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HARDINESS becomes Virtue, and it shews it self then most illustrious, when it atchieves difficult Things: Now no Virtue pretends to this more than For∣titude; which incites us to undergo all man∣ner of dangers and Death it self for our Li∣berty, our Country or Religion, There∣fore we give it the name of Virtue, as Ae∣neas doth in that Instruction to his Son Ascanius
Disce puer virtutem ex me verum ••e laborem, Fortunam ex aliis.
Tho perhaps it is no Passion, because a Man may have it, who doth nothing; neither is it an Habit, because he may be born with Courage; it must then be a power of the Soul, placed chiefly in the sensitive Appe∣tite, because it depends much upon the Heats of Blood, and is common to all Crea∣tures: But Tully tells us, Fortitudo est viri propria virtus; it most properly belongs to and becomes a Man best; wherefore by the Greeks it is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Which Courage (to convince you, how much it is purely Mechanical) may proceed in some measure from the temper of Air, may be form'd by Discipline, and acquired by Use, or infused by Opinion; But that which is more natu∣ral, and so more National in some Countries, than in others, seems to arise from the heat or strength of Spirits about the Heart, which may a great deal depend upon the measure and the substance of the Food Men are used to: This made a Physician once say, He would make any Man a Coward with six weeks Dieting; For this Reason, the English having their Bellies full of Beef; have been esteemed most fit for any bold and desperate Action: This also may be a reason, why the Gentry in all places of the World, are braver than the Peasantry, whose
Hearts are depressed not only by Slavery, but short and heartless Food, the effect of their poverty: This is a Cause, why the Yeomanry of England are generally Stouter than in other Countries, because by the Constitution of the Kingdom they live easier as to Rents and Taxes; by the plenty thereof they fare better, than those of their Rank in any other Nation: Their Chief, and indeed constant Food being of Flesh; And among all Creatures, both Birds and Beasts, we shall still find those, that feed upon Flesh, to be the fierce and the bold; and on the contrary the fearful and faint-hearted to feed upon Grass, and upon Plants. Thus the veins of Courage seem to run like veins of Good Earth in a Country: And some People are so far from having a firm and constant Valour in them, that I can compare them to nothing better, than the Scare-Crows, Children make of straw, wherewith they stuff empty Cloaths, they look like Men, but they have no 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, no true fortitude in them.
Secondly, THE Actions of this Virtue are most splendid and great: therefore they were always ascribed to the Demy-gods by the Ancients; and Moses attributes Forti∣tude to God himself, when he saith, Jehovah
is a God of War, and commonly stileth him the Lord of Hosts. Now all Virtues are to be defined by those Objects, about which they are conversant, and by the Actions which they perform: By which Rule we may define Fortitude to be that Virtue, which teacheth us to moderate our Fears and our Confidence; at what time and place to encounter Dangers and Difficulties; when and where to decline and avoid them; e∣specially if there be any fear or hazard of Death, according to the Doctrine of Aristotle, of all things the most terrible and ghastly. The Courage therefore of a va∣liant and wise Man is chiefly seen in run∣ning the Risque of War, and all the mis∣chiefs, that follow upon it, for his Coun∣trey, for his Religion, for his Liberty: As for all matters of less importance, it is as e∣minent a part of Fortitude, to fear Death and fly Dangers as it is to undertake and en∣gage them. The Extremes opposed to this Virtue on one hand are Rashness, Fury, and the like; on the other side are opposite timorousness and want of Spirit. When he describes the Object of this Virtue, Ari∣stotle mistakes himself many ways; in o∣vervaluing some things, as Life and Li∣berty; which are of no price in compa∣rison
with the fear of God, or the Care of Religion, which he either did not regard, or knew nothing of it. As for Life, the Stoicks have delivered better Precepts con∣cerning it, when they tell us, non est magna res vivere, and consequently, non est magna res mori; tho, in regard of Death, so great a provision is to be made against it, as they believed, so many Circumstances of In∣sensibility and hardiness of Mind are urged, and all its Forces are mustered together, that they seem to have consented with A∣ristotle in making Death to be the most dreadful thing imaginable.
