Advice to a Friend, Part 1
I.
AND in the firſt place let me adviſe you to bring your ſelf into as great an acquaintance and familiarity as ever you can, with unſeen and ſpiritual things; and to make your mind ſo ſenſible of them, that they may ſeem the moſt real and ſubſtantial beings. You eaſily diſcern how ſutable this Counſel is to the foregoing diſcourſe; and you can tell your ſelf how much of our liſtleſneſs and want of ſpiritual appetite proceeds from hence, that theſe outward things preſs continually very hard upon us, and make us feel that they have a being and a ſolid ſubſiſtance: but the other rarely touch us with any force, and ſo appear as if they were only in our fancy. Our ſoul ſeems to us, in our careleſs thoughts, as if it were but a breath or a thin vapour: But our Body we perceive to be a maſſy bulk, of whoſe concerns we are therefore very apprehenſive. The Divine being, though the cauſe of all others, ſeems but like a ſhadow; on whom our Soul having no faſt hold, it is no wonder that we rather catch at thoſe things which we can graſp, and feel to have ſome ſubſtance in them. The report of immortal life and bliſs in heaven comes to us like a common ſtory, of which there is ſome probability, but no certainty; and that inclines us to cloſe ſo greedily with the enjoyments of this life, which make more ſtrong impreſſions on our body, than the other on our Spirit. The glaſs through which we look upon this lower world makes every thing we deſire appear exceeding great; nay multiplies and increaſes it to vaſt dimenſions: but when we caſt our eyes upward towards our heavenly countrey, alas! things appear there (as if we had turn'd about the perſpective) ſo little; ſo remote, ſo like nothing, that we can ſcarce diſcern them, or retain any remembrance of them. We have a kind of opinion and half perſwaſion concerning theſe inward and intellectual objects, but we have a ſenſe and full apprehenſion of our outward enjoyments. Now though opinion may govern us, and we may follow it while there are no conſiderable impediments to oppoſe it; yet when any difficulty ariſes, or ſomething croſſes our way to which we ſtand very much affected, it will ſoon ſubmit it ſelf and leave us to our new inclinations, becauſe it is but an opinion. We muſt confirm our ſouls therefore in a full belief of thoſe ſpiritual things: which thus differs from a bare opinion of them. The one is grounded only upon probable reaſons, or on good reaſon but half conſidered and feebly aſſented unto: the other upon clear and manifeſt evidences, well digeſted and fully entertained. So that the one leaves us weak and wavering, becauſe it leaves us half in and half out of the arms of Truth: but the other makes us firm, conſtant and unmoveable, becauſe it puts us compleatly and intirely into its embraces.
All thoſe times then which are ſo favourable, as to let your mind be free and unclog'd, ſpend ſome of your retired thoughts in the company of immaterial beings; and approach ſo near them that you even feel and handle them, and remain perſwaded they are no leſs real than thoſe which you ſee and hear and touch with your outward man. By which means they will infinitely more engage your affections and tie your heart unto them, than any thing elſe can do; becauſe of the vaſt diſproportion which every one acknowledges (ſuppoſing their exiſtence) between them and all that you love in this ſenſible world.
1. Think firſt of all, that your Body is but the clothes and garments of your Soul, and that this indeed is the man. And undreſs your ſelf in your own thoughts, ſtrip your ſelf of theſe robes, and conceive that you are only a naked Spirit. This you can do; and thereby you will both make your Soul think more of it ſelf, and you will likewiſe plainly prove it is quite diſtinct from your body: in whoſe ſociety though it live, yet is not of its lineage, but of another nature and original: For nothing can think it ſelf not to be, ſince by its very thinking ſo, it proves that it hath a being. But we can quite put off all thoughts that we have this body hanging about us, and the Soul can think it ſelf to be what now it is, though it look not through theſe eyes, nor ſpeak with this tongue, nor write with theſe hands, nor have any other thing about it but its own thoughts: And therefore it is not ſuch a thing as this Body, but ſome better and more noble ſubſtance. It is that which tells you that you have a Body. If you believe it, you have reaſon to believe withal that it ſelf is ſome other being, of more force and longer continuance: becauſe you can now think you have caſtoff your body and conceive it lying in the duſt, your ſoul ſtill remaining as it is, full of theſe and other ſuch like thoughts; but you can never think you have no ſoul, becauſe even by that conception you prove that you have, and ſhew your ſelf to be a thoughtful thing.
2. When you have thus therefore diſcourſed your ſelf into ſome feeling of your Soul, think in the next place very ſeriouſly, that whatſoever you clearly apprehend by this, though it be perceived by none of your outward ſenſes, yet is no leſs real and certain than what you uſe with them. Disbelieve your eyes, and think that your ears bring you a falſe report, rather than doubt of any thing which your mind doth plainly and diſtinctly perceive. Though you cannot but yield an aſſent to the relation which any of your ſenſes make you, yet ſince the mind is the more excellent Principle, and it hath a moſt certain exiſtence, give the greateſt credit to what it affirms, when none of them can afford you any evidence.
