Contents
—Assiduo labuntur tempora motuNon secus ac flumen. Neque enim consistere flumen,Nec levis hora potest: sed ut unda, impellitur unda,Urgeturque prior venienti, urgetque priorem,Tempora sic fugiunt pariter, pariterque sequuntur;Et nova sunt semper. Nam quod fuit ante, relictum est;Fitque quod haud fuerat: momentaque cuncta novantur.Ov.Met.translation
Thefollowing Discourse comes from the same Hand with the Essays upon Infinitude.
1
We consider infinite Space as an Expansion without a Circumference: We consider Eternity, or infinite Duration, as a Line that has neither a Beginning nor an End. In our Speculations of infinite Space, we consider that particular Place in which we exist, as a kind of Center to the whole Expansion. In our Speculations of Eternity, we consider the Time which is present to us as the Middle, which divides the whole Line into two equal Parts. For this Reason, many witty Authors compare the present Time to an Isthmus or narrow Neck of Land, that rises in the midst of an Ocean, immeasurably diffused on either Side of it.
Philosophy, and indeed common Sense, naturally throws Eternity under two Divisions; which we may call in
English
, that Eternity which is past, and that Eternity which is to come. The learned Terms of
Æternitas a Parte ante
, and
Æternitas a Parte post
, may be more amusing to the Reader, but can have no other Idea affixed to them than what is conveyed to us by those Words, an Eternity that is past, and an Eternity that is to come. Each of these Eternities is bounded at the one Extream; or, in other Words, the former has an End, and the latter a Beginning.
Let us first of all consider that Eternity which is past, reserving that which is to come for the Subject of another Paper. The Nature of this Eternity is utterly inconceivable by the Mind of Man: Our Reason demonstrates to us that it
has been
, but at the same Time can frame no Idea of it, but what is big with Absurdity and Contradiction. We can have no other Conception of any Duration which is past, than that all of it was once present; and whatever was once present, is at some certain Distance from us, and whatever is at any certain Distance from us, be the Distance never so remote, cannot be Eternity. The very Notion of any Duration's being past, implies that it was once present; for the Idea of being once present, is actually included in the Idea of its being past. This therefore is a Depth not to be sounded by human Understanding. We are sure that there has been an Eternity, and yet contradict our selves when we measure this Eternity by any Notion which we can frame of it.
If we go to the Bottom of this Matter, we shall find, that the Difficulties we meet with in our Conceptions of Eternity proceed from this single Reason, That we can have no other Idea of any kind of Duration, than that by which we our selves, and all other created Beings, do exist; which is, a successive Duration made up of past, present, and to come. There is nothing which exists after this Manner, all the Parts of whose Existence were not once actually present, and consequently may be reached by a certain Number of Years applied to it. We may ascend as high as we please, and employ our Being to that Eternity which is to come, in adding Millions of Years to Millions of Years, and we can never come up to any Fountain-Head of Duration, to any Beginning in Eternity: But at the same time we are sure, that whatever was once present does lye within the Reach of Numbers, though perhaps we can never be able to put enough of them together for that Purpose. We may as well say, that any thing may be actually present in any Part of infinite Space, which does not lye at a certain Distance from us, as that any Part of infinite Duration was once actually present, and does not also lye at some determined Distance from us. The Distance in both Cases may be immeasurable and indefinite as to our Faculties, but our Reason tells us that it cannot be so in it self. Here therefore is that Difficulty which Human Understanding is not capable of surmounting. We are sure that something must have existed from Eternity, and are at the same Time unable to conceive, that any thing which exists, according to our Notion of Existence, can have existed from Eternity.
It is hard for a Reader, who has not rolled this Thought in his own Mind, to follow in such an abstracted Speculation; but I have been the longer on it, because I think it is a demonstrative Argument of the Being and Eternity of a God: And tho' there are many other Demonstrations which lead us to this great Truth, I do not think we ought to lay aside any Proofs in this Matter which the Light of Reason has suggested to us, especially when it is such a one as has been urged by Men famous for their Penetration and Force of Understanding, and which appears altogether conclusive to those who will be at the Pains to examine it.
