The virgin in Eden: or, The state of innocency. Deliver'd by way of image and description. Presenting a nobleman, a student, and heiress, on their progress from Sodom to Canaan. With the parable of the shepherd, Zachariah, and Mary ... To which are added, Pamela's letters proved to be immodest roman online

difcourfed more excellently upon thefc Subjects than he had
done. The Images that you have drawn, fays I, I confl*
der as nice Ideas, fcarce to be found in any Hillory either
in former or latter Times.

I told him, when I refleded on what he related of the
heavenly Bodie*:, I queftion*d whether the greatcft Capacity
is capable of coming fo near his Speculations on the Works
of God. No fooner had I thus delivered my Thoughts,
but he went on with the Thread of his Difcourfc. Says
he, the Frame of the Creation is of fuch vaft Extent, and
there are in it to appearance fo many Worlds, that the
Glob^, ia which we live, J t4ke.to bp but as it were a

iinall



"m



â– 'ir^tiin^iiit'-tfMiiiiiirit-iiii-'itiiiii'iiri



t54l

fmall Point, in Comparifon to all thofe vaft Territories.
Only confider what a Multitude of them we can obfcrvc
with the naked Eye, befides others by the Help of a Tele-
fcope ; and yet what vaft Numbers are there out of Sight,
that rife one above another, not to be viewed by any In-
llrument yet invented.

I told the Shepherd my Thoughts were, that every one
of thofe Worlds had its Bounds fet ; and that there was not
the leaft Obje6l in the Firmament, but what was dire£led
by an unerring Hand : which proves to me, that not one of
thofe high Orders were made for no Ufe, or fland as Cy-
phers. Such a Thought, in my Opinion, would eclipfe the .
Wifdom of an Infinite Being, and charge him with crea-
ting Works for no End or Purpofe whatfoever.

Says the Shepherd, I often lofe myfelf in the Variety of
Beings that I behold even in xhis our little Globe ; but how
much more, when I look up and furvey what I fee and can
conceive in yonder ftarry Regions. In this imperfetSl State
we can never attain to the full Knowledge of things ; for
if we give a right Judgment in fome Points, we are wrong
in others. But thefe Mifts will be difpers*d, and we ftiaU
come to a clearer and more extenfive Comprehenfion, when
our corruptible Bodies are undrefs*d, and fpiritually purify*d
in the Morning of the Refurredion. The Sphere in which
we (hall then move and a£l, will be of a much wider Cir-
cumference, and we (hall know as the Angels that furround
the celeftial Throne. Thus far we already know, that all
thefe things difcover the Attributes and Power of God in this
vifible Creation, and in thofe Regions where God now
dwells in Light inacccflible.

I told the Shepherd, I thought the Creation, of which
our Earth is a Part, is confin'd to certain Limits ; but the
Sphere in which we move, and a(5^, and underftand, arc
not limited : for we can reach by Thoughts far beyond all
created Beings, and even take a diftant Look into the invi-
fible Orbs, whofe Extent can never be meafur'd, even by
the Angels themfelves. Duration is a Space of Time, that
look we ever fo far back, we never can reach the Begin-
ning of it, nor find a Period with all our Speculations. The
Eflence of Divine Exiftence is of too wide a Nature to be
jneafur'd by any created or uncreated Beings : Only the
facred and holy Trinity in Unity is a Being, whofe Cinter
is every where, and its Circumference without Limits.

I told him, that (hould all the immortal Spirits above
traverfe for Millions and Millions of Ages, yet even they

could



issl

could never reach to the Immenfitj^ of divine Power: And
as for mortal Man, whofe firft Original ij Du&y he muA
never afpire to fpan the Length of Eternity.

Says the Shepherd, Since we are upon the Subjc6^ of
created and uncreated Beings, at Times when my Flocks
are folded in the Pens, I go out into the Koad, and con-
vcrfe with Travellers that have leifure Hour^ to fpare. The
other Day one came to my Cottage } he entertained mt
with Variety of odd Subjefts. Whether he had been in
Company with Men, who converfe with invifible Beings,
or in an unbodied State, I know not. He was at that
time on vtry abftrufc Points, and feem'd eager to carry my
Thoughts into the Center of the Chaos, before rude Matter
was regulated. Which at firft a little furpriz'd me ; but
when he began to difpute fo excellently upon tlie Original
of the Creation, that he gave me very fine Thoughts of the
Nature and Caufe of perpetual Motion, I was much ta-
ken with his wonderful Genius. We enter'd into Debate
of Difcoveries too fine for Perfons, whofe Senfes are only
ftruck with Defcriptions of what is common. He- namol
two of the beft Judges we have in our publick Schools of
Sciences, who can Icarch into human Secrets with fuch
Nicety, that there is a certain Sublimity of Soul which
fhines through all their Works, and befpeaks them not only
good Philofophers, but even infpir'd with all the curious
Dictates of Divine Principles, fuch as none but wife aod
thinking Men are capable of comprehending.

