A Treatise of the Laws of Nature. Richard Cumberland

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СКАЧАТЬ κϵκολαμένη, restrain’d Belly, or narrow-bounded Appetite. The Pagans, both Popular and Philosophick, had also a regard to Self-approbation and the Tranquillity of their own Mind. “There is no greater Theatre” (saith Cicero²⁸³) “for Virtue, than our own Mind, approving and applauding.” They had also a Self-reverence, or regard to their own Dignity of Person.—Πάντων δὲ μάλις’ ἀιοχύνεο σαυτὸν, Above all others reverence thy-self.”²⁸⁴

      A fourth Principle of laudable Practices is Religion on this side true Religion; for it was from a Principle of Religion, and out of regard to a Deity, that Heathens thought themselves oblig’d, to do nothing against their Consciences, but to keep them unspotted;²⁸⁵ that they look’d upon the Dictates of their practical Reason as Laws;²⁸⁶ that they had Hopes and Fears, Peace and Perplexity, Joys and Anxieties, from their Consciences,²⁸⁷ That they look’d upon themselves as bound to Innocence, to Gratitude, to keep Faith, to take care of their Children and Parents, to have a special Kindness for their near Kindred, to do the Offices of Humanity towards Mankind in general, and acts of Heroical Virtue for the publick Benefit;²⁸⁸ that they thought Men criminal and punishable, not only for Facts of Wickedness (such as Adultery, Theft, Homicide,) but for the Will of Evil-doing;²⁸⁹ that they shun’d the perpetration of Wickedness in secret, dreaded Perjury, rever’d an Oath;²⁹⁰ that they accounted Injustice towards Men, and all vicious Errors in Life and Practice, (which they called ἁμαρτνίματα, Sins,) nothing less than Impieties;²⁹¹ that the Philosophick-Pagan Religionists thought themselves oblig’d to practise all the Virtues which were in their Institution, and to shun all the Vices;²⁹² that they propos’d to themselves an Imitation of the Deity, and suppos’d, that nothing could be well done, “without having respect to the Things Divine”;²⁹³ and therefore (as some of themselves say) “they had an Eye to the Deity in every thing great and little”;²⁹⁴ and lastly, that they look’d upon themselves as bound to an intire Subjection to the Governor of the World, and to all the Branches of active and passive Obedience to him, real, or imaginary.²⁹⁵ The natural Man, therefore, in a considerable degree, hath Notices of what is Good and Bad, Virtuous and Vicious, Right and Wrong, Just and Unjust (towards the Deity, as well as towards Men,) of what is Worthy and Unworthy, that some things are very Vile and Dishonourable, others are Becoming, Excellent and Honourable; and, altho’ he is an Impietist, yet he hath his Virtues and Well doings, “that are from Conscience, not Vain-Glory.”²⁹⁶ The Heathen joineth Religion and Justice towards Men; as Nicias, (of whom Thucydides saith, “He was the Man of all the Grecians of my time, that least deserv’d to be brought to so great a degree of Misery,²⁹⁷) who, falling into a great Calamity in Syracuse, told his afflicted Army, “I have worshipp’d the Gods frequently according to the Laws, and liv’d justly and unblameably towards Men.” The Heathen will be just, because, in his way, he is religious. “He that is unjust is impious. For the Nature of the Universe having made all rational Beings for one another, so as to benefit one another, as they are worthy, but in no wise to hurt; he that transgresseth the Will hereof, is manifestly impious towards the most antient of the Gods.”²⁹⁸

      The Virtue of the Heathens was an unholy and degenerate kind of Virtue.