3. And then you will preſently find that your mind aſſerts nothing ſo ſtrongly, as the being of a God, without whom it could not be. Perſwade your ſelf therefore as confidently of him, as you do of that which your eyes behold. Though your eyes ſee him not as they do the Sun, yet ſay to your ſelf, my Soul doth; which gives as ſound an evidence on his behalf, as my eyes do for the Sun. That great Light, and all the reſt of thoſe Globes of Fire, which I ſee in the Skies, declare him as clearly to my mind, as they do themſelves to my outward Senſe. I cannot think of them, nor of my ſelf, nor of any thing elſe in this great World, but a Divine Being preſents it ſelf before me; by whoſe incomparable wiſdom and Almighty goodneſs they were at once produced, and ſet in this beautiful and uſeful order, in which I behold them. Exhort your ſelf therefore to look about you as often for this end, as you are apt to do for other little purpoſes, that you may ſee God in this goodly Temple, which he hath built himſelf for his own glory. Set your Soul in that Divine Preſence, which fills all things. Open your eares, liſten to the wide World, and hear (as Gregory Nazianzen excellently ſpeaks) that great and admirable Preacher of his Majeſty. foreign. Orat. 43.Is it poſſible, as Athanaſius well reaſons to come into a great City, conſiſting of a Multitude of Inhabitants of different ſorts, great and ſmall, rich an… poor, old and young, Men, Wome… and Children, Slaves, Souldiers an… Tradeſmen, and to ſee all things ordered ſo handſomely, that every on… of theſe, though oppoſite in their inclinations, agree and conſpire together for the common good, the Rich not grieving the Poor, nor the ſtrong oppreſſing the weak, nor the young riſing up againſt the aged; Can one poſſibly, I ſay, behold all this, and not conclude that there is a wiſe and powerful Governour there, though we ſee him not, by whoſe Authority they enjoy this happy concord? Why then ſhould we not draw the ſame Concluſion from the ſight of this great World, compoſed of divers contrary Beings, moving ſeveral ways, and to diſtant ends; but making as good harmony alltogether, as the various ſtrings of a Lute, whoſe ſweet Muſick coming to our eares, proves there is ſome excellent Artiſt,Orat. contra Gentes. (though hid from our eyes) by whom they are tuned and touched? Confuſion is a ſign of anarchy; but order demonſtrates a Governour.
4. If then there be a God, and you feel your ſelf a Being that can ſubſiſt and enjoy it ſelf, if he pleaſe, without a Body; excite in your Soul a moſt paſſionate deſire to be ſo happy, that when it quits the place of its preſent abode, it may approach nearer to his bleſſed Majeſty, and have a clearer ſight of his ſurpaſſing glory. Put your ſelf in hope alſo that his Divine Goodneſs, which hath planted in you ſuch ſtrong inclinations, and filled you with ſuch deſires, will not let them want the pleaſure of ſatisfaction. Look up above, and think that when your Spirit ſhall take its flight from hence, there is ſome other Company to entertain it in another World: whoſe acquaintance is far more deſirable than the ſociety of the deareſt Friend we have here, who perhaps as ſoon as he hath gained our love, takes his leave of us, and goes his way thither. What comfort have we remaining in this, and other innumerable caſes, but the hope of Immortality? Which is the only thing that can raiſe our Spirit above the pleaſures and the troubles too of this mortal Body. This is our chiefeſt good, on which we ſhould ſet our heart. This is the inheritance to which we are born, (as Lactantius ſpeaks) and for which we are form'd by vertue and piety: the only inheritance, of which we can be ſecure that we ſhall never be defeated. For all this World we muſt leave behind us: we can carry nothing away with us, but an innocent and well-paſſed life, and the hopes which accompany it. He only comes to God rich and plentiful, and abounding in wealth (as his words are) whom continence, mercy, patience, charity and faith, ſhall attend and conveigh into his Preſence.
5. To aſſure your ſelf therefore of this great good, on which our principal ſtrength and comfort relies, conſider in the next place, that your mind plainly tells you (and its teſtimony is indubitable) that God muſt needs be true, and that whatſoever he ſaith, ought immediately, without any heſitation, to be firmly believed. For as he can never be deceived himſelf, ſo we are ſure he cannot deceive us.
6. Now God hath been pleaſed at laſt to ſpeak to us by his own dear Son, as a voice from Heaven, and a World of mighty deeds have teſtified.
