Part V.

PLATO.
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* In Tmsflt ILctKOt ^ ya,f
f De Animaj
3. 9.
there are divers kinds of good, fo of defire. Love is a Species of defire, Beauty of good. Defire is Natural or Knowing. All creatures have a particular perfe&ion by participation of the Divine Goodnefs. This is their end, inclu¬ ding that degree of Felicity, whereof they are ca¬ pable, to which Center they tend. This defire we call Natural ^ a great Teftimony of Divine Providence, by which they are unwittingly (as an Arrow by the Archer) dire£fed to their mark. With this all Creatures defire God, as being the Original good imprinted, and participating in every particular. This is in every Nature, as more or left capable j addreffed to ends more or lefs Noble ^ yet, is the ultimate end of all the fame, to enjoy God, as far as they may : Thus as the Pfalmift, Every thing Worjhips and Traifeth God-, like luppliants, turning and of¬ fering themf elves up to him, faith Theodoret.
• Sell. II.
TH E other Species of Defire is employed , only about things known, given by Na¬ ture, that to every apprehenfive faculty, there might be a defiderative ^ to embrace what it judgeth good, to refule what it eftcemeth evil j in its own nature enclin’d to good : None ever defires to be miferable ^ but, the apprehenfive Vertue many times miftaking Evil for Good, it oft falls out that the defiderative (in it felf blind) defires Evil. This in fome fenfe may be faid vo¬ luntary, for none can force it ; in another fenfe, not voluntary, deceived by the judgment of its Companion. This is Fhito^s meaning, when he faith, ^ No Man Sins willingly.
Sea. III. ^ .
IT is the property of every defiderative Vertue, that he who defires, poflefTeth in part the thing he defires, in part not for, if he were wholly deprived of its Pofleflion, he would ne¬ ver defire it ; This is verified two ways. Firft, nothing is defired unlefs it be known ^ and to know a .thing is in fopie part to poflefs it. So A- rijiotle, t The Soul Is all.^ becaufe it knows all, -And in the Pfalmift God faith, AJ.I things are mine, I know them. Secondly, there is always -fbme convenience and refemblance betwixt the defirer and defired .• Every thing delights and pre- fetves it felf by that, which by natural affinity ismoft conformable to itj by its contrary is grieved and confirmed. Love is not betwixt things unlike 5 Repugnance of two oppofite na¬ tures is natural hate. Hate is a Repugnance with Knowlege. Hence jt folio weth, that the nature ■ of the defired, is in fome manner in the defirer ; otherwiie there would be no fimilitude betwixt them ; yet imperfeftly ^ elfe it were vain for it to feek what it entirely poflefTeth.
Sea. IV.
AS Defire generally follows Knowledge, fo feveral knowings are annexed to feve- ral defiring Powers. We diftipguifh the know¬ ing into three degrees-, Senfe, Reafon, Intelleftj attended by three defiderative Vertues, Appetite, Eleflion, Will. Appetite is in Bruits, Ele^ion
in Men, Will in Angels. The Senfe knows on¬ ly corporeal things, the Appetite only defires filch j the Angelick Intelleft is wholly intent on Contemplation of Spiritual Conceptions, not inclining to Material Things, but when diyefted of Matter, and Spiritualiz’d, their Will is only fed with intemporal fpiritual good. Rational Nature is the mean betwixt thefe Extreams ; fometimes defcending to Senfe, fometimes ele¬ vated to IntelleQ: -, by its own Eleftion comply¬ ing with the defires of which fhe pleafeth. Thus it appears, that Corporeal Obje£l:s are de¬ fired, either by Senfiial Appetite, or Elefiion of Reafon inclining to Senfe ; Incorporeal by Ange-’ lick Will, or, the Eleflion of Reafon, elevated to Intelleftual Height.
Sea. V.
BEauty in general, is a Harmony refulting from feveral things proport ionably concur¬ ring to confiitute a third : In refpefl of which temperament, and mixture of various Natures, agreeing in the compofition of one, every Crea¬ ture is fair-, and in this fenfe no fimple Being is Beautiful, not God himfelf-, this Beauty be¬ gins after him, arifing from contrariety, with¬ out which is no compofition ^ it being the uni¬ on of contraries, a friendly enmity, a difa- greeing concord -, whence Empedocles .makes difcord and concord the Principles of all things j by the firft, underftanding the variety of the Na¬ tures compounding by the fecond, their Union: adding, that in God only there is no difcord. He not being the Union of feveral Nathrds j but, a pure uncompounded Unity. In thefe compofitions the Union neceflarily predominates over the contrariety, otherwife the Fabrick would be diflblved. Thus in the FiUions of the Poets, Venus loves Mars : This Beauty cannot fubfifl without contrariety -, fhe curbs and mode¬ rates him, this temperament allays the ftrife be¬ twixt thefe contraries. And in Aftrology, Ve¬ nus is placed next to Mars, to check his deftru- £live influence ; as Jupiter next Saturn, to a- bate his Malignancy. If Mars were always fiibjeU to Venus (the contrariety of Principles to their due temper ) nothing would ever bedif folved.
' Sea. VI.
THis is Beauty in the largeft fenfe, the fame with Harmony -, whence, God is faid to have framed the World with mufical Harmo¬ nious temperament. But harmony pronerly im¬ plies a melodious agreement of ydfcesj and Beauty in a ftriU acception relates to a propor¬ tionable cqncbrd in vifible things, as Harmony in audible. " ' The defire of this 'Beaut^ is Love 5. arifing only from one knowiiig ‘ faculty, the Sight -, and that^.gdve Flotinus,. (Edneaf 3. Itb. 5, 3.) occafion' to dprlve Lave, hovti oe?.aif Sight. Here the Platonift may dbjeft ^ If Love be only of viflble things, how can it be applied to Ideas, invilfible, N^itures.^ We diifwer, fight is twofold^ Corporeal and Spiritual ^ the firft is that of fenfe,- the other the IntelleUual facul¬ ty,-' by which we agree with Angels ^ this Pla- toniffs call Sight, the Corporeal being only an Image of this.. So Arijiotle, Intellea is that to
the
PLATO.