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170 u chapter 17 u The Light of Reason Is a Pleasant Light [147] ’Tis Lumen jucundum; All light is pleasant, ’tis the very smile of Nature , the glosse of the world, the varnish of the Creation, a bright paraphrase upon bodies. Whether it discover it self in the modesty of a morning blush, and open its fair and Virgin eye-lids in the dawning of the day, or whether it dart out more vigorous and sprightful beams, shining out in its noon-day glory; whether it sport and twinckle in a Star, or blaze and glore out in a Comet, or frisk and dance in a Jewel, or dissemble and play the Hypocrite in a gloworm, or Epitomize and abbreviate it self in a spark, or shew its zeale and the ruddinesse of its complexion, in the yolk of the fire, or grow more pale, pining and consuming away in a Candle; however ’tis pleas’d to manifest it self, it carries a commanding lustre in its face, though sometimes indeed it be veil’d and shadowed, sometimes ’tis clouded and imprison’d, sometimes ’tis soyl’d and discolour’d. Who will not salute so lovely a beauty with a xai ÷re fw ÷ c [welcome light]; welcome thou first-borne of corporeal beings, thou Lady and Queen of Sensitive beauties, thou clarifier and refiner of the Chaos, thou unspotted beauty of the Universe. Let him be condemn’d to a perpetual night, to a fatal disconsolate grave, that is not enamour’d with thy brightnesse. Is it not a pleasant thing to behold a Sun?1 nay, to behold but a Candle, a deputed light? a vicarious light? the ape of a Sun-beame? Yet there are some superstitious ones that are ready to adore it; how devoutly do they complement with a Candle, at the first approach? how do they put off the hat to it, as if with the Satyr they meant to kisse it. You see how pleasant the light is to them; Nay that learned Knight in his discourse of Bodies, tells us of one totally blinde, who yet knew when a candle came into the room, only by the light of reason is a pleasant light 171 the quickning & reviving of his Spirits.2 Yet this Corporeal light, ’tis but a shadow, ’tis but a black spot to set off the fairnes of intellectual brightnes. How pleasant is it to behold an intellectual Sun? Nay, to behold but the Candle of the Lord? How pleasant is this Lamp of Reason, pa ÷n fusiko ’n h ÿdu ’. All the Motions and Operations of Nature are mix’d and season’d with sweetnesse; Every Entity ’tis sugared with some delight; Every being ’tis roll’d up in some pleasure. How does the inanimate Being clasp and embrace its Centre, and rest there as in the bosome of delight? how flourishing is the pleasure of vegetatives? Look but upon the beauty and pleasure of a flower. Behold the Lilies of the [148] Valleyes, (and the Roses of Sharon,) Solomon in all his Pleasure was not cloathed like one of these.3 Go then to sensitive Creatures, and there you meet with pleasures in a greater height and exaltation. How are all the Individua amongst them maintained by acts of pleasure? How are they all propagated by acts of pleasure? Some of them are more merry and cheerful then the rest. How pleasant and jocund is the Bird? How musical is it? How does it sing for joy? did you never see the fish playing in its element? did you never see it caught with a bait of pleasure? does not Leviathan sport in the sea, and dally with the waves? If you look up higher to rational Beings, to the sonnes of men, you’l finde there a more singular and peculiar kinde of pleasure, whilest they have both a taste of sensitive delight, and a Participation of Intellectual . The soul and body enjoying a chaste and conjugal love, the pleasure of the soul is more vigorous and masculine, that of the body more soft and effeminate. The Nobler any Being is, the purer pleasure it hath proportion ’d to it. Sensitive pleasure it hath more of dregs; Intellectual pleasure it hath more of Quintessence. If pleasure were to be measured by Corporeal senses, the Brutes that are more exquisite in sense then men are, would by vertue of that, have a choicer portion of happinesse then...

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