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ΤΗE SYSTEMS OF ANCΙΕΝΤ PHILOSOPHY. 15 Epicurus attempte lo account for the various operation in Epicurus.
natur Withou havinii ecourserio a Supremo Boing. His hol and positive assertions however, betra nothing Ut presumption, and vanity and in the place of a rationes system, alloWing the agenCyof the divine,ili ho has substituted an hypothesis to lanciful undimagina 'o suppor an olea and decidet opinion A tota dis- belles in a stat o future reward and punishment Was the Onsequence of his doctrines. His opinioris, hoWever, heCarne sopopular that the obtainei sor in the honour of a statuo ut Athon. and the soon adestheir Way into Italy, here, amon arefine and luxurious eopte the were eiter Calculate to meet illi proselyte than the severe an more Chaste doctrines of Zeno. His system o philosoph has been incorporated into a heautis ut
Latin poeni v Lucretius who wroteranon the origin and natur of Lucretius ille Epi
lliings, in compliance illi the dogma o Epicurus, in si books, distinguished sor the trui poetical style in Whichalienare composed, the richnes of his ima gery the sublimit of his language, and theoriginalit of his ideas. Upon the renovation os human eings, in immortalit of the SENECA.
soul, and an after state Seneca, like ali the philosopher enumerate labove, peuks With great inconsistency. lalterinito humati prideas musti the prospectis the oul' immortali ty the light o un- assisted reason, With ait the Xperiences of philosophy, Was,hollyunable' conduci the master of the disserent systems, have described, to this encouragin and important Conclusion In thedoctrines of this philosopher, the separate existence of the oui Extincti in libe
aster death is asserted to continue ni unti it is annihil afodina' ''S'
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Consolations o Murcia o the demis of his son. Consol ad ar- Ciana, cap. 26- 19.
16 THE SYSTEM OF ANCΙΕΝΤ PHILOSOPHY. genera conflagrationis the natural system, Whichris to reduco allthing to thei origina elements. Cum tempus advenerit are his ords quo se mundus renovaturus extinguat viribus ista Sc. Mortali se suis caedent, et sidera sideribus incurrent et Omni flagrante materia, uno igne, quicquid nunc ex disposito lucet, ardebit. Nos quoque elices animae, e eterna sortitae, Cum Deo visum erit iterum ista moliri, labentibus unctis, et ipsae parva ruinae ingentis accessio, in antiqua elementa vertemur. V is realdisbelios, moreover in a future state, is distincti expressed in these consolation to arcia, Where e term the future,orid, depicted by the poets- system os perseo delusion, and ressed ut illi imaginar terrors. Luserunt ista poetae, h says et vanisse agitavere terroribus. ors omnium dolorum et soluti est, et finis ultra quam mala nostra non exeunt, quae nos in illam se tranquillitatem, in qua antequam naSCeremur, jaCuimus, reponit. Death he determinos tome the final periodi mortes sufferings; o bea state,' ond which the evit ostia presentiondition anno penetrate, and whicli meret restores iis to that state os tranquillity, ornon-eXistence, rom,hiCli,e pruniinto lise. In another par of Ab ouil, hapter of his Orks e Consider death the nil and Do the punishment of
nature- mori naturae finis est, non poena. CICERO, ni herethen writer perhaps, shall, finit more sublime notions
of tho Deity, than hos whicli are occasionali interspersed throughthe writing o Cicero. Above at things, he says, e Should belleve in the existence of a Supremeraeing, Who presides ove ali the evenis
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est the good the ei οy; hat he penetrates into, an is consCious of Whateve passes in the mos secret recesse of Our hearis ;-thathe reat thecius and the implous accordinito thei respective meritS;-tha the tria means os acquirin his avolar, and of beingacceptabie in his ficti, is no by the iis os riches and magnificenoe in his Worship buti presentingitin an hear pure and lameless, and by adorinthim illi an uti ignei and pros uia Veneration. Sentiments so sublime a these proceedin froni an unenlightened 2 et . a.. heathen, could only have resulted rom deep reflection, clos study, and si om tracing man to the sirs principies O his constitution, and perceiving that he was placet in earin in subservieno anilioniaget an omnipotent eing therars cause of ali hings. In disCUSSing, ἡόα ex. hOWever, the immortalit of the oul, he is uili of the oststrihing inconsistencies and contradictions. mis mode os arguiniis sussicient to convince iis, either that he id not intoni t give his genuine opinion to the orid, and ni auitate lolio uestions e P08 e se no xed
plexing and opposite view in Which the might e represented; orthat, not illistari ling the contrar statemenis Catteret through his ritings, he hadiso deliberate no setile opinion respectinginem. In his Tusculati uestion he peni declares, stat as e possesse nothingie re hirth, s after death, shal be deprive los very thing that belongeduo iis inclise, and return t Our originalnothinilness. itfi reuarito divination me states that ali nations ivere Aoniiunt os divina.
agreed in belleviniit existence, andi reasons ori iti examples, ν' ' on the supposition that it might be prouod like other facts by testimon and experience. ut the facts whichie adduces aro ali manis est impostures. alle Sibylline oracles are the mos remui kable
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predictions of the heathen orti committe to writing whicli are D. 4ihi Pii. Rul, ituOUt XCEPtion manis est impostures.-Herodotus bellove ltha divination an oracle had thei rise in Egypt It is hoWever, much more probabi that the arose rom traditional accounts of the intercours of the human race With the Creator in therars ages,
Prob ble,rigui asi is related in the book of Genesis.
