The use of passions written in French by J.F. Senault ; and put into English by Henry, Earl of Monmouth.

The FIRST DISCOURSE. Of the corruption of Nature by Sin.

THough there be many wonder∣ful things in man, which de∣serve consideration, & that his qualities witness unto us,* 1.1 the greatness & power of his Crea∣tor; there is nothing more remarkable in him, than his constitution; for he is compo∣sed of a body and soul; he in his person u∣nites Heaven and Earth; and being more monstrous than are the Centaures in the Fable, he is both Angel and Beast, as the power of God appeareth in the uniting of these two, so different parties; his wis∣dome

is no less evidently seen in the good intelligence they hold;* 1.2 for though they had contrary inclinations, that the one should bow downward towards the earth whereof it was formed, and that the other should raise it self up towards heaven from whence it had its original, yet God did so well temper their desires, and in the diver∣sity of their conditions so streightly united their wills by original justice, as the soul shared in all contentments of the body, without any injury to her self, and the bo∣dy served to all the designs of the soul, without doing any violence to its self. In this happy estate, the soul commanded with mildness, the body obeyed with de∣light, and whatsoever object presented it self, these two parties did always agree. But this happiness continued no longer than our first father was obedient to God; as soon as he listened to the devil, and that inticed by his promises he had took part with him, his punishment was answerable to his fault, and his disobedience was punish∣ed by a general rebellion; for to boote that his creatures revolted against him, and that his subjects, that they might serve Gods justice, became his enemies, the revolt pas∣sed from his condition to his person; the

elements divided themselves in his body, and his Body mutinied against his Soul. This intestine war was the sooner kindled, between these two parties, for that their peace was not so much an effect of Nature as of Grace; the hatred which succeeded their love was so much the more violent, for that it was animated by sin, which being but a meer disorder, causeth divisions every where, and satisfieth its own fury in execu∣ting the decrees of divine Justice; so as we must not wonder if the rebellion which man suffers, be so great, since it takes its rise from two so puissant principles, and that the parties which compose it are incouraged to the combat by the contrariety of their in∣clinations, and by the malice of sin, which doth possess them. This mischief hath caused the greatest Saints to sigh. The A∣postle of the Gentiles, finding no remedy for this malady, but death, wish'd for it as a favour, and as such a one, made suit for the most rigorous of our punishments; he in his Writings,* 1.3 hath prepared all Christians to this War, and hath made them know that a man cannot hope for peace in this life, since the body made enterprizes upon the soul, and that the soul was obliged evil∣ly to intreat her Body.

From this great disorder the like of our Passions have ensued; for though they be the off-spring of the soul and body, & that being equally produced by these two par∣ties, they should endeavour their agree∣ment, yet these unnatural children, aug∣ment their division, and according as they hold more of the soul or the body, take part with the one, or with the other of them, and perform no act of Obedience wherein there is not somewhat of Rebelli∣on. The concupiscible appetite doth almost always hold intelligence with the body, and the irascible appetite sides always with the soul. The first engages us in de∣lights, and keeps us in a shameful Idleness; the second arms us against sorrow, and en∣courageth us to generous actions; in this continual bickering the soul of man is ne∣ver at quiet, and man is constrained to nou∣rish Vipers which do devour him.

Philosophers have indeed found this mis∣chief, but they thought it lay only in the Will, and not in the Nature of man. They were perswaded, that opinion and ill bree∣ding caused these disorders, and that as one evil is cured by its contrary, this might be remedied by wholsom doctrine, and good education. They founded Academies,

wherein they disputed about the Summum bonum. They made Panegyricks in the be∣half of virtue, and Invectives against vice. They declaimed against the unruliness of Passions; and measuring their abilities by their desires, they promised victory and tryumph to themselves. But not finding the original of the malady, by consequence they could never light upon the remedy; amidst the weakness they underwent, and their vain indevours, they were enforced to accuse nature, and to complain even of that soveraign Power which hath composed man of pieces, which could not be made agree. A glimpse of light would certainly have rectified them, and a Chapter of Saint Pauls would have made them know the truth; for since they agreed with us that God cannot be defective in his workman∣ship, and that he is too just to require things at our hands which exceed our power, they must have concluded that our disor∣der was the punishment of our sin, and that the infirmity which we lament was not an effect of our nature, but the cor∣rection of Gods Justice; by thinking thus they would have endeavoured to appease him whom they had injured, and con∣fessing their infirmity, they would have

implored his assistance; but pride blinded them, and to make use of Seneca's words against himself, they would rather accuse providence, than acknowledge their own misery; and rather impute their disorder to Gods rigour, than to their own offences. They either could not, or would not com∣prehend, what reason taught them before,* 1.4 that faith had published by the mouth of Saint Paul and of Saint Augustine, that the rebellion of the flesh against the spirit is not a condition of nature, but the punish∣ment of sin. From what hath been said 'tis easie to infer, that since man is sinful, since his Passions have revolted, since the soul, which ought to govern them, is dark∣ned, and that the will, which ought to mo∣derate them, is depraved, he must of necessi∣ty have recourse to grace, and beg that of mercy, which justice hath bereaved him of. The same power which formerly ac∣corded our soul with our body, must now end these differences. If the condition of this miserable life be such as will not suffer us to enjoy a perfect peace, we must seek for forces wherewithal to fight; so if we cannot shun the misfortunes of war, we may hope for the advantages of the victory.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Homo Medi∣um quoddam est inter peco∣ra & Angelos, inferior An∣gelis, superior pecoribus, ha∣bens cum pe∣coribus morta∣litatem, ratio∣nem vero cum Angelis.
• * 1.2

  Animal ratio∣nale, mortale, August lib 9. de Civitate Dei. cap. 13.
• * 1.3

  Caro enim concupiscit adversus spiri∣tum, spiritus autem adver∣sus carnem. Gal. 5.
• * 1.4

  Quod caro concupiscit ad∣versus spiritum, non est praece∣ders naturae hominis insti∣tu••i, sed conse∣quens paena damnati. Au∣gust lib. de ve∣ra Innocentia. cap. 260.