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KNOWLEDGE, ITS EXTENT AND MEASURE
Quod volumus facile credimus.
Feb. 8, 1677.Question. How far, and by what means, the will works upon the
understanding and assent?
Our minds are not made as large as truth, nor suited to the
whole extent of things; amongst those that come within its reach, it meets with
a great many too big for its grasp, and there are not a few that it is fair to
give up as incomprehensible. It finds itself lost in the vast extent of space,
and the least particle of matter puzzles it with an inconceivable divisibility;
and those who, out of a great care not to admit unintelligible things, deny or
question an eternal omniscient spirit, run themselves into a greater difficulty
by making an eternal and intelligent matter. Nay, our minds, whilst they think
and (*****) our bodies, find it past their capacity to conceive how they do the
one or the other.
This state of our minds, however remote from the perfection whereof we
ourselves have an idea, ought not, however, to discourage our endeavours in the
search of truth, or make us think we are incapable of knowing anything, because
we cannot understand all things. We shall find that we are sent out into the
world furnished with those faculties that are fit to obtain knowledge, and
knowledge sufficient, if we will but confine it within those purposes, and
direct it to those ends, which the constitution of our nature, and the
circumstance of our being, point out to us.
If we consider ourselves in the condition we are in the world, we cannot but
observe that we are in an estate, the necessities whereof call for a constant
supply of meat, drink, clothing, and defence from the weather; and our
conveniences demand yet a great deal more. To provide these things, Nature
furnishes us only with the material, for the most part rough, and unfitted to
our use; it requires labour, art, and thought, to suit them to our occasions;
and if the knowledge of man had not found out ways to shorten the labour, and
improve several things which seem not, at first sight, to be of any use to us,
we should spend all our time to make a scanty provision for a poor and miserable
life: a sufficient instance whereof we have in the inhabitants of that large and
fertile part of the world the West Indies, who lived a poor uncomfortable life,
scarce able to subsist; and that, perhaps, only for want of knowing the use of
that store out of which the inhabitants of the Old World had the skill to draw
iron, and thereof make themselves utensils necessary for the carrying on and
improvement of all other arts; no one of which can subsist well,
if at all, without that one metal.
Here, then, is a large field for knowledge, proper for the use and advantage
of men in this word; viz. to find out new inventions of despatch to shorten or
ease our labour, or applying sagaciously together several agents and materials,
to procure new and beneficial productions fit for our use, whereby our stock of
riches (i. e. things useful for the conveniences of our life) may be
increased, or better preserved: and for such discoveries as these the mind of
man is well fitted; though, perhaps, the essence of things, their first
original, their secret way of working, and the whole extent of corporeal beings,
be as far beyond our capacity as it is beside our use; and we have no reason to
complain that we do not know the nature of the sun or stars, that the
consideration of light itself leaves us in the dark, and a thousand other
speculations in Nature, since, if we knew them, they would be of no solid
advantage to us, nor help to make our lives the happier, they being but the
useless employment of idle or over-curious brains, which amuse themselves about
things out of which they can by no means draw any real benefit.
So that, if we will consider man as in the world, and that his mind and
faculties were given him for any use, we must necessarily conclude it must be to
procure him the happiness which this world is capable of; which certainly is
nothing else but plenty of all sorts of those things which can with most ease,
pleasure, and variety, preserve him longest in it: so that, had mankind no
concernment but in the world, no apprehensions of any being after this life,
they need trouble their heads with nothing but the history of nature, and an
inquiry into the qualities of the things in the mansion of the universe which
hath fallen to their lot, and being well-skilled in the knowledge of material
causes and effect of things in their power, directing their thoughts as to the
improvement of such arts and inventions, engines, and utensils, as might best
contribute to their continuation in it with conveniency and delight, they might
well spare themselves the trouble of looking any further: they need not perplex
themselves about the original frame or constitution of the universe, drawing the
great machine into systems of their own contrivance, and building hypotheses,
obscure, perplexed, and of no other use but to raise dispute and
continual wrangling: For what need have we to complain of our ignorance in the
more general and foreign parts of nature, when all our business lies at home?
Why should we bemoan our want of knowledge in the particular apartments of the
universe, when our portion here only lies in the little spot of earth where we
and all our concernments are shut up? Why should we think ourselves hardly dealt
with, that we are not furnished with compass nor plummet to sail and fathom that
restless, unnavigable ocean, of the universal matter, motion, and space? Since
there be shores to bound our voyage and travels, there are at least no
commodities to be brought from thence serviceable to our use, nor that will
better our condition; and we need not be displeased that we have not knowledge
enough to discover whether we have any neighbours or no in those large bulks of
matter we see floating in the abyss, or of what kind they are, since we can
never have any communication with them that might turn to our advantage.
So that, considering man barely as an animal of three or four score years'
duration, and then to end, his condition and state requires no other knowledge
than what may furnish him with those things which may help him to pass out to
the end of that time with ease, safety, and delight, which is all the happiness
he is capable of: and for the attainment of a correspondent measure mankind is
sufficiently provided. He has faculties and organs well adapted for the
discovery, if he thinks fit to employ and use them.
