The Consolidator Part 3

2. Here we law the State of the War among Nations; Here was the French giving Sham-thanks for Victories they never got, and some body else adressing and congratulating the sublime Glory of running away: Here was Te Deum for Sham-Victories by Land; and there was Thanksgiving for Ditto by Sea: Here we might see two Armies fight, both run away, and both come and thank G.o.d for nothing: Here we saw a Plan of a late War like that in Ireland; there was all the Officers cursing a Dutch General, because the d.a.m.n'd Rogue would fight, and spoil a good War, that with decent Management and good Husbandry, might have been eek't out this Twenty Years; there was whole Armies hunting two Cows to one Irishman, and driving of black Cattle declar'd the n.o.ble End of the the War: Here we saw a Country full of Stone Walls and strong Towns, where every Campaign, the Trade of War was carried on by the Soldiers, with the same Intriguing as it was carried on in the Council Chambers; there was Millions of Contributions raised, and vast Sums Collected, but no Taxes lessen'd; whole Plate Fleets surpriz'd, but no Treasure found; vaft Sums lost by Enemies, and yet never found by Friends, s.h.i.+ps loaded with Volatile Silver, that came away full, and gat home empty; whole Voyages made to beat No body, and plunder Every body; two Millions robb'd from the honest Merchants, and not a Groat sav'd for the honest Subjects: There we saw Captains Lifting Men with the Governments Money, and letting them go again for their own; s.h.i.+ps fitted out at the Rates of Two Millions a Year, to fight but once in Three Years, and then run away for want of Powder and Shot.

There we saw Part.i.tion Treaties d.a.m.ned, and the whole given away, Confederations without Allies, Allies without Quota's, Princes without Armies, Armies without Men, and Men without Money, Crowns without Kings, Kings without Subjects, more Kings than Countries, and more Countries than were worth fighting for.

Here we could see the King of France upbraiding his Neighbours with dishonourably a.s.sisting his Rebels, though the Mischief was, they did it not neither; and in the same Breath, a.s.sisting the Hungarian Rebels against the Emperor; M. Ld N. refusing so dishonourable an Action, as to aid the Rebellious Camisars, but Leaguing with the Admirant de Castile, to Invade the Dominions of his Master to whom he swore Allegiance: Here we saw Protestants fight against Protestants, to help Papists, Papists against Papists to help Protestants, Protestants call in Turks, to keep Faith against Christians that break it: Here we could see Swedes fighting for Revenge, and call it Religion; Cardinals deposing their Catholick Prince, to introduce the Tyranny of a Lutheran and call it Liberty; Armies Electing Kings, and call it Free Choice; French conquering Savoy, to secure the Liberty of Italy.

3. The Map of State Policy contains abundance of Civil Transactions, no where to be discover'd but in this wonderful Country, and by this prodigious Invention: As first, it shows an Eminent Prelate running in every body's Debt to relieve the Poor, and bring to G.o.d Robbery for Burnt-Offering: It opens a Door to the Fate of Nations; and there we might see the Duke of S--y bought three times, and his subjects sold every time; Portugal bought twice, and neither time worth the Earnest; Spain bought once, but loth to go with the Bidder; Venice willing to be Bought, if there had been any Buyers; Bavaria Bought, and run away with the Money; the Emperor Bought and Sold, but Bilkt the Chapman; the French buying Kingdoms he can't keep, the Dutch keep Kingdoms they never Bought; and the English paying their Money without Purchase.

In Matters of Civil Concerns, here was to be seen Religion with no out-side, and much Out-side with no Religion, much Strife about Peace, and no Peace in the Design: Here was Plunder without Violence, Violence without Persecution, Conscience without Good Works, and Good Works without Charity; Parties cutting one anothers Throats for G.o.d's Sake, pulling down Churches de propoganda fide, and making Divisions by way of a.s.sociation.

Here we have Peace and Union brought to pa.s.s The Shortest Way, Extirpation and Destruction prov'd to be the Road to Plenty and Pleasure: Here all the Wise Nations, a Learned Author would have Quoted, if he could have found them, are to be seen, who carry on Exclusive Laws to the general Safety and Satisfaction of their Subjects.

