The Vanity of the Lives and Passions of Men, Chapter 10
CHAP. X.
Of the vanity of the paſsion of worldly joy.
AS Laughter is an expreſſion of Joy, ſo Weeping is an evidence of Sorrow; but theſe two proprieties, are onelyonly peculiar to mankinde: becauſe the Ape that ſeemeth to laugh, doth but grin; and the Crocodile that ſeemeth to weep, doth but mone: for Joy and Sorrow are affections of the minde, and therefore the unreaſonable creatures are incapable of them: Notwithſtanding, ſome Moraliſts conceive, that the paſſion of Joy, and the paſſion of Delight, which the French call Delectation, is but one and the ſame paſſion, which cannot certainly be: becauſe Delight is common to men and beaſt, ſo is not Joy, for Delight proceeds from the pleaſures of the Senſes, and Joy from the contentedneſs of the minde; and our bleſſed Saviour while he was upon earth, ſhewed that theſe affections did reſide in him, as it may appear by theſe words,Joh. 15.11. Theſe things have I ſpoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be ful: this confirms his affection of Joy, and theſe will verifie his affection of Sorrow;Ioh. 11.33, 34. When Jeſus therefore ſaw her weeping, and the Jews alſo weeping which came with her, he groaned in the Spirit, and was troubled, and ſaid, Where have ye laid him? They ſay unto him, Lord, come and ſee. Ieſus wept. Now Chriſt being the purity it ſelf, it is impoſſible he ſhould have had any affections proceeding from the Senſes: And therefore it is certain that Joy and Delight are two diſtinct paſſions. This ſweet and comfortable paſſion of Joy was given to the reaſonable creatures by their gracious and merciful Creator, for to ſweeten and temper the bitterneſs of their Sorrows, that come upon them as thick as a ſtorm of Hail, under the burden of which, they would undoubtedly have fainted, if God had not been pleaſed to afford them this cordial of Joy: for although Joy be pleaſant to Nature, yet it is a meer ſtranger to it; but Sorrow which ſhe abhors, is her conſtant gueſt, and for one dram of joy that men have in their life time, they have a pound of Sorrow, yet becauſe Joy is the comforter of mens lives (for without it they could not ſubſiſt) obſerve for your better information of the qualities of it, theſe particulars.
1. The definition of Joy.
2. The cauſes of it.
3. The proprieties of it.
4. Its effects.
5. The bad and good uſe of it.
6. The excellency of ſpiritual Joy.
Firſt, There are two different ſorts of Joy, the one is Worldly, and the other Spiritual; the laſt is a rapture or raviſhment of the Soul, by an intimate familiarity that true Chriſtians have with their gracious God, by contemplation, meditation, or fervent prayers: The firſt is a ſudden and violent motion of the heart, that cauſeth a great alteration in the body,The definition of Joy. See Theuphraſt. Boju. in his Commentaties upon Ariſtotle Phyſ. fol. 727. proceeding in the opinion of the Moraliſts from the poſſeſſion or fight of ſome object much deſired; which is really good, or reputed to be ſo by the imagination of men; yet it will appear by the proprieties and effects of it, that it doth not always come from the poſſeſſion or injoyment of a beloved object, or from an imaginary good, but ſometimes from relations, ſcurrilous ſpeeches, ridiculous poſtures, and deformedobjects: for Joy is, as I have ſaid before, an affection of the minde, and is rather infuſed in the Heart, by the Eye, and by the Ear, then by any of the other three Senſes; for thoſe are more proper to the paſſion of Volupty, of which Delight or Delectation is a branch; however it is the fifth paſſion incident to the Concupiſcible appetite, and proceeds from divers cauſes, as it will appear in the next Diſcourſe.