FOR if common Honesty and Integrity be valued, as it ought to be, the meanest part of it, is more precious, than all the possessions of this World, and will much o∣verballance the Torments of Death; and rather than we should suffer the least part of our Integrity to fall to the ground, we ought to venture upon all Perils whatsoe∣ver. And it is worth our observing, that there is no passion in the mind of Man so weak, but it masters the fear of Death; Re∣venge triumphs over it; Love slights it; Honour aspires after it; Grief flies to it; Nay pity the tenderest of them all, provo∣ked many of Otho's Followers to die in
compassion to their Emperour, who had slain himself; and Seneca adds, mori velle, non tantum Fortis, aut miser, sed etiam fa∣stidiosus potest, A Man would die, tho he were neither Valiant, nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing, so oft over and over. But then it is easiest to leave this World, when we have such expectations of a happier State, as the Christian Faith gives us; they, who are strangers to these hopes, fear Death, as Children are afraid to go in the dark; and as that natural Fear in Children, is increas∣ed with Tales, so is the other with the Con∣ceits of philosophers.
Secondly, THE Peripatetick extols Li∣berty as the Object of Fortitude: This hath been very much cryed up by the Ethnick Wisemen, and likewise by mistake among some Christians, such as the Gnosticks in the Apostles times, who were so far from being Valiant in the maintenance of their Faith, that they pleaded their Christian Liberty on the behalf of their cowardly Revolts from it in the time of Persecution: And some Errours of another kind about Liber∣ty, have been the cause of Wars and Mur∣ders, of Bloudshed and Rebellions, as much as any other thing whatsoever. Saint Paul,
who certainly understood the Nature, and the price of Liberty much better, than Ari∣stotle, left us this Rule; Art Thou called a Slave (for so I rather render the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉) care not for it; that thing which Men contend for so hotly, He doth not think it worth regarding: so far was the Apostle from esteeming it at that rate, as that un∣der pretence thereof Wars might be raised, Robberies and all manner of Villanies com∣mitted, and all to preserve that, which no Man ever knew, what is is, and no Man ever yet had it: For if by this word we mean, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the licen∣tious power of doing what we list, it is nei∣ther possible for Men living in Society to have it, neither if it were possible, were it either safe or fit. For a Meteor therefore of the Brain, a Fiction, and a thing of naught to raise such stirs in the World, to spill so much Bloud, and to hazard so many Souls, must needs be an horrible attempt, and whosoever they be that do it, their Judg∣ment sleeps not. Without any farther De∣bate then, we do assert, that the true Object of Fortitude is Danger, and it is the duty of a Valiant Man, who must be a good Man, to behave himself without terrour; yet so that he be sensible, it behoves him some∣times
to fear; For to be altogether without Fear, is rather to be furious and mad, than valiant; and to be fool-hardy, or needlesly to precipitate our selves upon Dangers, is the grossest Folly that may be; and no Vice is more to be dreaded, or gives plainer signs of a very corrupt Heart, than the want of this Fear, when there is just occasion for it: And no other end ought a Man to pro∣pose to himself, than common Honesty and right Reason, neither ought he to fear any thing but Turpitude and Dishonesty.