Having thus considered that Eternity which is past, according to the best Idea we can frame of it, I shall now draw up those several Articles on this Subject which are dictated to us by the Light of Reason, and which may be looked upon as the Creed of a Philosopher in this great Point.
First
, It is certain that no Being could have made it self; for if so, it must have acted before it was, which is a Contradiction.
Secondly
, That therefore some Being must have existed from all Eternity.
Thirdly
, That whatever exists after the manner of created Beings, or according to any Notions which we have of Existence, could not have existed from Eternity.
Fourthly
, That this eternal Being must therefore be the great Author of Nature,
The Ancient of Days
, who, being at an infinite Distance in his Perfections from all finite and created Beings, exists in a quite different Manner from them, and in a Manner of which they can have no Idea.
I know that several of the School-men, who would not be thought ignorant of any thing, have pretended to explain the Manner of God's Existence, by telling us, That he comprehends infinite Duration in every Moment; That Eternity is with him a
Punctum stans
, a fixed Point; or, which is as good Sense, an
Infinite Instance;
That nothing with Reference to his Existence is either past or to come: To which the ingenious Mr.
Cowley
alludes in his Description of Heaven,
Nothing is there to come, and nothing past,But an EternalNowdoes always last.
For my own Part, I look upon these Propositions as Words that have no Ideas annexed to them; and think Men had better own their Ignorance than advance Doctrines by which they mean nothing, and which indeed are self-contradictory. We cannot be too modest in our Disquisitions, when we meditate on Him who is environed with so much Glory and Perfection, who is the Source of Being, the Fountain of all that Existence which we and his whole Creation derive from him. Let us therefore with the utmost Humility acknowledge, that as some Being must necessarily have existed from Eternity, so this Being does exist after an incomprehensible manner, since it is impossible for a Being to have existed from Eternity after our Manner or Notions of Existence. Revelation confirms these natural Dictates of Reason in the Accounts which it gives us of the Divine Existence, where it tells us, that he is the same Yesterday, To-day, and for Ever; that he is the
Alpha
and
Omega
, the Beginning and the Ending; that a thousand Years are with him as one Day, and one Day as a Thousand Years; by which and the like Expressions, we are taught, that his Existence, with Relation to Time or Duration, is infinitely different from the Existence of any of his Creatures, and consequently that it is impossible for us to frame any adequate Conceptions of it.
In the first Revelation which he makes of his own Being, he entitles himself,
I am that I am
; and when
Moses
de
Sir
es to know what Name he shall give him in his Embassy to
Pharaoh
, he bids him say that
I am
hath sent you. Our great Creator, by this Revelation of himself, does in a manner exclude every thing else from a real Existence, and distinguishes himself from his Creatures, as the only Being which truly and really exists. The ancient Platonick Notion, which was drawn from Speculations of Eternity, wonderfully agrees with this Revelation which God has made of himself. There is nothing, say they, which in Reality exists, whose Existence, as we call it, is pieced up of past, present, and to come. Such a flitting and successive Existence is rather a Shadow of Existence, and something which is like it, than Existence it self. He only properly exists whose Existence is intirely present; that is, in other Words, who exists in the most perfect Manner, and in such a Manner as we have no Idea of.
I shall conclude this Speculation with one useful Inference. How can we sufficiently prostrate our selves and fall down before our Maker, when we consider that ineffable Goodness and Wisdom which contrived this Existence for finite Natures? What must be the Overflowings of that good Will, which prompted our Creator to adapt Existence to Beings, in whom it is not necessary? Especially when we consider that he himself was before him in the compleat Possession of Existence and of Happiness, and in the full Enjoyment of Eternity. What Man can think of himself as called out and separated from nothing, of his being made a conscious, a reasonable and a happy Creature, in short, of being taken in as a Sharer of Existence, and a kind of Partner in Eternity, without being swallowed up in Wonder, in Praise, in Adoration! It is indeed a Thought too big for the Mind of Man, and rather to be entertained in the Secrecy of Devotion, and in the Silence of the Soul, than to be expressed by Words. The Supreme Being has not given us Powers or Faculties sufficient to extol and magnifie such unutterable Goodness.
