1714. Theory) of the several Systems upon one another, from No. 635. whence results the Harmony of the Universe. In Monday, Eternity a great deal may be done of this kind. I find Dec. 20, it of use to cherish this generous Ambition; for besides the secret Refreshment it diffuses through my Soul, it engages me in an Endeavour to improve my Faculties, as well as to exercise them conformably to the Rank I now hold among reasonable Beings, and the hope I have of being once advanced to a more exalted Station The other, and that the Ultimate end of Man, is the Enjoyment of God, beyond which he cannot form a Wish. Dim at best are the Conceptions we have of the Supreme Being, who, as it were, keeps his Creatures in Suspence, neither discovering, nor hiding himself; by which means, the Libertine hath a Handle to dispute his Existence, while the most are content to speak him fair, but in their Hearts prefer every trifling Satisfaction to the Favour of their Maker, and ridicule the good Man for the Singularity of his Choice. Will there not a time come, when the Free-thinker shall see his impious Schemes overturned, and be made a Convert to the Truths he hates; when deluded Mortals shall be convinced of the Folly of their Pursuits, and the few Wise who followed the Guidance of Heaven, and, scorning the Blandishments of Sense and the sordid Bribery of the World, aspired to a celestial Abode, shall stand possessed of their utmost Wish in the Vision of the Creator? the Mind heaves a Thought now and then towards him, and hath some transient Glances of his Presence: When, in the Instant it thinks itself to have the fastest hold, the Object eludes its Expectations, and it falls back tir'd and baffled to the Ground, Doubtless there is some more perfect way of conversing with heavenly Beings. Are not Spirits capable of mutual Intelligence unless immersed in Bodies, or by their Intervention? Must superior Natures depend on inferior for the main Privi lege of sociable Beings, that of conversing with, and knowing each other? What would they have done, had Matter never been created? I suppose, not have lived in eternal Solitude. As incorporeal Substances are of a nobler Order, so, be sure, their manner of Inter Here course No. 635. course is answerably more expedite and intimate. This Monday, method of Communication, we call Intellectual Vision, Dec, 20, as somewhat Analogous to the Sense of Seeing, which 1714. is the Medium of our Acquaintance with this visible World. And in some such way can God make himself the Object of immediate Intuition to the Blessed; and as he can, 'tis not improbable that he will, always condescending, in the Circumstances of doing it, to the Weakness and Proportion of finite Minds. His Works but faintly reflect the Image of his Perfections; 'tis a Second-hand Knowledge: To have a just Idea of him, it may be necessary that we see him as he is. But what is that? 'Tis something that never entered into the Heart of Man to conceive; yet, what we can easily conceive will be a Fountain of Unspeakable, of ever lasting Rapture. All created Glories will fade and die away in his Presence. Perhaps it will be my Happiness to compare the World with the fair Exemplar of it in the Divine Mind; perhaps, to view the original Plan of those wise Designs that have been executing in a long Succession of Ages. Thus employed in finding out his Works, and contemplating their Author, how shall I fall prostrate and adoring, my Body swallowed up in the Immensity of Matter, my Mind in the Infinitude of his Perfections! The End of the Eighth and Last Volume. NOTES TO VOL. VII PAGE 1. Mr. Methuen, later Sir Paul Methuen. PAGE 3. Motto. Horace, Epist. I. i. xviii. 6. See B. I. Dedica tion. PAGE 5. In talking, etc. King John, I. i. 202-3, 205 [" And No. 474, 424, 429, and 440. talking"; "But this "], PAGE 7. Infirmary. See Nos. -This letter has been ascribed to Steele's friend Richard Parker, Fellow of Merton. His criticism of Steele's first literary effort (a comedy) induced the latter to withhold it from the public. To him also Edmund Smith submitted his translation of Longinus (Johnson, Lives, ii. 242). He is probably the "old friend" who contributed two letters (in a similar strain) to the Tatler (Nos. 89 and 112), to which Mr. Bickerstaff gave the name of "Right Country Letters." See a letter by 'J. R.' in Steele's Epist. Corresp. ii. 595. Mr. Campbell. See note, vol. v. p. 285. -Jacobus. A gold coin, struck in the reign of James I., worth about twenty-five shillings. PAGE 8. Motto. Terence, Eunuchus, I. i. 12-13 (57-8). PAGE II. Motto. Horace, Ars Poet. 41. PAGE 12. From the Dispensary. Garth's Dispensary, ii. 95-6. PAGE 13. Doway and Denain. Douai capitulated to Marlborough and Prince Eugene on 14th June 1710. Villars defeated the Earl of Albemarle before Denain on 24th July 1712, and soon thereafter captured Douai. -In A is advertised an Essay towards a History of Dancing, the book referred to in No. 466. See note, vol. vi. p. 297. PAGE 14. PAGE 15. Motto. Horace, Odes, II. iv. 5-8. Wise and London. See note, vol. i. p. 314. Motto. Horace, Ars Poet. 71-2. No. 475. No. 476. No. 477. No. 478. who advises his Son. See Osborne's -A Baby dress'd. See No. 277 (vol. iv.). PAGE 20. And perhaps the Ballance, etc. Steele would not have PAGE 19. The author Advice to a Son. been surprised at the turn in Parisian fashion at the close of the PAGE 23. Motto. Horace, Ars Poet. 398. No. 479. Henry de Bracton, De Legibus, i. 10. Cf. No. 482, infra. PAGE 25. One of our famous Lawyers. -Socrates. See the anecdotes in Xenophon's Symposium, ii. PAGE 27. Motto. Horace, Sat. vii. 85-6. -Those old Manuscripts. See No. 76 (vol. i.) and Nos. 84 and 97 (vol ii.). No. 480. |