Two dissertations, I. Concerning the end for which God created the world. II. The…

BUT there is another and higher beauty in true virtue, and in all truly virtuous dispositions and exercises, than what consists in any uniformity or similarity of various things; viz. the union of heart to Being in general, or to GOD the Being of Beings, which appears in those virtues; and which those virtues, when true, are the various expressions or effects of. Benevolence to Being in general, or to Being simply considered, is entirely a distinct thing from uniformity in the midst of variety, and is a superior kind of beauty.

BUT there is another and higher beauty in true virtue, and in all truly virtuous dispositions and exercises, than what consists in any uniformity or similarity of various things; viz. the union of heart to Being in general, or to GOD the Being of Beings, which appears in those virtues; and which those virtues, when true, are the various expressions or effects of. Benevolence to Being in general, or to Being simply considered, is intirely a distinct thing from uniformity in the midst of variety, and is a superior kind of beauty.

'TIS true, that benevolence to Being in general, when a person hath it, will naturally incline him to justice, or proportion in the exercises of it. He that loves Being, simply considered, will naturally (as was observed before) other things being equal, love particular Beings, in a proportion compounded of the degree of Being, & the degree of virtue or benevolence to Being, which they have. And that is to love Beings in proportion to their dignity. For the dignity of any Being consists in those two things. Respect to ⟨p. 143⟩Being, in this proportion, is the first and most general kind of justice; which will produce all the subordinate kinds. So that, after benevolence to Being in general exists, the proportion which is observed in objects, may be the cause of the proportion of benevolence to those objects: but no proportion is the cause or ground of the existence of such a thing as benevolence to Being. The tendency of objects to excite that degree of benevolence, which is proportionable to the degree of Being, &c. Is the consequence of the existence of benevolence; and not the ground of it. Even as a tendency of bodies, one to another, by mutual attraction, in proportion to the quantity of matter, is the consequence of the Being of such a thing as mutual attraction; and not attraction the effect of proportion.