7. And ſeeing Jeſus hath not only compriſed in his Doctrine all the holy wiſdome, and all the goodneſs that ever was thought or ſpoken of ſince the beginning of time; but hath likewiſe added a lively diſcovery of that ſtate of good things, which the heart of man naturally wiſhes, and longs for in another World:
8. And ſeeing, in the laſt place, God hath confirmed his exceeding great and precious promiſes of Eternal Life, by his Reſurrection from the Dead, and his Aſcenſion into Heaven, and the ſending of the Holy Ghoſt: You ought to perſwade your ſelf of the truth of theſe inviſible things, and repreſent them ſo often to your mind, till they ſeem no leſs real and certain, than what you ſee with your Eyes, and feel with your Hands: Nay, till all the pleaſures and delights which the bounty of Heaven gives you in Friends, or any other good things here, ſeem but as ſhadowes and faint Images of the better enjoyments which you expect hereafter. Thoſe wiſe Men, who were guided onelyonly by the light of their own mind, made no greater account of them. And yet all the Philoſophers of greateſt fame were but little Children compared with Chriſtian People, in the knowledg of this great Point,L. 1. praepar. Cap. 4. as Euſebius juſtly glories. We are not left to gather this truth (as another of the Ancients ſpeaks) from the weak conjectures and imperfect reaſonings of our own, Lactant. L. 7. Cap. 8.but we know it from a Divine Tradition. It is delivered to us by the Son of God, who hath put an end to all diſputes, by coming from Heaven to us, with the Words of Eternal Life. Lay up his Words therefore moſt carefully in your heart, let them dwell richly and plentifully in you in all wiſdom; and poſſeſs you at once with a mighty ſenſe of God, and of the dignity of your Soul, and of Immortality, and of the Joy of the Inviſible World.
The Benefits of this Exerciſe are ſo evident, that I may leave you to relate them, when you have felt them. It will be ſufficient for me to ſuggeſt to you, that the Heart muſt needs become by this means, very cold and dead to thoſe earthly enjoyments, which were wont to bewitch and inchant it with their deceitful Pleaſures. If the Soul be cloathed (as the Platoniſts fancied) with as many Garments as there are Elements, through which it paſſed as it deſcended into this Body, and if it be ſo mufled in them that it doth but fumble in its thoughts, and hath much ado to feel it ſelf; hereby it will be able in ſome meaſure to deveſt it ſelf of thoſe thick Blankets, wherein it is wrapped, and throw off thoſe heavy coats that dangle about its heeles, and incumber its motions, as it ſets its Feet forward to walk toward the Father of its Being. It is no contemptible diſcourſe which their Maſter makes concerning Felicity;Plato in Phaedone. which he rightly places in the contemplation and love of the Soveraign Good. How that no Man can attain unto it in this Life, by reaſon of the lumpiſh matter to which the Soul is faſt tyed, and by reaſon of the multitude of Worldly affairs which require our attendance; yea, and of the fancies and toyes that will fill our thoughts, do what we can. Whence he concludes, that either no Man ſhall be happy, (which he thinks is very abſurdly affirmed) or he muſt arrive at his Happineſs after he is dead. And if when we are dead (ſaith he) the Bleſſed Time is come, wherein we may enjoy, as we would, that greateſt good; then the nearer any Man approaches unto Death, the nearer he comes within the reach of his Felicity. If a Man therefore will with-draw Himſelf from the World, if he will abſtract his mind from ſenſible things, and take his heart from bodily pleaſures, and turn himſelf into himſelf (which they judged, as the Holy Writers do, a kind of Death) he ſhall be in the beginnings of his Happineſs. There I know, my Friend, you deſire to find your ſelf; and for that cauſe, I pray you learn thus to ſteal out of the company of Worldly things, which by hindring us from beginning our Happineſs, would keep us in perpetual miſery. Converſe, as often as you can, with your nobler ſelf; and contract an intimate acquaintance with thoſe divine Inhabitants which are lodged there. Grow into an high eſteem of that unſeen Power, which knows God and the Life to come; which thinks, and guides, and gives orders, deſires, and loves, and doth all things elſe belonging to this Life. And calling to mind continually its worth and dignity, and conſidering for what heavenly enjoyments it was deſigned; diſdain to let it be condemned to ſo baſe a ſlavery, as to ſerve the Body only, and make proviſion for its Luſts and Pleaſures. Reſcue it from that thraldome, and aſſert its liberty: which is no ſuch difficult undertaking; ſince rightly to underſtand it ſelf, is ſufficient for its ſafety and preſervation.
