(r) Apul. Met. 1. 11. Rebus ritè confummatis inchoate lucis falutationibus religiofi primam nunciantes horam perftrepunt. Arnob. 1. 7. Quid fibi volunt excitationes illæ quas canitis matutinis Ad tibiam vocibus? Prudentius. Mane falutatum concurritur, omnis adorat Pubes. Vid. Scal. ad Tibull. i. 1. Briffon. de Form. 1. 6. It will not, I hope, be taken amifs if I apply this prohibition and cenfure from Seneca to the abfurd, not to say impious, falutations that we frequently fee in our churches, even in the midst of the most folemn parts of divine worship. Deum colit, qui novit, He who knoweth, and confidereth what God is, will worship him aright, will have more refpect to the folemn bufinefs he is engaged in, than to be guilty of fuch fashionable foibles. (5) Apul. xi. De pompa Ifiais, Alicæ, quæ nitentibus fpeculis pone tergum reverfis fienienti deæ obvium commonftrarent obfequium. Aguft. de Cic. Dei, funt quæ Junoni ac Minervæ capillos difponant, non tantum fimulacro, ftantes, digitos movent ornantium modo. Sunt quæ Tertull. de Jejun. Qui in idolis comendis et ornandis, et ad fingulas horas fpeculum teneant. falutandis adulantur, Curationem facere dicuntur. (1) Omnibus inque locas ades omni tempore, præfens Deditus in partes omnes; tamen omnis ubique Integer ufque manes. -Vida. H. Deo. 204. Since in all parts of the unbounded Space, Thy prefence dwells; for God fills every place. Is ever uniform, entire and free. M. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matth. Gen. 28. 16. Job. 9. 11, If. 139. 8.20. (u) Thine, O Lord, faith David, is the greatness, the power and the victory, and the majesty, for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine: thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee; and thou reigneft over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great and to give firength to all, i. Chron. xxix. 11, 12. (x) He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. Sam. 3, 33.-The Lord is longSuffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ii. Pet. 3. 9.-As I live, faith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turns from his way and live: Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Ifrael? Ezek. 33, 11. (y) Primus eft deorum cultus, Deos credere.] I have generally kept to Seneca's use of the fingular or plural number when speaking of the Deity; but here, I think, I might be allowed to change the plural to the fingular as he had just before used the fingular, in saying almost the same thing, Deum colit, qui novit. So the Apostle: Without faith it is impoffible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of all them that diligently feek him. Heb. 11. 6. Doubtless, it is an indifputable condition to the ferving God, to believe there is a God to be ferved: and none are more zealous for his service than those who are most perfuaded of his exiftence. M. (x) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Pl. 33. 5. And the Lord paffed by before him and and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-fuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Exod. 34. 6. i. Chron. 16. 34. Nahum, 1.7. Matth. 20. 15. (aa) Seneca here among other requifites towards the right worshipping of God, makes this one, to believe a Providence, and that the Providence of God is as general as his creation, governing all things by the fame inûnite power by which they were made: which is confonant to the whole tenour of Scripture. See Deut. 11. 14. Prov. 16. 33. Matth. 6. 28. 10. 30. Cicero was a ftrenuous advocate for Providence; I affert, fays he, (de Nat. Decr. 1. 2.) that the univerfe, with all its parts, was originally conftituted, and hath without any difcontinuance been ever governed by the Providence of the Gods. This argument the Stoics generally divide into three parts: 1ft, The existence of the Gods being once known, it must follow that the world is governed by their wisdom. 2dly, As every thing is under an intelligent nature which hath produced that beautiful order in the world, it is evident that it is formed of animating principles. The 3d is deduced from thofe glorious works which we behold in the heavens and the earth." But the notion of a Providence feems firft to have been entertained by the Ægyptians, whom, (as I have observed in my notes on Vida's hymns) Arnobius makes to reafon thus: Providence is fo effential to a Prince, that be cannot be ever called a Prince without it, (as Seneca fays above, fine bonitate nulla majestas eft,) and the more auguft a prince is, the more perfect ought his providential care to be: God therefore being the greatest and most auguft of all Princes, to him must belong the most perfect providence. But we muft obferve that Seneca likewife requires a belief in a fpecial or fingular providence; as when Job fays of himself, Thou haft granted me life and favour and thy vifitation hath preserved my Spirit. Job, 10. 12. Or as God himself faith unto Mofes, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; and I will have compassion on whom I will have compaffion. So that it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that fheweth mercy. Rom. 9, 15. (bb) Hi nec dant malum, nec habentceterum caftigant,et aliquando fpecie boni puniunt. al, spe boni.