# Epictetus his Morals, with Simplicius his Comment/Chapter 1

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Epicteti Enchiridion.
CHAP.I.
COMMENT.
He calls those Things in our own power, which we our selves are Masters of, and which depend purely upon our own disposal and Choice; as we commonly say, any thing is a Man's own, which he is not beholden to any body else for, so as that it should fall within the compass of a Second Person, to grant or deny it, to permit or debar, or any way hinder him in the Enjoyment of it. Now such are the Motions and Operations of the Soul; They are born and bred within us, and owing solely to our own Judgment, and our own Choice; for indeed, it is not possible for any thing without us to determine our Choice. The Object of our Choice, 'tis confest, is very often something without us; but the Act of it, and the Motions toward it, are entirely our own, and within us. Such, for instance, are the par​ticular Opinions we entertain, and the Judgments we make of Things; as that Riches, or Death, or the like, are things in their own Nature, Good, or Evil, or Indifferent. And, though we are often induced to take up this or that particular Opinion upon Trust, and from the Credit we give, to what we hear other People say of it; yet is not their Authority, or their Persuasion, of such absolute efficacy, as that the Opinion should not still be our own. For at this rate, we should make our selves as sensless Creatures as Parrots, who when they call for a Cup of Sack, know not what they say. If we be allowed then to think at all, the Opinion must be our own Act and Deed: occasion'd, 'tis true, sometimes by things without us, and recommended and conveyed to us by the Instructions and Arguments of others; but not infused so Mechanically, as that we should be purely passive in the case.
Thus again; The Object, which moves our Affection, is without us, but the Affection itself is excited, and arises, within us. For there is a great difference observable, between the Internal Motion of the Mind, and the External Motive or Inducement to it. This Motion is not like that of Men thrust forward by another, forcibly and against their Wills; but such a one, as when we move our own Bodies, by our own Strength, and of our own Accord.
The Case is the same with our Desires; by which the Soul does (as it were) put her self forward, and go in pursuit of the thing desired; and so likewise with our Aversions too, which are but a kind of turning aside, or running away, to avoid the Object that provokes them.
Now it is sufficiently manifest, that of all these, the First in order of Nature must be Opinion; by which I understand such a Knowledge or Judgment of things, as is grounded upon Reason, and worthy the Character of a Man. When this Opinion relates to any real or seeming Good or Evil, which we apprehend ourselves to be concern'd in, then it presently excites either Desire or Aversion; and, pursuant to either of these, the proper Affections or Motions of the Soul. For the Good must needs be desired, before the Soul be affected with it, or move towards it; and the Evil must be disapproved, before she flee from it. Though indeed the Stoicks have advanced a contrary Method, and represented the Affections, by which the Soul is carried to or from its Object, as if they were antecedent to Desire and Aversion; thus considering these Affections, as the beginnings and im​mediate Causes of those Desires and Aversions in the Soul.
But after all, the Brutish Inclinations, such particularly as Anger and Sensual Appetite, are so much of a piece with the Body, so closely and manifestly interwoven with the Blood and Animal Spirits, that they seem to grow from the particular Complexions and Constitutions of Men. So that these must of necessity derive their Motion from an External Cause in great measure, and cannot be perfectly at their own disposal, nor under the absolute mastery of the Persons thus desiring, &c. though They are begun too, and proceed Originally, from within. Not only so, but the Rational Soul itself, when subdued by the Body, and the brutish impulses of Sense, does in a great degree degenerate into Machine, is violently agitated, drawn and managed at pleasure, and loses much of its native liberty and power. But when it acts in agreement with Nature and Reason, it maintains an absolute freedom, and moves only by an Internal Principle of its own. In a Mind thus regularly disposed, it is very easie to discern, how much we have in our own power; tho' in the former instance of a disorderly Mind, the case be somewhat intricate and perplexed. But however, in order to a more exact understanding of the whole Matter, both what this Liberty and Power is, and what Objects it extends to; as also, to shew, that all the Happiness and Misery of a Man's Life depends upon the use or the abuse of this Liberty; I will trace the thing up to its first Cause, and examine the whole matter particularly.
The Source and Original of all things is Good. For indeed, that must needs be both the Cause, and Beginning, and the End and Consummate Perfection of all, in which all Desires centre, and to which all things naturally tend. Now this Good forms and produces all things out of its own fulness, both the most excellent, the middle sort, and the last and lowest rank of Beings. The First and most excellent, bear the closest affinity to itself, are of a piece with it, (as it were) and express Images of it. Thus One Good Being produces many Good Beings; One simple and uncompounded Being, Independent and Supreme, produces many other simple Beings like it self; One Principle produces many Principles: And this One, this simple Being, this Principle, and this Good, are but so many several Names for God, who is before all things, and the cause of all things.
Now whatever is first, must of necessity be the Purest and most simple Being. For all compounded Things and Num​bers are after the Simple and Unites, in order of Nature, and inferior to them in Dignity. And all Compounds, and Things not Good, do desire the Good, as something above, and better than, themselves. And whatever is not self-existent, must have received its Being from something else. So that the First Principle, and Original Cause, must have all Absolute and Infinite Power; the Excellence of which consists, and its Exuberance is seen, in the Production of all things from itself, and in giving to those that resemble its own Perfections, the Precedence before others that bear no such Resemblance to it. And hence it is, that One common Principle produces many Principles, many Simple beings, many Goodnesses, immediately from itself, and its own fulness.
Thus all Beings, which are distinguished from one another, by their own peculiar Differences, and multiplied into several Species, according to the particular Forms and Circumstances in which they differ, are yet each of them reducible to One Principle, more properly their own. All things Beautiful and Lovely (for instance) of what kind soever that Loveliness and Beauty be, or what Object soever it belong to, whether Bodies or Souls, are yet derived from one common Source of Beauty and Gracefulness.
The case is the same with all manner of Congruities, and all Truths, and all Principles; for these, so far forth as they are Principles and Originals to other things, do exactly agree, and are of the same Nature with that primary Goodness, and original Truth, and first principle of all; Allowing only for some Abatements, and taking that Agreement in such Proportions, as the capacity of these derived and secondary Causes will admit. For the same Relation, which that first Universal Principle bears to all Beings in general, the same does each of these Subordinate Principles bear to the several Species, and Individuals, contained under it, and partaking of the Property peculiar to it. For every Species, which is distinguished from the rest by a peculiar difference of its own, must needs have a tendency to, and terminate in, its proper Principle; from whence one and the same Form is reflected down, upon all the particular Kinds and Creatures comprehended under it.