And, to ſay the truth, the neceſſity of this Exerciſe is no leſs apparent than the benefit. We had need acquaint our ſelves thoroughly with thoſe Spiritual and Heavenly Beings, and make them very familiar to us; becauſe theſe outward Objects are ſo near us, and have gained ſuch an intereſt in us, that, even when we are thinking of the other, they will buſily interpoſe themſelves, and are able in an inſtant to obtrude their Company, though then very troubleſome, upon us. How oft do our minds turn aſide to ſpeak with them, in the midſt of our Prayers? How will our thoughts be diſcompoſed at the ſound of a Bell, the creaking of a Door, the buzzing of a Fly, or ſome ſuch weak and contemptible thing, that affects our Senſes? When we are bowed down before God, when our Hands and Eyes are lifted up to Heaven, how doth the Memory of Yeſterdays enjoyments, or the fear of to Morrows troubles, (beſides the thoughts of the preſent Days buſineſs) ſtart up and interrupt us, we know not how, or on what occaſion? The uneaſineſs of our bended Joynts, the biting of a Flea, the prick of a Pin, ſome Word which we then ſpeak, any fancy that riſes up by the natural motion of our Spirits, will trouble our minds in our Devotion, and carry us away from God. It concerns us therefore very highly to work our minds into a ſtronger, and more delightful Senſe of Him, and of all Spiritual enjoyments, ſince our familiarity with the other is ſo intimate; that the very leaſt of them is in favour enough with us, to give us an avocation from this better Company, even when we are ingaged in it.
In order to this, and all things elſe, you know very well how neceſſary it is to implore the aſſiſtance of Gods grace, and to beſeech his Infinite Goodneſs, that he will be pleaſed to repreſent himſelf, more clearly than you can do, unto your mind; and lift it up above toward the Happineſs of the other World: Which you may do in ſome ſuch words as theſe.
A PRAYER.
O God, I believe that thou art, and that nothing could have been without Thee: who filleſt all things, and art every where to be ſeen and felt by obſervant minds, who diligently ſeek Thee. Vouchſafe, I moſt humbly beſeech Thee, to behold a Soul that ſeriouſly aſpires towards Thee, and whom thou haſt already filled with earneſt deſires to be united in Eternal love to Thee; but is pulled down, alas! by this earthly body, and in danger to ſink, without thy mighty aides, into too great a love of theſe lower goods, which here ſurround me. Draw near, O Father of Spirits; preſent thy ſelf ſo clearly to me, and touch my mind with ſuch a powerful ſenſe of Thee, that it may be lifted up above all earthly things; and my heart may always incline towards Thee, and be poſſeſſed with a conſtant and moſt ardent love of Thee.
Awaken in me, on all occaſions, a lively remembrance of the worth and dignity, of that Immortal Spirit, which thou haſt breathed into me: And raiſe it up to as lively a belief, and hope of that Eternal bliſs, into which Jeſus our Lord is entred for us. Fix my mind upon that unſeen felicity, and keep it in ſuch a stedfaſt and delightful contemplation of it, that nothing here on Earth may be able to tempt me down into an inordinate deſire after it, and love unto it. O what glorious objects appear before me, ſurpaſſing all that mine eyes behold, now that my thoughts are retired a little from this outward World! O what ſhadows do all things here ſeem, in compare with thoſe Heavenly enjoyments which thou preſenteſt to me! What longings do I feel excited in my heart after Thee! What deſires to be always with thee, and to be filled still with a stronger ſenſe of Thee! O thou who art the beginner and finiſher of all goood, be pleaſed to aſſiſt my holy endeavours to withdraw my mind more and more from theſe ſenſible things, that it may have a clearer ſight of its Heavenly Country from whence it comes, and whither it deſires to return, and there live for ever. Preſerve it thereby from the power of all temptations here; and enable me to prepare it, to be preſented unto Thee by my Saviour, adorned with that Faith, Purity, Patience, Righteouſneſs, Mercy, and ſuch like Heavenly qualities, as will diſpoſe me for the Company of the Bleſſed.
I ſigh to think, O my God, of the weakneſs of my mind, which is ſo eaſily diſtracted and turned aſide in theſe my addreſſes to Thee. Pity me, good Lord; and knit my thoughts and affections to a cloſer attendance on Thee. Help me to gather my mind into it ſelf, and there to enjoy thy Divine Preſence with leſs diſturbance from this outward World. O that all things here may rather bring thee to my mind, than carry it away from thee! Diſpoſe me ſo to obſerve the foot-ſteps of thy wiſe and mighty Goodneſs in all thy Creatures, that I may perpetually acknowledg thee; and then eſpecially be born away far above all other things, in high admiration of Thee, and ſervent affection to Thee, when I am thus proſtrate in humble adoration of thy Divine Majeſty. And when I am ſo feeble, as to wander after little things, even while I am preſenting my ſelf before thee, and offering my heart to thee; Help me to long the more earneſtly after that happy state, wherein I ſhall with more ſteady thoughts and intire devotion, give everlaſting praiſes to Thee.
Amen.