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"Zeno, and his scholars the Stoicks, took an odd fancy, that the passions were not interwoven with the constitution of man, and so were no part of his nature, but the blemishes and vicious excrescencies of the soul, and therefore ought to be entirely cut off; noxious weeds, that poison'd the mind, and consequently ought to be rooted up, and utterly destroy'd; that reason being deliver'd from its enemies, and freed from incumbrances, might enjoy a peaceful dominion; and man by that means might be at rest: and this doctrine, as the only way to happiness, they inculcated on their disciples."

— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)

Author

Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)

Work Title

Redemption: A Divine Poem, in Six Books

Place of Publication

London

Publisher

Printed for A. Bettesworth and James MackEuen

Date

1722

Metaphor

"Zeno, and his scholars the Stoicks, took an odd fancy, that the passions were not interwoven with the constitution of man, and so were no part of his nature, but the blemishes and vicious excrescencies of the soul, and therefore ought to be entirely cut off; noxious weeds, that poison'd the mind, and consequently ought to be rooted up, and utterly destroy'd; that reason being deliver'd from its enemies, and freed from incumbrances, might enjoy a peaceful dominion; and man by that means might be at rest: and this doctrine, as the only way to happiness, they inculcated on their disciples."

Metaphor in Context

It has been the complaint of all men, in all ages, Video meliora proboque, deteriora sequor; which agrees with St. Paul's description of his uneasy condition, while he affirms, the good I would do I do not, &c. Though the world was thoroughly sensible of this calamity, yet they were ignorant of the cause that produc'd it, and did not for a long time apply themselves to find out any means of cure, and ways of methods, by which this unhappy state might be retriev'd; by restoring reason the empire of the mind, and bringing the passions and appetites to their due subjection; when that order, beauty and harmony in the faculties and powers of the soul might be recover'd, in which the perfection of human nature does certainly consist; and by the breach and ruin of which, it is very evident, we become miserable. It is true, that for this purpose some precepts of morality were contain'd in the fables and apologues of the ancient Sages of the East, in the hieroglyphicks and mystical wisdom of the Egyptians, and afterwards several good rules of life were interspers'd in the writings of the poets, but these were impotent and ineffectual to cure the great and universal diseases of the mind, and lay the foundation of peace and tranquility, by bringing the contests of reason and passion to an amicable conclusion. At length the Philosophers of Greece, of whom the famous SocratesIonick school, was the first took this matter in hand. That great man deliver'd many excellent moral precepts for restraining the passions, and subjecting them to the government of reason; and the founder of the Italick school, Pythagoras, instructed by the Magicians of the East, had the same at heart, and carry'd on the like worthy design, though his doctrines were too much involv'd in mystery and allegorical allusions. But the immediate disciples of these two great masters were much divided about reconciling the two combatants, reason and passion, and bring this intestine war to an end. Zeno, and his scholars the Stoicks, took an odd fancy, that the passions were not interwoven with the constitution of man, and so were no part of his nature, but the blemishes and vicious excrescencies of the soul, and therefore ought to be entirely cut off; noxious weeds, that poison'd the mind, and consequently ought to be rooted up, and utterly destroy'd; that reason being deliver'd from its enemies, and freed from incumbrances, might enjoy a peaceful dominion; and man by that means might be at rest: and this doctrine, as the only way to happiness, they inculcated on their disciples. [...]
(Preface, ix-xiii)