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

The THIRD DISCOURSE. That to govern Passions, a man must moderate them.

THough Passions be ordained for the service of virtue, and that there is not any one of them, the use where∣of may not be advantageous to us, we must notwithstanding confess, that we need dexterity to govern them, and that in the state whereinto sin hath reduced our Nature, they cannot be useful to us, unless moderated; that unhappy Forefather o•• ours, who made us to inherit his fault, hath not left us so pure a being as he had whe•• he received it from God. The body and soul suffer pain, and as they were both guilty, so are they both punished. The un∣derstanding hath its errors, the will her ir∣regular inclinations, the memory her weak∣ness. The body, which is the Channe•• through which Original sin passeth into the

soul, hath its misery, and though it be the less faulty, yet is it the more unfortunate; all that is in it is out of order; the senses are seduced by Objects, these help to abuse Imagination, which excites disorders in the inferior part of the soul, and raiseth Passions, so as they are no longer in that obedience, wherein Original Justice kept them; and though they be subject to the Empire of Reason, yet they so mutinie, as they are not to be brought within the com∣pass of their duty, but by force or cunning. They are born to obey the understanding, but they easily forget their condition; and the commerce which they hold with the senses, is the cause why they oft-times pre∣fer their advises at the commandments of the will. They raise themselves up with such might, as their natural motions are for the most part violent They are horses which have more of fury than of force: They are seas which are oftner troubled than calm. In fine, they are parts of our selves, which cannot serve the understand∣ing till it hath allaied or tamed them.

This ought not to seem strange 〈…〉〈…〉 that know what spoil sin hath 〈…〉〈…〉 nature; and the very Philosopher 〈…〉〈…〉 fess that virtue is an art which 〈…〉〈…〉

learn'd, will not find it unjust that the Passi∣ons be not obedient, unless governed by Reason.

To execute so great a design, a man must imitate nature and art, and consider what means they use to finish their work. Nature which doth all by the Elements, and who of these four bodies composeth all others, never employs them till she hath tempered their qualities. As they cannot suffer toge∣ther, and that their natural antipathy en∣gages them to fight: this wise Mother, by allaing their aversions, appeaseth their differences, and never unites them, 'till she hath weakned them. Art, which is not invented so much to perfect nature, as to imitate her, observes the same Rules, and imploys nothing in her workmanship, till it be tempered by her industry. Painting would not be so cried up, had it not found out the secret of reconciling black with white, and so pacifie the natural discord of these two colours, to compose all others thereof. The riders of the great horse have no service from their horses, till they have broke them; and that they may be useful, they must be taught to answer the Bridle and the Spur. Lions were never made use of to draw triumphant Chariots, till they

were tamed; and Elephants bore not Towers upon their backs in fight, till they were rid of the savage humour which they brought from the Woods.

All these examples are documents for∣the government of our Passions, and Reason ought to imitate nature if she will be advan∣taged thereby. They mus•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 be employed till moderated; and he who shall think to make them serviceable to virtue, before he hath subjugated them by grace, will ingage himself in a perillous design. In the state of innocency, when they had nothing of un∣ruly in them, one might make use of them as they were born; they never surprized the will: As original Justice was as well shed throughout the body, as throughout the soul: The senses made no false reports and their advices being uninteressed, they were always conformable to the judgment of Reason. But now, that all things in man are faulty, that the Body and the Soul are equally corrupted, that the senses are sub∣ject to a thousand illusions, and that Ima∣gination favours their Disorders; we must have great precaution in the use of Passi∣ons.

The first is to consider, what troubles their revolt hath caused in our soul, and in

how many mischiefs these mutiniers have ingaged us, when they have only been led on by our eyes or ears: 'Tis a piece of wis∣dom to reap advantage by our losses, and to become wise at our own cost. The just∣est choler flies out sometimes, if not with∣held by Reason•• though her motion was lawful in its bir••••, it becomes criminal in the progress thereof. It turns a good cause into a bad one; for not having consulted with the superiour part of the soul; and thinking to punish assight fault, it commits a great one. Fear hath oft-times astonished us, for having only listned to the Senses, she maketh us look pale upon a thousand occasions, without any just cause; and sometimes she hath engaged us in real dan∣gers, to make us shun those that were but imaginary. As then our Passions have de∣ceived us, for our not having ask'd counsel of our Reason, we must resolve never to believe them any more, till we have exa∣mined, whether that which they desire, or that which they fear, be reasonable, and whether the understanding, which sees fur∣ther than our eyes, cannot discover the va∣nity of our hopes or fears.

The second precaution, is, to oblige Rea∣son, to watch alwaies over such subjects as

may excite our Passions, and to consider their nature, and motions, to the end that she may never be surprized. Harms foreseen hurt but a little, and we are but seldom asto∣nished at such accidents, against which we are prepared. A Pilot who sees a storm com∣ing, withdraws into the Haven; or if he be too far from it, he lanch••th into the deep, and keeps aloof from Coasts, or Rocks. A Father who knows that his Children are mortal, and that life hath no longer term than what it hath pleased God to give, will never take on too much at their loss. A Prince who considers, that victory depends more upon Fortune than his Wisdom, and more on Chances than on the Valour of his Soul∣diers, will easily be comforted though he hath been beaten: But we make not use of our understanding, & methinks, if our Passi∣ons be out of order, Reason ought to be ac∣cused thereof, for not having foreseen the danger, and for not having prepared our senses against their surprizals.

The third precaution is, to study the na∣ture of such Passions, as we take in hand to moderate or govern. For some must be rudely dealt withal, and to reduce them to their duty, severity and violence must be made use of; others will be flattered, and

they must be gently dealt withal to make them obedient to Reason. Though they be subjects, they are not slaves, and the under∣standing which governs them, is rather their Father than their Soveraign. Others would be cozened, and though Virtue be so generous, she is tied to accommodate herself to the weakness of Passions, and to make use of wiles, when force will not prevail. Love is of this nature, we must divert it, not being able to banish it from out of our hearts, we must lay before it le∣gitimate Objects, and make it virtuous by an innocent cozenage: Choler would be flattered, and who thinks to oppose this torrent by making a Dam, hath but aug∣mented its Fury. Fear and Sorrow ought to be rudely dealt withal; and of these two Passions, the former is so faint-hearted, as it is not to be overcome but by force; and the second is opinionated, as it is not to be brought within rule, but by provocation. These means being well observed, the Af∣fections of our soul may be sweetned. These savage Beasts become domestick, when they have lost their natural fierceness; Reason makes good use of them, and Virtue shapes no design which she executes without their mediation.