The Modern Statesman, Chapter 18
CHAP. XVIII.
Of Moral vertue in general.
BEfore we proceed further, it will not be amiſs to conſider Moral vertue in the general, as of good conducement to our better underſtanding of the particular vertues which follow in order to be treated of in our ſubſequent diſcourſe, and to our eaſier attaining and imbracing them in our future practice.
And firſt of the Name; the Greeks according to ſome denominated it foreign, from Mars their God of War, becauſe in War the efficacy of vertue ſeemed moſt perſpicuous. Others fetch its derivation foreign, from chooſing, becauſe vertue is above all things to be choſen. The Latines called it virtus a vir which antiently was ſolie applyed to a valiant man; thus Cicero in offic. Nomen virtutis, inquit, antiquitus ſolius fuit fortitudinis, Vertue, ſaith he, was the badge heretofore onelyonly of Fortitude. But ſince experience teaching that man was not only to ſtrive with man, to combate the Common enemy, but alſo with his own diſorderly affections eaſily miſled by the allurements of riches, delights, and preferment, it became the tryumphant Ornament of thoſe that were victorious over themſelves and theſe temptations, which indeed is the more noble conqueſt, and moſt manly, as performed by the force of reaſon, the weapon only man can uſe. Laſtly there are ſome, who not unpleaſantly alluding will have it tearmed virtus, quaſi viri artus, as it were the joints and lineaments of the mind.
Now, as the name hath been diverſly derived, ſo hath the Thing been variouſly applyed.
As firſt, to ſignify in general the power and perfection of any thing, hence we often meet with theſe and the like phraſes in Engliſh, By vertue of Gods power, wiſdome, omniſcience; by vertue of the Soul, of the Heavens, of the Elements, of ſuch or ſuch a plant, mineral, or living creature.
Secondly, to denote promiſcuouſly all habits as well infuſed as acquired, thus we ſay by vertue of Grace, faith, &c.
Thirdly, it is taken for a natural inclination or diſpoſition: thus Ariſtotle in 6 Ethic. cap. ult. we poſſeſs vertue by nature, and by nature we are temperate and valiant. Laſtly, it is moſt properly taken for an habit of the mind, acquired by uſe and frequent exerciſe, and thus we are to accept it as an habit ruling the will and appetite of man, and conforming and compoſing his manners for the help and ornament of humane ſociety.
And now having viewed it in the groſs, let us a little deſcend to take it in pieces, wherby the true nature of it will be more plainly underſtood. The nus is an habit, and we prove its lineage by its Coat Armour. Plutarch de virtut. moral. foreign. There are, ſaith he, three things in the mind, the faculty, the affection, and the habit; the faculty is the principle and matter of the affection; the affection is a certain motion of the faculty: but the habit is the ſtrength and conformity of the faculty gotten by custome. Now vertue being to be reduced under one of theſe heads, we muſt examin to which it doth conform it ſelf. By vertue men are accounted good, as by vice bad; but by th… faculties which are natural and bear themſelves in an indifferent poſture to this or that; and by the affections by which we are only moved, and become not, neither are accounted ſuch or ſuch, we can neither be termed good or bad; it remains then that the habit gives the denomination, and that vertue is an habit, and ſo Ariſtotle l. 2. ethic. cap. 6. defines it to be foreign.
The difference muſt be fetched from the matter and form; now the matter is the ſubject and object, for no other▪ matter can be attributed to Accidents; the ſubject is the will and appetite, the internal object, are the affections, and actions ſpringing from thoſe affections; the external objects are the perſons toward which, and the things in which vertue is exerciſed. The form is a Mediocrity or mean to be obſerved in all our affections and actions which exces renders violent, defect lame and imperfect.
Now vertue conſiſts in indiviſibili medio, in an individual mediocrity; foreign. for there is but one path leads to vertue, but to vice many. foreign For Good is ſingle, evill of many ſhapes; yet is this indiviſibility not to be taken in a Mathematical, but a Moral conſtruction, which admits of ſome Latitude, for its the prudent admonition of ſome eminent Moraliſts, Parum deflectere à medio in excedendo, vel deficiendo, non est vitium ſemper exiſtimandum; cum medii quaedam ſit latitudo, intra quamſe continentes bene agunt, a ſmall declining from the mean either on the right or left is not alwaies to be accounted vice, ſith there is a certain latitude in mediocritie, within the limits of which, men containing themſelves act well. Thus a valiant man by the ſmart and ſight of his wounds may be tranſported with anger and thirſt of revenge, yet it being in the lawfull and juſt defence of himſelf and Countrey, a reſolute and eager charge will be no exceſs from true fortitude, and for the other extreme we have a noble example in the Roman Conſul Catulus, who when he could not perſwade the greateſt part of his Army to abide in their Camp, being terrified with the approach of the Cimbrians, commanded the Eagle, the Roman Standart, to be advanced, and marcht away himſelf in the head of them, that they might appear rather to follow than deſert their General. Here he forſook his Camp, and thoſe reſolute Souldiers that ſtaid to defend it, for fear leſt the body of his Army who would go ſhould be utterly diſheartned, and being publickly branded with deſerting the Conſul, might ſet light by their fame already blaſted, and ſo the Commonwealth then threatned might be greatly endangered by the loſs of ſuch an Army, which would either have diſbanded, or fought untowardly.