Secondly, The cauſes of worldly joy, are either Publick or Private: the Publick proceed commonly from the immediate hand of God, or from his favor, or by his permiſſion, and of theſe I ſhall ſpeak in the firſt place: firſt, It was a great cauſe of publick joy, proceeding from the immediate hand of God to the people of Iſrael preſently after their coming out of Egypt, to ſee the ſea go back,Exod. 14.21. to 31. and make a free paſſage for their hoſt, to paſs through the midſt of it, and when they were all ſafe come to dry land, to ſee the rowling waves of the ſea to turn back and overwhelm Pharoah and all his Army: ſecondly, It was a cauſe of publick Joy, when it pleaſed the Lord to deliver the people of the Iews, from that bloody decree obtained by Haman from the great King Ahaſuerus againſt the whole Nation of the Iews, Eſther 3.4.The cauſes of publick joy.that were ſcattered through the one hundred and ſeven and twenty Provinces of the ſaid Kings Dominions; for wch admirable deliverance the people of Iſrael made the 15th. and 16th. day of the monethmonth Adar, days of Thankſgiving, and of Feaſting and Rejoycing, from one generation to the other, which were called the days of Purim: See the Spaniſh and Turkiſh Hiſtory.thirdly, It was the cauſe of publick joy to the Venetians, and to all Chriſtendom, when God was pleaſed to give unto the Chriſtian Fleet ſuch a memorable victory over the Turkiſh Navy at the Battel of Lepantho, for which after thanks given to God, many days of Feaſting and Rejoycing were kept at Venice, and other parts of Chriſtendom: fourthly,See Speed in the life of King James. It was an incredible cauſe of publick joy for England, when the Lord was pleaſed to deliver this Nation from the devilliſh plot of the Gunpouder Treaſon, for which miraculous deliverance, after hearty thanks given to God, great Feaſting, Bond-fires, and other expreſſions of joy were made in London, and through the whole Land.
1. It was a cauſe of private joy to the old Patriarch Jacob, to hear by the report of his ſons, that his beloved ſon Joſeph, Gen. 45.26.who he thought had been devoured by wild beaſts, was chief Governor of Egypt, and the next man in honor to the King. 2. It was a cauſe of private joy for old Ieſſe, The cauſes of private joy. 1 Sam. 16.12.to ſee his youngeſt ſon David from a Shepherd, to be promoted to be King of all Iſrael, and ſpecially to be reputed by God himſelf, to be a man after his own heart. 3. It was a cauſe of private joy for old Mordecay, to ſee his Neece Eſther, Eſther 2.16.from a Captive to be exalted to be the wife of the great King Ahaſuerus, and the greateſt Queen in the world. 4. It was a cauſe of incomprehenſible joy to the Virgin Mary, and to all mankinde to hear the bleſſed and glad tidings that the Angel Gabriel brought her from the Lord, ſaying, Behold, Luke 1.26.46.thou ſhalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a ſon, and ſhall call his name Jeſus: He ſhall be great, and ſhall be called the ſon of the Higheſt, and the Lord God ſhall give unto him the throne of his father David: whereupon the Virgin Mary tranſported with joy, and raviſhed in ſpirit, ſung ſome dayes after this excellent Song, My ſoul doth magnify the Lord, beginning at the fourty ſixt Verſe of the firſt Chap. of St. Luke. Here was a true and real Cauſe of Spiritual Joy, not onelyonly for the Virgin Mary, but alſo for all the Elected of God, who by free grace have part in the merits of Chriſt; By theſe Inſtances it appears, that theſe cauſes of joy did proceed from the ſeeing and hearing, which are the two Senſes moſt proper to the paſſion of Joy. There are divers other Cauſes of worldly joy, which are not ſo well grounded as theſe, but are moſt vain and ridiculous, and they are theſe following.