Thus an Unite is the Foundation of all Numbers, and a single Cause is the Original of all Properties, in this vast Variety of Beings. So that all partial and subordinate Causes do really subsist, and are contained in the first and universal ​one; and this, not locally or numerically, but essentially and virtually; as the Parts in the Whole, as Generals in a Singular, and as Numbers in an Unite. For this indeed is itself All, above and before All; and out of One Principle many Principles grow, and in One Common Good many Goodnesses subsist and dwell.
Nor is this Principle a limited or particular one (as for instance, a principle of Beauty, or Gracefulness, or Goodness, or Truth) as each of the rest are; but simply and universally a Principle or Cause; a Principle, not only of Species and Beings, but even of all other Principles too. For the Property of a Principle cannot take its Rise from Particulars, and from Many, but must center at last in an Unite, and that One is the great Original of All, the first Beginning and Cause of Causes.
Now the first and immediate Productions of this first Original Good, are of the same Kind and Nature with itself. They retain their Native Goodness, and, like that from whence they spring, are fixed and unchangeable, rooted and confirmed in the same Happiness; they stand in need of no additional Good from abroad, but are themselves naturally and essentially Good and Happy. Now all other Beings, whose Descent from that one original Good is more remote, and who derive themselves from that First and these Secondary Causes in Conjunction, lose that Perfection of being Essentially Good, and enjoy what they have by participation only. Fixed indeed they are in God's Essential Goodness, and therefore he continually communicates it to them. But the last and lowest sort; which have no power of acting or moving themselves, (as Bodies for Example) As their Existence and Motion, is something from without, and what themselves are purely passive in; so likewise is all their Good owing to something without them too. And, that their Motion and Existence is from without, is plain, because they have no discerning or governing Faculty; they are subject to perpetual change and division, and consequently cannot be present to themselves in every part, so as to be all in all, or produce themselves entire at once; Nor have they any power of moving themselves, as being in their own Nature, void of Spirit and Life. Yet still, there is a middle state between these Extremes, a sort of Beings, inferior to that fixed immutable nature which is always consistent with itself, and yet superior to the Lowest and Mechanical sort. And these are moved, not in the same manner with ​Bodies, by a Motion impressed upon them from something else, but by one internal and purely theirs. And in this capacity are Souls, Masters of their own Motion, and of That of the Body to which they are united. For which reason, we call all Bodies, set into motion by a Principle from within, Animate; and those that have none, but what proceeds from something without, Inanimate Bodies.
So then the Soul gives motion, both to itself, and to the Body. For if it received its own motion from something without, and afterwards put the Body into motion, this motion of the Body could not, with any propriety of Speech, be imputed to the Soul, but would be wholly owing to That, which first moved the Soul. Now this free Being is beneath the fix'd and unchangeable Goodness, and enjoys its Good by participation only, and so is carried towards it; Yet this is done by no Foreign Force, but by its own Spontaneous Act, its own Inclinations and Desires. For Inclinations, and Desires, and Affections and Choice, are Motions proper to Souls, and entirely their own.
Now of these, the First and Best, being the immediate production of things Essentially and in their own nature good, (though with this abatement, that they are not so themselves, but only are desirous of Good) do bear so near a Relation to them, that they desire it with a natural and unchangeable Affection; their Choice is ever uniform and consistent; determined to the good part, and never perverted to the worse. And if by Choice we mean the preferring of one thing before another; they can scarce be allowed to have any, unless you will call it so, because they ever take the chiefest and most perfect Good. But the Souls of Men are so contrived, as to link together, into one Person, an Heavenly and an Earthly Nature; and consequently, must be capable of inclining to both sides, of soaring upwards, or of sinking downwards. When they make the Former their constant Care; their Desires and their Determinations are uniform, and free, and above Contradiction; but when they lose this power, all is inverted and out of course, because they employ themselves wholly upon pursuing mean ends, and only affect low Actions: Notwithstanding Nature hath qualified them for the animating and moving of Bodies inanimate and purely passive; and for governing those things, which are incapable of procuring or partaking of any Good by their own Act; and hath given them a power, not only of acting as they please themselves, but of putting other things ​into Action at pleasure too, which otherwise are not capable of any such thing.
Now when the Soul hath conversed too familiarly with, and addicted herself too much to Temporal and Corruptible things, such as have but a perishing and transitory Good in them; her choice is no longer above Contradiction, but attended with many Struggles and strong Oppositions; 'tis directed still indeed to Objects eligible and good; but then this is sometimes a real Good, and sometimes a treacherous and deceitful one, which, upon the account of some Pleasure attending it, prevails upon us. And because this is most certain, that true Good is always attended with true Pleasure; hence it is, that, wherever the Soul discovers the least shadow of this, she catches at it greedily, without staying to consider of what kind the Pleasure is; whether it be real and agreeable to that Good which is truly so; or whether it be false, and only carries a counterfeit face of Good; never recollecting that it is necessarily attended with many Troubles and great Uneasinesses, and would not be Pleasure without these to introduce and recommend it to us. For he that takes pleasure in eating, would have none if he had not first been Hungry; nor would Drinking give a Man any, but for the Thirst, that afflicted him before. Thus uneasiness and Pain are the constant Attendants of Pleasure, and ever mingled with it: So that if you suppose any Pleasure in Drinking, you shall find, that it comes from some remains of Thirst; for the Pleasure lasts no longer, than while the Pain continues with it. So long as we are Hungry, or Dry, or Cold, or the like, the Meat, and Drink, and Fire, that allay these uneasinesses, are agreeable to us; but when once the Sense of those Pains ceases, we quickly grow weary, and have too much of them. And what before gave satisfaction and relief, soon becomes our loathing and aversion, and is itself a pain to us. Thus also the Men, who suffer themselves to be carried away into inordinate and extravagant Enjoyments, and make Pleasure the only End and Business of their Lives, generally undergo a great deal of trouble and uneasiness along with it.
