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

The FOURTH DISCOURSE. Of the Nature, Proprieties and Effects, & of the good & evil use of Despair.

OF all the Passions of man, Despair is that which hath been most ho∣nour'd, and most blam'd by Anti∣quity; for she hath past for the last proof of courage in those famous men, who have made use of sword or poyson, to free them∣selves from the insolence of a victorious e∣nemy. Poets and Orators never appeared more eloquent, than when they describe the death of Cato; and they do so artificially disguise that furious action, that did not faith perswade us that it is an execrable at∣tempt, we should take it for an Heroick acti∣on. Seneca never praised Virtue so much, as

this crime;* 1.1 he seems by the high Excomiums he gives it, to perswade all men to Despair; and to oblige all unfortunate people to commit Paricide; he imagines that all the gods descended into Vtica to consider this spectacle; & that they would honour a Stoick Philosopher with their presence, who not able to endure Caesars government, though he had born with the like in Pompey, plung'd his dagger into his breast, tore his entrails; and that he might taste death, rent his soul from his body with his own hands.* 1.2 But truly I do not wonder that Seneca would make a murder pass for a Sacrifice, since he hath approved of Drunkenness, and that he hath made it a Virtue, that he might not be constrained to blame Cato, who was accused thereof. Others have absolutely condemn'd Despair; and because some men, giving themselves over unto fury, have dipt their hands in their own bloud, they have been of opinion that this Passion ought to be banisht from out our soul; and that nothing could befal us in this life, wherein it was lawful to follow the motions thereof.

Both these opinions are equally unjust, and do violate the Sense of Nature; for let the disaster be what it please, which For∣tune threatens us withal, and whatsoever

great mishap she prepareth for us, we never may attempt against our own life: our birth and our death depend only upon our Lord God, and none but he who hath brought us into the world, can take us out of it; he hath left unto us the disposal of all the conditi∣ons of our life, and hath only reserved to himself the beginning, and the end; we are born when he pleaseth, and we die when he ordaineth it: to hasten the hour of our death, is to intrench upon his rights; and he is so jealous of it, as he oft-times doth mi∣racles, to teach us that it belongeth unto him. But if Despair be forbidden us upon this occasion, there are many others where∣in it is permitted; and I am of opinion, that Nature did never more evidently shew her care over man, than in enduing him with a Passion which may free him from all the e∣vils for which Philosophy hath no reme∣dy.

For though Good be a pleasing Object and that by its charm it powerfully attracts the Will, yet it is sometimes environed with so many difficulties, that the Will cannot come nigh it; its beauty makes her languish, she consumes away in Desire, and Hope, which eggeth her on, obligeth her to do her utmost in vain: the more she hath of

Love, the more she hath of Sorrow; and the more excellent the good which she seeks after, is, the more miserable is she; that which ought to cause her Happiness, occa∣sioneth her punishment: and to speak it in few words, she is unfortunate, for that she cannot forbear loving an object which she cannot compass. This torment would last as long as her Love, did not Despair come in to her succour, and by a natural wisdom oblige her to forgo the search of an impos∣sibility; and to stifle such Desires as seem only to afflict her.

As this Passion takes us off from the pur∣suit of a difficult good which surpasseth our power, so are there a thousand occasions met withal in mans life, wherein she may be advantageously made use of; and there is no condition how great soever in the world which needs not her assistance. For mens powers are limited, and the greater part of their designs are impossible; Hope and Boldness which animate them, have more of heat than government; led on by these blind guides, they would throw themselves headlong into Praecipices, did not Despair withhold them, & did not she by her know∣ledge of their weakness, divert them from their rash enterprizes; she is also a faith∣ful

Counsellor which never doth deceive us, and which deserves not to be blamed, if, not being sent for till our affairs be in a sad condition, she gives us more wholsome than honorable advice; we must accuse Hope, which engageth us too easily in a danger; and praise Despair, which finds a means to free us from it.

