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Page 74
ORDINARY. And I will wish you a reprieve in as large a draught.
Come, don't despair; it is yet time enough to think of dying; you
have good friends, who very probably may prevail for you. I have
known many a man reprieved who had less reason to expect it.
JONATHAN. But if I should flatter myself with such hopes, and be
deceived--what then would become of my soul?
ORDINARY. Pugh! Never mind your soul--leave that to me; I will
render a good account of it, I warrant you. I have a sermon in my
pocket which may be of some use to you to hear. I do not value
myself on the talent of preaching, since no man ought to value
himself for any gift in this world. But perhaps there are not many
such sermons. But to proceed, since we have nothing else to do
till the punch comes. My text is the latter part of a verse only:
---To the Greeks FOOLISHNESS.
The occasion of these words was principally that philosophy of the
Greeks which at that time had overrun great part of the heathen
world, had poisoned, and, as it were, puffed up their minds with
pride, so that they disregarded all kinds of doctrine in
comparison of their own; and, however safe and however sound the
learning of the others might be, yet, if it anywise contradicted
their own laws, customs, and received opinions, AWAY WITH IT--IT
IS NOT FOR US. It was to the Greeks FOOLISHNESS.
In the former part, therefore, of my discourse on these words, I
shall principally confine myself to the laying open and
demonstrating the great emptiness and vanity of this philosophy,
with which these idle and absurd sophists were so proudly blown up
and elevated.
And here I shall do two things: First, I shall expose the matter;
and, secondly, the manner of this absurd philosophy.
And first, for the first of these, namely, the matter. Now here we
may retort the unmannerly word which our adversaries have
audaciously thrown in our faces; for what was all this mighty
matter of philosophy, this heap of knowledge, which was to bring
such large harvests of honour to those who sowed it, and so
greatly and nobly to enrich the ground on which it fell; what was
it but FOOLISHNESS? An inconsistent heap of nonsense, of
absurdities and contradictions, bringing no ornament to the mind
in its theory, nor exhibiting any usefulness to the body in its
practice. What were all the sermons and the savings, the fables
and the morals of all these wise men, but, to use the word
mentioned in my text once more, FOOLISHNESS? What was their great
master Plato, or their other great light Aristotle? Both fools,
mere quibblers and sophists, idly and vainly attached to certain
ridiculous notions of their own, founded neither on truth nor on
reason. Their whole works are a strange medley of the greatest
falsehoods, scarce covered over with the colour of truth: their
precepts are neither borrowed from nature nor guided by reason;
mere fictions, serving only to evince the dreadful height of human
pride; in one word, FOOLISHNESS. It may be perhaps expected of me
that I should give some instances from their works to prove this
charge; but, as to transcribe every passage to my purpose would be
to transcribe their whole works, and as in such a plentiful crop
it is difficult to chuse; instead of trespassing on your patience,
I shall conclude this first head with asserting what I have so
fully proved, and what may indeed be inferred from the text, that
the philosophy of the Greeks was FOOLISHNESS.
Proceed we now, in the second place, to consider the manner in
which this inane and simple doctrine was propagated. And here--But
here the punch by entring waked Mr. Wild, who was fast asleep, and
put an end to the sermon; nor could we obtain any further account
of the conversation which passed at this interview.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
WILD PROCEEDS TO THE HIGHEST CONSUMMATION OF HUMAN GREATNESS.
The day now drew nigh when our great man was to exemplify the last
and noblest act of greatness by which any hero can signalise
himself. This was the day of execution, or consummation, or
apotheosis (for it is called by different names), which was to
give our hero an opportunity of facing death and damnation,
without any fear in his heart, or, at least, without betraying any
symptoms of it in his countenance. A completion of greatness which
is heartily to be wished to every great man; nothing being more
worthy of lamentation than when Fortune, like a lazy poet, winds
up her catastrophe aukwardly, and, bestowing too little care on
her fifth act, dismisses the hero with a sneaking and private
exit, who had in the former part of the drama performed such
notable exploits as must promise to every good judge among the
spectators a noble, public, and exalted end.
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