as valiants, fuch as are drunk with blood; but lions, horfes, eagles, and other creatures, ufe not fwords, bucklers, and inftruments of war: their limbs are their weapons, fome their horns, fome their bills, fome their wings; to one is given fwiftness'; to another, bignefs; to a third, fwimming. No irrational creature ufeth a fword, but keeps itself within the laws of its creation; except MAN, that doth not fo; which brings the heavier blame, because he hath the greatest underftanding. You must leave your wars, and your wickedness, which you ratify by a law, if you would have me leave my feverity. I have overcome pleasure, I have overcome riches, I have overcome ambition, I have mastered flattery: fear hath nothing to object against me, drunkennefs hath nothing to charge upon me, anger is afraid of me: I have won the garland, in fighting againft, thefe enemies.-This, and much more, did he write in his epiftles to Hermodorus, of his complaints against the great degeneracy of the Ephefians. And in an epiftle to Aphidamus, he writes, I am fallen fick, Aphidamus, of a dropfy. Whatsoever is of us, if it get the dominion, it becomes a disease. Excefs of heat is a fever; excess of cold, a palsy; excefs of wind, a cholick: my disease cometh from excess of moisture. The foul is fomething divine, which keeps all these in a due proportion. I know the nature of the world; I know that of man; I know diseases; I know health: I will cure myfelf, I will imitate GOD,' who makes equal the inequalities of the world. But if my body be overpreffed, it must defcend to the place ordained; however, my foul shall not defcend; but, being a thing immortal, fhall ascend on high, where an heavenly manfion fhall receive me.-A most weighty and pathetical difcourfe: they that know any thing of God, may favour fomething divine in it. Oh! that the degenerate Christians of these times would but take a view of the virtue, temperance, zeal, piety, and faith of this Heathen, who, notwithstanding that he lived five hundred years before the coming of Chrift in the flesh, had these excellent fentences!

fentences! Yet again; he taught that God punisheth not by taking away riches; he rather alloweth them to the wicked, to difcover them; for poverty may be a veil. Speaking of God, How can that light which never fets be ever hidden or obfcured? Juftice, faith he, fhall feize one day upon defrauders and witneffes of falfe things. Unless a man hopes to the end, for that which is to be hoped for, he fhall not find that which is unfearchable; which Clemens, an ancient father, applied to Ifa. vi. Unless you believe, you fhall not

understand.' Heraclitus derided the facrifices of creatures: Do you think, faith he, to pacify God, and cleanse yourselves, by polluting yourselves with blood? as if a man fhould go into the dirt to cleanfe himself. Which fhewed a fight of a more spiritual worship, than that of the facrifices of beafts. He lived folitary in the mountains; had a fight of his end: and as he was prepared for it, fo he rejoiced in it. These certainly were the men, who having not a law without them, became a law unto themselves, fhewing forth the ' work of the law written in their hearts". And who, for that reason, fhall judge the circumcifion, and receive the reward of Well done,' by him who is judge of quick and dead.

§. LXIII. DEMOCRITUS would fay, That he had lived to an extraordinary age, by keeping himself from luxury and excefs. That a little eftate went a great way with men that were neither covetous nor prodigal. That luxury furnished great tables with variety; and temperance furnisheth little ones. That riches do not confift in the poffeffion, but right ufe, of wealth. He was a man of great retirement, avoiding public honours and employments: bewailed by the people of Abdera as mad, whilst indeed he only smiled at the madness of the world.

§. LXIV. SOCRATES, the most religious and learned philofopher of his time (and of whom it is reported Apollo gave this character, That he was the wifeft man

Rom. ii. 14.

on earth) was a man of a fevere life, and inftructed people gratis in juft, grave and virtuous manners: for which being envied by Ariftophanes, the vain comical wit of that age, as one fpoiling the trade of plays, and exercifing the generality of the people with more noble and virtuous things; he was represented by him in a play, in which he rendered Socrates fo ridiculous, that the vulgar would rather part with Socrates in earnest, than Socrates in jeft; which made way for their impeaching him, as an enemy to their gods; for which they put him to death. But in a fhort space, his eighty judges, and the whole people, fo deeply repented the lofs, that they flew many of his accufers: fome hanged themselves; none would trade with them, nor answer them a queftion. They erected several statues to his praise; they forbad his name to be mentioned, that they might forget their injuftice: they called home his banished friends and fcholars. And, by the most wife and learned men of that age, it is obferved, that famous city was punifhed with the most dreadful plagues that ever raged amongst them; and all Greece, with it, never profpered in any considerable undertaking; but from that time always decayed*. Amongst many of his fober and religious maxims, upon which he was accustomed to difcourfe with his disciples, these are some :