The greatest Princes are only unhappy, for not having listned unto her; for would they measure their forces before they undertake a war, they would not be enforced to make a dishonourable peace, & to take the law from their victorious enemy: but the mischief is, they never implore De∣spairs assistance, but when she cannot give it them; and they never advise with this Passion, till all things be reduced to an ex∣tremity: yet is she not unuseful at such a time, and her counsels cease not to be pro∣fitable, though precipitate. For when Princes know that their forces are inferiour to those of their enemies, and that all the advantage lies on the enemies side, Despair wisely managed causeth them to retreat; and this Passion repairing the faults of Hope and Audacity, makes them keep their souldiers till another time, when they may assuredly promise themselves the victory

for Despair is more cautious than couragi∣ous, and aims more at the safety than glory of a Kingdom; it makes use of the evils which it hath observed, and thinks it self glorious enough,* 1.3 if it can escape the fury of him that doth pursue it. 'Tis true, that when it sees all ways of safety barred up, and that it is on all sides environed by death, it chu∣seth the most honourable; and recalling Hope which it had chased away, resolveth either to die or overcome. Therefore 'tis, that good Commanders do never put the vanquished to Despair; but knowing that this Passion becomes valiant when provo∣ked, they make her bridges of gold, open all passages to her; and suffer this Torrent to disperse it self abroad in the open Champi∣on, lest her fury swelling by resistance, over∣bear such works as are opposed to her im∣petuosity. Herein the nature of Despair is strange; for it ariseth from Fear; and its greatest wisdom consisteth in its timorous∣ness; in the good which it offers it self, it ra∣ther considereth the difficulty which may astonish, than the glory which may attract; and be it, that it be more cold, or less coura∣geous than Hope, it hath not so much an eye to good, as to bad events; yet when the danger is extream, and that the mischief is

so great as it cannot be evaded; it makes virtue of necessity, and gives battel to an enemy, which Hope it self durst not assail; it oftentimes plucks the Lawrel from out the Conquerors hand; and performing acti∣ons which may pass for miracles, it exceeds Nature, it preserves mens lives in making them contemn them, and wins the victory by seeking after an honourable death.

By all these effects it is easie to judge of the nature of Despair, and to know that it is a violent motion by which the soul keeps aloof from a difficult good, which it thinks it cannot compass, and by which likewise it sometimes draws near unto it; rather to shun the evil which threatens it, than to pos∣sess the difficult good; for in its birth De∣spair is fearful, and hath no other design, than to divert the soul from the vain seek∣ing after an impossible good; but in its pro∣gress it becomes bold, and when it sees that by keeping aloof from a difficult good, it engageth it self in an infamous evil, it re∣sumes courage, and employs all its power to gain a thing which it thought assuredly to have lost; so as this is not a single Passion, & to explain the nature thereof well, we must say, that she is mixt of Fear and Hope; and that, as in the beginning she is more faint-hearted

than the former, she is in the end more generous than the latter. But at both these times she hath need of government; & that she may be serviceable to Virtue, she must shun two dangerous extreams which bear her name, and stain her glory; the one may be called Faint-heartedness, the other Foolhardiness; she falls into the former, when not knowing her own strength, she keeps at distance from a good which she might com∣pass; she falls into the second, when not re∣garding her own imbecility, or the great∣ness of the danger, she undertakes an impos∣sibilty, and engageth her self in a design which cannot have any good success. It be∣longs to Reason to govern her, and to see when she may eschew without infamy, and when she may charge without rashness: if it be a lawful good, which may with Justice be expected, it must seldom or ne∣ver be despaired of; upon such an occasion Opiniatrecy is commendable; and a man is not to be blamed who attempts even an im∣possibility, to purchase a happiness which his duty requires him to seek after: but if that which he wisheth for, be hard to come by, and perishable, he must cure himself of his vain desires, and foolish ••••pes, by a rational Despair. But he must beware, that though