Now the choice of this pleasant treacherous Good is the cause of all our Faults; as on the contrary, the Choice of true substantial Good is the Foundation of all our Virtue. And indeed all the Good and Evil of our whole Lives, the Happiness and Misery of them, depend upon this freedom of Will, and Power of Choice in us. For when the Will is ​disingaged, when it proceeds from a free principle, and its determinations are properly the acts of that Rational Soul, of which our very Essence and Nature consists; then it is directed to Objects truly Eligible and Good. And for this reason, Virtue, which is its proper Happiness and Perfection is called in Greek, Ἀρετὴ, &c. A Name which hath great affinity to a Word that signifiesEligible, not only because Virtue is properly the Object, but also, because it is the Effect of our own Choice. But when the Will acts in compliance with the brutish Appetites and Inclinations, and proposes their Enjoyments to it self as its own Happiness; then it makes an ill Choice, and fixes upon counterfeit Good instead of true: So that all this Freedom and Choice is in our own disposal. For the Opinions and Affections of the Soul, its Inclinations and Aversions, are but so many Steps towards Choice; and all terminate in that at last: and these are properly the motions of the Mind, arising from within, and not from any violent impulses from without us. So that we our selves are Masters of all these things.
This is the very Reason, why the Laws of God and Man, and the Judgment of all Wise Men, make our own Freedom and Choice the Standard, to measure our Actions by. They look upon the Intention, as a thing absolutely in our own power; and they pronounce of our Vices and our Virtues, according to this, and not according to the quality of our Actions themselves. For these are not absolutely ours; but are specified and distinguished, become formally good or evil, by our own Will, and our own Choice. The action of Killing is always the same, considered strictly in it self; but when this action is involuntary, it is excused and pardoned, because in such cases it is not properly ours, nor in our own power: Nay, when done in a just Cause, or in a legal way, it is not only excused, but applauded and highly commendable. So that the formal Good, or Evil, of our Actions does not depend upon the Actions themselves, but upon the Intention, the Choice, the Freedom and Power which we have in them, and which give them their moral Qualities accordingly.
By all this it appears, that Epictetus took the right Method, when he began his Instructions with this consideration of things within our own power; and advised us to make it the general rule of our Conduct; since all the Excellency, and all the Dishonesty of our Actions, all the Happi​ness and all the Misery of our Lives, depends upon it. But, when he says in general Terms, That all things may be distinguished into two sorts, some that are, and some that are not in our own power; we must not so understand him, as if all things whatsoever were meant by it, but only such as are within us, or any way concern us. For at that rate, there would be no proportion at all betwixt the Two opposite Parts, which ought to be observed, and is necessary to make a just Division. And this Proportion, I say, would be quite lost, if all things whatsoever, both those that are contained in the World, and those that are above, and out of the World, were set in opposition to the few in comparison, that are within our own power.
But now, in regard some People quarrel with this Distinction, even when limited in the most cautious manner that can be, and will allow us to have nothing at all in our power: And among these, Some assert, that all our Actions, Appetites, and Passions, proceed from Necessity, and not from Choice; and Others make us like Stones put into motion, that act mechanically, by chance, and without any purpose or design at all; tho' what hath been said already, upon our natural Power, and the Place which our Choice and Free-Will hath, and the Necessity that so it must be, might suffice; yet perhaps it may not be amiss, to consider the Objections of those Men, who would rob us of this Liberty and Power, and to refute them particularly.
Now, if by this mechanical and forced sort of Action, without purpose, and by pure chance, they intend to say, that we propose to our selves no end at all in what we do, it is by no means true; or if it would hold in some cases, yet it is evident, there are very many instances, in which it will not. For all Arts and Sciences, nay, all Natures and Beings, have constantly some particular aim and end fixed to them; to which they direct their Endeavours perpetually, and make every Action in some degree subservient. And it may be said in general, That there is no one Act, no one Motion, of any Living Creature in the whole World, but is performed out of a prospect of some real, or at least some seeming Good: Even where the Object is Evil, this Observation holds; since the avoiding that Evil is for the attaining some Good, and for the Advantage we may find in escaping from it.
But if this acting by Chance, and without any Purpose, be so understood, that what we desire, may prove impossible to ​be compassed, or incapable of answering our end, or hurtful when we have attained it, (as we say sometimes, that a Man took a Medicine without any thought, or to no purpose, which did him no good, or perhaps, did him harm:) Neither does this Sense destroy our Free-Will. For we maintain, that those Desires and Aversions are in our Power, which concern, not only things that may be attained, and turn to our Benefit when they are so; but those too, which cannot, and which are prejudicial to us when we have them. And for this reason we affirm, that our Errors and our Vices, are as truly the effects of this Liberty and Choice, as our greatest Virtues themselves are.
Those who pretend, that our Opinions and Desires, and generally speaking, all our Choices and Intentions, are necessary, and not at our own Disposal, as proceeding from Motives without us, and not beginning of our own accord within us, argue for their Opinion several ways.
Some of them make the Wants of Human Nature the Ground of this Necessity. For we all know, that a Man in extremity of Hunger, or Thirst, or Cold, desires Meat, and Drink, and Warmth, whether he will or no; and a Person upon a Sick Bed, cannot help desiring Health and Ease.
Some lay all upon the Nature of the thing it self, which is the Object of our Opinion, or Desire, or Aversion; and contend, that this excites our Passions, and affects our Minds, by its own Power and Evidence, whether we are consenting to it, or not. Who is there, for instance, that hath attained to the least knowledge in Arithmetick, and does not readily allow, and firmly believe, that twice Two make Four? And which way shall we call such an Opinion as this, the effect of Freedom and Choice, and not rather of absolute Constraint, because arising from the evidence of the thing assented to, and the impossibility of its being otherwise? So again, when a Man hath entertain'd a Notion of any Goodness or Excellence, when he apprehends a thing to be Lovely, or Profitable, or the direct contrary; does he not forthwith naturally desire the one sort, and decline the other? For the best Philosophers are agreed, that the Object of our Desire, and the Final cause, are the Motives, which set all the rest on Work: and if this be true, how shall we challenge that as our own Act and Deed, which is so absolutely the effect of Constraint and Necessity, imposed by the Nature and Quality of things without us, which ​stir our Affections accordingly, without any Disposal or Consent of ours?