It is however some Comfort to us, that we shall be always doing what we shall be never able to do, and that a Work which cannot be finished, will however be the Work of an Eternity.
Footnote 1:
See Nos.
565
,
571
,
580
, and
628
.
return to footnote mark
Contents
—Tenerorum lusor amorum—Ovid.translation
I have just receiv'd a Letter from a Gentleman, who tells me he has observed, with
no
small Concern, that my Papers have of late been very barren in relation to Love
1
; a Subject which when agreeably handled, can scarce fail of being well receiv'd by both Sexes.
If my Invention therefore should be almost exhausted on this Head, he offers to serve under me in the Quality of a
Love Casuist;
for which Place he conceives himself to be throughly qualified, having made this Passion his Principal Study, and observed it in all its different Shapes and Appearances, from the Fifteenth to the Forty Fifth Year of his Age.
He assures me with an Air of Confidence, which I hope proceeds from his real Abilities, that he does not doubt of giving Judgment to the Satisfaction of the Parties concerned, on the most nice and intricate Cases which can happen in an Amour; as,
As a farther Proof of his Skill, he has also sent me several Maxims in Love, which he assures me are the Result of a long and profound Reflection, some of which I think my self obliged to communicate to the Publick, not remembering to have seen them before in any Author.
I shall make use of this Gentleman's Skill as I see Occasion; and since I am got upon the Subject of Love, shall conclude this Paper with a Copy of Verses which were lately sent me by an unknown Hand, as I look upon them to be above the ordinary Run of Sonneteers.
The
Author tells me they were written in one of his despairing Fits; and I find entertains some Hope that his Mistress may pity such a Passion as he has described, before she knows that she is herself
Corinna.
Conceal, fond Man, conceal the mighty Smart,Nor tellCorinnashe has fir'd thy Heart.In vain would'st thou complain, in vain pretendTo ask a Pity which she must not lend.She's too much thy Superior to comply,And too too fair to let thy Passion dye.Languish in Secret, and with dumb SurprizeDrink the resistless Glances of her Eyes.At awful Distance entertain thy Grief,Be still in Pain, but never ask Relief.Ne'er tempt her Scorn of thy consuming State;Be any way undone, but fly her Hate.Thou must submit to see thy Charmer blessSome happier Youth that shall admire her less;Who in that lovely Form, that Heavenly Mind,Shall miss ten thousand Beauties thou could'st find;Who with low Fancy shall approach her Charms,While half enjoy'd she sinks into his Arms.She knows not, must not know, thy nobler Fire,Whom she, and whom the Muses do inspire;Her Image only shall thy Breast employ,And fill thy captiv'd Soul with Shades of joy;Direct thy Dreams by Night, thy Thoughts by Day;And never, never, from thy Bosom stray2.
Footnote 1:
See Nos.
602
,
605
,
614
,
623
, and
625
.
return to footnote mark
Footnote 2:
These verses were by Gilbert Budgell, second brother of Eustace.
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Contents
—Studium sine divite Vena—Hor.translation
I look upon the Play-house as a World within it self. They have lately furnished the Middle Region of it with a new Sett of Meteors, in order to give the Sublime to many modern Tragedies. I
was
there last Winter at the first Rehearsal of the new Thunder
1
, which is much more deep and sonorous than any hitherto made use of. They have a
Salmoneus
behind the Scenes, who plays it off with great Success. Their Lightnings are made to flash more briskly than heretofore; their Clouds are also better furbelow'd, and more voluminous; not to mention a violent Storm locked up in a great Chest that is designed for the
Tempest.
They are also provided with above a Dozen Showers of Snow, which, as I am informed, are the Plays of many unsuccessful Poets artificially cut and shreaded for that Use. Mr.
Rimer's Edgar
is to fall in Snow at the next acting of King
Lear
, in order to heighten, or rather to alleviate, the Distress of that unfortunate Prince; and to serve by way of Decoration to a Piece which that great Critick has written against.