this Passion be in Nature oft-times inno∣cent, she is always guilty in relation to Grace; for nat••ral hope being grounded upon our proper forces, it is lawful to for∣go her, to embrace Despair; and there is nothing of inconvenience, that man whose misery is so well known, do quit his designs when he cannot compass them; but super∣natural hope being grounded upon divine power, we must not forgo her; and it is a capital fault to suspect God of falshood or of weakness. Those therefore who despair of their souls health, justle his highest perfe∣ctions, and make themselves unworthy to receive pardon of their sins, from the time they cease to hope; for since the holy Scri∣pture teacheth us, that God is good, and all∣powerful, those who perswade themselves, that he either will not, or cannot save them, commit outrage against his Power and Goodness; and by one and the same fault give against his two most excellent qualities: and if we will believe St. Austin, they who despair imitate proud people, and make themselves equal with God, by lo∣sing the hope of their salvation; for when they fall into despair, they imagine that Gods Mercy is not so great as their sin is, and by an injurious preferrence, they raise

their wickedness above his goodness;* 1.4 they prescribe bounds to an infinite Love, and bereave him of perfections, who possesseth more than our souls can imagine.

True it is, that if Despair be faulty in re∣lation to Grace, there is an excess of Hope which is not much less dangerous; and there are certain Christians in the Church, who are opinionated in their sins, only out of a confidence they have of Gods Mercy: they make use of his goodness only to in∣jure him; they think not of his favours to sinners, save to abuse them; and by irratio∣nal consequences, which Philosophy can∣not have taught them, they conclude that they ought to be wicked, because God is good, and that we ought to offend him, be∣cause he doth not punish his enemies: had not these shameless sinners lost their judg∣ment together with their Piety, they would argue after another manner, and say; That since God is good, man must be obedient; that since he is prone to forgive, man ought to have a care how to offend him; and that since he loves the welfare of man, man ought to love his Honour. But certainly, if they had not these just considerations, Gods mercy should not maintain in them their foolish confidence; for to boot, that his

Mercy agrees with his Justice, and that the one doth not intrench upon the others rights, he hath so temper'd his Promises with his Threats in the holy Scripture,* 1.5 as they banish from out the soul of man both Despair and Presumption; to assure those that despair, he hath proposed Penitency unto them, the gate whereof is open to all those that repent; and to terrifie the pre∣sumptuous, who through their delays de∣spise his mercy, he hath made the day of death uncertain, and hath reduced them to a necessity of fearing a moment, which as being unknown, may surprize the whole world.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Liquet mihi cum magno spectasse gau∣dio Deos, cum vir ille, acerri∣mus sui vindex gladium sacro pectori infigit, dum viscera spargit, & a∣nimam manu educit Sen. De Provid. c. 2.
• * 1.2

  Catoui ebrietas objecta est: ac facilius efficiet, quisqus obje∣cerit, hoc cri∣men hon••slum quam turpem Catonem Sen. De tranquil. animi. c. 15.
• * 1.3

  Arimus ex ipsa desperatione sumitur: igna∣vissima anima∣lia, quae natura ad fugam ge∣nuit, ubi exitus non paret, ten∣tant fugam corpore imbel∣li Nullus per∣nicior hostis est quam quem audacem an∣gustia faciunt. Majora, aut certe paria, conatur ani∣mus magnu ac perdi••us. Sen. Quaest. •• atur. l. c. 59.
• * 1.4

  Adhuc cum diffidit, & suam nequitiam comparat Dei benignitati, finem imponit virtuti Dei, dans finem in∣finito, & per∣fectionem au∣ferens Deo, cui nihil deest, etiam quod cogitari non potest. Aug. 1. De vera & fal∣sa poenitent cap. 5.
• * 1.5

  Propter illos qui desperati∣one periclitan∣tur, proposuit indulgentiae portum; prop∣ter eos vero qui spe peri∣clitantur, & dilationibus illuduntur, fe∣cit diem mor∣tis incertum. Aug. l. 3. D•• verb. DoM. Serm. 10.