Such are the principes features os ancient philosophy, Whicli,ehave traced rom the East, diffusing themselves overtersin, Arabia, an Egypt and thetice transplante into Greece aridotaly, and finali penetratin into the remotest paris Os ille Roman empire. A the perio os ur Saviour' appearance on arti, Athei sui ad Do been est lished even in the dari est night o Paganism, and meri generali prosessed meisticat' principies. HOWever unani- motis the philosopher might be in thei belle of the existetice an lunit of one Supreme eing, et thei sentiment concerning the nature and immortalit of the foui, were extremel divided. e frequently in the Roman orators, and historians, and poets, describiti death a the perio and final Close of though and sentiment. et a the fame time it must he admitted that whenever Cicero, Tacitus are Peahingis latare samo the seem to realithrough thes Oomis Heathenism, to calch a limpse almos of thesour immortali , and rese a future state; -the soa Hostitit a sublimit o conception and language, far heyond the limitedrange of natura Comprehension, and linenlightene by the truthrevealed; he are elevatedo a sphere os illumination, here
conclude that it is possibi sor even the mos learne ingenuit to
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avoid inconsistencies, in maintaining an artificiat system, Which doestio tali truth sor it basis an accordingly, shall,Ot e sur-prised by discovering that the philosophers, the orators the poets, and the historians of antiquit waver etWeen a vas variet ofopinion adoptiniani discardin principies as may best sui theestablishment of soni favourit theor so the time; no eagei lyadvocatin the notioris of Ome novel Seci, and O abruptlyabandoning themo grasse ut Ome ne Shado of the truth and finalty consistent Willi thenaseives, ni in the irregularit anil inconstanc of thei principies, and in greedit givinitiato very theo retica absurdity as,ildi crast invention might embod it into ephemera existerice. In the celebrated reatis De Natura Deorum, V and we are a vare, that, philosopher ver attainod tofuch masteri and comprehensive noWledge of the conflictingopinion of the learnei sectarisis fili vpon the natur Of God, and tho qualit os the humari solii, solio immortal Cicero Lucilius is introducod dolivering the ollowin sentiment: - Quid
V enim potest esse tam apertum tamque perspicuum, Cum Coelum suspeximus, CoeleStiaque Contemplati sumus, quam esSe aliquod numen Praestantissimae mentis, quo haec regantur Quod ni ita esset, qui potuisset assensu omnium dicere Ennius 8 spice hoc sublime candens, quem ni ocant omnes Iovem; illum ver et Jovem, et dominatorem rerum, et Omnia nutu regentem, et, Ut ridem Ennius, patrem Diυumque hominumque, et PraeSentem, RCV praepotentem Deum. V gain in the realis De Senectute,
the fame philosopher, heri hecis arguing, si om it divine poWers, the simple, unmixed indestructabie, an indivisibi natur of the human solii ad Is his own testimon to the sentiment of Xenophon
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upon the sanae deepi important subjeci, and quotes stomahe Greeli historian in sollowini iovissima verba of the illustrious Cyrus Nolito arbitrari, o mihi carissimi filii, me olim a vobis discessero,
nusquam, aut nullum fore; ne enim, dum eram Vobiscum, se animum meum videbatis; sed eum esse in hoc Corpore, ex iis
rebus, quas gerebam, intelligebatis eundem igitur esso credi- tote, etiam si nullum videbitis.' Speakin immediatel aster-Ward of thos eminent characters, Wh had Conqueret for them- solves the gratitude of posterity, he subjoinS in his Wn person An enses me tantos labores diurnos nocturnosque domi mili- tiaeque suscepturum fuisse, si iisdem finibus gloriam meam, quibus vitam essem terminaturus Z Nescio quomodo animus, erigens se, posteritatem semper ita prospiCiebat, quasi, Cum XCessisset vita, tum denique victurus esset. Quod quidem ni ita so habe - et, ut animi immortales essent, haud optimi cujusque animus maxime ad immortalem gloriam niteretur. V-Cicer Was noti lyone of the mos enlightened men os ali antiqui , ut e like vise rote more pon his subjeci, in addition to his own knowledge, than an other individual, though in the mana gement of it,
have quoted above, and whicli do so much credit to the intellectualcomprehensionis an eathen philosopher, guide oni in formingliis conclusion by the simple and desective light of nature, Wo might adduce severat ther quotations rom his disserent Oitas, herein he expresses himself ither oubisuli or oldi assirin his dis-holios, respecting the oul' immortalib. In the sirs book of his Tusculari Disputations e n him ather incline to hesitate in