I do not indeed wonder that the Actors should be such professed Enemies to those among our Nation who are commonly known by the Name of Criticks, since it is a Rule among these Gentlemen to fall upon a Play, not because it is ill written, but because it takes. Several of them lay it down as a Maxim, That whatever Dramatick Performance has a long Run, must of Necessity be good for nothing; as though the first Precept in Poetry were
not to please
. Whether this Rule holds good or not, I shall leave to the Determination of those who are better Judges than my self: If it does, I am sure it tends very much to the Honour of those Gentlemen who have established it; few of their Pieces having been disgraced by a Run of three Days, and most of them being so exquisitely written, that the Town would never give them more than one Night's Hearing.
I have a great Esteem for a true Critick, such as
Aristotle
and
Longinus
among the
Greeks
,
Horace
and
Quintilian
among the
Romans
,
Boileau
and
Dacier
among the
French
. But it is our Misfortune, that some who set up for professed Criticks among us are so stupid, that they do not know how to put ten Words together with Elegance or common Propriety, and withal so illiterate, that they have no Taste of the learned Languages, and therefore criticise upon old Authors only at second-hand. They judge of them by what others have written, and not by any Notions they have of the Authors themselves. The Words Unity, Action, Sentiment, and Diction, pronounced with an Air of Authority, give them a Figure among unlearned Readers, who are apt to believe they are very deep, because they are unintelligible. The Ancient Criticks are full of the Praises of their Contemporaries; they discover Beauties which escaped the Observation of the Vulgar, and very often find out Reasons for palliating and excusing such little Slips and Oversights as were committed in the Writings of eminent Authors. On the contrary, most of the Smatterers in Criticism who appear among us, make it their Business to vilifie and depreciate every new Production that gains Applause, to descry imaginary Blemishes, and to prove by far-fetch'd Arguments, that what pass for Beauties in any celebrated Piece are Faults and Errors. In short, the Writings of these Criticks compared with those of the Ancients, are like the Works of the Sophists compared with those of the old Philosophers.
Envy and Cavil are the natural Fruits of Laziness and Ignorance; which was probably the Reason, that in the Heathen Mythology
Momus
is said to be the Son of
Nox
and
Somnus
, of Darkness and Sleep. Idle Men, who have not been at the Pains to accomplish or distinguish themselves, are very apt to detract from others; as ignorant Men are very subject to decry those Beauties in a celebrated Work which they have not Eyes to discover. Many of our Sons of
Momus
, who dignify themselves by the Name of Criticks, are the genuine Descendants of these two illustrious Ancestors. They are often led into those numerous Absurdities, in which they daily instruct the People, by not considering that,
1st
, There is sometimes a greater Judgment shewn in deviating from the Rules of Art, than in adhering to them; and,
2dly
, That there is more Beauty in the Works of a great Genius who is ignorant of all the Rules of Art, than in the Works of a little Genius, who not only knows, but scrupulously observes them.
First, We may often take Notice of Men who are perfectly acquainted with all the Rules of good Writing, and notwithstanding chuse to depart from them on extraordinary Occasions. I could give Instances out of all the Tragick Writers of Antiquity who have shewn their Judgment in this Particular; and purposely receded from an established Rule of the Drama, when it has made way for a much higher Beauty than the Observation of such a Rule would have been. Those who have surveyed the noblest Pieces of Architecture and Statuary both ancient and modern, know very well that there are frequent Deviations from Art in the Works of the greatest Masters, which have produced a much nobler Effect than a more accurate and exact way of Proceeding could have done. This often arises from what the
Italians
call the
Gusto Grande
in these Arts, which is what we call the Sublime in Writing.
In the next Place, our Criticks do not seem sensible that there is more Beauty in the Works of a great Genius who is ignorant of the Rules of Art, than in those of a little Genius who knows and observes them. It is of these Men of Genius that
Terence
speaks, in Opposition to the little artificial Cavillers of his Time;
Quorum æmulari exoptat negligentiamPotiùs, quàm istorum obscuram diligentiam.
A Critick may have the same Consolation in the ill Success of his Play, as Dr.
South
tells us a Physician has at the Death of a Patient, That he was killed
secundum artem
. Our inimitable
Shakespear
is a Stumbling-Block to the whole Tribe of these rigid Criticks. Who would not rather read one of his Plays, where there is not a single Rule of the Stage observed, than any Production of a modern Critick, where there is not one of them violated?
