. It is to this particular I shall confine myself in this small dissertation, which shall not be a treatise of Philosophy, but a bare exhortation to the boys to study it with care. Though we had nothing more than eloquence in view, this study would be absolutely necessary, as Tully declares in more than one place, and he makes no scruple to own, that what progress he had made in the art of speaking, was less owing to the precepts of the rhetoricians than the lessons of the Philosophers. [i] Fateor me oratorem, si modò sim, non er rhe [h] Audite verò, audite, inquit, hominem, &c. Docebo vos, discipuli, id quod ipse non didici, quid de omni genere dicendi sentiam. torem torum officinis, sed ex academiæ spatiis extitisse. But the usefulness of Philosophy is far from being confined to eloquence; it extends to all the conditions and every season of life. In short, this study, when properly directed and carefully pursued, may contribute very much to regulate the manners, to perfect reason and judgment, to adorn the mind with an infinity of learned notions equally useful and curious, and what I think far more valuable, to inspire youth with a great reverence for religion, and fortify them by solid principles against the false and dangerous arguments of infidelity, which are every day gaining ground upon us. ACTICLE I. PHILOSOPHY MAY BE VERY SERVICEABLE IN REGULATING THE MANNERS. ONE of the most effectual methods for regulating the conduct of man is to make him acquainted with what he is, upon what conditions he received his being, what obligations and duties he lies under, whither he ought to tend, and for what end he was created, Now this is the subject of Philosophy; I say, even of the Pagan Philosophy; and in my opinion its instructions upon all these points, though imperfect and often intermixed with obscurity, ought to have a great weight upon every reasonable mind. Man came out of the hand of God not only the most excellent of his works, but the most perfect image of himself. He bears some resemblance in every thing about him to the nobleness of his extraction, and bears the lines and characters of his original in a manner imprinted in his nature. With regard to the soul, an insatiable desire of learning, a penetration and sagacity that extends to every thing, a desire of happiness which nothing limited can satisfy, the lively sense of a liberty to which every thing is indifferent, except [k] one sole object, [[Good, in the general accep- good evidently known. tation of the word, and the supreme R 2 the the thorough conviction of his being designed for immortality; all these, and a great many other circumstances, shew clearly how great man is, and [] how he cannot (it is Tully who speaks thus,) if we may be allowed the expression, be compared to any thing but God himself. If we consider only the [m] structure of his body, it is plain that nothing but the hand of God could possibly form so perfect a work, dispose it with so much order, so much beauty, such connection and proportion between all the parts which compose it, [n so as to make it a proper abode for the master that inhabits. it. And we see that Seneca had reason to say, man was not a precipitate and hasty performance, but the master piece of the divine wisdom, [o] scias non esse hominem tumultuarium & incogitatum opus. First Duty of Man with regard to the Divinity. We will Now with what design was he framed? answer in a [p] word, God made the whole world for man, and man for himself; that by him nature, otherwise dumb and stupid, might become in a manner eloquent and grateful towards its Creator; and that man placed in the midst of the creatures, who were all designed for his use and service, might lend them his voice, his understanding and admiration, and be in a manner the priest of all nature. How many benefits in short has it pleased God to confer upon man? Not content with providing for his necessities, his care and tenderness have supplied him even with what [7] Animas humanus, decerptus ex mente divina, cum alio nullo, nisi cum ipso Deo, si hoc fas est dictu, comparari potest Cic. Tusc. Quæst. lib. v. n. 38, [m] We may read in Tully, lib. ii. de Nat. Deor. n. 133, 153, and in M. de Fénelon's Lettres sur la Religion, pag. 163. the admirable description they give of the several 4 parts of the body, and their respective functions. [n] Figuram corporis habilem & aptam ingenio humano dedit. Cic. lib. i. de Leg. n. 26. [0] Senec. lib. vi.de.Benef. c. 23. [P] Omnia quæ sunt in hoc mundo, quibus utuntur homines, hominum causâ facta sunt & parata. Cic. lib. ii. de Nat. Deor. n. 154. ministers ministers to pleasure and delight. [7] Neque enim necessitatibus tantummodo nostris provisum est, usque in delicias amamur. [r] What variety of trees, herbs, and excellent fruits for the different seasons of the year! What an immense number of animals are industriously supplied by the air, earth and sea! There is no part in nature which does not pay a tribute to man, that man in his turn may pay the author of all these benefits the due homage of gratitude and praise, which is the principal part of the worship we owe to the deity, and the most essential duty of the creature. Nor must ingratitude be allowed to say, that it is nature supplies us with all these blessings, unless by this word, which has usually no distinct idea affixed to it, we are to understand only the Divinity himself, which moves every thing, produces every thing, shews himself to us in every thing, and makes himself known to us every moment by his benefits and bounty. [s] Qocunque te flexeris, ibi illum videbis occurrentem tibi. Nihil ab illo vacat. Ergo nihil agis, ingratissime mortalium, qui te negas Deo debere, sed naturæ.... Quid enim aliud est natura, quàm Deus? "Wheresoever you turn, you meet your God. No place is free from his presence. "How vain then, thou most ungrateful of mortals, "to ascribe all your happiness to nature and not to "God; for what is nature, but God? If man, says [t] Epictetus, had any sense of honour and gratitude, all that he sees in nature, all that he experiences in himself, would be to him a continual subject of gratitude, praise and thanksgiving. The herb of the field which supplies the animals with milk for his nourishment, the wool of those animals which furnishes him with clothes, ought to fill him with adrerum naturæ pars tributum nobis aliquod conferret. Ibid. [9] Senec. de Benef. lib. iv. c. 5. [r] Tot arbusta non uno modo frugifera, tot herbæ salutares, tot varietates ciborum per totum anuum digestæ, ut inerti quoque fortuita terræ alimenta præberent. Jam animalia omnis generis, alia in sicco solidoque, alia in humido nascentia, alia per sublime dimissa; ut omnis R 3 [s] Ibid. cap. 7, 8. [t] Arrian. Epict. lib. 1. c. 16. Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher, who lived in the first century. He was the slave of Epaphroditus, a captain of Nero's guards. miration. |