---al. specie mali.] If bi in the foregoing fentence relates to the immediate antecedent, as I have rendered it, I fhould prefer specie boni; but if it agrees with Dii, I fhould rather have read it specie mali, in this fenfe, Hi nec dant malum, nec habent, The Gods neither afflict with evil nor have any themfelves; (but this is much the fame with what is faid before, nec accipere ノル injuriam queunt, nec faciunt) though the punishment which they fometimes inflict on man, bath the appearance of evil. Behold, happy is the mighty. Job, 5, 17. receiveth. Heb. 12, 6. man whom God corretteth; therefore defpife not thou the chaftening of the Al For whom the Lord loveth be chafteneth, and fcourgeth every fon hom be (cc) Satis Deos coluit quifquis imitatus eft.] That all worship, all religion, confifts in the imitation of God, is an extraordinary fentence in the mouth of an Heathen, among whom the Gods were fuppofed to act fuch things which a wife man would abhor to think. But Seneca had higher notions of the Deity, and here affirms little less than what is confonant to the found doctrine of Christianity. That the perfon who does his beft endeavour to imitate God, and who has a firm truft in the Supreme Being, is powerful in his power, wife by his wifdom, happy by his happiness; he reaps the benefit of every divine attribute; and lofes his own fufficiency in the fulness of infinite perfection. Be ye therefore perfect, faith our Lord, even as your father which is in heaven is perfeå. Matth. 5. 48. See Ep. 90. (dd) Ye have heard that it was faid of old time, Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill, fball be in danger of the judgment; but I fay unto you, that whoever is angry with his brother without a caufe, fhall be in danger of the judgment. Matth. 5. 21. And the Apoftle exhorts us, to be kindly affectioned one to another: Recompenfe, faith he, no man evil for evil: if it be poffible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Rom. 12. 10.---20. 3 (ee) Thus And if thou draw out thy light rife in obfcurity, and thy darkness be a. Matth. 25. 35. as (ee) Thus the prophet Ifaiah, in the name of the Lord, Is not this the fast that I have chifen, to loofe the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppreljed go free? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry; and that theu bring the poor to thine houfe; when thou feet the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou bide not thyself from thine own flesh? foul to the hungry, and fatisfy the afflicted, then shall thy noon-day. I. 58. 6--10. Deut. 15.7. Ezek. 18. 7. (ff) And thus argues St. Paul. As we have many members in one body, and all members have not the fame office; fo we being many are one body, and every one members one of another. Rom. 12. 5. And again more fully, As in the body natural the eye cannot fay to the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the hand to the feet, I have no need of you; fo in the great body of mankind, all the members, even the parts that feem more feeble, are neceffary, and have their office, that there should be no fchifm in the body, but that the members fhould have the fame care one for another; and whether one member fufer, all the members fuffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. i. Cor. 12. 12.---26. (gg) Put ye on, therefore, faith the Apoftle, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meeknefs, long-fuffering-but above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Col. 3. 12-14. (bb) It is better, faith St. Peter, if the will of God be fo, that ye fufer for well doing than evil doing. i. Pet. 3. 17. And Bleffed are ye, faith our Lord, when men fhall revile you, and perfecute you, and fay all manner of evil against you falfely for my fake: rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. Matth. 5. 11. 12. (ii) Terence, Heauton. A&t. 1. fc. 1.) Cicero applies this excellent fentence, as the voice of nature, to the practice of all focial virtues, faying, eft enim difficilis cura rerum alienarum quanquam Terentianus ille Chremes, humani nihil a fe alienum putet. And yet this very Chremes, this man of univerfal benevolence, is the fame person who commands his wife to expofe his new-born daughter, and flies into a paffion with her, for having committed that hard task to another, by which means the infant escaped death: fi meum imperium exequi voluiffes, interemptum oportuit: and he likewife characterifes fuch who had any remains of this natural inflinct as perfons, qui nequi jus, neque bonum, atque æquum fciant, who know not either juftice or equity: fuch were the fentiments published with applaufe on the Roman theatre. And it appears from our Author fo late as his own time, that it was ufual to deftroy weak and deformed children. Portentofos fœtus extinguimus. Sen. de Ira, 1. 1. c. 15. (4) The Apoftle makes ufe of much the fame metaphor, Ephef. 2. 19 -22. Know therefore ye are no more firangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the faints, and of the houshold of God, and are built upon the foundation of the Apofiles and Prophets, Jefus Chrift himself being the chief Corner Stone in whem all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy Temple in the Lord. From whom (faith he in another place) the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint fupplicth, according to the effectual working of the meafure in every part, maketh increafe of the body unto the edifying felf in love. Ephef. 