Chap. V. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 133 



the pains of the mind are the greateft: For, fays he, the mind not only 

 ails the prefent, but the paft and the fuiure ; whereas the body only 

 ails the prefent. The pleafurcs of the intelledtual mind mufl: alfo 

 be greater than thofe of the body; and for the fame reafon, that the 

 mind not only enjoys the prefent, but the part and the future. And 

 the pleafures of this mind are lo much greater than thofe of the bo- 

 dy, that a man may enjoy the pleafures of mind under the greaicft 

 diftrefs of body. Of which Epicurus himfelf was an example ; for, 

 in a letter of his to a friend, he fays, that while he was dying of a 

 moft painful difeafe, he was happy in the thoughts of the great dif- 

 coveries in philofophy which he had made *. 



Thus it appears, that the moft perfed animals, that is the intel- 

 le<Slual, if ihey make the proper ufe of their intelled, are capable of 

 the greateft happinefs ; and it is according to the order of nature 

 that it {hould be fo. But all animals cannot be equally perfe£b ; for 

 the fyftem of the univerfe being, as I have faid, TAn^co^^x tmv 'h^ui/, 

 the complement of J 01 vis ^ it was neceflary that it fhould comprehend 

 animals of every kind; and, indeed, the fyftem would otherwife have 

 been imperfe£t, and not a jyjlem^ as it is, oj the whole of things. 

 But, though every animal could not be equally happy, not being 

 equally perfed, the goodnefs of God requires that every animal 

 fliould enjoy all the happinefs that his nature is capable of; fo that the 

 queftion is, Whether that be not truly ihe cafe ? And it appears to 

 me that it is ; for otherwife the fyftem of the univerfe would not 

 have been a perfed fyftem, which we muft fuppofe it to be, being 

 the work of perfed intelligence. 



The principal Beings in the fyftem are, as I have faid, fenfitive 

 and intelledual beings. For their ufe all the other beings are intend- 

 ed, and accordingly are fo employed. If, therefore, thofe beings 



were 



* Cicero, Lib. II. De Finibits, Cap. 30. 