And to come cloſer, vertue is not foreign, an abſolute calm without the leaſt perturbation, but foreign, a Symmetry of the affections regulated by meaſure, ſquared by the golden rule of Mediocrity.
And as there is a latiude to be conſidered, ſo is the proportion which is Geometrical, not Arithmetical; it is medium rationis, non rei: for vertue doth not equally differ from its extremes, as ſix doth from two and ten, as for example, Liberality comes nearer to prodigality than covetouſneſs.
Yet the attaining this mediocrity being a thing of the greateſt difficulty, for as it is eaſie to be angry, ſo is it hard to be angry with theſe neceſſary circumſtances, with whom, how far, when, wherefore, and in what manner we ought, it will much avail us to take theſe helps, laid down by all or the moſt experienced Moraliſts.
Firſt, let us endeavour to ſhun that extreme which ſeems moſt contrary to vertue; yet here muſt be care taken leſt by endeavouring to avoid one we run into the other extremity according to that,
Dum vitant ſtulti vitia in contraria currunt.
And, Incidit in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdim.
Thus as the Nymph Calypſo inſtructs Vliſſes being to ſail between Scylla and Charybdis, two dangerous rocks in the Sicilian Sea, rather to avoid Charybdis as the more dangerous, but yet ſtill to have an eye to Scylla: Homer 12. Odyſſ. So we muſt avoid that extreme which is moſt oppoſit to vertue as more deſtructive, yet with care of the other too: Superſtition is liker Piety than Atheiſm, we had better therefore be a little too tender, than to make no ſcruple, a little too formal, than openly prophane, here the exceſs is leſs contrary; but here again the defect, for abstemionſneſs altogether to forbear wine is more like Temperance then drunkennes, and this our Reaſon will inſtruct us to judge of. Yet the Prudent perſwade for the moſt part to avoid the exceſs, as of more difficulty to be ſhaken off: and indeed it would be more facile to bring an abstemious perſon to a moderate uſe of Wine for his health ſake, than to diſſwade a drunkard from his tipple though his health, nay life lay at ſtake; and of this opinion is Cicero in I▪ de Orat Suus cuique modus est, inquit, tamen magis offendit nimium, quam parum. There is a meaſure to be had in every thing, ſaith he, yet exceſs is the greater offender of the two: and where we find one voluntarily ſtarving himſelf, we ſhall meet with thouſands deſtroyed by surfetting.
Secondly, Let us ſtrive to avoid that extreme which we are moſt enclined to by our natural Temper; as if we are covetouſly enclind, let us endeavour rather to be a little too profuſe, and ſo by degrees we may become liberal. foreign. This Aristotle illuſtrates by an apt simile of ſtreightning a ſtick: for he that will make a ſtick ſtreight muſt do it by bending it to the contrary ſide.
Thirdly, we muſt in every action be very ſuſpicious of that which ſeems to entice with the alluring bait of pleaſure, and this Aristotle confirms by an argument drawn from the pernicious effect of pleaſure. And thus Cicero in Catone. Impedit conſilium volupt as rationi inimica et mentis oculos perſtringit. Pleaſure, ſaith he, that foe to reaſon, lays a bar in judgements way, and dazzles the eye of the underſtanding: And again in 2. lib. offic. Voluptates blandiſſimae dominae ſaepe majores partes animae à virtute detorquent; Thoſe flattering Miſtreſſes, Pleaſures, do often enveagle and draw the nobler parts of the ſoul from the practiſe of vertue, and Seneca in Epiſt. 28. Quis Hostis in quenquam ita contumelioſus fuit, quam in quoſdam voluptates ſuae? No profeſſed enemy hath been ſo injurious and ſpitefull, hath wrought a man ſo much diſgrace, as their own pleaſures, their boſom delights have done too many, one Dalilah hath been more powerful to captivate a Sampſon, than all the Lords, than all the thouſands among the Philiſtimes.
And as a help we ſhall adde this, That propoſing the moſt ſublime, and heroical Patterns of vertue for our imitation, we ſhall the leſs ſquare our actions by the crooked and deceitful rule of Pleaſure.
