ward strength for resistance. Insomuch that great minds, when they meet with great dangers, are oftentimes staggered; as the poet intimates ", when Ajax came forth to battle, Τρῶας δὲ τρόμος αἰνὸς ὑπήλυθε γυῖα ἕκαστον, Εκτορί τ ̓ αὐτῷ θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι πάτασσεν. Fear had the other Trojans all opprest;

Yea, Hector's heart panted within his breast.

A third effect may be, a weakness of the faculties of the mind, and the spirits in the body; whereby the one is made unfit for search or counsel, the other, for service or execution. And hence (as Plutarch noteth) it imports in the Greek, a binding or shutting up, and so withdrawing and indisposing the soul for action.

And such actions as fear forceth a man upon, are presumed to be so weak and unnatural, that it is a maxim in the law, "Per metum gesta pro non ratis habentur:" Those things which we do in fear, are void and invalid to bind, when the fear which forceth them, is removed.—And as it is in the civil state, so it is in the moral commonwealth of the soul; there are three principal ways to infer weakness, foreign incursions, intestine tumults, and an emptying of the parts; all which are to be seen in the extremity of fear. Where first, two things are to be granted, one concerning the body; and the other, the mind. The first is, that the spirits, being of the most strong, subtile, and quick motion, are the principal instruments of intercourse, either in negotiation to, or service from, reason. The other, that the mind, being of a spiritual and elevating nature, retains then the perfectest power of operation, when it least of all suffers the incursion of grosser passions: which yet I understand not of all manner of ministry and admixtion of appetite with reason, (as if the regular motions of inferior powers did not serve to sharpen the counsels of the higher) but only of invasion and tyranny.

Which granted, we may observe all the three former causes of weakness in an extremity of fear. For First, there is a confused and unserviceable mixture of passion and reason; the passion with too much courage and assault breaking in, and distracting the advices of reason, which is foreign

incursion; for though these two are not parts of a different regiment, yet they are of a different nation, (if I may so speak) the one belonging to the higher, the other, to the lower part, or region, of the soul. Secondly, there is tumult and disorder amongst the spirits, which is civil dissension. Thirdly, there is a retiring of them to the principal castle or fort, the heart, whereby the outward quarters are left naked and ungarrisoned; which though it be a strengthening of the better, yet it is a weakening of the major part; and this answereth unto emptying or vacuity. By all which, both reason is made unfit to counsel, (all the conceits thereof being choaked and stifled with a disorderly throng of spirits and passions) and the body likewise is to be benumbed, that though our discourse were entire, yet it could not be there seconded with any successful service. And hence are those many ill effects of fear upon the body, whiteness of hair, trembling, silence, thirst, paleness, horror, gnashing of teeth, emission of excrements: the outward parts being over-cooled, and the inward melted by the strength of the spirit retiring thither which Homer hath thus described, speaking of a coward :

His colour comes and goes; nor doth he sit
Long in one place: he croucheth to his feet:
His heart pants strong, and intercepts his breath;
His teeth do gnash, with but the thoughts of death.
Brave men are still the same, not much aghast,

When the first brunt of their attempts is past.

Where, by the way, we may observe what Seneca also tells us, that fear doth usually attend the beginnings of great enterprises, even in the worthiest men." Which mindeth me of one more (and that a useful and profitable) effect of this passion; I mean, care, wisdom, and caution, which ever proceeds from a moderate fear, which is a dictate of Nature. And, therefore, the weakest fishes swim together in shoals; and the weakest birds build in the smallest and outermost boughs, which are hardest to come unto. And we may ob

q. 19.

P Cal. Rhodig. 1. 7. c. 47.-Plut. de Hom.-Arist. Prob. sect. 27. § 1, 2, 3. Iliad. N. 280. Colorem mutat Polypus, quia timidum animal. Plut. 1. q. n. Arist. Prob. 27. q. 3. Vid. Sen. de Ira, l. 2. c. 3.-Plut. in Arato. 3 Βουλευτικούς ποιεῖ, Arist. Rhet. 1. 2. Vid. Pol. 1. 5. c. 8. Φοβηθήσεσθαι τὸν

t

serve that Nature hath made the weakest creatures swiftest, as the dove, thehare, the hart: and they say, that " the hare is very quick at hearing, and sleepeth with his eyes open, every way fitted to discover danger before it surprise him. For as in religion, a fear that is governed by the word of God, so proportionably in morality, a fear grounded by the word of reason, is the principle of wisdom." As security and supineness is the root of folly, which Tiberius replied to the petition of Hortalus, wherein he requested of the senate a contribution from the publick treasury, to recover the honour of his family, which now was sunk and began to wither: "Industry," saith he, "will languish, idleness will increase, if no man have fear or hope in himself, but all will securely expect a supply from others, in themselves lazy, and burdensome unto us." And it is the judgement of Tacitus, upon one of the wisest policies which ever that emperor practised, I mean, his writing to the legions abroad, tanquam adepto principatu,' as if he were already emperor, when at home in the senate he used only modesty and refusals, that he did it out of fear;-so wise a counsellor was his passion unto him. And we find that some great commanders have caused their scout-watches to be unarmed, that fear might make them the more vigilant. And therefore this passion is the instrument of discipline, seasoning the mind, as groundcolours do a table, to receive those beauties and perfections which are to be super-induced. '

