Treatise of the Passions and Faculties of the Soul, Chapter 41
CHAP. XLI. Of the Conscience; its Offices of Direction, Conviction, Comfort, Watchfulnesse, Memory, Impartiality. Of Consciences Ignorant, Superstitious, Licentious, Sleeping, Frightfull, Tempestuous.
THere remaines yet one higher and diviner Act of the Practicall Vnderstanding, of most absolute power in man, and that is Conscience. Which is not any distinct Faculty of the Soule, but onelyonly a Compounded Act of Reason, consisting in Argumentation: or a practique Syllogisme, inferring alwaies some Applicative and Personall Conclusion, Accusing or Excusing.
The Dignities whereof are to bee gathered from the Offices of it, and from the Properties of it.
The maine Offices are three; Direction, Conviction, Consolation, whereof the two last alwayes presuppose the first with a contrary Qualification of Breach and Observance.
The Direction of Conscience consists in a Simple Discourse: or (as I may so speake) in a Direct Ray of Vnderstanding, gathering Morall or Divine Conclusions from a presupposed habit of Principles, either from the reliques of our Originall Knowledge naturally imprest, or by concurrence of Religion and Theologicall Precepts spiritually iuspired into the Practique Iudgement or hearts of men. The observance of which Conclusions it imposeth upon all those Executive Powers, which each particular Conclusion doth most immediately concerne upon paine of hazarding our owne Inward Peace, with that sweet repose and security of Minde which followes it; and also (as the Heathen… themselves have observed) upon feare of i…curring the displeasure of that God, concerning whom the very light of Nature hath revealed thus much, that as his Penetrating and S…arching Eye is able to read our most retyred Thoughts: so his impartiall and unpreventable Iustice hath thunder and fire in store for the Rebellions against this Faculty, which he hath made to be, as it were, his Officer and Herauld in all mens hearts.
The two latter of those Offices consist in a Reflection of that former discourse upon mens Actions, and according as is discovered in them, either an observance or neglect of those imposed Duties: the heate of that Reflection is either Comfortable or Scorching. Now of these two; that of Conviction is nothing else but a performance of that Equivocall killing promise made by the Serpent to our seduced Parents; I meane an Opening of their Eyes, to know with desperate Sorrow the Good they had irrecoverably foregone; and with feare, shame and horrour, the Evill which they plunged themselves and their whole posterity into. This one Act it is which hath so often confuted that Opinion of Aristotl… touching Death, that it is of all things most Terrible; in that it hath it pursued many so farre, as that it hath forced them to leap out of them selve, and to preferre the Terrour of Death and Darknesse of the Grave, before the grisly Face of a Convicting Conscience.
The chiefe Dignity hereof consisteth in Consolation, whereby it diffuseth into the whole man, from a secret assurance of divine favour (for nothing can throughly calme the Conscience, but …) a sweet Tranquillity, silent Peace, setled Stayednesse, and (which is highest of all, a ravishing Contemplation, and (as it were) Pre-fruition of Blisse and Immortality.
The prop…rties of the Conscience (whereby I understand the Ministeries, which it never fayles to execute in man) are as I conceive, principally three; Watchfulnesse, Memory, Impartiality. It keeps alwaies Centin…ll in a mans Soule…and like a Register, records all our good and ill actions. Though the Darknesse of the Night may hide us from others, and the Darknesse of the Mind seem to hide us from our selves; yet still hath Conscience an Eye to looke in secret on whatsoever we… doe, whether in regard of Ignorance or Hardnesse. Though in many men it sleep in regard of Motion; yet it never sleeps in regard of Observation and Notice: it may be Hard and Seared, it can never be Blind. That writing in it which seemes Invisible and Illegible, like letters written with the juice of Lemmon, when it is brought to the fire of Gods Iudgement, will be most cleere. And for the next (if we observe it) there is nothing so much fastened in the Memory, as that which Conscience writes: all her Censures are written with Indelible Charact…rs, never to be blotted out. All or most of our Knowledge forsakes us in our Deaths; Wit, Acutenesse, variety of Language, habits of Sciences; our Arts, Policies, Inventions, all have their period and fate: onelyonly those things which Conscience imprinteth, shall be so far from finding any thing in death to obliterate & raze them out, that they shall be thereby much more manifest; whether they be impressions of Peace or Horrour. The Testimoni…s of Comfort (if true) are fastened in the Heart with such an Hand as will never suffer them finally to bee taken out: and if they be Accusatory and Condemning, the Heart is so Hard, and they so Deep, that there is no way to get them out, but by breaking or m…lting the Table they are written in; that only course can be taken to make Conscience forget.
Then thirdly it is a most Bribelesse Worker, it never knows how to make a false report of any of our w…yes. It is (if I may so speake) Gods Historion, that writes not Annals, but Iournals; the Words, Deeds, Cogitations of Houres and Moments▪ never was there so absolute a Compiler of Lives, as Conscience. It never comes with any prejudice or acceptation of persons, but dares speake truth as well of a Monarch, as of a Slave. Nero the Emperour shall feele as great a fire burning in his breast, as he dare wrap the poore Christians in to light him to his Lust. There is scarse one part in man, but may be seduced, save his Conscience. Sense oftentimes conceives things which are not; Appetite and Imagination can transport the Will, and themselves both may be drawne by perswasion contrary to their owne propensions; this onelyonly deales faithfully with him, whose witnesse it is, though it bee to the confusion of it selfe and him, in whom it lodgeth. It may I know erre sometimes and mistake; but it can never by any Insinuation be bribed to contradict its owne Iudgement, and register White for Blacke.
The Corruption of Conscience arises principally from two Extremes; the one occasioned by Ignorance; the other by Sinne (for I oppose these two here, as concurring to the Corruption of Conscience after a different manner) The o…e is when the want of due Knowledge drawes the Conscience, to sinister determinations, either in Practise or Forbearance. The other when evill Habits and Actions defile the Conscience. Now both these containe under them sundry Degrees of Corruption.
From Ignorance▪ First, comes a …ettered and Restrained Conscience, fearfully binding it selfe to some particular Acts, without sufficient grounds. Next a Licentious and Indulging Conscience, giving Freedome to it's selfe in such course, as whereunto it hath no warrant upon unacquainting it selfe from either.
Then from the other Root there comes: First, a Dead, Secure and Sleeping Conscience by Common and Customary Sinnes. A Pale, Sweating, and Affrighted Conscience by Atheisticall and Vnnaturall Sinnes:
—Tum frigida mens est Criminibus; tacitâ s…dant prac…rdia culpa.
The Guilt which from unseen pollution springs,
Cold-sweating Horrour on their bosome brings.
A Desperate, Tempestuous and Ravening Conscience from Blasphemous and Open Sinnes. Not but that any of these may come from any Sinne; but that the Quality of some Sinnes doth for the most part carry with it some particular dispositions and kindes of a distempered Conscience. But because all these, as also this whole discourse pertaines to a highe… Science, I shall here forbeare to speake more of it.