Occasional Bills may have here a particular Historical, Categorical Description: But of them by themselves.

Here you might have the Rise, Original, Lawfulness, Usefulness, and Necessity of Pa.s.sive Obedience, as fairly represented as a System of Divinity, and as clearly demonstrated as by a Geographical Description; and which exceeds our mean Understanding here, 'tis by the wonderful a.s.sistance of these Gla.s.ses, plainly discerned to be Coherent with Resistance, taking Arms, calling in Foreign Powers, and the like. --- Here you have a plain Discovery of C. of E. Politicks, and a Map of Loyalty: Here 'tis as plainly demonstrated as the Nose in a Man's Face, provided he has one, that a Man may Abdicate, drive away, and Dethrone his Prince, and yet be absolutely and intirely free from, and innocent of the least Fracture, Breach, Incroachment, or Intrenchment, upon the Doctrine of Non-Resistance: Can shoot at his Prince without any Design to kill him, fight against him without raising Rebellion, and take up Arms, without leaving War against his Prince.

Here they can persecute Dissenters, without desiring they should Conform, conform to the Church they would overthrow; Pray for the Prince they dare not Name, and Name the Prince they do not pray for.

By the help of these Gla.s.ses strange Insights are made, into the vast mysterious dark World of State Policy; but that which is yet more strange, and requires vast Volumes to descend to the Particulars of, and huge Diagrams, Spheres, Charts, and a Thousand nice things to display is, That in this vast Intelligent Discovery it is not only made plain, that those things are so, but all the vast Contradictions are made Rational, reconciled to Practice, and brought down to Demonstration.

German Clock-Work, the perpetual Motions, the Prim Mobilies of Our short-sighted World, are Trifles to these Nicer Disquisitions.

Here it would be plain and rational, why a Parliament-Man will spend 5000 l. to be Chosen, that cannot get a Groat Honestly by setting there: It would be easily made out to be rational, why he that rails most at a Court is soonest receiv'd into it: Here it would be very plain, how great Estates are got in little Places, and Double in none at all. 'Tis easy to be prov'd honest and faithful to Victual the French Fleet out of English Stores, and let our own Navy want them; a long Sight, or a large Lunar Perspective, will make all these things not only plain in Fact, but Rational and Justifiable to all the World.

'Tis a strange thing to any body without doubt, that has not been in that clear-sighted Region, to comprehend, That those we call High-flyers in England are the only Friends to the Dissenters, and have been the most Diligent and Faithful in their Interest, of any People in the Nation; and yet so it is, Gentlemen, and they ought to have the Thanks of the whole Body for it.

In this advanc'd Station, we see it plainly by Reflexion, That the Dissenters, like a parcel of Knaves, have retained all the High-Church-men in their Pay; they are certainly all in their Pension-Roll: Indeed, I could not see the Money paid them there, it was too remote; but I could plainly see the thing; all the deep Lines of the Project are laid as true, they are so Tackt and Consolidated together, that if any one will give themselves leave to consider, they will be most effectually convinced, That the High-Church and the Dissenters here, are all in a Caball, a meer Knot, a piece of Clock-work; the Dissenters are the Dial-Plate, and the High-Church the Movement, the Wheel within the Wheels, the Spring and the Screw to bring all things to Motion, and make the Hand on the Dial-plate point which way the Dissenters please.

For what else have been all the Shams they have put upon the Governments, Kings, States, and People they have been concern'd with?

What Schemes have they laid on purpose to be broken? What vast Contrivances, on purpose to be ridicul'd and expos'd? The Men are not Fools, they had never V---d to Consolidate a B--- but that they were willing to save the Dissenters, and put it into a posture, in which they were sure it would miscarry. I defy all the Wise Men of the Moon to show another good reason for it.