The joy of private and worldly men ſuits with their inclinations: firſt, The Ambitious will rejoyce in the increaſe of their honors: ſecondly, The Covetous men in the abundance of their riches: thirdly,The cauſes of private mens joy. The Voluptuous men will rejoyce in the injoyment of their pleaſures: fourthly, The Merchants and Tradeſ-men in the increaſe of their Trade: fifthly, The Lawyers in the multiplicity of their Clients, and in the diſcord of their neighbors: ſixthly, The prophane and Libertine in all manner of ridiculous Sports, ſcurrilous Songs, lewd Muſick; Dancing, Valting, and in laſcivious Pictures, and Poſtures, and in Chambering, Gluttony and Drunkenneſs; and theſe are the common and ordinary cauſes of the joy of worldly men, Let the Reader judg then, whether carnal joy be not meer vanity, and vexation of Spirit: for the great vanity of it moved Solomon to ſay, I ſaid of laughter, Eccleſ. 2.2.it is mad, and of mirth, what doth it? and the very truth is, that men tranſported with immoderate joy, are like fools and mad men.
Thirdly, The proprieties of worldly joy are theſe: firſt, Worldly joy is of hot temper: ſecondly, It is of a dilative or ſpreading quality; and theſe two proprieties are the cauſe that ſudden joy doth bereave men of life; for when ſome beloved object, or glad tidings are unexpectedly repreſented to the eyes, or ears of men, this cauſeth a violent alteration in all the parts of the body, but ſpecially in the heart, by means of the hot, and dilative quality of this paſſion of Joy, becauſe the blood and the vital ſpirits that reſide in it, are with great violence driven from the inward parts to the extremity of the members of the body,The proprieties of worldly joy. whereby mens hearts are deprived of their natural heat, and of their vital ſpirits, and ſo fall into a ſwoon; or if this motion be over-fierce and violent, it doth extinguiſh their life, as the ſnuff of a Candle goeth out when it hath no more tallow to ſuſtain its light: Now the heart who is the efficient cauſe of life, being thus deprived of heat, loſeth its motion, upon which depends the life of men; for the beating of the heart gives life and motion to all the members of the body, and is congealed and frozen to death by this ſudden motion and privation, as water is congealed into Ice by a great froſt: and this may be confirmed by another violent action of men, of which many are yet living that were eye-witneſſes to it; Two Engliſh Foot-men running a race for a great wager from London to Kingſton, did by their ſwift and violent running, ſo drive their blood and vital ſpirits from the heart to the extreameſt parts of their bodies, that their faces looked as black as their hats; one of them obtained the victory, and out-ran the other about twenty yards, and being joyful of his gain and honor preſumed over-much of his ſtrength, and did not uſe the means to preſerve himſelf (as the other did, who was much more diſtempered then he) whereby his blood and vital ſpirits, in ſtead of returning to the heart, were congealed in the extream parts of his body by taking cold: which did deprive him of life within few hours after: but the other putting on his apparel, and covering himſelf with a warm cloak, prayed two of his fellows to walk him up and down till his blood and vital ſpirits were ſetled again about his heart,A remarkable Relation. and by this means he was as well the next morning as ever he was before; now the motion of the blood being more violent by the inward diſtemper of the fiery paſſion of Joy, then it can be by the motion of a long-continued race, it muſt by conſequence be more dangerous and mortal then the other: thirdly, As the immoderate Joy hath dangerous proprieties, the moderate joy hath many good, for moderate joy preſerves and increaſeth the health of the body: fourthly, It giveth a ſeemly and loving aſpect, and a freſh colour to the face: fifthly, It makes mens company and converſation more pleaſant and acceptable to all other men: ſixthly, It makes men more chearful in their particular and general calling, and paſs their days through this vale of Tears with more alacrity and content.