Others rather think, that the Disposition of the Person designing is the cause of all this Necessity; this, say they, must needs be wrought upon, according as it stands inclined; Nor is it in ones own Choice, whether he will desire those things or not, which his own Nature, and Temper, and Custom, strongly determine him to. Thus the Temperate Person finds in himself an habitual desire of such Actions, and such Conversation, as are agreeable to the Virtue of Temperance; and the Intemperate is no less fond of all occasions to exercise his Extravagance. Thus the Designs of them both are fixed, and it is not in their power to alter them. For some we see plainly, who are angry at themselves, condemn their own Desires, and wish with all their Souls that they could restrain and subdue them, yet find their Habits and Customs so violent and prevailing, that they are hurried on, and thrust forward, like so many Engines, and feel and lament the force which they cannot resist, when Objects which are agreeable to their Inclinations, (such as by custom are become familiar and natural to them) offer themselves. By the same reason, a Skilful and Judicious Man will give a right Judgment of things, and entertain true Opinions of them; and the Ignorant and Unlearned, will have false and mistaken Notions. For it cannot agree with the Character of a Wise Man, to take up with an Error; nor with that of an Ignorant one, to find out the Truth: But it stands to great Reason, that the Ignorant one should assent to a Falshood, and the Skilful and Learned should reject it. And yet, if these things were entirely at ones own disposal, this would not be. For the Ignorant Man would never prefer Falshood before Truth, if he could help it; and the Wise Man, if we should allow him to assent to Truth, merely by Virtue of his own Free will, might also be allowed to take up false Opinions, if you do but suppose his Will to incline him that way too. But this, they tell you, cannot be: For it is with the Understanding, and the Objects about which it is employed, as we find it with the Senses of the Body, and sensible Objects; I mean, it is impossible to have things apprehended otherwise than they represent themselves, unless we suppose some weakness or defect in the Organs which should apprehend and represent them to us.
​These are the Cavils commonly made use of against Freewill; though indeed a great many Men insist upon one more; and fansy, that there is a Fatality in the Motion and Position of the Heavens, which influencing, not only all other things, but even our very Desires and Inclinations too, determines us in the Opinions we shall espouse, and the Choices we shall make. And in confirmation of this Argument, they produce the Predictions of Astrologers, who, upon calculating Nativities, and finding what Planet each Person is born under, take upon them to pronounce very peremptorily, that such a one shall be a voluptuous Person; a Second, Covetous; a Third, a Lover of Learning and Wisdom; and thus declare before-hand the Inclinations and Desires, which in the whole Course of their Lives, shall afterwards be discovered by their Behaviour and Conversation. Now these Men could never say true, nor describe such Tempers and Practices so exactly as they do, if there were not some Constellation, some fatal over-ruling Influence, which enforces these particular Inclinations and Appetites, and puts it past Men's Power to change or conquer them. And in any such Fatality there be; how absurd is it to pretend to a power of regulating and determining our own Desires, and of fixing them upon what Objects we please, when we are absolutely and irrevocably staked down to this or that particular Object beforehand, and must desire and pursue it, whether we will or no? This, I think, is the Sum of all the Objections, commonly urged againſt that Liberty we profess to assert, and the power of disposing our Desires and our Aversions, the Resolutions we take, and the Actions we do, as we see fit ourselves.
Now, in Answer to the First of these, which made our Wants the Foundation of that pretended Necessity and Constraint; we may reply, that, if this were true, then Want would always create Desire. But this it does not do. For there are many things, and particularly, inanimate Creatures, that are oftentimes in great want of some Quality or other; Heat, or Cold, or Drought, or Moisture, and yet they never desire what they stand so much in need of. The Reason is plain, because their Nature is not capable of Desire: For, in order to Desiring, it is necessary, both to have a Sense of the thing desired, and to be moved by that Sense: from whence it is plain, that Want does not always infuse, or infer Desire.
​But the Creatures, which are endued with a Faculty of desiring, when they feel themselves in want, do then exert Desire, in order to the Relief of the Wants they feel.
Thus (to illustrate the Thing by a familiar Instance) Itching disposes us to scratch; and upon a Sense of the Uneasiness it gives us, the Hands apply themselves to the Relief we want; but yet this Itching does not give us the Hands we scratch with: Nor is it true, that the Necessities of Human Life have invented the Arts and Trades made use of for the Support of it. For it is the Mind of Man, which invented them, saw the Need there was of them, and took Occasion from thence to seek out this Relief. For all desire is a Motion of the Soul desiring, born and begun within, and exerted by the Soul, when called out by any desirable Object; but it is by no means infused into the Soul from without. Now the Irrational Life of Brute Beasts, being wholly corporeal, and having, in truth, little or nothing, but what is Matter and Body belonging to it, is troubled with no difference or distraction of Desires, hath no Wants, except those relating to the Body, to supply; and consequently, but one sort of Desires to exert. And this constant Uniformity in their case, makes us think them the Effect, not of Liberty, but Necessity.
But now, the rational Soul of Man, being placed, as I said before, in a middle Station, may be considered in a threefold Capacity and Disposition; One, that inclines it to the worst part, that is, the Bodily and Brutish; a Second, that regards its own self; and a Third, that better and more excellent part above it: so that here may be a threefold Conversation, a threefold Want, and a threefold Desire. When it gives itself tamely up to the Body, and consults the Brutish Appetites and Wants of that part only; then, of necessity, it complies and concurs with all the Bodily desires. And this is that sort of Desire, which captivates the Will, and hath brought the Freedom of it to be a Matter of so much Controversie. But when it pursues the Inclinations, and lives agreeably to the Nature, either of its own self, or the excellent Beings above it; then it exerts its Faculties freely, and desires the Good peculiar to these Conditions, without Difficulty or Opposition. Now the Power and Liberty of the Soul consists in this; that, whereas Nature hath made her capable of Desires of several Qualities, some of a better and more excellent kind, and others of a worse and more vile; she can so far dispose of her self, as to fix upon either the one or the other of these sorts: ​Which yet is done with this Difference, that, by pursuing the worse her Faculties are enfeebled and debased, and by following the better they are exalted and confirmed; for the Choice of these is indeed truly and properly Choice. And hence we see it often happens, that when the Body finds itself low and empty, and requires Meat, or some other Sustenance, the Mind steps in and countermands this Desire, with another over-ruling one of Fasting or Abstemiousness; and this too taken up possibly upon some Religious Account, or in Obedience to some Law, or perhaps, merely in point of Prudence, as thinking it better upon its own Account, or more conducing to the Health of the Body. Now I think no body can say, but the Mind, in such a Case, might, if it had so pleased, have complied with those first Desires, as indeed we find the Generality of People do upon these Occasions; but you see, it exerted another opposite Desire, and prosecuted that, as the greater Good, and so more eligible of the two. So that Epictetus, looking upon the Soul as endued with Reason, might upon this Account very justly say, that she had it in her Power to qualifie her Desires, and to place them upon such or such Objects, as she saw Cause.