Methinks I begin to pity my Brethren, the moderate Men of the Church, that they cannot see into this New Plot, and to wish they would but get up into our Consolidator, and take a Journey to the Moon, and there, by the help of these Gla.s.ses, they would see the Allegorical, Symbollical, Hetrodoxicallity of all this Matter; it would make immediate Converts of them; they would see plainly, that to Tack and Consolidate, to make Exclusive Laws, to persecute for Conscience, disturb, and distress Parties; these are all Phanatick Plots, meer Combinations against the Church, to bring her into Contempt, and to fix and establish the Dissenters to the end of the Chapter: But of this I shall find occasion to speak Occasionally, when an Occasion presents it self, to examine a certain Occasional Bill, transacting in these Lunar Regions, some time before I had the Happiness to arrive there.

In examining the Mult.i.tude and Variety of these most admirable Gla.s.ses for the a.s.sisting the Opticks, or indeed the Formation of a new perceptive Faculty; it was you may be sure most surprizing to find there, that Art had exceeded Nature; and the Power of Vision was a.s.sisted to that prodigious Degree, as even to distinguish Non-Ent.i.ty it self; and in these strange Engines of Light it could not but be very pleasing, to distinguish plainly betwixt Being and Matter, and to come to a Determination, in the so long Canvast Dispute of Substance, vel Materialis, vel Spiritualis; and I can solidly affirm, That in all our Contention between Ent.i.ty and Non-Ent.i.ty, there is so little worth meddling with, that had we had these Gla.s.ses some Ages ago, we should have left troubling our heads with it.

I take upon me, therefore, to a.s.sure my Reader, That whoever pleases to take a Journey, or Voyage, or Flight up to these Lunar Regions, as soon as ever he comes ash.o.a.r there, will presently be convinc'd, of the Reasonableness of Immaterial Substance, and the Immortality, as well as Immateriality of the Soul: He will no sooner look into these Explicating Gla.s.ses, but he will be-able to know the separate meaning of Body, Soul, Spirit, Life, Motion, Death, and a Thousand things that Wise-men puzzle themselves about here, because they are not Fools enough to understand.

Here too I find Gla.s.ses for the Second Sight, as our Old Women call it. This Second Sight has been often pretended to in Our Regions, and some Famous Old Wives have told us, they can see Death, the Soul, Futurity, and the Neighbourhood of them, in the Countenance: By this wonderful Art, these good People unfold strange Mysteries, as under some Irrecoverable Disease, to foretell Death; under Hypocondriack Melancholy, to presage Trouble of Mind; in pining Youth, to predict Contagious Love; and an Hundred other Infallibilities, which never fail to be true as soon as ever they come to pa.s.s, and are all grounded upon the same Infallibility, by which a Shepherd may always know when any one of his Sheep is Rotten, viz. when he shakes himself to pieces.

But all this Guess and Uncertainty is a Trifle, to the vast Discoveries of these Explicatory Optick-Gla.s.ses; for here are seen the Nature and Consequences of Secret Mysteries: Here are read strange Mysteries relating to Predestination, Eternal Decrees, and the like: Here 'tis plainly prov'd, That Predestination is, in spight of all Enthusiastick Pretences, so intirely committed into Man's Power, that whoever pleases to hang himself to Day, won't Live till to Morrow: no, though Forty Predestination Prophets were to tell him, His time was not yet come. There abstruse Points are commonly and solemnly Discuss'd here; and these People are such Hereticks, that they say G.o.d's Decrees are all subservient to the means of his Providence; That what we call Providence is a subjecting all things to the great Chain of Causes and Consequences, by which that one Grand Decree, That all Effects shall Obey, without reserve to their proper moving Causes, supercedes all subsequent Doctrines, or pretended Decrees, or Predestination in the World: That by this Rule, he that will kill himself, G.o.d, Nature, Providence, or Decree, will not be concern'd to hinder him, but he shall Die; any Decrees, Predestination, or Fore-Knowledge of Infinite Power, to the contrary in any wise, notwithstanding that it is in a Man's Power to throw himself into the Water, and be Drown'd; and to kill another Man, and he shall Die, and to say, G.o.d appointed it, is to make him the Author of Murther, and to injure the Murtherer in putting him to Death for what he could not help doing.

