John Donne - Delphi Poets Series (68 page)

VIII. That Nature is our worst Guide.

SHall she be
guide
to all
Creatures
, which is her selfe one? Or if she also haue a
guide
, shall any
Creature
haue a better guide than wee? The affections of
lust
and
anger
, yea euen to
erre
is
Naturall
; shall we follow these? Can she be a good
guide
to vs, which hath corrupted not vs but only herselfe? Was not the
first man
by the desire of
knowledge
corrupted euen in the
whitest integrity
of
Nature
? And did not
Nature
(if
Nature
did any thing) infuse into him this desire of
knowledge
, & so this
Corruption
in him, into vs? If by
Nature
we shall vnderstand our
essence
, our
definition
, or
reason, noblenesse
, then this being alike common to all (the
Idiot
and the
wizard
being equally
reasonable
) why should not all men hauing equally all one
nature
, follow one course? Or if wee shall vnderstand our
inclinations
; alas! how vnable a guide is that which followes the
temperature
of our slimie
bodies
? for we cannot say that we deriue our
inclinations
, our
mindes
, or
soules
from our
Parents
by any way: to say that it is
all, from all
, is
errour
in
reason
, for then with the first nothing remaines; or is a
part from all
, is
errour
in
experience
, for then this
part
equally imparted to many children, would like
Gauell-kind lands
, in few generations become nothing; or say it by
Communication
, is
errour
in
Diuinity
, for to communicate the
ability
of communicating
whole essence
with any but God, is vtterly
blasphemy
. And if thou hit thy
Fathers nature
and
inclination
, hee also had his Fathers, and so climbing vp, all comes of one man, all haue one
nature
, all shall imbrace one course; but that cannot be, therefore our
Complexions
and whole
Bodies
, we inherit from
parents
; our
inclinations
and mindes follow that: For our
mind
is heauy in our
bodies afflictions
, and reioyceth in our
bodies pleasure
: how then shall this
nature
gouerne vs, that is gouerned by the worst part of vs?
Nature though oft chased away, it will returne;
‘tis true, but those
good motions
and
inspirations
which bee our guides must be
wooed, Courted,
and
welcomed
, or else they abandon vs. And that old
Axiome, nihil inuita, &c.
must not be said thou
shalt
, but thou
wilt
doe nothing against
Nature
; so
vnwilling
he notes vs to curbe our
naturall appetites
. Wee call our
bastards
alwayes our
naturall issue
, and wee define a
Foole
by nothing so ordinary, as by the name of
Naturall
. And that poore knowledge whereby we conceiue what
raine
is, what
wind
, what
Thunder
, we call
Metaphysicke
,
supernaturall
; such
small
things, such
no
things doe we allow to our pliant
Natures
apprehension. Lastly, by following her, wee lose the pleasant, and lawfull
Commodities
of this
life
, for we shall drinke water and eate rootes, and those not sweet and delicate, as now by Mans
art
and
industry
they are made: wee shall lose all the necessities of
societie, lawes, arts
, and
sciences
, which are all the
workemanship
of
Man
: yea, we shall lacke the last
best refuge
of misery
Death
; because
no
death is naturall
: for if yee wil not dare to call all
death violent
(though I see not why
sicknesses
be not
violences
) yet
causes
of all
deaths
proceed of the
defect
of that which
nature
made perfect, and would preserue, and therefore all against
nature
.

IX. That only Cowards dare Dye.

EXtreames
are equally remooued from the
meane
; so that headlong
desperatenesse
asmuch offends true
valour
, as backward
Cowardice
: of which sort I reckon iustly all
vn-inforced deaths
. When will your
valiant
man dye of necessity? so
Cowards
suffer what cannot be auoided: and to runne into
death vnimportun’d
, is to runne into the first condemned desperatenesse. Will he dye when hee is
rich
and
happy
? then by liuing hee may doe more good: and in
Afflictions
and
miseries, death
is the chosen refuge of
Cowards
.

Fortiter isse faoit, qui miser
esse
potest.