The next Objection, which tells us, The Object of Desire necessarily excites the Soul to a Desire of it, must be acknowledg'd to have a great deal of Truth in it; but yet not so much, as the Persons who urge it imagine. For, the Object does not move the Soul to Desire forcibly and mechanically, but by proposing itself, as something fit to be embraced; and thus calling forth those Powers of the Soul into Action, which Nature hath qualified to meet, and to receive it: Just as the sensible Object does not infuse the Faculty of Sensation into the Person who receives its Impressions, nor draws him by violence to itself; but only presents itself to the Eye, in such Proportions as are proper for uniting with that Organ of Sense, which was ordained by Nature, and fitted for that Union. And so the Object of Desire presents its Convenience and Fitness to the Soul, and this invites such Motions, as Nature hath provided proper for this Purpose. Thus it must needs be; because we see, that, when desirable Objects offer themselves, some People are, and others are not, affected with them; whereas, if the Object were endued with such Efficacy and Power, as perfectly to constrain the Person desiring; and if the Motion of the Mind were necessarily impressed by it; it must needs follow, that upon such Occasions every one must be affected with it, ​though perhaps not every one in the same Degree. And, in truth, such an Operation upon the Mind would not be Desire, but a violent Impulse, or forcible Attraction; such as we see, when one Body is thrust forward, or dragged along by one another. For Desire is a kind of Expansion in the Mind, as moving forwards towards the Thing desired, without any local Motion in the Person desiring; such as we may resemble to a Man's stretching out his Hand to meet or embrace one, while the rest of his Body is in no Motion. So that Desire is a Motion, begun originally, and proceeding from within; as are also our Opinions, and the other Things mentioned here by Epictetus.
This Motion, indeed, is sometimes what it ought to be, and is duly proportioned to the Nature of the Thing, which we desire or conceive of: And sometimes it is mistaken and very different from it, when we are inclined to something, which to Us appears very desirable, but is really what should rather provoke our Aversion. For it shews us a gaudy Out-side to invite our Desire, and hath a great deal of hidden Evil within, which all the while lies concealed, under some Advantage, which the Idea of this Object flatters us with. Thus the Thief is carried away with an Idea of Gain and Riches, as a desirable Thing; and this keeps him from considering, or having any dread at all of that horrible Evil, which lies sheltered under this Gain, defiles his Soul, and taints it with Injustice. And then, as for any Apprehensions of Discovery, and Imprisonment, and Punishment, which are the only Calamities so wicked a Wretch fears; The excessive Eagerness of his Desires utterly overlooks and stifles all these; for he presently represents to himself, what a World of Men do such Things, and yet are never found out. Now, thus much is plainly in our Power, to examine this Object of our Desire more nicely; and to inform ourselves. well, whether it be a real Good and worth our pursuing; or whether it only cheats us with a fair Out-side and counterfeit Appearance of Good; as, particularly, in the Instance of Gain just now mentioned. Nay, we may go something farther yet; for, we may correct and regulate our Desires; may bring them to fix upon such Objects only, as are truly desirable, and may teach them not to be imposed upon with false Appearances.
We are told again, That our Desires and our Opinions are carried to their proper Object with as invincible a Necessity, as a Stone or Clod of Earth is carried downwards; and consequently, that Nature hath left us nothing in our own Power: ​Nor have we any more reason to conclude, that we are free to think, or to desire, after this or that manner, when we see our Assent and Appetite always moved by the Credibility or the Desireableness of their Objects, than we have, to suppose that a Stone can ascend, when we never see it do so.
Now to this it may be replied, that there is a two-fold Necessity, the one absolutely destructive of Free-Will, the other very consistent with it. That kind of Necessity, which proceeds from any Things without us, does indeed take away all Liberty and Choice; for no Man can be said to act freely, when he is compelled by any other external Cause, to do a Thing, or to leave it undone. But then there is another sort of Necessity from within ourselves, which keeps every thing within its due Bounds, and obliges each Faculty and Part to act agreeably to its own Nature and original Constitution. And this is so far from destroying Free-Will, that it rather preserves and supports it. For by this means it comes to pass, that a Free-Agent can be wrought upon by no other ways, but such as are consistent with the Nature of a Free-Agent, which is from a Principle of Motion within itself. And this Necessity is by no means a Mechanical Necessity, because it is not imposed by any thing from without us; but is what the Nature of such an Agent admits and requires; what is necessary for its Presservation, and for exerting the Operations, proper to a Creature endued with such a Faculty as Self-Motion.
Besides, if the Soul can bring itself to such Habits and Dispositions as are Virtuous or Vicious; can grow better by Wisdom and Sobriety, and worse by Perverseness and a Dissolute Behaviour; and can confirm itself in each of these Courses, by the frequent Repetition of Acts suitable to them; then the Soul is the true Cause of all this. Though, in truth, it must not be admitted for a general Rule neither, That the Liberty and Power of the Will is to be judged of, by Mens being able to do Things, contrary to one another. For the Souls immediately united to the Original Good, prefer that constantly; and yet the Freedom of their Choice is still the same; for that Preference is no more constrain'd and necessary, than if they took Evil instead of it. But it is their Excellence and Perfection, that they continue stedfast in their own Good, and never suffer themselves to be drawn off to the Contrary. But as for Our Souls, which are more remotely descended from that great Original, their Desires are according to their Tempers and Dispositions: those of them ​that are well disposed, have good Desires, and those that are ill, have evil ones: But still these Souls of ours are capable of great Alterations; They frequently recover themselves from Vice to Virtue, by Reformation and better Care; They decline too, and sink down from Virtue to Vice, by Supineness and a foolish Neglect; and both these Changes are wrought in them by their own voluntary Choice, and not by any Force or Necessity that compels them to it. So that there can be no manner of Pretence for charging any part of our Wickedness upon God. He created the Soul after such a manner indeed, as to leave it capable of being corrupted; because its Essence is not of the first and best sort of Natures, but hath a Mixture of the middle and the lowest; and this Mixture was fit, that so all might remain in its Perfection; and the first and best continue still such, without degenerating into Barrenness, and Imperfection, and Matter. God therefore, who is infinitely good himself, made the Soul in a Capacity of being perverted; and it is an Argument of his Mercy, and the exceeding Riches of his Goodness, that he did so: For he hath set it above the reach of all external Violence and Necessity, and made it impossible for it to be corrupted without its own Consent.