Shakespear
was indeed born with all the Seeds of Poetry, and may be compared to the Stone in
Pyrrhus's
Ring, which, as
Pliny
tells us, had the Figure of
Apollo
and the Nine Muses in the Veins of it, produced by the spontaneous Hand of Nature, without any Help from Art.
Footnote 1:
John Dennis's invention, of which he said with exultation, 'That's my thunder.'
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Quale per incertam Lunam sub luce malignaEst iter in Sylvis:—Virg.translation
My dreaming Correspondent, Mr.
Shadow
, has sent me a second Letter, with several curious Observations on Dreams in general, and the Method to render Sleep improving: An Extract of his Letter will not, I presume, be disagreeable to my Readers.
'Since we have so little Time to spare, that none of it may be lost, I see no Reason why we should neglect to examine those imaginary Scenes we are presented with in Sleep, only because they have less Reality in them than our waking Meditations. A Traveller would bring his Judgment in Question who should despise the Directions of his Map for want of real Roads in it, because here stands aDottinstead of a Town, or aCypherinstead of a City, and it must be a long Day's Journey to travel thro' two or three Inches. Fancy in Dreams gives us much such another Landskip of Life as that does of Countries, and tho' its Appearances may seem strangely jumbled together, we may often observe such Traces and Footsteps of noble Thoughts, as, if carefully pursued, might lead us into a proper Path of Action. There is so much Rapture and Extasie in our fancied Bliss, and something so dismal and shocking in our fancied Misery, that tho' the Inactivity of the Body has given Occasion for calling Sleep the Image ofDeath, the Briskness of the Fancy affords us a strong Intimation of something within us that can never die.'I have wondered, thatAlexanderthe Great, who came into the World sufficiently dreamt of by his Parents, and had himself a tolerable Knack at dreaming, should often say, thatSleep was one thing which made him sensible he was Mortal.I who have not such Fields of Action in the Daytime to divert my Attention from this Matter, plainly perceive, that in those Operations of the Mind, while the Body is at rest, there is a certain Vastness of Conception very suitable to the Capacity, and demonstrative of the Force of that Divine Part in our Composition which will last for ever. Neither do I much doubt but had we a true Account of the Wonders the Hero last mentioned performed in his Sleep, his conquering this little Globe would hardly be worth mentioning. I may affirm, without Vanity, that when I compare several Actions inQuintus Curtiuswith some others in my own Noctuary, I appear the greater Hero of the two.I shall close this Subject with observing, that while we are awake we are at Liberty to fix our Thoughts on what we please, but in Sleep we have not the Command of them. The Ideas which strike the Fancy, arise in us without our Choice, either from the Occurrences of the Day past, the Temper we lye down in, or it may be the Direction of some superior Being.It is certain the Imagination may be so differently affected in Sleep, that our Actions of the Day might be either rewarded or punished with a little Age of Happiness or Misery. St.Austinwas of Opinion, that if inParadisethere was the same Vicissitude of sleeping and waking as in the present World, the Dreams of its Inhabitants would be very happy.And so far at present our Dreams are in our Power, that they are generally conformable to our waking Thoughts, so that it is not impossible to convey our selves to a Consort of Musick, the Conversation of Distant Friends, or any other Entertainment which has been before lodged in the Mind.My Readers, by applying these Hints will find the Necessity of making agood Dayof it, if they heartily wish themselves a good Night.I have often consider'dMarcia'sPrayer, andLucius'sAccount ofCato, in this Light.Marc.O ye immortal Powers, that guard the Just,Watch round his Couch, and soften his Repose,Banish his Sorrows, and becalm his SoulWith easie Dreams; remember all his Virtues;And shew Mankind that Goodness is your Care.Luc.Sweet are the Slumbers of the virtuous Man!OMarcia,I have seen thy Godlike Father:Some Pow'r invisible supports his Soul,And bears it up in all its wonted Greatness.A kind refreshing Sleep is fall'n upon him:I saw him stretcht at Ease, his Fancy lostIn pleasing Dreams; as I drew near his Couch,He smil'd, and cry'd,Cæsar,thou canst not hurt me.
Sleep was one thing which made him sensible he was Mortal.