Fourthly, The effects of immoderate Joy would be incredible,The effects of immoderate joy. See Livius in his third Decade, li. 3. if they had not been recorded by approved and faithful Authors: firſt, A Roman Lady, ſaith Livius, died with joy at the ſight of her ſon, whom ſhe conceived to have been ſlain at the battell of Cannae: ſecondly, The Author of the Turkiſh Hiſtory Records,See the Turkiſh Hiſtory in the life of Achmath. that Sinna Baſha had but one ſon of great valour, who was taken priſoner in a ſea fight by a Venetian Galley, whereupon tidings were brought to Sinna his father that he had been ſlain in that fight, becauſe he had been wounded, but by the care of the Captain of the Galley (who hoped to receive a great ranſom for him) he did recover, and his wounds were cured; and it hapned ſome days after, before the Venetian Galley could carry him to ſhore, that it was taken at ſea by Cicala Baſha, a great friend of the above-ſaid Sinnae, who finding this priſoner of note in the Venetian Galley, was exceedingly joyful, as knowing how grateful a preſent it would be to his friend; and therefore after he had apparelled him with rich veſtures, he ſent him in a well-appointed Galley, and with an honorable train to his father Sinna, that had lately been made grand Viſier by Achmath, Emperor of the Turks, who was then at Caffa upon the black ſea; but this yong man was no ſooner come into his ſight, but Sinna tranſported with joy fell dead at his ſons feet; whereby it appears that he who had the power to bear with admirable conſtancy, the tidings of the death of his onelyonly ſon, had not the power to moderate the joy that he did receive by his unexpected return: thirdly, Theophraſtus Boujou, records the names, and means of a dozen more at leaſt, who have died ſuddenly by the violent diſtemper of immoderate joy, ſome by honors received, others for ſeeing their mortal enemy ly wallowing in his own blood,See Boujou in his Commentary upon Ariſtotle, lib. 19. ca. 39. fol. 835. ready to give up the Ghoſt; and others by looking upon Pictures, which by their ugly features inforced them to ſuch an immoderate laughter as it did deprive them of life; others for being victorious in the Olympian Sports; and others in the field, as it is recorded of Epamonides, and of the Duke of Roan, who died rather for joy of two great victories obtained againſt their enemies in two pitcht battels, then by their wounds.
Fifthly, The bad and good uſe of this paſſion of Joy, doth onelyonly conſiſt in the not regulating, or in the regulating of it; for if Joy be let in to the ſoul by degrees, the ſting and venom of it is changed into an Antidote, and doth rather comfort Nature then deſtroy it; for as it is dangerous to open the Floud-gates of a river ſuddenly,The bad and good uſe of worldly joy. and all at once, for fear the violence of the water break down the banks, and pull up the foundation of the ſluce, even ſo it is dangerous to let in, into the ſoul all at once, the ſwift currant of good or evil tidings; therefore if Cicala Baſha had only at the firſt ſent word to the Viſier Sinna, that he had happily reſcued his ſon, and that as ſoon as his wounds ſhould be cured, he would ſend him back unto him in an honorable condition, this had undoubtedly prevented the death of this old man; but the ſudden and unexpected ſight of his ſon, whom he thought to have been dead, cauſed ſo violent a perturbation in his minde, and ſo great an alteration in the vital faculties of his body, that his natural ſtrength, being then in his declining age, was overcome with it, and his life utterly extinguiſhed, as the light of a candle is by a violent blaſt of winde: But the Duke of Medina Coeli, who was General for Philip the ſecond, King of Spain, See the Spaniſh Hiſtory in Philip the ſeconds life.of the invincible Armado (as they termed it) that came againſt England, in the Year 1588. did deal more prudently with his Prince, for his ſhip being the firſt that arrived into Spain, after the utter rout of this great Navy, he ſent a diſcreet Meſſenger unto him, to inform him that ſome part of his Navy had miſcarried by foul weather, and that himſelf had been driven back by a ſtorm; and eight days after he ſent another meſſenger to the King, informing him of the particulars, and ſome days after came in perſon to give him an account of his Journey, whereby he did prevent the evil effects, that ſuch a loſs might have cauſed by a ſudden impreſſion in his Princes heart: therefore the mitigation of the violence of the paſſions of Joy and Sorrow is of great uſe, whereas if they be not moderated, they are dangerous and deſtructive: It may then be collected by theſe diſcourſes, that worldly joy is but meer vanity and vexation of ſpirit, for as Job ſaith, The triumphing of the wicked is ſhort, Job 20.5.and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment.