But it is taught and practised among our
Gallants
, that rather than our reputations suffer any
maime
, or wee any
misery
, wee shall offer our
bre
sts to the
Cannons
mouth, yea to our
swords
points: And this seemes a very
braue
and a very
climbing
(which is a
Cowardly
, earthly, and indeed a very
groueling
)
spirit
. Why doe they
chaine
these slaues to the
Gallyes
, but that they thrust their
deaths
, & would at euery loose leape inito the
sea
? Why doe they take weapons from
condemned
men, but to barre them of that ease which
Cowards
affect, a
speedy death
. Truly this
life
is a
Tempest
and a
warfare
, and he which
dares dye
, to escape the
Anguish
of it, seemes to me, but so
valiant
, as he which dares hang himselfe, lest he bee prest to the
wars
. I haue seene one in that extremity of
Melancholy
, which was then become
Madnesse
, to make his owne
breath
an
Instrument
to stay his breath, and labour to choke himselfe; but alas, hee was
mad
. And we knew another that languished vnder the
oppression
of a poore
disgrace
so much, that he tooke more
paines
to
dye
, than would haue serued to haue nourished
life
and
spirit
enough to haue out-liued his
disgrace
. What
Foole
will call this
Cowardlinesse, Valour
? Or this
Basenesse, Humility
? And lastly, of these men which dye the
Allegoricall death
of entring into
Religion
, how few are found fit for any shew of
valiancy
? but onely a
soft
and
supple metall,
made onely for
Cowardly
solitarinesse.

X. That a Wise Man is knowne by much Laughing.

RIde, si sapis, ô puella ride;
If thou beest
wise, laugh:
for since the
powers
of
discourse
and
Reason
, and
laughter
bee equally
proper
vnto Man onely, why shall not he be onely most
wise
, which hath most vse of
laughing
, aswell as he which hath most of
reasoning
and
discoursing
? I alwayes did, and shall vnderstand that
Adage
;

Per risum
multum possis
cognoscerestultum,

that by much
laughing
thou maist know there is a
Foole
, not, that the
laughers
are
Fooles
, but that among them there is some
Foole
at whom
wisemen
laugh: which moued
Erasmus
to put this as his first
Argument
in the mouth of his
Folly
, that
she made Beholders laugh
: for
fooles
are the most laughed at, and laugh the least themselues of any. And
Nature
saw this
faculty
to be so necessary in Man, that she hath beene content that by
more causes
we should be importuned to
laugh
, than to the
exercise
of any other
power
; for things in themselues vtterly
contrary
, beget this effect; for we laugh both at
witty
and
absurd
things: At both which sorts I haue seene Men
laugh so long
, and
so earnestly
, that at last they haue
wept
that they could laugh no more. And therefore the
Poët
hauing described the
quietnesse
of a
wise retired man
, saith in one, what we haue said before in many lines;
Quid facit Canius tuus? ridet.
We haue receiued that euen the
Extremity
of
laughing
, yea of
weeping
also, hath beene accounted
wisedome
: And that
Democritus
and
Heraclitus
, the
louers
of these
Extreames
, hath beene called
louers
of
wisedome
. Now among our
wisemen
I doubt not, but many would bee found who would laugh at
Heraclitus
weeping, none which weepe at
Democritus
laughing. At the hearing of
Comedies
or other
witty
reports, I haue noted some, which not vnderstanding
iests
, &c. haue yet chosen this as the best meanes to seeme
wise
and
vnderstanding
, to
laugh
when their
Companions laugh
; and I haue presumed them
ignorant
, whom I haue seene
vnmoued
. A
Foole
if he come into a
Princes Court
, and see a
Gay
man leaning at the wall, so
glistering
, and so
painted
in many
colours
, that he is hardly discerned, from one of the
pictures
in the
Arras
, hanging his
body
like an
Iron-bound-chest
, girt in and thicke ribb’d with
broad gold laces
, may (and commonly doth) enuy him. But alas; shall a
wiseman
, which may not onely not
enuy
, but not
pitty
this
monster
, doe nothing? Yes, let him
laugh
. And if one of these
hot, cholerike fire-brands
, which nourish themselues by
qua
rrelling, and kindling others, spit vpon a
foole
one
sparke
of
disgrace
; hee, like a
thatcht house
quickly burning, may be
angry
; but the
wise man
, as
cold
as the
Salamander
, may not onely bee
angry
with him, but not be
sorry
for him; therefore let him
laugh
: so he shall bee knowne a
Man
, because hee can
laugh
; a
wise Man
that hee knowes at
what
to laugh, and a
valiant Man
that he
dares
laugh: for hee that
laughs
is iustly reputed more
wise
, than at whom it is
laughed
. And hence I thinke proceeds that which in these later
formall
times I haue much noted; that now when our
superstitious Ciuility
of
manners
is become a mutuall
tickling flattery
of one another, almost euery man affecteth an
humour
of
iesting
, and is content to be
deiect
, and to
deforme
himselfe, yea become
foole
to no other end that I can spye, but to giue his
wise Companion
occasion to
laugh
; and to shew themselues in
promptnesse
of
laughing
is so great in
wisemen
, that I thinke all
wisemen
, if any
wisemen
doe read this
Paradox
, will
laugh
both at it and me.