He taught every-where, That an upright man, and an happy man, are all one. They that do good, are employed: they that spend their time in recreations, are idle. To do good is the best course of life; he only is idle, who might be better employed. An horfe is not known by his furniture, but qualities; fo men are to be esteemed for virtue, not wealth. Being afked, Who lived without trouble? he answered, Thofe who are confcious to themselves of no evil thing. To one who demanded, What was nobility? he answered, A good temper and difpofition of foul

Plat. Apolog. Diog. Laert. Helvic. Cic. Tuf. Queft. 1. Xenoph, Brut. Cic. Orat. Liban. Apol. Varro Hift. Schol. Arist,

and

and body. They who know what they ought to do, and do it not, are not wife and temperate, but fools and ftupid. To one that complained, he had not been benefited by his travels; Not without reafon (fays Socrates) thou didst travel with thy Self: intimating, he knew not the eternal Mind of God to direct and inform him. Being demanded, What wisdom was? faid, A virtuous compofure of the foul. And being afked, Who were wife? answered, Thofe that fin not. Seeing a young man rich, but ignorant of heavenly things, and pursuing earthly pleasures; Behold (fays he) a golden flave. Soft ways of living beget neither a good conftitution of body nor mind. Fine and rich clothes are only for comedians. Being demanded from what things men and women ought to refrain? he answered, Pleasure. Being asked, What continence and temperance were? he faid, Government of corporal defires and pleasures. The wicked live to eat, &c. but the good eat to live. Temperate perfons become the moft excellent; eat that which neither hurts the body nor mind, and which is eafy to be gotten. One faying, It was a great matter to abstain from what one defires; But (fays he) it is better not to defire at all. [This is deep religion, even very hard to profeffed Chriftians.] "It is the property of God, to need nothing; and they that need, and are contented with, leaft, come nearest to God. The only and beft way to worship God is, to mind and obey whatsoever he commands. That the fouls of men and women partake of the Divine Nature. That God is seen of the virtuous mind. That by waiting upon him, they are united unto him, in an inacceffible place of purity and happiness. Which God, he afferted always to be near him *",

* Clem. Alex. Strom. 2. 417. Xen. mem. 3. p. 720. Xen. mem. 3. P. 778, 779, 780. Stob. Ech Strom. 1. 11. Stob. 4. 6. Stob. z. 18. Xenoph. Mem. 3. Senec. Epift. 1. 103. Stob. 28. Stob. 32. Xen. Mem. 1. Elian. 9. Stob. 37. Stob. 37. Stob. 87. Xen. Mem. 3. 4. Elian. Var. Hift. 9. Stob. 37. Xenoph. Mem. 4. 802. Plat. Phæd.

Many more are the excellent fayings of this great man, who was not lefs famous for his fayings, than his example, with the greatest nations; yet died he a facrifice to the fottifh fury of the vain world. The hiftory of his life reports, that his father was told, He fhould have the Guide of his life WITHIN him, which fhould be more to him than five hundred mafters; which proved true: inftructing his fcholars herein, charging them not to neglect thefe divine affairs, which chiefly concern man, to mind or enquire after fuch things as are without in the vifible world. He taught the use of outward things only as they were neceffary to life and commerce; forbidding fuperfluities and curiofities *. He was martyred for his doctrine, after having lived seventy years the most admired, followed, and vifited, of all men in his time, by kings and commonwealths; and than whom, antiquity mentions none with more reverence and honour. Well were it for poor England, if her conceited Chriftians were true Socrates's; whofe ftrict, juft, and felf-denying life doth not befpeak him more, famous, than it will Chriftians infamous at the revelation of the righteous judgment; where Heathens virtue fhall aggravate Christians intemperance; and their humility, the others exceffive pride and juftly too, fince a Greater than Socrates is come, whofe name they profefs, but they will not obey his law †.

§. LXV. PLATO, that famous philofopher and scholar to Socrates, was fo grave, and devoted to divine things, nay, fo difcreetly politick, that in his Common-wealth he would not fo much as harbour poetical fancies (much lefs open ftages) as being too effeminate, and apt to withdraw the minds of youth from more noble, more manly, as well as more heavenly exercises . Plato, feeing a young man play at dice, reproved him sharply; the other anfwered, What! for fo fmall a matter? Custom (faith Plato) is no small

Xen. Mem, 1. p. 710. + Xen. Mem. 4. Plato de Legib.

Plato de Rep.