Another use of his knowledge is to live in peace with his fellow-men, and
this also he is capable of. Besides a plenty of the good things of this world,
with life, health, and peace to enjoy them, we can think of no other concernment
mankind hath that leads him not out of it, and places him not beyond the
confines of this earth; and it seems probable that there should be some better
state somewhere else to which man might arise, since, when he hath all that this
world can afford, he is still unsatisfied, uneasy, and far from happiness. It is
certain, and that all men must consent to, that there is a possibility of
another state when this scene is over; and that the happiness and misery of that
depends on the ordering of ourselves in our actions in this time of our
probation here. The acknowledgment of a God will easily lead any name=90>one to this, and he hath left so many footsteps of himself, so many
proofs of his being in every creature, as are sufficient to convince any who
will but make use of their faculties that way,and I dare say nobody escapes
this conviction for want of sight; but if any be so blind, it is only because
they will not open their eyes and see; and those only doubt of a Supreme Ruler
and a universal law, who would willingly be under no law, accountable to no
judge; those only question another life hereafter, who intend to lead such a one
here as they fear to have examined, and would be loth to answer for when it is
over.
This opinion I shall always be of, till I see that those who would cast off
all thoughts of God, heaven, and hell, lead such lives as would become rational
creatures, or observe that one unquestionable moral rule, Do as you would be
done to.
It being then possible, and at least probable, that there is another life,
wherein we shall give an account of our past actions in this to the great God of
heaven and earth; here comes in another, and that the main concernment of
mankind, to know what those actions are that he is to do, what those are he is
to avoid, what the law is he is to live by here, and shall be judged by
hereafter; and in this part too he is not left so in the dark, but that he is
furnished with principles of knowledge, and faculties able to discover light
enough to guide him; his understanding seldom fails him in this part, unless
where his will would have it so. If he take a wrong course, it is most commonly
because he goes wilfully out of the way, or, at least, chooses to be bewildered;
and there are few, if any who dreadfully mistake, that are willing to be in the
right; and I think one may safely say, that amidst the great ignorance which is
so justly complained of amongst mankind, where any one endeavoured to know his
duty sincerely, with a design to do it, scarce ever any one miscarried for want
of knowledge.
The business of men being to be happy in this world, by the enjoyment of the
things of nature subservient to life, health, ease, and pleasure, and by the
comfortable hopes of another life when this is ended; and in the other world, by
an accumulation of higher degrees of bliss in an everlasting security, we need
no other knowledge for the attainment of those ends but of the
history and observation of the effect and operation of natural bodies within our
power, and of our duty in the management of our own actions, as far as they
depend on our will, i. e. as far also as they are in our power. One of
those is the proper enjoyment of our bodies, and the highest perfection of that,
and the other of our souls; and to attain both of these we are fitted with
faculties both of body and soul. Whilst then we have ability to improve our
knowledge in experimental natural philosophy, whilst we want not principles
whereon to establish moral rules, nor light (if we please to make use of it) to
distinguish good from bad actions, we have no reason to complain if we meet with
difficulties in other things which put our reasons to a nonplus, confound our
understandings, and leave us perfectly in the dark under the sense of our own
weakness: for those relating not to our happiness any way are no part of our
business, and therefore it is not to be wondered if we have not abilities given
us to deal with things that are not to our purpose, nor conformable to our state
or end.
God having made the great machine of the universe suitable to his infinite
power and wisdom, why should we think so proudly of ourselves, whom he hath put
into a small canton, and perhaps the most inconsiderable part of it, that he
hath made us the surveyors of it, and that it is not as it should be unless we
can thoroughly comprehend it in all the parts of it? It is agreeable to his
goodness, and to our condition, that we should be able to apply them to our use,
to understand so far some parts of that we have to do with, as to be able to
make them subservient to the convenience of our life, as proper to fill our
hearts with praise of his bounty. But it is also agreeable to his greatness,
that it should exceed our capacity, and the highest flight of our imagination,
the better to fill us with admiration of his power and wisdom;besides its
serving to other ends, and being suited probably to the use of other more
intelligent creatures which we know not of. If it be not reasonable to expect
that we should be able to penetrate into all the depths of nature, and
understand the whole constitution of the universe, it is yet a higher insolence
to doubt the existence of a God because we cannot comprehend himto think there
is not an infinite Being because we are not so. If all things
must stand or fall by the measure of our understandings, and that denied to be,
wherein we find inextricable difficulties, there will very little remain in the
world, and we shall scarce leave ourselves so much as understandings, souls, or
bodies. It will become us better to consider well our own weakness and
exigencies, what we are made for, and what we are capable of, and to apply the
powers of our bodies and faculties of our souls, which are well suited to our
condition, in the search of that natural and moral knowledge, which, as it is
not beyond our strength, so is not beside our purpose, but may be attained by
moderate industry, and improved to our infinite advantage.
