Treatise of Moral and Intellectual Virtues, Treatise on ethics · Part 4
Of MAGNIFICENCE.
MAGNIFICENCE is but an Appendix to Liberality; For the Man, who by Fortitude hath baniſhed all Faintheartedneſs and Fear, who by Temperance hath ſubdued Debauchery, and by Liberality hath delivered himſelf from Avarice, the very ſink of Evil, He is ſo well qualified for a regular and good Life; that the reſt of the Virtues might rather have ſerved for Train and Attendance, than have required any diſtinct Diſcourſe to be made of them.
BUT ſince we have tied our ſelves to Ariſtotle's Order, We muſt be content to follow his ſteps, and treat of Virtues in ſuch a Method, as he hath ſet down.
MAGNIFICENCE then in the ſtricteſt Senſe of the Word, is a Virtue, that teaches us how to obſerve a Decorum in the managing of great and coſtly Expences. So that Magnificence goeth beyond the ability of an ordinary Perſon; Whether we conſider the means by which it worketh, or the Works themſelves, which it doth produce.
AS to the means by which it worketh, it is great ſtore of Wealth and Income; which if a virtuous Man hath, He will act according to his Character;Building of Colleges a work of Magnificence. that is, He will do all the good He can in the moſt ſplendid manner; Perhaps He will build Colleges for the breeding up of Youth in all kinds of Learning; And as it is pleaſant to ſee Sets of our own planting to grow and flouriſh; ſo it is a Work much more glorious, thus to build up Men, and from ſmall beginnings to ſee great numbers of Youth ſhoot up to Eminent Stations both in Church and State.
HAD it not been for theſe Magnificent Donations, thoſe Goths and Vandals, Enthuſiaſts of all Denominations, would have long ſince brought ruin upon all the Methods of ſound Reaſoning; which have been kept up and encouraged by theſe Charitable Foundations: For when Julian's Decree ſhut the Primitive Chriſtians out of their Schools, they thought it a Perſecution more fatal to the Church, than the open Cruelty of Decius or Diocleſian.
Hoſpitals another work of Magnificence.Secondly, HE will erect Hoſpitals for the Poor and Maimed; Now this ſort of Magnificence doth very much ſerve the Publick Intereſt; for thoſe who do theſe things for the ſake of their own private Fancies, and not for the common Good, are Magnificent, as ſome of the Church of Rome are Charitable, when they erect Sanctuaries, for wilful and Capital Malefactors, to fly to; when they found ſuch Monaſteries, as are the Nurſeries of a blind Devotion: But to be vertuouſly Magnificent, is with daily Proviſions to feed the Hungry, not the ſuperſtitious, to entertain thoſe that are unfit for Labour, not loitering Wanderers or Pilgrims.
Thirdly, THE Man, who deſerves praiſe for his Magnificence, takes care to provide thoſe Houſes, in which the moſt notorious Offenders may either be corrected or ſecured; that thoſe, who are not ſo far gone, in Wickedneſs, as to be paſt Remedy, may be called back again and amended by juſt and neceſſary Chaſtiſement; that thoſe who have broken through all the Fences of Law, may be taken out of Human Society, which they would otherwiſe deſtroy and bring into Confuſion.
HAPPY the miſerable,The go… of Mankind promoted by this Virtue. who partake of theſe Works of Magnificence; more happy they, who lay out their Money and Revenues for the publick benefit of Mankind; to inſtruct the ignorant in Schools, to heal the diſeaſed in Hoſpitals, to laſh the back of the Sinner in Bridewells, and to cure the unſound mind in Bethlem's.
NOW the Works of Magnificence, whether they be publick, or whether they be private, they are to be performed with all Pomp and State; They are eſpecially ſeen in Feaſts and Entertainments either of our Friends, or of Men of the higheſt Quality; or elſe in building ſtately Houſes, Caſtles, Churches and Theatres: That Man, who knows how in the moſt ſeemly faſhion to manage theſe Undertakings, is truly Magnificent.