There is one Argument more still behind; which pretends, That a fatal Revolution of the Heavens hath so strong and absolute a Power upon us, as not only to influence our Actions, but even to determine our Choice, and all our Inclinations, and leave us no Liberty at all to dispose of ourselves, but only the empty Name of such a Liberty. Now to these we may answer, That if the Rational Soul be Eternal, and Immortal, (which I shall not go about to prove, That being foreign to this Subject, but shall desire at present to take for granted, tho' it must be confest, not in all Points agreeable to the Doctrine of the Stoicks in this particular, but) If the Soul, I say, be Eternal and Immortal, it cannot be allowed to receive its Being from, or to have its Dependence upon, Matter and Motion. Its Instrument indeed, that is, the Animal taken in the gross, by which I mean, the Body animated by the Soul, may owe its Nature and its Changes to such Causes: For material Causes produce material Effects; and these may differ, according as those Causes are differently disposed; with regard to Things here below. And the Instrument is formed so, as to be proper and serviceable to the Soul, whose Business it is to make use of it now; as the difference of Tools teaches us to distiguish the ​several Professions that use them, so as to say, These belong to the Carpenter's, those to the Mason's, and others to the Smith's Trade; and not only to distinguish the Trades themselves, but the Skill and Capacity of the Artificers themselves; to judge of their Designs and Intentions, and the Perfection of the Work it self; for those who are Masters of their Trade, have better Tools, and use them with greater Dexterity, than others: In like manner, They who have attained to the Knowledge of Astrology, find out the Nature and Temper of the Instrument (the Body) from the different Constitution of Material Causes, and from hence make their Conjectures of the Disposition of the Soul; and this is the Reason, why they often guess aright. For indeed, the Generality of Souls, when falling under ill Management, and the Conversation of naughty Men, (a sort of Degradation, inflicted upon them by way of Punishment, for the loss of their Primitive Purity) addict themselves too much to the Body, and are govern'd and subdu'd by it; so as to use it no longer as their Instrument of Action, but to look upon it as a part and piece of their own Essence, and conform their Desires to its brutish Appetites and Inclinations.
Besides, this Position, and fatal Revolution of the Heavens, carries some sort of Argument to the Production of the Souls united to Bodies under it, yet not so, as to impose any absolute Necessity upon their Appetites and Inclinations, but only to infer a Resemblance of their Temper. For, as in Cities, there are some particular solemn Seasons and Places, which give us good Grounds to distinguish the Persons assembled in them: as the Days and Places of Publick Worship commonly call those that are wise, and religious, and well-disposed, together; and those that are set apart for Pomp and publick Sports, gather the Rabble, and the Idle, and the Dissolute; so that the observing these Solemnities gives us a clear Knowledge of the People that attend upon them: By the same Reason, the particular Seasons and Places, (the Houses and Conjunctions of the Planets) may be able to give us some Light, into the Temper of the Souls united to Bodies under them, as carrying some Affinity to the Conjunctions, under which Men are born. For, when God in his Justice hath ordained such a particular Position, and all the Fatalities consequent to it; then those Souls, which have deserved this Vengeance, are brought under that Position. For Likeness, and Affinity of Tempers, hath a strange Power of bringing all that agree in together. ​This fatal Revolution then, does by no means constrain or bind up the Soul, nor take away its native Freedom; but the Soul only bears some Resemblance to the Temper of this Revolution; and is framed agreeably to such a Body, as itself hath deserved to be given it for its Use. And This gives Men an Opportunity of learning its particular Desires and Inclinations, by considering the Constellations that People are born under.
Again, The Souls chuse their particular Ways of living, according to their former Dignity and Disposition; but still, the behaving themselves well or ill in each of these Ways, is left in their own Power. Upon this Account, we see many, who have chosen a Way of Trade, and Business, and great Temptation, yet continue very honest and good Men in it; and many who profess Philosophy, and the Improvement of Wisdom and Virtue, are yet of very loose Conversation, notwithstanding all the Advantages of such an Employment. For the different Methods of Life, as that of Husbandry, or Merchandise, or Musick, or the like, are chosen by the Soul according to her former Disposition; and Mens Station in the World is assigned them, suitable to their Dignity and Deserts: But the Management of themselves, in any of these Callings, is the Choice and Work of the Soul afterwards; and we do not so much blame or commend Men for their Callings themselves, as for their different Behaviour in them.
Farther yet: This fatal Position or Revolution does never (as some Men too boldly affirm it does) cause any thing of Wickedness in us, so as to make it necessary, That Men born under it should be Knaves and Cheats, Adulterous, or addicted to beastly and unnatural Lusts. For, though the Casters of Nativities sometimes say true, when they foretel these Things; yet this only happens, according as we receive particular Qualities or Impressions; which is done, sometimes in a moderate, and sometimes in an immoderate Degree. And it is not the Influence of the Stars, but the Corruption of the Mind, that makes Men Knavish, or Lascivious, or Unnatural and Bruitish. Those that receive these Influences moderately, and do not assist them by their own Depravity, are Cautious and Wary, correct the Heat of Youth, and use it virtuously; but those that receive them immoderately, that is, give way to them, and promote them, debase and prostitute themselves to all manner of Wickedness. And what Reflexion upon Nature can this be? For, ​even that, which is most beneficial to us, may turn to our Prejudice by a perverse Use of it. The Sun gives us Light; it both makes Things visible, and enables us to see them; And yet, if a Man will be so foolish, as to take too much of it, to gaze upon his Rays when they shine in their full Strength, he may lose his Eye-sight by his Folly. But then, that Folly, and not the Brightness of the Sun, is to be blamed; if that, which is the Author of Light to all the World, be the Occasion of Blindness and Darkness to him. Now, when the Astrologers have (as they think) formed to themselves certain Marks and Rules, whereby to know, who will receive these Impressions in a due measure, and who in a vicious excess; then they pronounce some Men Wise, and others Subtle and Knavish accordingly. Tho', after all, I very much doubt, Whether the erecting of any Schemes can furnish them with such Marks of Distinction, or no: Some Things indeed are so manifest, that all the World must allow them; as, that when the Sun is in Cancer, our Bodies feel excessive Heat but some again are exceeding dark and doubtful, and such as none, but those who have made themselves Matters of Astrology, can make any thing of.