XI. That the gifts of the Body are better than those of the Minde.

Say againe, that the
body
makes the
mind
, not that it created it a
minde
, but
formes
it a
good
or a
bad mind
; and this
mind
may be confounded with
soule
without any violence or inustice to
Reason
or
Philosophy
: then the
soule
it seemes is enabled by our
body
, not this by it. My
Body
licenseth my
soule
to
see
the Worlds
beauties
through mine
eyes
; to
heare
pleasant things thorough mine
eares
; and affords it apt
Organs
for the conueiance of all perceiuable
delight
. But alas! my
soule
cannot make any
part
, that is not of it selfe disposed, to
see
or
heare
, though without doubt she be as able & as willing to see
behind
as
before
. Now if my
soule
would say, that shee enables any part to tast these
pleasures
, but is her selfe onely delighted with those rich
sweetnesses
which her
inward eyes
and
senses
apprehend, shee should dissemble; for I see her often solaced with
beauties
, which she sees through mine
eyes
, and with
musicke
which through mine
eares
she heares. This
perfection
then my
body
hath, that it can impart to my
mind
all his
pleasures
; and my
mind
hath still many, that she can neither teach my
indisposed
parts her
faculties
, nor to the best
espoused
parts shew it
beauty
of
Angells
, of
Musicke
, of
Sphæres
, whereof she boasts the
Contemplation
. Are
Chastity, Temperance
, and
Fortitude
gifts of the
mind
? I appeale to
Physitians
whether the
cause
of these be not in the
body
;
health
is the gift of the
body
, and
patience
in sicknesse the gift of the
mind
: then who will say that
patience
is as good a happinesse, as
health
, when we must be extreamely
miserable
to purchase this
happinesse
. And for nourishing of
Ciuill societies
and
mutuall loue
amongst Men, which is our
chiefe end
while wee are men; I say, this
beauty, presence,
and
proportion
of the
body
, hath a more
masculine
force in begetting this
loue
, than the
vertues
of the
mind
: for it strikes vs
suddenly
, and possesseth vs
immoderately
; when to know those
vertues
requires some
Iudgement
in him which shall discerne, a
long time
and
conuersation
betweene them. And euen at
last
how much of our
faith
and
beleefe
shall wee bee driuen to bestow, to assure our selues that these
vertues
are not
counterfeited
: for it is the same to
be
, and
seeme vertuous
, because that he that hath
no
vertue
, can
dissemble
none, but hee which hath a
little
, may
gild
and
enamell
, yea and transforme much
vice
into
vertue
: For allow a man to be
discreet
and
flexible
to
complaints
, which are great
vertuous gifts
of the
mind
, this
discretion
will be to him the
soule
and
Elixer
of all
vertues
, so that touched with this, euen
pride
shalbe made
Humility
; and
Cowardice
, honorable and wise
valour
. But in things
seene
there is not this
danger
, for the body which thou louest and esteemest
faire
, is
faire
; certenly if it be not
faire
in perfection, yet it is faire in the same
degree
that thy
Iudgment
is good. And in a
faire body
, I doe seldome suspect a
disproportioned mind
, and as seldome hope for a
good
, in a
deformed
. When I see a
goodly house
I assure my selfe of a worthy possessour, from a
ruinous weather-beaten building
I turne away, because it seemes either stuff’d with
varlets
as a
prison
, or handled by an
vnworthy
and
negligent Tenant
, that so suffers the
waste
thereof. And truly the
gifts
of
Fortune
, which are
riches
, are onely
handmaides
, yea
Pandars
of the
bodies pleasure
; with their seruice wee nourish
health
, and preserue
dainty
, and wee buy
delights
; so that
vertue
which must bee loued for
it selfe
, and respects no further
end
, is indeed
nothing
: And
riches
, whose
end
is the
good
of the
body
, cannot bee so
perfectly good
, as the
end
whereto it leuells.