tle and seasonable your Remonftrance may be, he takes it immediately to proceed from Ill-Nature or Ignorance in you, but from no Fault in him.

Seneca, I remember, tells us a remarkable Story, which very well illuftrates this Matter. Writing to his Friend Lucilius, My Wife (says he) keeps Harpastes in her House still, who, you know, is a Sort of Family-Fool, and no small • Incumbrance upon us. For my Part, I am far 'from taking any Pleasure in fuch Prodigies. If 'I have a Mind to divert myself with a Fool, I • have not far to go for one; I can laugh at myfelf. This filly Girl, all on a fudden, loft her • Eye-Sight; and (which perhaps may seem incredible, but it is very true) fhe does not know the is blind; but is every now and then defiring <her Governefs to lead her abroad, faying the < House is dark. Now what we laugh at in ⚫ this poor Creature, you may obferve happens to C all. No Man knows that he is covetous, or • infatiable. Yet with this Difference; the Blind • feek fomebody to lead them, but we are content "to wander without a Guide.But why do 6 we thus deceive ourselves? The Disease is not ' without us, but fixed deep within. And there ⚫fore is the Cure fo difficult, because we do not ⚫ know that we are Sick (1).

us

(1) Sen. Epift. 51,

CHAP.

CHAP. X.

The Neceffity and Means of knowing our Na

IX.

A

tural Temper.

NOTHER very important Branch of Self-Knowledge is, the Knowledge of thofe Governing Paffions or Difpofitions of the Mind, which generally form, what we call, a Man's Natural Temper.

The Difference of Natural Tempers seems to be chiefly owing to the different Degrees of Influence the several Paffions have upon the Mind. e. g. If the Paffions are eager and foon raised, we fay the Man is of a warm Temper; if more fluggish and flowly raifed, he is of a cool Temper; according as Anger, Malice or Ambition prevail, he is of a fierce, churlifh or haughty Temper; the Influence of the fofter Paffions of Love, Pity and Benevolence, forms a sweet, Sympathifing and courteous Temper; and when all the Paffions. are duly poised, and the milder and pleasing ones prevail, they make what is commonly called a quite good-natured Man.

So that it is the Prevalence or Predominance of any particular Paffion which gives the Turn or Tincture to a Man's Temper, by which he is diftinguished, and for which he is loved and esteemed, or fhunned and despised by others.

Now what this is, thofe we converse with are foon fenfible of. They presently fee the Fault of

our

our Temper, and order their Behaviour accordingly. If they are wife and well mannered, they will avoid ftriking the String which they know will jarr and raise a Discord within us. If they are our Enemies, they will do it on Purpose to set us on tormenting ourselves. And our Friends we muft fuffer fometimes with a gentle Hand to touch it, either by Way of pleasant Raillery or faithful Advice.

But a Man must be greatly unacquainted with himself, if he is ignorant of his predominant Pasfion, or diftinguishing Temper, when every one elfe obferves it. And yet how common is this Piece of Self-Ignorance? The two Apoftles Peter and John discovered it in that very A&ion, wherein they meant to express nothing but a hearty Zeal for their Master's Honour; which made him tell them, that they knew not what Manner of Spirit they were of, Luke ix. 5. i. e. that instead of a Principle of Love and genuine Zeal for him, they were at that time governed by a Spirit of Pride, Revenge and Cruelty; and yet knew it not. And that the Apostle John fhould be liable to this Cenfure, whofe Temper feemed to be all Love and Sweetness, is a memorable Instance how difficult a Thing it is for a Man at all Times to know his own Spirit; and that that Paffion, which feems to have the least Power over his Mind, may on some Occafions infenfibly gain a criminal Ascendant there.

The

The Neceffity of a perfect Knowledge of our reigning Paffions appears further from hence; that they not only give a Tincture to the Temper, but to the Understanding alfo; and throw a ftrong Bias on the Judgment. They have much the fame Effect upon the Eye of the Mind, as fome Diftempers have upon that of the Body. If they do not put it out they weaken it; or throw falfe Colours before it, and make it form a wrong Judgment of Things. And, in short, are the Source of those forementioned Prejudices, which so often abuse the Human Understanding.

Whatever the different Paffions themselves that reign in the Mind may be owing to, whether to the different Texture of the bodily Organs, or the different Quantity or Motion of the animal Spirits, or to the native Turn and Caft of the Soul itself; yet certain it is, that Mens different Ways of thinking are much according to the predominance of their different Paffions; and efpecially with regard to Religion. Thus e. g. we fee melancholy People are apt to throw too much Gloom upon their Religion, and represent it in a very uninviting and unlovely View, as all Aufterity and Mortification; whilst they, who are governed by the more gay and chearful Paffions, are apt to run into the other Extreme, and too much to mingle the Pleasures of Sense with those of Religion; and are as much too lax, as the other too severe. And thus by the Prejudice or Bias of their refpective Paffions, or the Force of their

Natural

Natural Temper, they are led into different Mif

takes.

• So that would a Man know himself, he must • ftudy his Natural Temper; his conftitutional Inclinations, and favourite Paffions; for by these ' a Man's Judgment is easily perverted, and a C wrong Bias hung upon his Mind: These are ⚫ the Inlets of Prejudice; the unguarded Avenues of the Mind, by which a thousand Errors and • fecret Faults find Admiffion, without being ob'ferved or taken Notice of (m).'

And that we may more eafily come at the Knowledge of our predominant Affections, let us confider what outward Events do most impress and move us; and in what Manner. What is it that usually creates the greatest Pain or Pleasure in the Mind? As for Pain; a Stoic indeed may tell us, that we must keep Things at a Dif⚫tance; let nothing that is outward come with

in us; let Externals be Externals ftill.' But the Human Make will scarce bear the Rigour of that Philofophy. Outward Things, after all, will imprefs and affect us. And there is no Harm in this, provided they do not get the Poffeffion of us, overset our Reason, or lead us to act unbecoming a Man or a Chriftian. And one Advantage we may reap from hence is, the Manner or Degree in which outward Things imprefs us, may lead us into a better Acquaintance with ourselves, difcover

(m) Spectat, Vol, vi, N°, 899.