part xiii.

547
E CUR U S.
the
DOCTRINE
O F
EPICURUS
QfPHILOSO
(i) Sext. Empk I J Hilofophy (a) ( or the love of Xii^ifdom,) adv» Eth, 1-^ “ is an exercifing of the Reafon ; by JL “ which, in Meditatiilg and Difcoornng,
^ it acquireth happy Life, and enjoyeth it. For fh) Sext>Fmp^ * Philolbphy hath this propriety above other adv. Math. i. ‘ Arts, that its end is the end alfo of Reafon ‘ which fo tends to it, that it may teft in the en- i * joyraent of it. .
Now happy Life confining in the tfanqhiUity Of the Mind, and indolency of the Body, but efpecially in the former, (in regard, the Goodi of the Mind are better than thofe of the Body, and the Ills thereof worfe • ) it comes to pafs,
/ that Philofophy is chiefly the Mediciine of the Mind, in regard.it both makes and preferves it ' found, its Soundnefs or Health being nothing
elfe but its tranquillity. > ,
> “(0 i
‘ young Man to delay Philofophiling,n6r an old o ‘ Man to be wearied therewith ; for, to rcftifie
> ‘ and cure his Mind, no Man' is too young ; and
’ * he who pretends, that the time of Philofophi-
’ ‘ ling either is not yet, or is pafl:, doth, as he
i ‘ who faith, the time to live well and happily
i I * either is >ot yet come, or is quite gone.
; ‘ Both young and old therefore muft Philofo-
j " * phize * the one, that whilft he is growing old,
, ‘he may perfevere to advance himfelf in good
I, * things to continue the excellence of his former
j ‘ aftions ^ the other, that, though aged in years,
’ ' ‘he may yet be youthful in Mind, remaining
f fecure from future eminent harms, i For it is Philofophy alone, which breeds in its
Followers an alfurednefs and an immunity from all vain fears ^ whence we ought to devote our- fclves to it, that we may be truly free.
■ Happy they, who are of fuch a difpofition of
Body or Mind, or Born in fuch a Country, as • |i rtey can cither of themfelves, or by the inftiga-
i tions of others, addift themfelves to Philofo-
phy, and perfue T ruth •, by attainment whereof, a Man is made truly free or wife, and abfolute Mailer of himfelf.
; . They who apply their Minds hereto, are ^
; 1 three forts ^ Some addrefs themfelves to enquire
[ . after Truth, without the aflillenceof any ^ feme
L I require help, and would not go, if none had
I gone before,but follow well ; fome may be com-
I pelled to the Right, who need not fo much a
P HT in General.
Leader, as ah Alfillent, and, as I mdy call it, a Driver.
The Firfl are moll to be commended ; yet the ingenuity of the Second is excellent iike- wile • and the Third not to be contemned. Of the Second was Metrodorus ; Of the Third Her- machus. As I highly praife the fortune, of the former, lb I, no lefs adpiire arid value the later ; hilt although both of them arriv’d at the fame end, jet he defervM .the greater praife, who, their performances being equal, broke through the gr^^ter difficulties." ,
Nbvv' wher.eas to a Fhilqfopher. nothing ought to be more valuaj^le than Truth, let him proceed to it, in a dired way, (d) and neither uert^ feign^^any thing, ^ rior admit any thing that is feign’d by another, fpr jno kind of Ficlion be- feemefh ProfelTors of 'Truth. Neither is that perpetual Irony of (e ) Socrates tp be approved, (eJCic.in Bru- whereby he extolled to the Skies Protagoras.^Hip- to. pa/i.y Prodicus., Gorgias.^ and the reft, but pretend¬ ed himfelf rude and ignorant of all things.
(fj How much lefs was it becoming a (g) Phi-C/)Macro.bm* lofopher to have feign’d that Fabfe concerning **
Eras Armenius : For why ( if he had an intent to teach usjhe knowledge of Celeftial things, inRep.*Sib.io. and the difpofition of Souls,) did he not perform this tfy naked plain inftrudiou, but rather chofe to introduce a Perfon 9 by which carriage the newnefs ofthe Invention, and the formal Scene of a Fidion, reprefented on the Stage, contami-, nated the very way of Peeking Truth with i FaKhood ?