Now, that those Things which act constantly according to the Deſign and Directions of Nature, preserve the Original Constitution given them at first by their Great Creator, and are endued with the greatest Power and Strength, that such Things, I say, always act upon a good Design, and properly speaking, are never the Cause of any Evil, seems to me very plain. For all Evil is occasioned, not by the Excess, but by the Want of Power; and if it were not so, Power ought not to be reckoned among those Things that are Good. And yet it is as plain that even Good Things in Excess oftentimes prove hurtful to us; but then, that hurt is not owing to the Things, but to ourselves. And thus much may suffice, in Answer to them who deny the Freedom of the Will, upon the Pretence of any Fatality from the Motion or Position of the Heavens.
​ But indeed, to all who deny this Liberty, upon any Argument whatsoever, it may be replied in general, That those who go about to destroy it, do by no means consider or understand the Nature of the Soul, but overthrow its very Original Constitution, without seeming to be sensible of it. For they take away all Principle of Internal and Self-Motion, in which the Essence of the Soul chiefly consists. For it must be either moved of its own Accord, and then it is excited by a Cause within itself to its Appetites and Affections, and not thrust forward and dragg'd along, as Bodies are; or else it is moved by an External Force, and then it is purely Mechanical.
Again, They who will not allow us to have our Actions at our own disposal, do not attend to, nor are able to account for, the Vital Energy of the Soul, and its Assenting and Dissenting, Accepting or Rejecting Power. Now this is what Experience and Common Sense teaches every Man; that he hath a Power of Consenting and Refusing, Embracing and Declining, Agreeing to or Denying; and it is to no purpose to argue againſt that, which we feel and find every Moment. But now all theſe are internal Motions, begun in the Soul itself; and not violent Impulses and Attractions from Things without us, such as Inanimate Creatures must be moved by. For This is the Difference between Animate and Inanimate Bodies, that the one Sort are moved by an internal Principle, and the other are not. Now, according to this Distinction, that which puts the Inanimate into Motion, muſt have a Principle of Motion of its own, and cannot itself be moved Mechanically. For if this also derived its Motion from something else, then, (as was urged before) the Body is not moved by this, but by that other Cause, from whence the Motion is at first imparted to this; and so the Body, being moved no longer from within, but by some forcible Impression from without, as all other Inanimate Creatures are, must it self be concluded Inanimate.
Once more, By denying that we have power over our Actions, and a liberty of Willing or not Willing, of Considering, Comparing, Choosing, Desiring, Declining, and the like, All Moral Distinctions are lost and gone, and Virtue and Vice are utterly confounded. There is no longer ​any just Ground left for Praise or Dispraise, Applause or Reproach, Rewards or Punishments. The Laws of God and Man instituted for those Purposes, and enforced by these Sanctions, are evacuated; and the very Foundations of them all torn up, and quite overturn'd. And then, do but consider, how dismal the Consequences must be. For when once we are come to this pass, all Order and Society must needs be lost; and nothing left us, but a Life of Rapine and Violence, of Misery and Confusion; a Life, not of Civiliz'd Men, but of Ravenous and wild Beasts.
But I expect, that the Adversaries of this Opinion will appeal back again to our own Experience, and urge afresh, What? Do we not often find ourselves forced by the Tyranny of Ill Men, and the overbearing Torment of our own Passions, and the strong Bent of natural Sympathies and Antipathies? Do not these compel us to do and suffer many things against our Wills; and such as no Man in his Senses would choose, if it were in his power to avoid? To this my Answer is still the same, That notwithstanding all this, our Liberty is not destroyed, but the Choice upon these Occasions is still free, and our own. For here are Two things proposed; and, though the side we take, be not eligible for its own sake, and when considered absolutely; yet it is so, with regard to the present streights we are in, and when compared with something which we avoid by this means; and for this Reason it is, that we make choice of it. And it is utterly impossible that a Man should be carried to do any thing without the consent of his own Mind; For he, that does a thing without his own Choice, is like a Man thrust down a Precipice by some stronger Hand, which he cannot resist; and this Person is at that time under the circumstance of an Inanimate Creature; he does not act at all, but is purely passive in the case. So that, when we really do act, though with never so great unwillingness and reluctancy, yet still we choose to act, after such and such a manner.
This is further evident from Mens own practice. For we find several Persons take several ways, when yet the necessity that lies upon them, is the same. Some choose to comply with what is imposed upon them, for fear of enduring some greater Evil, if they refuse it; Others again are peremptory in the refuting it, as looking upon such compliance to be a greater Evil, than any Punishment they can possibly undergo, upon the account of their refusal. So that, even in those Actions that seem most involuntary, there is ​still a place for Liberty and Choice. For we must distinguish between what is Voluntary, and what is Free. That only is Voluntary, which would be chosen for its own sake; but that is Free, which we have power to choose, not only for its own sake, but for the sake of avoiding some greater Mischief. And indeed, there are some cases, in which we find both something Voluntary, and something Involuntary meet. For which Reason those are properly call'd Mix'd Actions; that is, when what is Eligible upon these Occasions, is not simply and absolutely so, but carries something along with it, which we should never choose, if we could help it. And Homer very elegantly describes the perplexity of Thought, this mixture of Voluntariness and Involuntariness, in the Soul, when he says to this purpose,
Great Strife in my divided Breast I find, A Will consenting, yet unwilling Mind.