2

σοφὸν οὐδαμῶς, εὐλαβηθήσεσθαι δε'. Laert. in Zen. 1. 8. c. 18. 1. 4. c. 8.

t Elian. de Anim.

u Plut. Sympos. 1. 4. q. 5. Homerus viros fortissimos semper in pugna describit armatos. Et Hannibal in tot pugnis nunquam vulneratus. Plut. in Pelopida, et in Marcello. Languescet indus

tria, intendetur socordia, si nullus ex se metus aut spes: securi omnes aliena subsidia expectabunt, sibi ignavi, nobis graves. Annal. 1. 2. ▾ Paulus Emil. apud Plut. Apoph. 1. 44. Vid. Clem. Alex. Pædag. 1. 1. c. 9.

Plin. 1. 6. ep. 17.

CHAP. XXIX.

Of that particular affection of Fear which is called Shame. What it is. Whom we thus fear. The ground of it, evil of turpitude, injustice, intemperance, sordidness, softness, pusillanimity, flattery, vain-glory, misfortune, ignorance, pragmaticalness, deformity, greatness of mind, unworthy correspondencies, &c. Shame, vicious and virtuous.

a

BESIDES this general consideration of the passion of Fear, there is one particular thereof, which calleth for some little observation, namely, shame, which is a fear of just disgrace and reproof in the minds of those, whose good opinion we do or ought to value:' as he said in the poet,

Πουλυδάμας μοι πρῶτος ἐλεγχείην ἀναθήσει.

b

Now those whom we thus fear, are wise men, (for so Polydamas is said to look behind and before him) aged men, and all whose presence we reverence, as parents, rulers, counsellors, friends. Any whom we ourselves admire, or who admire us. We fear disgrace with those whom we admire, because their judgement of us is, in our own apprehension, a kind of touchstone, which if we cannot suffer the trial of, argues us to be but corrupt and uncurrent metal and we fear it with those who admire us, because as every man is willing to see his face, when it is clean, in that glass which represents it fairest; so when it is foul, of all other he shunneth that most. In the former case, we are in danger to miss what we desired; in the other, we are in danger to shipwreck what we before enjoyed.

We are apt to be ashamed with our friends, because their opinion we value; and with our enemies, because theirs we fear: with our friends, because they are grieved; with our enemies, because they are delighted with that which shames

us.

Again, we fear in this regard rigid and severe men, who

• Φόβος ἀδοξίας Arist. Eth. 1. 1. c. 15. Λύπη τις καὶ ταραχὴ περὶ τὰ εἰς àdožíav. &c. Arist. Rhet. 1. 2. c. 6. 4660s wgoσdokia yoyov. Damasc. de Orthod. fd. l. 2. c. 15. Aul. Gell. 1. 9. c. 6. b Ὁ γὰρ οἷος ὅρα πρόσσω καὶ ὀπίσσω. 11 Σ.

are not ready to forgive, nor to put candid and charitable constructions upon what we do. Therefore when Cato a was present, (who was Vir rigidæ innocentiæ,' a stern and severe censor of the manners of men) none durst call for the obscene spectacles of their Floralia, being more awed by the authority of the man, than allured by the pleasures of the plays.

Likewise busy and garrulous men, because they enquire into our crimes; and having disclosed, do divulge them. For which cause we fear, in this case the multitude; because an ill name is like an ill face, the broader it is drawn, and the more light it hath about it, it appears the more deformed. As a little gold beaten into thin leaves, a little water drawn into a thin steam and vapour, seems wider than it was at first; so even lesser crimes, being multiplied through the mouths of many, do grow into a spreading cloud, and obscure a man's name. For he is presumed to be void either of wisdom or modesty, that doth not fear many eyes. We fear innocent and virtuous men; their presence aweth us from liberty of sinning, and maketh us blush if they deprehend us in it; because examples have a proportionable authority over the heart of man, as laws have, which we do not trespass without fear. And therefore the philosopher adviseth to live always so, as if some grave, and serious, and severe person were ever before us; to behave ourselves' sub custode, et pædagogo,' as under the eye of a keeper; because such a man's conversation will either regulate ours, or disgrace it. Vicious men do the less fear one another, by how much they stand in need of mutual pardon: as we find Sertorius (if I forget not) giving those soldiers of the enemy's army their lives, who had but one eye, he being himself monopththalmos.d

Again; we fear envious and malevolent persons, because such look upon our actions with prejudice: and as Momus, when he could not find fault with the face in the picture of Venus, picked a quarrel at her slipper; so these men will

d Aidéopal

a Liv. 1. 39.-l'al. Mar. 1. 2. c. 10. Vid. etiam 1. 4. c. 5. non Pompeium modo, sed Tрwas kal Tpwadas. Cic. ep. ad Attic. 1. 7. ep. 1. Sen. ep. 11, et 25. Cydias orator Atheniensis apud Aristotelem, Rhet. 1. 2. c. 6. d Et Persæ adunco naso præditos in pretio habent, qued Cyrus talis esset. Plut. Apoph. Aristid. Orat. de Paraphthegmate.