CHAP. XIV. What is the use of Wonder or Admiration.
I. Some con∣demn Ad∣miration. MOST of the Antients had but a mean esteem for Admiration, as looking upon it to be the Vice of Ignorant Persons; and there∣fore took it to be an Enemy to Human Felicity, and the fruitful Mother of Sorrow, Fear, Desire, and other Passions that are the Tormentors of Man∣kind. And accordingly HORACE supposeth that Men would be exempt from all these, if once they could leave their wondring, Lib. 1. Epist.
Nothing t' admire is th' only thing that can Make and preserve a Blest and Happy Man.
II. Wonder or Admira∣tion is necessary for the acquiring of Sciences But these men do not seem to have rightly un∣derstood the nature of Admiration, but rather to have confounded it with Fear, which beholds eve∣ry thing with Trembling, and is affrighted at all the unusual Objects it meets with. But forasmuch as Admiration is nothing else but a suddain Occu∣pation of the Mind, whereby it is strongly carried to the attentive consideration of those Objects, that appear rare and strange unto it, no body can deny but that it must needs be very conducive to the Learning and Remembring of those things we were ignorant of before. For it is evident, that there are chiefly 2 Principles which concur to the in∣vention of every Art, viz. Admiration; because as soon as any new thing is suddainly presented to our Understanding, our Mind is presently struck with Admiration, and is powerfully rowzed to the searching into the Nature of it; and Experience, because the Mind, being allured by the Admira∣tion of a Rare and Uncommon Object, never rests till it have found by Experiment, what the Nature of it is, and the Cause of it. So they who first observed the Eclipse of the Sun, being seized there∣at with extraordinary wonder, it ingaged them to search into the Cause of this unknown Effect, till after many repeated experiments, they found that the same was caused by the Moons moving be∣tween the Sun and the Earth; whence they ga∣ther'd this Proposition of certain and undoubted Truth, that a Solar Eclipse is produced by the in∣terposition of the Moon betwixt the Earth and the Sun.
III. Those who are not apt to Wonder, are gene∣rally un∣learned. The necessity of Admiration, in order to the attaining of Knowledge, is very apparent from this one instance, that commonly those who are desti∣tute, or not apt to be touch'd with this Passion, are commonly unlearned, and very ignorant. For, notwithstanding that many things present them∣selves to our Understanding, or offer themselves to our Senses, yet will they never be fixt in our Me∣mory, except by some Passion they be imprest in our Brain, or by the intent application of our Un∣derstanding, being determined by our Will to a se∣rious Attention. For rare and unusual Objects en∣crease our Attention, because by their Novelty they leave a deeper impress of themselves; and the Spirits flowing thither, do encrease the appli∣cation of the Mind; by which means we frame more lively and lasting Idea's of things. Moreo∣ver, Admiration is of great use for our attaining of the knowledge of things which formerly we were ignorant of: For a Man that is seized with Ad∣miration, compares the unknown Object, with things that he hath formerly known; by which means he sees it to be different, and enquires why it differs from them. Hence it is that Admiration is called the Beginning of Philosophy, the Seed of Knowledge, and Abrupt Science. To admire, saith PLATO, is much the Affection of a Philoso∣pher; neither indeed can any other Original or Be∣ginning of Philosophy be assigned but this.
IV. The Esteem and due Value of ones self, how it may be profitable. The esteem of ones self, which is a Species of Admiration, is conducive to every man, in as much as it shews him, that he hath something that is his own, and possesseth some Perfections, in considerati∣on whereof he may respect and love himself more intimately than all other things. For Self-Love is a Lawful Affection, it being allowed to every man to consider himself before others. Moreover, a man by loving himself, imitates GOD, who, like a Circle, turns into, and terminates in himself, and loves himself with the Highest and Essential Love. This is the Property of Wise Men, who, subduing all foreign things to their Mind, do so highly esteem the dignity thereof, that they ac∣count it the highest Sacriledge to defile it with filthy and vain thoughts. Hence it is that they have an awful regard for themselves as for Deities; and abhor to commit any thing that might make their Consciences to condemn them. And to this purpose ARISTOTLE in the Second Book of his Politicks, proves that a due Esteem of our selves is a Vertuous Quality; and if at any time Self-Love is blamed, that is only so far as it ex∣ceeds its Bounds, and makes us to love our selves over-much.
V. The under∣valuing of ones self is a great help to Humility. On the other hand, the Contempt or Low esteem of ones self, by which a man despiseth his own worth and merit, is very conducive to Humility, and makes him refuse the Honour others render to him. This Vertue teacheth him, that the praises of others are useful to him, as long as he continues vile in his own Eyes; and that he is not to mind what others say of him, as long as he is conscious to his own defects and meanness, and that he wants those very Vertues which others extol him for. This Passion, moreover, hath this good effect, that it makes us to despise no man; but owning our selves to be men, prompts us to measure their Vices with the same Equity wherewith we censure our own. For it is but Reasonable and Equitable, that know∣ing our own weakness, we should take pity on others, and according to the command of Charity, think better of them than of our selves: For in∣deed what do we know, but they may far exceed us in Vertue? and tho' they have fallen as Sinners▪ yet may have risen again as Saints. We may lawfully contemn our selves, but cannot despise any other without Sin, and being injurious to our Neighbour.
VI. Venerati•••• teacheth as, to re∣spect every one accord∣ing to his Merit. VENERATION, whereby the Soul is engaged to esteem the Object it respects and ho∣nours, and to subject it self to the same, teacheth us to Reverence those Powers that are above us, and to render unto them the Honour that is their