NOW because there are sundry things, which abuse us, and carry a shew of Forti∣tude, yet have not the true reason of it; we will see what they are: The first is called by Aristotle, Politick or legal Fortitude, when Men for fear of the Law, and the punish∣ments of it, or for hope of Reward, from the desire of Honour, or to avoid Disgrace, put on a seeming Fortitude: whereas real Valour doth brave and great things ex offi∣cio, as I may so say, out of Conscience only that it is our duty so to act, and not out of fear of any Command or Injunction: To this Notion may be applied that famous Story of the Athenians, who desiring much to discover the true reason of the stoutness of the Spartans, sent a Wise and Sagacious
Gentleman to them, under the Guise of an Ambassadour, but in truth to spy out the Spartan Discipline, and make report of it at his return: Being thus dispatched, He made very close Remarks upon their Cu∣stoms and Manners; And when he came back, at a full Assembly of the People and Senate met together, He caused to be brought before them, Halters, Whips, Gib∣bets, Racks, and other Engines of Torture; thereby intimating, that the Fear of these made the Spartans Valiant, and not any re∣gard they had for Right, Virtue, or Conscience.
TO this we may add very pertinently some other Reasons, that move Men to per∣form desperate Acts rather than Valiant. So a Soldier in Lucullus his Army, who had lost his Purse, and being called to Fight, be∣haved himself bravely, and got the day a∣gainst the Enemy; but being taken notice of by his Captain, as a stout Fellow, and commanded to do a piece of Service, in which he must needs run some evident dan∣ger▪ he desired to be excused, and said, eat, qui Zonam perdidit; He had found his Purse, and meant to sleep in a whole Skin: Ano∣ther of this way of Life, being sickly, ex∣pressed much Courage in daring and adven∣turing upon any hard Enterprize: His Cap∣tain
in Compassion to his infirmities com∣mits him to the Physician; and by this means being restored to perfect Health, he is no longer the man he was, but bore back when Danger was seen, saying, he now knew, that Life was sweet, which before he did not esteem so. More instances might be given of men, whose Profession is the Exercise of Courage, but these may suffice to shew, that the Fortitude which we call Politick, comes short of the true Valour, which we account a Virtue.
A second Mock-Fortitude is that, which is gained by much experience, and may be named experiential Fortitude: And this Fable may explain to us what experience is; it is of one, who pretended to have been miraculously cured of Blindness, where∣with he was born, by St. Alban, or some other Saint at the Town of St. Albans; and that the Duke of Gloucester being there, to be satisfied of the truth of the Miracle, asked the man, What Colour is this? who by answering it was green, discovered himself and was punished for a Counterfeit; for though, by his sight newly received, he might distinguish between green and red, and all other Colours as well as any one else; yet he could not possibly know at first which
of them was called green or red, or by any other Name: by this we may understand, there be two kinds of Knowledge where∣of the one is nothing else but Sense; the other is called Science or the Knowledge of the Truth of Propositions and how things are called: Both of these sorts are but ex∣perience. Now this experien•••• in a valiant Man, makes him ready and apt to lay hold of any occasion, that shall provoke him to fight; whereas men that are not experienced are commonly fearful; or if they are by chance daring and bold, they are for the most part unfortunate, by reason of their Mistake in Time and Place, and other Circumstances, which well-experienc'd men do know: Wherefore of Fortitude up∣on Experience and Education the Switzers are a pregnant example, who being trained up to the practices of War, have made it a Trade of Life; they are every man's Mo∣ney, and let the Cause be what it will, good or bad, it is no part of their Care, so their Wages be duly paid them; such men are commonly fit for service, but be∣ing Mercenaries they many times fail, and change their parties upon change of Hire: like the Gladiators of old Rome, they make no Conscience where they fight, but sight
they will, only because necessity or hire ex∣acts it of them.
A third kind of Seeming Courage, is that, which arises from Anger: Now Cou∣rage in a large signification, is the absence of Fear in the presence of any Evil what∣soever; but in a strict and more common meaning it 〈◊〉〈◊〉 contempt of Wounds and Death, when they oppose a Man in the way to his End; therefore Anger or sud∣den Courage is nothing but the Appetite or Desire of overcoming present Opposition: But it being, as I have called it, a sudden Passion, it is wont to incite men and cast them improvidently upon dangers: there goes a common Saying, and it passeth for Ari∣stotles, That, Ira est fortitudinis Cos: But it is more likely, that he, who knew so well the use of good Reason would not commit the sharpening of Fortitude; to so harsh an In∣strument; but rather do by Fortitude, when it needs sharpening, as Barbers do by their Rasors, pour Oyl upon the Stone: For Rea∣son is alone able to beget in us a true Forti∣tude, though Anger and Fury never interpose.