All these things are received Truths here, and no doubt would be so every where else, if the Eyes of Reason were opened to the Testimony of Nature, or if they had the helps of these most Incomparable Gla.s.ses.

Some pretended, by the help of these Second-sight Gla.s.ses, to see the common Periods of Life; and Others said, they could see a great way beyond the leap in the Dark: I confess, all I could see of the first was, that holding up the Gla.s.s against the Sea, I plainly saw, as it were on the edge of the Horizon, these Words,

The Verge of Life and Death is here.

'Tis best to know where 'tis, but not how far.

As to seeing beyond Death, all the Gla.s.ses I lookt into for that purpose, made but little of it; and these were the only Tubes that I found Defective; for here I could discern nothing but Clouds, Mists, and thick dark hazy Weather; but revolving in my Mind, that I had read a certain Book in our own Country, called, Nature; it presently occurr'd, That the Conclusion of it, to all such as gave themselves the trouble of making out those foolish things call'd Inferences, was always Look up; upon which, turning one of their Gla.s.ses Up, and erecting the Point of it towards the Zenith, I saw these Words in the Air, REVELATION, in large Capital Letters.

I had like to have rais'd the Mob upon me for looking upright with this Gla.s.s; for this, they said, was prying into the Mysteries of the Great Eye of the World; That we ought to enquire no farther than he has inform'd us, and to believe what he had left us more Obscure: Upon this, I laid down the Gla.s.ses, and concluded, that we had Moses and the Prophets, and should be never the likelier to be taught by One come from the Moon.

In short, I found, indeed, they had a great deal more Knowledge of things than we in this World; and that Nature, Science, and Reason, had obtained great Improvements in the Lunar World; but as to Religion, it was the same equally resign'd to and concluded in Faith and Redemption; so I shall give the World no great Information of these things.

I come next to some other strange Acquirements obtained by the helps of these Gla.s.ses; and particularly for the discerning the Imperceptibles of Nature; such as, the Soul, Thought, Honesty, Religion, Virginity, and an Hundred other nice things, too small for humane Discerning.

The Discoveries made by these Gla.s.ses, as to the Soul, are of a very diverting Variety; some Hieroglyphical, and Emblematical, and some Demonstrative.

The Hieroglyphical Discoveries of the Soul make it appear in the Image of its Maker; and the a.n.a.logy is remarkable, even in the very Simily; for as they represent the Original of Nature as One Great Eye, illuminating as well as discerning all things; so the Soul, in its Allegorical, or Hieroglyphical Resemblance, appears as a Great Eye, embracing the Man, enveloping, operating, and informing every Part; from whence those sort of People who we falsly call Politicians, acting so much to put out this Great Eye, by acting against their common Understandings, are very aptly represented by a great Eye, with Six or Seven pair of Spectacles on; not but that the Eye of their Souls may be clear enough of it self, as to the common Understanding; but that they happen to have occasion to look sometimes so many ways at once, and to judge, conclude, and understand so many contrary ways upon one and the same thing; that they are fain to put double Gla.s.ses upon their Understanding, as we look at the Solar Ecclipses, to represent 'em in different Lights, least their Judgments should not be wheadled into a Compliance with the h.e.l.lish Resolutions of their Wills; and this is what I call the Emblematick Representation of the Soul.

As for the Demonstrations of the Soul's Existence, 'tis a plain case, by these Explicative Gla.s.ses, that it is, some have pretended to give us the Parts; and we have heard of Chyrurgeons, that could read an Anatomical Lecture on the Parts Of the Soul; and these pretend it to be a Creature in form, whether Camelion or Salamandar, Authors have not determin'd; nor is it compleatly discover'd when it comes into the Body, or how it goes out, or where its Locality or Habitation is, while 'tis a Resident.