These things I thought fit rather to enlarge upon, because almost all the following Book depends upon this distinction of the Things in our own power: For, the Design of it being wholly Moral and Instructive, he lays the true Foundation here at first; and shews us, what we ought to place all our Happiness and all our Unhappiness in; and that, being at our own Disposal, and endued with a principle of Motion from within, we are to expect it all from our own Actions. For things that move Mechanically and necessarily, as they derive their Being from, so they owe all the Good and Evil they are capable of to, something else; They depend upon the Impressions made upon them from without, both for the thing itself, and for the Degree of it. But those Creatures, which act freely, and are themselves the cause of their own Motions and Operations, receive all their Good and Evil from these Operations. Now these Operations, properly speaking, with regard to Knowledge and Speculative Matters, are their Opinions and Apprehensions of things; but with regard to Desirable Objects, and Matters of Practice, they are the Appetites, and Aversions, and the Affections of the Soul. When therefore we have just Ideas, and our Notions agree with the things themselves; and when we apply our Desires and our Aversions to such Objects, and in such measures, as we ought to do; then we are properly happy, and attain to that Perfection, which Nature hath designed us for, and made peculiar to us: But when we fail in these Matters, then we fail of that Happness and Perfection too.
​Now by our own Actions, I mean such, as are wrought by ourselves only, and need nothing more to effect them, but our own Choice. For as to Actions that concern things without us, such as Sciences and Trades, and supplying the Necessities of Humane Life, and the making ourselves Masters of Knowledge, and the instructing others in it, or any other Employments and Professions of Credit and Reputation in the World; these are not entirely in our own power, but require many Helps and external Advantages, in order to the compassing of them. But the regulating of our Opinions, and our own Choices, is properly and entirely our own Work, and stands in need of no Foreign Assistances. So that our Good and Evil depend our selves; for this we may be sure of, that no Man is accountable for those things, that do not come within the compass of his own power.
The Reason, why these are said to be out of our own Power and Disposal, is not, because the Mind hath no part in them, or contributes nothing towards them; for it is plain, that both our Bodies and our Estates, are put into a better or a worse Condition, in proportion to that provident Care the Soul takes of them, or the Neglect she is guilty of with regard to them. The Soul does also furnish Occasions for the acquiring Credit and Fame, and by her Diligence and Wisdom it is, that we attain to Posts of Greatness and Government. For indeed there could be no such thing as the exercise of Authority, especially as the World goes now, without the Choice and Consent of the Soul. But, because these things are not totally at her Disposal, and she is not the sole and absolute Mistress of them, but must be beholden to the favourable concurrence of several other things, to compass them; therefore they are said not to be in our own power. Thus the Body requires sound Seminal Principles, and a strong Constitution, convenient Diet, and moderate Exercise, a wholsome Dwelling, a good Air, and sweet Water, and Strength, and Ability to perform the functions of Nature, will depend upon all these. And yet these are all of them things so far out of our own ​reach, that we can neither bestow them upon our selves, nor keep off the contrary Inconveniences, when we would. When a more Potent Enemy rushes in and assaults us, we would be glad to lie undiscovered, but cannot make ourselves Invisible. When we are Sick, we desire a speedy Recovery, and yet our Wishes do not bring it to pass.
The case is the same with our Wealth and Possessions too; for these are owing to a World of fortunate Accidents, that contribute to our getting them, and to as many unfortunate Accidents, that conspire to deprive us of them; Accidents too mighty for Us to struggle with, or to prevent.
Reputation and Fame, are no more in our power, than Riches: For, though by the management of ourselves, we give the Occasions of Esteem or Disesteem; yet still the Opinion is not Ours, but Theirs, that entertain it; and, when we have done all we can, we lie at their mercy, to think what they please of us. Hence it comes to pass, that some, who are profane and irreligious Men at the bottom, gain the Character of Piety and Virtue, and impose, not upon others only, but sometimes upon themselves too, with a false appearance of Religion. And yet on the other hand, Others who have no Notions of a Deity, but what are highly reverent and becoming, that never charge God with any of our Frailties or Imperfections, or behave themselves like Men that think so of him, are mistaken by some People for Infidels and Atheists. And thus the Reserved and Temperate Conversation, is despised and traduced by some, for mere Senselesness and Stupidity. So that the being well esteemed of is by no means in our own power, but depends upon the pleasure of those, that think well or ill of us.
Posts of Authority and Government cannot subsist, without Inferiors to be governed, and subordinate Officers to assist in governing them: And particularly in such States, as allow Places to be bought and sold, and make Preferment the Price, not of Merit, but Money; There a Man; that wants a Purse, cannot rise, though he would never so fain. From whence we conclude, that all things of this Nature are not in our own power, because they are not our Works, nor such as follow upon our Choice of them.
I only add one Remark more here, which is, That of all the things said to be out of our power, the Body is first mentioned; and that for this very good Reason, because the wants of This expose us to all the rest. For Money is at the bottom of all Wars and Contentions; and this we cannot ​be without; but must seek it, in order to the providing convenient Food, and Raiment, and supplying the Necessities of the Body.
* ↑ Affections] This is the most convenient Rendring I could think of for the Greek ὁρμαὶ; which though the Latin Impetus may do right to, yet I question whether any English Word will fully express it: If any, this of Affection; which yet I do not so nicely confine my self to in this Translation, as not to render it by Paraphrase in some Places. But I must own, that in the midst of my Doubts what to express it by generally, the Authority of our learned Gataker in his Latin, and of Meric Casaub. in his English Translation of Antoninus, very much prevailed with me; who have chosen this Expression for it in that Passage, which seems very pertinent, and directing to this Purpose. Lib. III. Sect. ΧVΙ. Σῶμα, ψυχή, Νοῦς σώματος αἰθήσεις, ψυχής όρμαί, νοῦ δόγματα. Gat. Affectus; Casaub. Affections.
* ↑ Ἁιρετὴ.
* ↑ If this Argument seem obscure in some of the Parts of it, that must be imputed to the dark Notions of the Old Philosophers, upon this Matter, and the Superstitious Regard that they had to Judicial Astrology; which Simplicius himself is content only so far to comply with, as to allow some considerable Influence of the Heavens upon the Bodies and Tempers of Men; and that Stroke, which the Complexions of People have, in forming the Dispositions of their Minds. Some Passages there are too. which proceed upon the Hypotheses of the Pre-existence and Transmigration of Souls, and their being provided with Bodies of Good or Bad Complexions here, according to their Merits or Demerits in some former State. But in truth, this whole Notion of Judiciary Astrology is now very justly exploded, as groundless and fantastical; and many Modern Philosophers have proved it, by very substantial Arguments, to be no better. See particularly Gassend. in his Animadversions on the Tenth Book of Diogenes Laertius.