A Fourth kind of seeming Courage is valour upon Hope; when we undertake great matters upon Expectation of Victory, Honour, Glory, or such like Vanities; for
Hope is nothing but the Expectation of Good, as Fear is the Expectation of Evil; there are Causes alternately working in the mind, some that make us expect Good; and some that make us expect Evil; if the former prevail then the whole Passion is Hope, if the latter, then the whole is Fear: Now Hope is the greatest Cheat to, and Abuser or Men; for in this are founded all the vain, though specious Attempts, which men have cast themselves upon; whether it be of the Arena, where the Gladiators sported themselves in the most bloody and cruel Exercises, for no other end but only Hope of Conquest, or whether it be any other gallant Madness and Vain-Glory, such as reading of Romances may produce in pusil∣animous men, as it did in Don Quixotte.
UNTO the same order of things we may add all those famous Madnesses and Furies so much sung of, and celebrated by Prose-Writers and Poets, I mean the Olympian, Nemaean, Pythian and Isthmaean Games; wherein the choicest and fairest young men tryed their utmost Strength to no purpose: For it is so noted, whosoever won the Victo∣ry in the Olympian Games, were for ever after good for nothing: All the Sun and Dust they so patiently endured, was only
for a Crown of Bays; that they might not enter their Towns by the Gates or Com∣mon Passages but be carried home upon mens Shoulders: Were it worth our while to con∣sider these things, it would strike us into an Amazement, to see, what Honour hath ever been done to mere Trifles, to things utterly of no use, and that for so many Hun∣dred Years space, from Thirty Years or thereabouts before the Building of Rome, until almost the expiration of that Empire, with a general Applause and Concourse of almost the whole World: Upon this have we grounded all our books and monuments of Learning, which concern our Epochaes and Dates of time, as it were to bear Witness against our selves, how vain we are by making and framing our memorials by those things, that were the greatest Follies, that ever were.
BUT this may represent to us the Nature of Mankind; and shew us by what springs they are moved; how the little hopes of empty Honour or Profit will drive 'em in∣to the most hazardous Attempts; how ea∣sily they swallow the most bitter Pills, when they are gilt over; how ambitious∣ly they hunt after the Troubles of great∣ness, and basely adore the fine and gaw∣dy nothings of this Life.
ONE kind of false Fortitude still remains, and that is Courage upon ignorance, when through want of Experience and Knowledg we rush unadvisedly upon the Swords point, and walk upon the very edge of a Preci∣pice: For that of Thucydides is most cer∣tain, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Ignorance and Unexperience makes men bold and foolhardy, but good Advice is naturally slow-placed: Thus it is com∣monly observed, that your fresh-water Sol∣diers go to the Battel, as chearfully as if they went to a Wedding, but as soon as they see their own Blood, their Hearts fail them. Something allied is this Valour up∣on Ignorance with that upon Hope; for therefore do men run upon Danger, be∣cause they have a Hope to speed well, and come off without Harm: For as soon as the Danger, which they knew not, begins to appear in its own Colours their Con∣stancy leaves them, and none more readily run away: The Men of Argos waging Warr with the Sicyonians, and beating them often it happened that the Syconians en∣tertained the Spartans for help who com∣ing into the Field, in Habit and Furni∣ture like the Syconians, whilst they were undiscovered, the People of Argos fought
stoutly, as against their accustomed Ene∣mies, but as soon as they percieved they were Spartans, without more adoe, they fled.