The Errours of ſuch as are Magnificent.BUT here the Magnificent Perſon is very prone to run into a very ill Extreme; Having great things much in his thoughts, his mind is apt to fly too high, out of the reach of Prudence; then He falls to the building of Oblelikes, Coloſſus's, and Pyramids: This Diſtemper ſwell'd the Heads of many in old time, who ſpent great Sums upon magnificent Piles, vaſt and ſumptuous Statues, great and mighty Vanities: For Solomon, the beſt Judg of theſe things, hath paſſed this Sentence upon them, that they are all ſo;The Judgment of Solomon upon theſe …ngs. For Eccl. 2. After He had made great Works, planted Vineyards, and had built ſtately Houſes; made Pools of Water for the Trees, that bring forth Fruit; got large and numerous herds of great and ſmall Cattle; had gathered mighty heaps of Silver and Gold, and filled his Treaſury therewith: upon a review of all the works his Hands had wrought, and upon all the pains He had taken, He concludes with the trueſt judgment, that ever was pronounced upon the World, that all was Vanity. Whereupon it may be ſuppoſed, my Lord Bacon made this wiſe Obſervation, that Truth is a a naked and open Day-light, which doth not ſhew the Masks and Triumphs of the World half ſo ſtately as Candle-lights do; and no man doubts, that if there were taken out of men's minds, vain Opinions, flattering Hopes, falſe valuations of Things, and the imaginations of Grandeur; but it would leave the minds of many, who make a great Figure, poor ſhrivel'd things, full of melancholy and indiſpoſition, and unpleaſing to themſelves.
BUT there is a way to lay up our Treaſure in Heaven;The deeds of Charity entitle us to Heaven. to be magnificent on Earth and great in Heaven; then this Bleſſedneſs muſt be gotten by doing ſuch remarkable deeds of Charity as I have mentioned; and if we do ſo, our Names ſhall endure for ever, when Mauſoleum's are buried and Pyramids are mouldred into duſt. It is Ariſtotle's Notion in his Epiſtle to Philip, that the acts of Beneficence have ſomething in them equal to God, and the whole life of mankind was compriſed in conferring and returning Benefits: 'Tis true, there have been ſome moroſe Spirits, ſuch as Chryſippus and Seneca, who have made plauſible Harangues againſt Glory, but in the very doing this they have appeared to aim at it: Whereas it is the ſpur to good Works, if it be made uſe of by one who hath paſſed through the Temple of Virtue, to that of Honour; And a man may with as much reaſon argue againſt Eating and Drinking, as endeavour to baniſh the love of Glory, that ariſes from the Works of Magnificence: unleſs this did rouze the Souls of men, perhaps a barbarous Sloth, or a brutiſh ſtupidity would ſoon overſpread the World; no care would be taken to promote or ſuſtain the Seats of ingenuous Arts, or the Tribunals of State: This carries Men upon the nobleſt and moſt Heroick Attempts, and Human Nature without it would be a ſluggiſh and unactive thing.
IT was the Thirſt after Glory, together with ſome private Ambition, that incited the Egyptian Kings, to be at ſo vaſt charge in the building the Pyramids, and the Egyptians of lower Quality ſpared for no coſt to cut out Caves or Dormitories in the Lybian Deſerts, which by the Chriſtians are now adays called the Mummies: and all this was undertaken for the ſake of an Opinion amongſt them, that ſo long as the Body endured, ſo long the Soul continued with it, not as animating it, but as unwilling to leave her former Habitation: Why ſhould not the ſame Thirſt for the Glory of the Chriſtian Religion move us to do ſuch Works as may ſhine before Men, and glorifie our Father, which is in Heaven?
IT is not empty Fame, that we muſt ſeek for; it is not with Wind that we muſt fill our ſelves; We want a more ſolid Subſtance to repair us; A man pinched with Hunger would be very unwiſe to ſeek rather to provide himſelf of a gay Dreſs, than a good Meal; We are to look after that, whereof we have moſt need, and that is Virtue; When this is acquired, then the outward Ornaments of Magnificence may be made uſe of:Epicurus his opinion of Magnificence. Which were ſo deſpiſed by Epicurus, that He made this one of the Precepts of his Sect, Conceal thy Life; He would not have his Diſciples in any ſort to govern their Actions by the common Reputation or vulgar Applauſe: But Horace was of another Opinion, who ſays,
Paulùm Sepultae diſtat inertiae
Calata virtus—
Concealed Virtue differs not much from dead Sloth; which if it were abſolutely true, then a man would be no further concerned to keep his Mind in order, which is the true Seat of Virtue, than as the actions of it are to be ſeen by others: whereas Glory is but the ſhadow of true Virtue; For,
—Repulſae neſcia ſordidae
Intaminatis fulget honoribus;
Nec ſumit aut ponit ſecures,
Arbitrio popularis aurae.
Virtue, that never can be repulſed or trodden down, ſhines forth with untainted Honours; for it neither takes, nor lays down its Dignities at the pleaſure either of Ambition or Popularity.