But they very aptly show it, like a Prince, in his Seat, in the middle of his Palace the Brain, issuing out his incessant Orders to innumerable Troops of Nerves, Sinews, Muscles, Tendons, Veins, Arteries, Fibres, Capilaris, and useful Officers, call'd Organici, who faithfully execute all the Parts of Sensation, Locomotion, Concoction, &c. and in the Hundred Thousandth part of a Moment, return with particular Messages for Information, and demand New Instructions. If any part of his Kingdom, the Body, suffers a Depredation, or an Invasion of the Enemy, the Expresses fly to the Seat of the Soul, the Brain, and immediately are order'd back to smart, that the Body may of course send more Messengers to complain; immediately other Expresses are dispatcht to the Tongue, with Orders to cry out, that the Neighbours may come in and help, or Friends send for the Chyrurgeon: Upon the Application, and a Cure, all is quiet, and the same Expresses are dispatcht to the Tongue to be hush, and say no more of it till farther Orders: All this is as plain to be seen in these Engines, as the Moon of Our World from the World in the Moon.

As the Being, Nature, and Scituation of humane Soul is thus Spherically and Mathematically discover'd, I could not find any Second Thoughts about it in all their Books, whether of their own Composition or by Translation; for it was a General received Notion, That there could not be a greater Absurdity in humane Knowledge, than to imploy the Thoughts in Questioning, what is as plainly known by its Consequences, as if seen with the Eye; and that to doubt the Being or Extent of the Soul's Operation, is to imploy her against her self; and therefore, when I began to argue with my Old Philosopher, against the Materiality and Immortality of this Mystery we call Soul, he laught at me, and told me, he found we had none of their Gla.s.ses in our World; and bid me send all our Scepticks, Soul-Sleepers, our Cowards, Bakers, Kings and Bakewells, up to him into the Moon, if they wanted Demonstrations; where, by the help of their Engines, they would make it plain to them, that the Great Eye being one vast Intellect, Infinite and Eternal, all Inferior Life is a Degree of himself, and as exactly represents him as one little Flame the whole Ma.s.s of Fire; That it is therefore uncapable of Dissolution, being like its Original in Duration, as well as in its Powers and Faculties, but that it goes and returns by Emission, Regression, as the Great Eye governs and determines; and this was plainly made out, by the Figure I had seen it in, viz. an Eye, the exact Image of its Maker: 'Tis true, it was darkened by Ignorance, Folly and Crime, and therefore oblig'd to wear Spectacles; but tho' these were Defects or Interruptions in its Operation, they were none in its Nature; which as it had its immediate Efflux from the Great Eye, and its return to him must partake of himself, and could not but be of a Quality uncomatable, by Casualty or Death.

From this Discourse we the more willingly adjourned our present Thoughts, I being clearly convinced of the Matter; and as for our Learned Doctors, with their Second and Third Thoughts, I told him I would recommend them to the Man in the Moon for their farther Illumination, which if they refuse to accept, it was but just they should remain in a Wood, where they are, and are like to be, puzzling themselves about Demonstrations, squaring of Circles, and converting oblique into right Angles, to bring out a Mathematical Clock-Work Soul, that will go till the Weight is down, and then stand still till they know not who must wind it up again.

However, I cannot pa.s.s over a very strange and extraordinary piece of Art which this Old Gentleman inform'd me of, and that was an Engine to screw a Man into himself: Perhaps our Country-men may be at some Difficulty to comprehend these things by my dull Description; and to such I cannot but recommend, a Journey in my Engine to the Moon.

This Machine that I am speaking of, contains a mult.i.tude of strange Springs and Screws, and a Man that puts himself into it, is very insensibly carried into vast Speculations, Reflexions, and regular Debates with himself: They have a very hard Name for it in those Parts; but if I were to give it an English Name, it should be call'd, The Cogitator, or the Chair of Reflection.

And First, The Person that is seated here feels some pain in pa.s.sing some Negative Springs, that are wound up, effectually to shut out all Injecting, Disturbing Thoughts; and the better to prepare him for the Operation that is to follow, and this is without doubt a very rational way; for when a Man can absolutely shut out all manner of thinking, but what he is upon, he shall think the more Intensly upon the one object before him.