The Spiritual Joy doth as much excel the worldly Joy, as the Light doth Darkneſs, it raviſheth the ſoul, and fills it with unſpeakable pleaſures; the nature of it is incomprehenſible; neither can the ſuperlative excellency of it be expreſſed nor deſcribed by the Tongue nor Pen of men, for our bleſſed Saviour himſelf, ſaith St. Paul, aHeb. 12 2.For the joy that was ſet before him, endured the Croſs, deſpiſing the Shame, and is ſet down at the right hand of God: and for, and by that joy, all the Martyrs have deſpiſed the burning flames; nay, ſome have kiſſed the ſtakes where they were to be burned, and their greateſt torments ſeemed unto them when they were upon the torturing racks, as if they had been upon a bed of roſes.The excellent effects of ſpiritual joy. This joy is the true Or-potabily, which can, as Phyſitians feign, cure all diſeaſes for if a Chriſtian hath but a grain of this joy, the greateſt torments, and the greateſt perſecutions that ever were invented, and exerciſed by the cruel and blood-thirſty Tyrants will not dant them, but they will bear them with an incredible fortitude of ſpirit. And St. Paul to manifeſt the excellency of ſpiritual joy, ſaith in the fourteenth Chapter and the ſeventeenth Verſe of his Epiſtle to the Romans, That in bRom. 14.17.righteouſneſs, peace and joy in the holy Ghoſt doth conſiſt the Kingdom of God; And in all his Salutations and Wiſhes to the Churches and Saints, he conjoyns Joy with Peace,cRom. 15.13. Now the God of Hope fill you with all joy and Peace in believing: And St. Iohn in his firſt Epiſtle, Chap. 1. and verſe 4. making a relation of the excellent Myſteries of eternal life manifeſted by the coming and incarnation of Chriſt, concludes with theſe words, And theſe things write we unto you that d1 Joh. 1.4.your Ioy may be full, intimating that mens joy cannot be ful nor perfect but in the meditation of the Myſteries of their ſalvation: And St. Peter in his firſt Epiſtle, Chap. 1. verſ. 8. ſpeaking of the triall of the faith of the true children of God, ſaith; Whom having not ſeen, ye love, in whom though now you ſee him not, e1 Pet. 1.8.yet beleeving ye rejoyce with joy unſpeakable and full of glory: Sufficient proofs that mens chiefeſt joy doth conſiſt in a true faith in Chriſt, and in the delight they take in the reading and meditating on the Law of God: And that is the reaſon that the Prophet David breaks out in this expreſſion, Be glad in the Lord, fPſal. 32.11.and rejoyce ye righteous, and ſhout for joy all ye that are upright in heart: for this ſpiritual joy is onelyonly peculiar to the true children of God, impenitent ſinners being incapable of it: and therefore the Prophet David, after his grievous ſins of Adultery and Murder, feeling that this excellent joy was departed from him, doth earneſtly intreat the Lord in the 51. Pſalm, to make him hear joy and gPſal. 51.8.gladneſs, that the bones which thou haſt broken, ſaith he, may rejoyce: And after a heavy burden of ſorrow that he had carried in a penitent way, for theſe aboveſaid tranſgreſſions, which had in a maner broken his bones, and dried up the marrow that was in them, he breakes out again with this expreſſion, Reſtore hPſa 51.12.unto me the joy of thy ſalvation, and uphold me with thy free Spirit. To conclude, Bleſſed are thoſe who prefer the good and wellfare of iPſal. 137.6.Ieruſalem above their chiefeſt joy: and unhappy are they that make worldly joy, (that is nothing but vanity and vexation of ſpirit) their ſupream good, &c.