Chap. VIII. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. i^f 



CHAP. VIIL 



After Virtue^ Morals In general to he confidered. — Upon them depends 

 the Happinejs of C'lvd Society, — ^he Greeks confidtred Morals and 

 Politics as fo clofely connc6led^ that they beflowed upon both the term 

 PoUtica!, as both applied to Political Society. — Pythagoras^ the 

 frft ikjho inquired concerning Virtue^ — he explained it by numbers, 

 — Socrates^ more fucce/sful tn his inquiries after Virtue ^ — He held 

 all Virtue to be Science. — His Syftetn al/o defe£tive. — He made it a 

 Theoretical iSr/V;7r<? ; whereas it is a Pra£iical Art, — Plato made 

 great improvements upon his Majler Socrates ; — but erred by mix-^ 

 ing Metaphyfics with Morals; — Other defeats in Plato s DoBrine of 

 Morals. — AriflotWs excellence in this branch of Philofophy, — I'hree 

 works of bis upon this JubjeB, — Our Faculties, Difpojitionsy and 

 Habits, there explained,— He divides our Mind into two parts the 

 Rational and the Irrational. — The Irrational comprehends both the 

 Animal and Vegetable Minds, — Subdivifton of the Rational into the 

 Scientific and Logiftic. — Of T^oa/^;£<r;;, a Deliberation — op^'^iq or 

 Defire — ana 7r^aJ<; or Practice — Arifiotle's definition of Virtue, 

 founded on our perception of the Beautiful. — The particular Virtues 

 defined aiid explained by him mojl accurately. — Virtue , a middle 

 betwixt two extremes of Excefs and DefeB^ — all Virtues, accord^ 

 ing to him, truly Habits, — and therefore called Ethical. — A fourth 



work upon Morals by Arifiotle, De Virtutibus et Vitiis. This a 



Summary of the three other works, — Praife of his works upon 

 Morals. — Many nice dlJlifiSiions therein made, — Obfervations- up-^ 

 sn Arifiotle's Dodlrine of Morals, 



^2 AS 