He that ſhall make Cicero his example ſhall never become a Cataline: nor ſhall the admirer of a ſtudious and contemplative Athenian, of a couragious and active Lacaedemonian, incur the infamy and effeminacie of a delicate Sybarite, or a diſſolved Perſian: thus when the glory of Miltiades once diſturbed the ſleep of Themistocles, when his victory at Marathon had made a conqueſt alſo over the others debauchery at Athens; you ſee how ſoon he broke thoſe ſilken cords of pleaſure, wherein he was noos'd, and the ſenſe of honour having ſet an edge upon his affections, he ſoon cut that Gordion knot, whereby he became firſt victorious over himſelf, and after over Aſia; I mean the numerous Perſian with the ſtrength of Aſia then invading Greece, and of a diſſolute young man, became the moſt famous Captain in his time Greece could boaſt of; of ſuch efficacy is a noble example. Whereas on the contrary, as Cicero in Laelio, Nihilaltum, nihil magnificum, nihil divinum ſuſcipere poſſunt, qui ſuas cogitationes abjecerunt in rem humilem et abjectam. The latter phraſe is very emphatical; he that trifles away his thoughts in a low, and abject contemplation, ſhall never come to be fit for any high, any noble, any heroick undertaking. Thus the muck worm that pores upon the ground continually will never arrive to the liberal ſcience of Aſtronomy; and we cannot but ſuppoſe that he ſhall ſhoot neerer Heaven who takes his aim at a ſtar, than he that levels at a Gloworm.
The efficient cauſe of vertue is cuſtome; which is the genuine Parent of an habit; thus when we ſee a man wallow in vice, we say he is habituated to it, yet have there been ſome who have endeavoured to alter this Pedegree, aud to engraft this excellent Cien on another ſtock.
Gallen a Phyſician, would bring it under his cure, and place it within the verge of his art, and could he do it, it would be no ſmal addition to his calling, both in reſpect of honour, and profit; which would abound in admirers, and never want patients: how neceſſary would the Phyſician be to the Body Politick as well as natural, could he rectify and purge the manners, as well as the humours, and not only help men to live, but to live well? O the ſacred power of that Phyſick, which could purge out vice, and be a cordiall to vertue! thou haſt a fragrancy beyond the ointment of the Apothecary; whoſe ſhop alas cannot be the cradle of vertue, neither can all his compounds compoſe the affections, all his diſtillations inſtill vertue, all his eſſences and ſpirits quicken that noble heat in the ſoul, it is beyond the power of Chymiſtry to extract this habit, or to reſolve corrupted nature into its firſt principle of purity. Shew me that Doctor that can by his Phyſiek make the cholerike man meek, the Coward, valiant, or the corrupt, Juſt; and let him enjoy the deity of Aeſculapius, and his ruined Shrines be repaired for his ſervice. I confeſs they can make the Miſer open his fiſt, and ſcatter his Angells, when he is terrifyed with the dreadful apparition of death. This wretch, contrary to all others, who hold faſteſt when in danger of drowning, unclutching his gripe when he is ſinking into the grave, and parting with his Mammon, his beloved Deity ſo long adored by him, when the Devil appears ready to ceize him. But this is but like the Cowards winking and laying about him when there is no remedy but fight or dy, like Damaetas in the noble and ingenuous Sydney, who when the Sea would let him run no further, turnd, & had the hap to have his adverſary cry quarter firſt; and the one is as far from being liberal, as the other valiant.
Thus it ſeems, making for his profeſſion, Gallen attempts to cry up his own Diana, and on Nature beget a Sire for vertue, for he will have it ſpring from a Temperament of the Body; but though this may encline, yet doth it not neceſſarily draw men to vertue.
1. For we often ſee manners changed, the temperament remaining the ſame, as in the example of Themiſtocles; and the temper changed, the manners continuing, for in the life of Marius we read, that though he was both old, groſs, and corpulent, yet did he daily in publick exerciſe himſelf in arms among the young men, endeavoring to make his body active and nimble whether nature would or no: yea ſo fiery and young was his ambition that the chill froaſt of age which had made his head hoary could not nip it, and ſuch a thirſt after honour burned within him, that ſix Conſulſhips adorn'd with the moſt-ſplendid tryumphs could not quench it, but his aſpiring ſoul would have drawn his unweldie body craz'd with age, and loaden with honour, after it into Pontus, whether he eagerly ſought to be ſent Commander in chief againſt Mithridates; yea upon his death bed when he was light headed, fancying he was warring againſt Mithridates, he would often uſe ſuch poſtures, and motions of the body, as became a General, backed with a loud, and military clamour: Alas poor man! as if one ſprig of Laurel could have given thee content, which in a whole Grove thou couldſt not find, though ſpringing from thine own conqueſts.