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givin a decide opinion pon this important question; V, Consessin himself uti leo arrive at an fixe an satisfactoryconclusion - volve diligenter he Vs ejus, Plutonio eum librum qui est de animo amplius quod desideres, nihil
erit. Feci mehercule et quidem saepius. Sed nesCio quo- modo, dum lego, assentior Cum posui librum, et mecum ipse de immortalitate animorum Coepi cogitare, assensio omnis illa elabitur. V he ex passages are more than sceptiCa u- tura vero sic se habet, ut, quo modo initium nobis rerum Om- nium ortus noster asserat, sic exitum mors. Ut nihil pertinuit ad nos ante ortum, si nihil post mortem pertinebit; V-andequali sceptica in his oratio sor Cluentius, he remarks- Nam nunc quidem quid tandem illi mali mors attulit nisi forte in- eptiis, ac fabulis ducimur, ut existimemus illum apud in ros impiorum supplicia perferre, o Quae si salsa sunt, id quod omnes intelligunt, quid ei tandem aliud mors eripuit, praeter se sensum doloris Θ he speculations o Tacitus pon the immortalit of the oui are ighi interesting, and naCCompanted, perhaps by the fame uncertainino dogma. e concludes his lis of Agricola with the ollowin servi expression O more than anheathon' hopeo an hereaster Si quis piorum manibus locus si,
ut sapientibus placet, non Cum Corpore extinguuntUr magnae ani- nisu, c. ' an ut vultus hominum, ita simulacra vultus, im- becilla, ac mortalia sunt Forma mentis inferna, quam tenere se et exprimere, non per alienam materiam, et artem, sed tuis ipse
moribus possis. V his reat historian proves imself, esides,to have been horoughly acquainted with the Jewisti annals and thoprincipies of the Jewisti religion. alie testimon he bears in the
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fifth book of his histo , to the faith of the Jews may wel claim a
place in a reatis whicli prosesses to examine tho opinions of theanCienis, noctescupon the natureis God thanipon the qualit ofilia emanation of tho Deity the human solii. V Tacitus was With Cicero one of the mos enlightenet Character of the heathen Worid, and his testimon hecomes the more valvabie, When, conside the inveterate pre judices by hicli his mirid was actuato against thewholo Jewisti nation. The solioWin quotation may perhaps, beConsidere a fit si a notieinientiret applicabie to the lucidationo ou subjeci, ut it Wil servo O prove that haleve opinions the Roman historian might have held, respecting the religious system of the philosophers, he could no refuso, in the honest integrit os a narrator os evenis, his important testimon to the sublimo belle of the persecuted eople- Judaei, mente Olu
unumque numen intelligunt. rosarios, qui Deum imagines, mortalibus materiis, in Species hominum mngunt. Summum illud et aeternum neque mutabile, neque interiturum. Igitur nulla simulacra urbibus suis, nedum templis sunt. Non regibus se haec adulatio, non Caesaribus honor. V ho modern infidet canullo himself to imagine, that the ordor and overtiment of this Worid ma exist without the agenc o God, andi can hi in himself to den the mos obvious conclusion resultin frona event in
the progressi religion, Whichahe indisputabi histor of ages hasestablishod, and heris contenteda abido by the incredit,le positionsto,hichiis infidelit conducis him. ut the Christian philosopher Will e satisfio stom tho perusal of this delati, that, amidst theconflicting opinion of the worid, he evidenti perceive those traces Whicli tho great God of tho universo has test at ali times of himself
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among mankind; races Whicli cani mos olearly pursved throughal tho absurditios and tho Wild revertes of heathen philosopherS;-whicli cani detecte subsistin in ver system an be di aggedout of the deel est mysteries of the idolatrous ages. But his limite xknowledge of the Supreme ein has no been confined tolli more polished nations of the ast sor nature, the nurse undfirst mistres of Qxternat religion is in ali ages and places essentiallythe sume. Hi evor par indee of the nown World are discOverable existent proos of a right nowledge and pure orshil of the Deit havinion e enlightened the inhabitant of the eurili, thoughsubsequently corrupted, and early los in the barbarous rites an gros ceremontes of nationa superstitions. melle in a particular and verrutin providerace, OO, Whicli is the essentia partevenis natura religion, an e traced rom ono extremit of the westerii hemisphere to the ther; and the mos uncivilige of iis Savage tribes are persuaded that particula acts of heroism, undeXCellenCe in Onduci, mus eventuali recommend them to Omel residin Deit and e rewarded, and the are theroforo h nomeans apprehensive that death cani the final extinction o ali ho humanioWers;-sentiments O be referre onlyrio origina traditionas ancientius the wOrid.