4. 16. (1) Ambref. Virtutes individuas effe, fed opinione vulgi fejuntas.Connexæ fibi funt concatenatæque virtutes ut qui unam habet, plures habere videatur. Gregor, Una virtus fine aliis, aut omnino nulla eft aut imperfecta. Apuleius imperfectas virtutes femet comitari negat, eas vero quæ perfecta funt, individuas fibi, et inter fe connexas effe. The reafon given is, that where there is any one perfect virtue, (and of fuch the Stoics always fpeak) there is reafon alfo perfect; which cannot be, unless it extends its force and influence to all other virtues. So Cicero (de Fin. 5. cum fic copulate connexæque fint virtutes, ut omnes omnium participes fint, nec alia ab alia poffit feparari, VOL. II. C c tam tam proprium fuum cujufque munus eft; ut fortitudo in laboribus periculifque cernatur; temperantia in voluptatibus, prudentia in dilectis. The union and blending of the virtues, however is diftinguished by a certain philofophical way of reafoning; for when they are fo joined and connected that they all partake of one another, and are infeparable, yet each of them has its proper function. Thus courage difcovers itself in toils and dangers; Temperance in neglecting pleafures; Prudence, in diftinSce Ep. 67. guishing things good and evil: Juftice, in giving every one his own. (mm) The Apostle to the fame purpose, Let us walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called. 'Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfeƐ? man : that we henceforth be no more children toffed to and fro and carried about with every wind ƒ doctrine, by the fleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive: hut, Speaking the truth in love, may in all things grow up into him, which is the head, even Chrift. Ephes. 4. 1---15. And again, Be not carried about with divers and ftrange doctrines; for it is a good thing to have the heart eftablished with grace. Heb. 13. 9. (nn) So the Stoics call all external, otherwife good things. (00) So our Lord to his Difciples, As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in me, and I in him, the fame bringeth forth much fruit; but fevered from me, ye can do nothing: if a man abide not in me, he is caft forth as a branch and is withered. John, 15. 1---6. (pp) If thine enemy hunger, faith St. Paul, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Rom. xii. 20. from Prov. 25. 21. compared with ii. Kings, 6. 22. (99) Like this is what St. Paul faith to the Corinthians, We Speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, who come to nought; but we Speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God had ordained before the world unto our glory. i. Cor. 2.6. (rr) The Receivers or Farmers of the customs or public revenues. (ss) Per quod liber amifit animum] al. Libertas. So the old tranflation, Through the which Liberty herself loft her existence. (tt) Tubero. Vid. Ep. 98. EPISTLE XCIV. On Contentment and Magnanimity. STILL, Lucilius, are you forgetful, and still complaining; and feem not to understand, that there is nothing evil in these worldly affairs, but what you make so yourself; by being thus displeased and ever querulous. For my part, I think there is nothing that can be called miferable miferable in man, unless he thinks there is fomething miferable in the nature of things. I would quarrel with myfelf, if I thought there was any thing that I could not endure. Am I fick? It is part of my destiny. Is my family afflicted? am I hard preffed by the uiurer? does my house crack? loffes, wounds, difficulties, fears, do tl.cy all affault me? It is nothing more than what is common in the world: nay, further, it must be fo. Thefe things therefore cannot be faid to happen, they are decreed. you If will believe me, Lucilius, I will lay open to you my inmoft thoughts and affections. Thus then, when any thing feems adverse or hard to me, do I behave myself: I obey not God forcibly, but willingly; I follow him, not from neceffity, but with all my mind and all my foul (a). Nothing can befall me that I will receive, either with an heavy heart, or a forrowful countenance. There is no kind of tribute but what I will pay readily; confidering that all we either mourn or fear is but the tribute we owe to Nature for our existence. It is in vain either to expect an exemption from these things, or to ask it (b). Are you racked with pains in the bladder? have you had continual loffes?-I will go further: are you in fear of your life? life? And did And did you not know that you withed for these things when you wished for old age (c)? All these things as neceffarily attend a long life, as in a long journey we must expect duft, and dirt, and fhowers. But you would fain live, you fay, and yet be free from all these inconveniencies. Such an effeminate declaration by no means become a man. I would fain fee how you would take this with of mine; which I protest I make, not only with a great, but good, intention; may neither Gods nor Goddeffes permit Fortune to indulge you in eafe and pleasure. Put to yourself this question, whether, if God was pleased to favour you with your choice, you had rather live in the fhambles than in a camp. Know, Lucilius, that life is a warfare (d): fuch men therefore who are ordered from place to place; who undergo all manner of difficulties Cc 2 |