OF all Virtues This of Magnificence is the moſt Courtly, the other of Liberality is rather for the Countrey; So that every Magnificent Perſon is Liberal, but every Liberal Perſon is not Magnificent. The Philoſopher gives us many Notes, by which we may know a Magnificent Perſon.
Firſt, THAT all our Acts of this kind be directed to ſome right or profitable End; that the publick good may be thereby advanced; The Soldier muſt not go to the Wars for the ſake of Spoil and Rapine, but to defend his Country; The Merchant muſt not adventure his Life and Fortune for the ſake of Lucre ſo much, as that He may maintain his Family comfortably, and be enabled to help the diſtreſſed; The Scholar muſt not bend his Studies ſo much after Speculative, as uſeful Knowledge; The Politician muſt not covet ſo greedily the Titles of Honour, as the ſatisfaction of an Innocent Mind.
Secondly, THAT they be not done in Oſtentation, or to get Acclamations;Magnificent Acts muſt not be done in Oſtentation. For no Wiſe man would depend upon the Voice of the Rabble for his Happineſs, the Mother of Inconſtancy, Injuſtice, and Ignorance; For if we follow the Reports and Applauſes of the Vulgar; We ſhall be always wavering, becauſe we forſake Virtue, and take Fortune to be our Guide. P. Aemilius therefore acted wiſely in his Expedition of Macedonia, when he charged the People in his abſence to make not the leaſt mention of his Actions; For praiſe indeed belongs to Virtue, but we are apt to be too fond of it, which Perſius hath hit upon, if I can conſtrue him right,
Laudari haud metuam; neque enim mihi cornea fibra eſt,
Sed recti finemque extremumque eſſe recuſo
Euge tuum, & bellè.—
My Heart is not ſo horny, but that I am ſenſible of Commendation and love it; yet I muſt deny this to be the only End of doing well, to hear others ſay, O worthy Man! O noble Act!
Thirdly, WE muſt do ſuch Acts of Magnificence, as foreign, or common Honeſty requires, and that with a good and willing mind, without any foreign, or ſordid looking into every Account, which betrays a covetous and a ſneaking humour.
FOR the two Extremes of this Virtue are foreign, or rather foreign, a vain, fooliſh, and unprofitable profuſion of Extravagant Expences; Examples whereof may be brought both from private and publick Perſons; as for inſtance, the Megarenſes in their Tragedies, would have the entrance into their Theatre covered with Purple and coſtly Cloath; So Alexander the Great rewarded a ſtrong Drinker with a Talent of Gold, that is, with 125 Pounds weight in Gold.
THE other Extreme is foreign, which ſignifies an indecent Parſimony in great Works, whereby the State and Grace of them is eclipſed; Now an inſtance of Magnificence, and of this ſort of ſparing we have in that Story of the Athenians and of Phidias the famous Statuary; the Athenians reſolving to erect a magnificent Statue to Minerva, conſulted with Phidias concerning the matter, of which it was to be framed, whether of Marble or Ivory: Phidias making choice of Marble, and adding his Reaſons, that it was more laſting and would retain its ſplendour a great while longer; His Maſters heard him with patience; but as ſoon as He began to tell them, it would alſo be Cheaper, they commanded him to hold his peace, as ſuppoſing the leaſt mention of Thrift in this caſe to be unſeaſonable: Here was Magnificence in the Athenians, but in Phidias poorneſs of Mind, that might become a private man, but not ſo publick a Work.
THUS the Expences of Solomon and Juſtinian are Patterns of Magnificence; The folly of profuſeneſs.But when we ſee Licinus a Barber in Martial giving orders to have a Stately Tomb of Marble built for him at his Death, we laugh at the ridiculous Man for his profuſeneſs: For Parſimony though in private men it goes for a laudable Virtue, yet in the exerciſe of Magnificence it will hardly find any place: For how much the more honourable and wealthy any Man is, he is obliged to be bountiful and to give with the greater generoſity and largeneſs of Heart; it is expected, that He ſhould be of a more free and ingenuous Spirit, than others, without any tincture of a narrow Soul, or of baſeneſs; but He is ſtill caſting about in his thoughts, how to find the moſt fitting Objects for the moſt extended Bounty: ſuch a Bounty as may redound to the general benefit and good of mankind, in oppoſition to all thoſe little ſelfiſh Deſigns, which vile Perſons are addicted to: in oppoſition alſo to Prodigality, which hath this peculiar Folly belonging to it, that it takes care to deſtroy it ſelf.