2. Again the temper is not in our power, manners are, for if they were not, to what purpoſe would deliberation, counſel, exhortation, praiſe, reproof, laws, rewards, puniſhments be? it is evident then that the Temperament is not the proximate and chief cauſe of vertue.
Secondly, And as Gallen, ſo the Stoicks make Nature the cauſe of vertue, which they hold born with man, but vice contrary to Nature and acquired by evil cuſtom. So that they themſelves will have cuſtome the cauſe of the acquired habit of vice, which grants our Tenent, for having proved vertue to be a habit acquired, not an innate faculty, it muſt be the product of cuſtome. Beſides, whatever is natural is immoveable, but manners are mutable, as in the before recited example of Themiſtocles, and how often have our eyes ſeen young men of very promiſing beginnings debauched by evil company, to fall from that bright Orb of vertue, in which had they been placed by nature they would have been fixed ſtars?
Thirdly, Some there are that aſcribe vertues original to education, and breeding, and indeed this is very much conducing to beget the firſt acts of vertue, and to put youth in the right road to come to it, but it is not of force to creat the habit: for how many do we behold excellently initiated in this ſacred myſtery by a good Tutorage, which when they come to have the reigns layd in their necks, gallop down hill, and break the neck of all thoſe goodly expectations? for the beſt inſtilled precepts though they may ſometimes check, yet are they not of force to ſtop the carreer of the headſtrong affections, and many are there, who can give good counſel to others, which they cannot or will not follow themſelves. But let me not be miſunderſtood, for though we do not allow education to be the proximate and adaequate, yet ſhall we not deny it to be a remote cauſe, which by entering men in vertues path, which gon on in will bring to the habit, may be ſaid to lay the foundation to this glorious Fabrick. And thus though we cannot in juſtice conferre the Crown as to have reached the Goal, yet let it carry the prize for the firſt start; though we muſt deny it the tryumph due to an abſolute victory, yet ſhall we put the murall Crown on its head, for having firſt mounted the Wall, and firſt erected vertues Enſign upon the Battlements. Let it then not be neglected, but of all receive its due eſteem, as the moſt excellent Trayner up of youth, the moſt noble File-leader, who well followed conducts to victory, that happy victory which will render us invincible, place us above the reach of any enemy, carry us out of Fortunes gun-ſhot.
Now the reſt enjoying what is their own, let us give Cuſtom its due, which is to be the efficient cauſe of vertue, enabling men by an often repetition of ſuch or ſuch a vertuous action, to a ready and unperturbed performing it upon occaſion; for to deſcend a little in a simile, how come your Artificers to become excellent, unleſs by often practice, or your Souldier to be expert, but by exerciſe? and it is a maxim amongſt military men, that a man never ſo well versed in ſpeculation, who hath all the arts and stratagems of the moſt renowned Captains at his fingers ends, yet at the firſt ſkirmiſh will be to ſeek; and can we think the repugnancies within are leſs diſturbing than enemies without, and require not a mind as well experienced to reſiſt and quell them? To ſum up all the Etymon of the word foreign Moral, foreign, derived from the word which ſignifieth cuſtome, may confirm us that it hath its original from the thing from whoſe name it derives its denomination. For it would be no more a Soloeciſm in ſpeech to call the Son of Van Trump an Engliſh man, than that moral or customary vertue, which is ſprung from the loins of Temperament, Nature or Education.
But now to preſcribe a ſet number, to tell how many acts go to the making up an habit, is impoſſible; for 1. fewer or more are requiſite, accordingly as the mind is leſs or more enclin'd to vertue. 2. Some acts are more powerful, others leſs valid. 3. Attention makes large amends for number, whoſe worth, by way of exchange, may viewith hundreds, and, when put in the ſcale, far outweigh them. Neither let any of us fear to overdo, to act vertuouſly too often.
The external cauſes of vertue are the examples of others, as in the before-named example of Miltiades and Themiſtocles; and rewards and puniſhments, as we ſhall ſhew more fully in their proper-place.
The end of vertue, is bonum civile, the common good, the general intereſt of mankind, and this muſt needs be lovely in all our eyes, foreign, ſaith the Philoſopher, it is honourable to do good to one, to a nation heroical; it is neer of kin to divinity for a man to be able to contribute towards the welfare of his whole ſpecies: and Magistrates, men in publick place, of whom it is ſpoken, I have ſaid ye are Gods, are placed by God for the common good; thoſe that are ſet to rule, like the Sun ſhould be full of light, and heat, viſible in example, and powerful influence.