Treatise of the Passions and Faculties of the Soul, Chapter 23
CHAP. XXIII. Of the affection of Hope, the Object of it, Good Future, Possible, Difficult, of Regular and Inordinate Despaire.
THe next Ranks and Series, is of Irascible Passions, namely those which respect their Object, as annexed unto some degree of Difficulty, in the obtaining, o… avoiding of it, the first of which is Hope, whereby I understand an earnest and strong inclination and expectation of some great good apprehended as possible to be obtained, though not by our owne strength, nor without some intervenient Difficulties. I shall not collect thoseIliad. … 794. foreign Suida…. foreign …. prayses which are commonly bestowed upon it, nor examine the contrary extreames of those who declaime against it, making it a meanes either of augmenting an unexpected evill, before not sufficiently prevented, or of deflowring a future good too hastily pre-occupated, but shall onelyonly touch that dignity and corruption which I shall observe to arise from it, with reference to it's Objects, Causes, and Effects.
Concerning the Object or fundamentall cause of Hope, It hath these three conditions in it, That it be a Future, a Possible, a Difficult Good.
First, Future, for good present is the Object of…. our sense, but Hope is of things not seene, for herein is one principall difference betweene divine Faith, and divine Hope, that Faith being foreign. The substance of things hoped f…r, … ever respect to it's Object, as in some manner present and subsisting in the promises and first fruits which we have of it, so that the first effect of Faith is a present Interest and Title; but theHebr. 11. operation of Hope is waiting and expectation, but yet it will not from hence follow, that the more a man hath of the presence of an Object, the lesse he hath of Hope towards it, for though Hope be swallowed up in the compleat presence of it's Object, yet it is not at all diminished but encreased rather by a partiall presence, and as in Massie bodies though violent motions be in the weakest, as being furthest from the strength that impelled them, yet naturall are ever swiftest towards the Center, as nearest approaching unto the place that drawes them: so in the Hope… of men, though such as are violent and groundle…sse proove weaker and weaker, and so breake out at last into emptinesse and vapour. In which respect…. foreign 2 Pet. 3. 12. * Philosophers have called Hope the dreames of waking men; like that of the Musitian whom Dionissiu… deceived with an empty promise, of which I spake before: yet those that are stayed and naturall, are evermore strong, when they have procured a larger measure of presence and union to their Object, Qu… propius accedimus ad spem fruendi eò impatientius caremus. The nearer we come to the fruition of a good, the more impatient we are to want it.
And the reason is because Goodnesse is better knowne, when it is in an nearer view of the understanding, and more unite thereunto. And the more we have of the knowledge of goodnesse, the more we have of the Desire of it, if any part be absent. Besides all greedinesse is attractive, and therefore the more we know of it, the faster we hasten to it. And it is the nature of good to encrease the sense of the remainders of evill. So that, though the number of our defects be lessened by the degrees of that good we have obtained unto, yet the burthen and molestation of them is increased, and therefore the more possession we have of good, the greater is our wearine… of evill, and the more Nature sceleth her defects, the more doth she desire her restauration.
The next condition in the Object of our Hope is possibility, for though the will sometimes being inordinate may be tickled with a desire of impossibilities, under an implicit… condition, if they were not so, yet no hope whither regular or corrupt can respect it's object under that apprehension. It worketh two passions most repugnant to this, hatred and despaire, the one being a proud opposition, the other a dreadfull flight, from that good, in which the mind perceiveth an impossibility of attaining it. Now the apprehension of possibility is nothing else but a conceit of the convenience and proportion, betweene the true meanes unto an end hoped, and the strength of those powers which are to worke or bestow them; or if they be such ends as are wrought without any such meanes, by the bare and immediate hand of the worker', it is an apprehension of convenience, betwixt the will and power of him that bestoweth it.