This Operation past, here are certain Screws that draw direct Lines from every Angle of the Engine to the Brain of the Man, and at the same time, other direct Lines to his Eyes; at the other end of which Lines, there are Gla.s.ses which convey or reflect the Objects the Person is desirous to think upon.

Then the main Wheels are turn'd, which wind up according to their several Offices; this the Memory, that the Understanding; a third the Will, a fourth the thinking Faculty; and these being put all into regular Motions, pointed by direct Lines to their proper Objects, and perfectly uninterrupted by the Intervention of Whimsy, Chimera, and a Thousand fluttering Damons that Gender in the Fancy, but are effectually Lockt out as before, a.s.sist one another to receive right Notions, and form just Ideas of the things they are directed to, and from thence the Man is impower'd to make right Conclusions, to think and act like himself, suitable to the sublime Qualities his Soul was originally blest with.

There never was a Man went into one of these thinking Engines, but he came wiser out than he was before; and I am persuaded, it would be a more effectual Cure to our Deism, Atheism, Scepticism, and all other Scisms, than ever the Italian's Engine, for Curing the Gout by cutting off the Toe.

This is a most wonderful Engine, and performs admirably, and my Author gave me extraordinary Accounts of the good Effects of it; and I cannot but tell my Reader, That our Sublunar World suffers Millions of Inconveniencies, for want of this thinking Engine: I have had a great many Projects in my Head, how to bring our People to regular thinking, but 'tis in vain without this Engin; and how to get the Model of it I know not; how to screw up the Will, the Understanding, and the rest of the Powers; how to bring the Eye, the Thought, the Fancy, and the Memory, into Mathematical Order, and obedient to Mechanick Operation; help Boyl, Norris, Newton, Manton, Hammond, Tillotson, and all the Learned Race, help Phylosophy, Divinity, Physicks, Oeconomicks, all's in vain, a Mechanick Chair of Reflection is the only Remedy that ever I found in my Life for this Work.

As to the Effects of Mathematical thinking, what Volumes might be writ of it will more easily appear, if we consider the wondrous Usefulness of this Engine in all humane Affairs; as of War, Peace, Justice, Injuries, Pa.s.sion, Love, Marriage, Trade, Policy, and Religion.

When a Man has been screw'd into himself, and brought by this Art to a Regularity of Thought, he never commits any Absurdity after it; his Actions are squared by the same Lines, for Action is but the Consequence of Thinking; and he that acts before he thinks, sets humane Nature with the bottom upward.

M. would never have made his Speech, nor the famous B----ly wrote a Book, if ever they had been in this thinking Engine: One would have never told us of Nations he never saw, nor the other told us, he had seen a great many, and was never the Wiser.

H. had never ruin'd his Family to Marry Wh.o.r.e, Thief and Beggar-Woman, in one Salliant Lady, after having been told so honestly, and so often of it by the very Woman her self.

Our late unhappy Monarch had never trusted the English Clergy, when they preacht up that Non-Resistance, which he must needs see they could never Practice; had his Majesty been screw'd up into this Cogitator, he had presently reflected, that it was against Nature to expect they should stand still, and let him tread upon them: That they should, whatever they had preacht or pretended to, hold open their Throats to have them be cut, and tye their own Hands from resisting the Lord's Anointed.

Had some of our Clergy been screw'd in this Engine, they had never turned Martyrs for their Allegiance to the Late King, only for the Lechery of having Dr. S------- in their Company.

Had our Merchants been manag'd in this Engine, they had never trusted their Turkey Fleet with a famous Squadron, that took a great deal of care to Convoy them safe into the Enemies Hands.

Had some People been in this Engine, when they had made a certain League in the World, in order to make amends for a better made before, they would certainly have consider'd farther, before they had embarkt with a Nation, that are neither fit to go abroad nor stay at Home.

As for the Thinking practis'd in n.o.ble Speeches, Occasional Bills, Addressings about Prerogative, Convocation Disputes, Turnings in and Turnings out at Ours, and all the Courts of Christendom, I have nothing to say to it.