      It is one thing, to say, that a Man is an ungodly Heathen; and another thing, to say, he is an ungodly virtuous Heathen: And it is one thing, to say, of an Action of his, it is an ungodly Action; and another thing, to say, it is an ungodly virtuous Action. When the natural Man doth that which is materially good, it may be done, for the main, from such good Principles, and for such good Ends, as are competible to the mere natural Man. An Heathen may venture into the Fire, to pull his Child our, partly from a Principle of Good-Nature, and natural Instinct, partly for the conservation of Human Society, partly out of an unholy respect to Fortitude, and partly from Religion on this side true Religion; and this Action of his, in venturing into the Fire for his Child, is of an opposite Nature, both to the Sin of exposing his Child, and also to the Sin of venturing into the Fire (like the Indians) for Vain-Glory. Both the Actions of this latter sort are Sin, simply so call’d: But to declaim against the former as such, is the Voice of a Barbarian, not of a Christian. This Maxim, therefore, needeth a limitation, That the same Action cannot be both morally Good and Evil. For, altho’ the same Action cannot be a true and genuine kind of morally good Action, and a morally evil Action; yet one of the Heathen Man’s kind of good Works is therefore Sin, because it is opposite unto Holiness, and it is so far Sin (and therefore morally Evil,) as it is opposite unto Holiness, (which is not a true and genuine kind of morally good Action;) yet this hindereth it not from being a spurious and degenerate kind of morally good Action.

      On the other hand, altho’ it is of kind, and for the main, a sort of Virtue and Well-doing; yet no carnal, wicked, unholy kind of Man (remaining such) doth any thing that is, of kind and for the main, Righteousness and true Holiness, no holy kind of Duty, or good Work: But, when he doth that which is materially good, out of his kind of virtuous Principles, and for his kind of virtuous Ends, yet he is carnal, wicked, and unholy-virtuous in those his Doings; and they are like himself, of kind and for the main wicked, carnal, and unholy kind of virtuous Doings; or they are the carnal, wicked and unholy Man’s kind of Doings, not simply so; but they are the carnal, wicked, unholy Man’s kind of virtuous Doings. His kind of living is an Atheous kind of living; his virtuous kind of living is the Atheous-virtuous kind of living, which is not the living unto the true God as his Servant, but opposite thereto, an ungodly kind of virtuous living. Let us suppose, that Hercules undertakes immense Labours, to save Mankind from Monsters and Tyrants, out of no better Principle than Good-Nature, natural Instinct of kindness for his Relations, regard to the preservation of human Society, a regard to an unholy kind of Fortitude, and from something of Religion on this side true Religion, (suppose an imitation of Jove, called his Father,) this the Pagans accounted Heroical Virtue.²⁹⁹ But Hercules’s kind of virtuous living was an Atheous kind of virtuous living, it was devoid of true Piety and Holiness, and repugnant to it. The Character, therefore, of the ungodly Man’s virtuous Actions, or Well-doings, consisteth of two parts: For every one of them, being consider’d as a part of his whole living, appeareth to be, both depriv’d of, and opposite to, Holiness and Godliness, and so complicated with Sin, as to be only a spurious and illegitimate kind of Virtue, rather Vice than Virtue; because, in reference to God, it is not Virtue. And, if those virtuous Doings of the Pagans are so vicious, which issu’d from Principles, that ought to be conjoin’d with, and subordinate to, true Piety and Holiness, (Good-Nature, natural Instinct, and a human-social Disposition,) what foul Crimes are the greater part of their virtuous Doings, which manifestly issued from, and were subordinated to, one of the foulest of Vices, the inordinate Appetite of Vain-Glory? For so the Orator Isocrates (whom Dionysius Halicarnasseus preferreth before the Philosophers as a Teacher of Morality,) who calleth himself a Philosopher, and a great acquaintance and admirer of Socrates, professedly maketh Vain-glory the Principle, End, and Rule of all his Actions, and of other Mens.

      As for the Fact of the Aegyptian Mid-Wives, (which is all eg’d to prove, that mere Heathens do good Deeds, that are not, of kind and for the main, sinful,) it is not difficult to answer such Allegations. For, either the Aegyptians were the Religionists of the true God, or they were not. If they were God’s Religionists, (imperfectly, or more perfectly,) their case is no parallel for mere Heathens. If they were not, then their Fact was, for the main and of kind, sinful; yet being, of kind and for the main, spurious and degenerate Virtue and Well-doing, it was rewarded with Temporal Blessings. It is commonly said, That God does not so much regard what we do, as why we do it: But we ought rather to say, The thing that God regardeth is, of what kind our Doings are. For, unless we ourselves be holy and godly Persons, СКАЧАТЬ