Observations, censures, and confutations of notorious errours in Mr. Hobbes his Leviathan and other his bookes to which are annexed occasionall anim-adversions on some writings of the Socinians and such hæreticks of the same opinion with him / by William Lucy ...

Sect. 4.

Certainly, even in Nature the life of man is not the principal thing of man's happinesse, and then not of mans intention and care; for Life is a thing which a

man enjoyes in common with Beasts and Trees, and therefore if man's happinesse should be in that, he were no better, yea much worse then they whose excellency consists in a relation to man; to live only, is to be a Beast, a Plant only; but to live vertuously and reasonably, to glorifie that God who gave him those abilities by which his life is happy, that is the end of man, and of mans life, which he is to leave then when he cannot enjoy it upon these conditions; and to a Christian man, as to the best of Philosophers who had thoughts and assurance of Eternity, this life hath been reputed of little value; and to die no misery; because it is but the passage to a better and more spirituall life, although perhaps there may be some difficulties in opening the gate; yet it is not to be compared with the happiness it admits into, nay, it hath been of such esteem amongst men of ho∣nour alwaies, that they would choose to die vertuously, rather then live dishonourably; Instances would be nu∣merous out of the Roman story; so that it is impossi∣ble, in that absolute sense, without limitation, in which he speaks it, to be true, that this is the whole right of Na∣ture, as his Leviathan or his chiefe or principal as his Corpus politicum, to preserve this life, or to avoid this enemy, death, which, for multitudes, may, and, for not a few reasons, ought to be despised: These phrases which he useth,

Notes

• It being 〈◊〉〈◊〉 in nature the principal of mans hap∣pinesse.