Here then because I finde not any arguments of large discourse in the opposite passion, (unlesse we would passe sró natural or morall unto Theologicall handling thereof) we may observe what manner of despair is only regular & allowable, I mèan that wch in matters of importance drives us out of our selves, or any presumption and opinion of our own sufficiency. But that despaire which riseth out of a groundlesse unbeliefe of the Power, or distrust of the Goodnesse of a superiour Agent (especially in those things which depend upon the Will and Omnipotency of God) hath a double corruption in it, both in that it defiles, and in that it ruines Nature: defiles, in that it conceives basely of God himself, in making our guilt more omnipotent than his Power, and sinne more hurtfull than he is good: ruines, in that the minde is thereby driven to a flight and damnable contempt of all the proper means of recovery.
Of this kind of Despaire, there are three sorts: The one Sensual, arising out of an excessive love of Good, Carnal, and Present; and out of a secure contempt of Good, Spiritual, and Future. Like that of the Epicures, Let us eat and drink while we1 Co. 15. may, To morrow we shall die: The other Sluggish, Desperatione… …, experiri nolunt quod se ass…qui possed ffidunt. Cic. in Oral. ad B…utum.which dis-hearteneth and indisposeth for Action, causing men to refuse to make experiments about that wherin they conclude before hand that they shall not succeed: The third Sorrowfull, arising from deep and strong apprehensions of Feare, which betrayeth and hideth the succours upon which Hope should be sustained: as in the great Tempest wherein Saint Paul suffered shipwrack; when the Sunne and Starres were hid, and nothing but Terrour to be scene: All Hope that they Act. 27. 20.should be saved, was taken away.
The last condition in the object of Hope, was Difficulty, I mean in respect of our own abilities, for the procuring of the Good we hope for; and therefore Hope hath not only an eye to Bonu…, Spe▪ …, si vi…es, pecu…, con…lum, se entiá, apparatió. Cic. de Invent. ad H…an.the good desired; but to Auxilium too, the help which conferres it. No man waiteth for that which is absolutely in his own power to bestow upon himselfe; Omnis expectati… est ab extrinseco, all Hope is an attendant Passion, and doth ever rely upon the Will and Power of some superiour causes, by dependance whereupon it hath some good warrant to attaine its desires.
And thus in Divine Hope, God is in both respects the Object of it, both per modum Boni, as the Good Desired, & per modum Auxilii, as the Ayde whereby we enjoy him. So that herein all those Hopes are corrupt & foolish, which are grounded either on an error concerning the Power to help in some assistants; or cōcerning the Will in others (as indeed generally a blinde and mis-led judgement doth nourish Passion;) Of the former sort, are the Hopes of base & degenerous minds in their depē dance upon second and subordinate means, withoutIob 31. 24. …r. 17. 5. Psal. 62. 9. Rom. 3. 4. Iob 6. 15, 16. having recourse to the first supreme Cause; wch is to trust in lying vanities; for every man is a lyar, either by Impotency, whereby he may faile us; or by Imposture, whereby he may delude us.
Of the other sort, are the Hopes of those who presume on the helps and wils of others, without ground & warrant of such a confidence; whence ariseth a sluggish and carelesse security, blindly reposing it selfe upon such helps, without endeavouring to procure them unto our selves.
And this is the difference betweene Despaire and Presumption: Hope looketh on a good future, a… possible indeed in it selfe; but with all as difficult to us, and not to be procured but by Industry and labour. Now Despaire leaveth out the apprehension of possibility, and looketh onelyonly on the hardnesse: on the other side, Presumption neve… regardeth the hardnesse, but buildeth onelyonly upon the possibility. And this is spes m…rtua, that dead Hope, which by the rule of opposition, wee may gather from the life of Hope, spoken of by S. Peter: For a lifely Hope worketh such a tranquillity of minde; as is grounded on some certainty and knowledge; it is … Luminosa, a Peace springing out of Light; but dead Hope worketh a rest grounded onelyonly on ignorance, such as is the security of a dreaming prisoner, which is rather sencelesnesse than Peace… and this is Ten…brosa …ax, a Peace springing out of Darknesse; for a true Peace is quiet ex fide, a beleeving rest; but counterfeit is only quies ex somno, a sleeping or dreaming rest. The Peace which comes from a living Hope must have these two properties in it, tranquillity and serennity: otherwise it is but like the rest of mare mortuum, whose unmovablenesse is not Nature, but a curse.