MANY more things might be said by way of farther opening the Nature of For∣titude, but we will shut up all with this one Conclusion, that it is not Hope, nor Anger, nor Reward, nor any thing else, but only the consideration of the Goodness and Lawfulness of the Cause, that warrants men to be valiant: else Thieves and Rob∣bers might be accounted so, whose Courage is like Zeal and Learning in a Heretick, wholly bent upon doing Mischief; else rash and unadvised Persons, and such as palliate their Lust under the name of Love, and every one that is carried on by the strength and violence of any Passion whatsoever, may be esteemed men or true Courage and Fortitude: Nam impetu quodam & instinctu currere ad Mortem, commune cum multis, de∣liberare verò & causas ejus expendere, utque suaserit Ratio, vitae mortisque consilium susci∣pere vel ponere, ingentis animi est.
YET after all if we look into a Christian man as he is proposed to us in the Gospel, we may justly wonder, to what purpose God hath planted in us this Faculty and Passion of Courage; since the Characters
of a Christian are Patience, Humility and Gentleness, which Virtues are to possess the Room of Anger and Resentment, that stirs up Fortitude; why else are we to obey the Precepts of suffering Wrong rather than go to Law; of yielding the Coat to him who would take the Cloak? But there are two Cases among Christians, wherein Bloodshed is allowed; first, in case of Ju∣stice, when a Malefactor dyes for his Crime; secondly, in case of publick War and de∣fence of our Country or our selves; for the Christian Religion is no Enemy to it: There∣fore John the Baptist instead of advising the Soldier to lay aside his Weapons as unlaw∣ful, instructs him rather in his Calling, not to wrong any place by Pillage, nor to mutiny in dislike of his Pay: These being the two prin∣cipal Vices of a Soldier, which the Preacher of Repentance would have him avoid.
TO shut up this point; we must not be too prodigal of Life, nor trifle it away upon every Occasion; but we must freely expose it, when we truly know upon what Oc∣casion to spare, or upon what to spend it: a violent Lust, an ungovernable Rage, height∣ned by Provocation, or enflamed by the Spirit of Wine, may so furnish out a Hector, to a Duel, and prompt him on to dye,
as a Fool dieth: But the Foundation of great and Heroical performances, the just and rational, the considerate and sedate, the constant, perpetual and uniform Con∣tempt of Death in all the Shapes thereof, is only derived from the Christian Principle; this inspires Passive Valour, and furnishes in∣vincible Martyrs for the Stake; this excites Active Courage and fits out undaunted Sol∣diers, and Generals for the Field: For hereby we know where, and when and in what Cases to offer our selves to dye, which is a thing of greater Skill, than many of them suppose, who are most forward to do it: bruitishly to run upon, and hasten unto death, is a thing that many can do, as we see Beasts oftentimes rush upon the Spears of such as pursue them: But wisely to look into, and weigh every Occasion; and as Judgment and true Discretion shall di∣rect, so to entertain a Resolution either of Life or Death, this is true and real Fortitude.
Fortitude despises Dan∣gers and Death.
A Cou∣rage may be some∣times Mechani∣cal.
Fortitude defined.
Honesty and Inte∣grity the most va∣luable things.
The true Object of Fortitude Danger.
How the Valour of the Spar∣tans was tried.
A Man may do desperate Actions, and not be Valiant.
Experi∣ence ne∣cessary in a valiant man.
The Olym∣pian Games great Fol∣lies.
Honour and Pro∣fit drive men upon the great∣est Ha∣zards.
The Law∣fulness of the Cause warrants men to be valiant.
For it is a common thing with many to run headlong to Death, through a certain in∣stinct and violence of Nature; but it is the part of a wi••e & great Soul to deliberate well and weigh the Cau••es of it; then as Rea∣son shall perswade to take up or lay down the Intent either of Life or Deat••.
Christia∣nity not opposite to Military Disci∣pline.
Christian Principles the best Foundati∣on of cou∣ragious perform∣ances.