For this reafon (h) a Wife Man will neither (h) Tacit, hearken to the Fables of Poets, nor will himfelf labour in compofing fabulous Poems j nay ra¬ ther, ( O he will have an averfion frOm the jug- (j) Laert, ling tricks and fophifticatipris of Orators .•
And as he exafts no more ffprri Grammar then Congruity, fo neither will he exact more from Rhctofick than Perfpicuity of Speech, but will ufe a plain familiar Style whether he pvofefs to Teach or Write Books, or explicate to the mul¬ titude any thing already written, he vvill be wa¬ ry that he doit not Panegerycally and Hyperbo- lically. .
But feeing that of Philosophers there are fome, who affiert nothing of Truth, but donbt of, all things, otherSjWho imagine they know all things^
' A a a av 2 asd
548
E' P I C U R U S.
T XltL
and affert without any diftinaion : A wife Man ought not to behave himfelf fp, as that he af-.
^k) tkin. fert not all, but (k) only rriaintain fome pofitive • Maxims which are indifputable.
For when there are divers ways whereby fome things may be performed, as the Eclipfes.of the Stars, their Rifing, Setting, and other Superior things, fo to approve one way as to difapprove the relt, is certainly ridiculous. But when we fpeak of things that cannot beany way but one, ( fuch as are thefe Maxims ) Of nothing is made nothiitg ; the ZJttivei^ conjifis of Mody and E acuum 5 'The Pfinciples ofthii^s are indivifible^ and the. like \ then it is very abmrd not to adhere firihly to them. _ ,
Hence, it is proper for a Wife Man to main¬ tain both the manifold ways in thofe, arid the one fingle way in thefe, and not to ftagger nor recede from Science ohce obtained j not like thofe, who, as if prefer ibed by a Law, Philofo- phizc concerning Nature, not in fuch manner as the things themftlves require but go put of the right way and run into Fables •, nevef conlide- ring tbdt to vent, or vainly boaft our own Opi¬ nions, conduceth nothing to happy Life, but di- fturbeih the Mind,
(i) sen^c.Epij}. Novv \vhereas, (1) thb principal parts of PHi- lofophy, are held to be Two *, One Phyjtck^ confi¬ ning in contemplation of Nature j the other Etbseky which treats of directing of Manners in Older to Happy Life) it is manifeft, either that FJhich comprehends all Philofophy, or that Phyftck comes tp be a part therefore, only inaf- much as it conduceth to Happy Life. ' . *
On) Lmu ‘.For (m). if thofe, things which v?e fufpeft ‘ arid dread frdm the Su'pefior Bodies, and even ‘ ffbm^death it'felf,.,^breed no dillnrbanqe in us,
‘ ?;^thih,gs rincohcer'nii^^-phr condition j ifalfo ^ We co*uTd fa'fik.i.entiy comprehend what are the
‘ juft bounds of our Defires, and to what degree ‘ tlW' Grief which fpings from them is to be af- ‘ fw'aged, there were no need of Phyfiology, or ‘ the explication of Nature.
But becaufc (n) it^b not jpoffible we (hould («) i$en, arrive at fo great G(»d, without having firft furveyed the nature -of thin'gs •' but, (0) as (o) Lib. Children in the dark tremble, and are afraid of 2* v. S3* every thing; fo we miferably groping in the darknefs of Ignorance, fear things that are fabu- lous,and no more to be dreaded than thofe which Children fear in the dark) and fancy to them- felves will happeili It is therefore neceflary, that thisjli rror and darknefs of the Mind be dif- pelled;'hot by trif'^beams of the Sim, but'% im- prelTions from Nature and Reafon, that is by Phyfiology. Whence all Phyfick is to be e- fteemed a part of Philofophy.
DtalefliQk^ which fome add as a third Part, is to be rejeded, becaufe as ordinarily taught it doth nothing but-beget thorny Queftions, being an eihpty bubbling and Forge of Cavils. More- over^ becdufe it is fuperfiuous to that end which they propofe^ that is, to the Perception and Dijudication of tlie Reafons of Naturalifts : For there needs no more thereto, than) like the na¬ tural . Philofophers thenifelves, to ufe terms or- dinafy and perfpicuous.
. If) befidcs this, there may feetil any thing of ufe ^ it can be nothing but a collection of fome few Canons or Rules both concerning terms^ and the Criteries whereby we ufe to dijudi- cate..._
Thus may this fhort Canonicl^-0r Treatife of Rules, ferve inftead of a laborious and pro^ lix Dialqdick,' and Be reputed either a diftinft part of Philofophy ( though leaft confid^rable,)
Or^ Q') an additihn.to Phyfich^ by vvay of Intro- Scn€C.Ep» dufltidn. • -
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