The Shepherd told me, this Conference with the Stranger
made fo deep an Impreflion on his Mind, that he (hut him-
felf into his thatched Cottage the remaining Part of the
Day, with an Intent to take no other Refrefliment than
the Ufe of Pen, Ink, and Paper, to minute down Ibmc

f.rticular Points ; but an unufual Drowfinefs feized him.
was forc'd, fays the Shepherd, to lean back in my with/
Chair, and allow myfelf a (hort Repofe: which was very
much broken ; for between fleeping and waking, I fancy'd
the Earth presented herfelf to my View, drefied in all the
gay Colours which (he wears in the Spring ; and made a
Motion, as if fhe was defirous to deliver fomething of Mor
ment to me. This ftrange Vifion, or Trance, foon awak*d
me, and put me upon writing down in Chara^ers, fonte
particular Notes by way of Memorandum ; which I did
with incredible Swiftnefs and £xa<5lnefs. 1 had no fooner
finifhed that Work, which did not take up ten Minutes^
but I was again thrown into a fort of an Amufemeot or

Slumber.



Tr-'^'r-'iTaiiiiitiiii



[56]

Slumber. I thought the fame Apparition came a tecotii
time, and ftem'd to frown upon me, becaufe I took fo ht-
tie Notice of her, when fbe had obh'gM me with a fort of
an unufual Vifit, which (he had never yet made to any of
her grcateft Favourites. Upon excufing my Rudencfs for
running away fo quickly, fhe turned her(elf towards me,
and in a very eloquent Stile gave me an Account of her firft
Original and Birth ; of her being brought forth, about five
thoufand fcvcn hundred Years ago, in a moft wonderful
manner. She told me how ihe was fram*d in the Womb
of tlie rude and black Chaos, amidft a Heap of Confufion ; .^
and how ihe came to break through the Bars of that dark '
Dungeon in which her fcattcr'd Particles were confined,
and by what Means ihe fhot forth into a freffi Region ; how
her Parts were brought to their perfect Shape ; how (he
proceeded every Minute in her fenfible Growth ; how her
Subftancc was recciv*d and diftributed to every Quarter in
her obfcure Prifon; how Fire, Earth, Air and Water
were order'd to their feveral Stations with an agreeable Sy-
metry; and how they placed themfelves in their diftant
Chambers, according to their refpeftive Levity and Gravi-
ty ; how ftri(5l an Alliance was made between them ; and
Ik)w at laft fhc came to afTume all her Light and Beauty.

I was not, faid ihe, formed out of Atoms, or jumbled
together with Confufion. The Air, the Water, and the
Earth were not fprcad all over the Chaos; one Part did not
oppofe another : the Cold and Heat, Moifture and Drinefs,
Lightnefs and Ponderofity, did not ftruggle one with ano-
ther, in one and the fame Body, all over the vaft Extent
of rude Matter. An invifible Power made us all ; and as
foon as we were form'd, we did, like the eldeft and young-
eft Brothers and Sifters, take the particular Places affign*d
us, without the leaft Controverfy or Jarring. She told me,
that without the mutual Correfpondence of a d liferent Sex,
Ihe conceived within her Bowels all living Creatures, and
had ever fince been very fruitful in bringing forth new Ge-
nerations every Year. She faid (he had remain'd to this
Day, unde/the Protection of her great Archite(Sl, without
any fenfibic Decay in her Strength and Nature, though fhe
had undergone many Revolutions, and been often made to
tremble with the Shocks of an unforefeen Enemy, who
fteals unawares into the hollow Caverns of her marvellous
Edifice. After (he had ended her Speech, (he vanifti'd out
of Sight ; which brought me out of my Vifion, or Dream.
By this time the Sun was fet, the ufual Hour o( my reti«

ring



t



II 1 ' -riMiiiliiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiaii^^ r i - 1 r ii ntiiiiriiiH" ti rmfiivmr '"'n**^



^'



t57)

ring to reft. However, I looked over my Chapters tliat
were left unfinifh'd : But all that fort of Bufmefs was en-
tirely laid afidc. I was full of Plots and Schemes of a new
Model ; and led from one Scene of Variety to another,
till I came to pry into a certain Abyfs of Secrets, where
there is one Miracle plac*d by another, and the feaft that
reaches our Ideas is very confiderable. VVhilft I was taking
a Survey of thofe Rarities, though they appeared (b very
furprizing and intricate, yet I could not but look upon 1117
felf to be in the higheft Circles of Reafon, where the Laws
of infinite Wifdom are confpicuous. When my Mind came
off from thofe high Notions, I refleifled, that it is no wonder
there are fo few Dlfcourfes extant, which treat of Myriads
of Beings that hang within the Curtains of the Univcrfc,
when Men of the nicefl Speculations confine themfelvcs as
Prifoners either to their Books, or the Town. Grave An-
tiquaries are feldom feen, in our Days, taking Draughts
from the firft original Copies ; altho* every Piece is a little
Library, filPd with Variety of Treatifes, and a fmall Rc-
pofitory crouded with admirable Rarities. Artificial Mo-
dels only give an imperfcii Rcfcmblance of thincs in cloud-
ed Colours ; but ColIe£lions pcncil'd out by the Deity, de-
fcribe the natural Beauty and Deformity of what they re-
prefent. In that great Volume of Nature we fee feveral
Cuts and Infcriptions in every Page very finely done,
which afford Variety of Matter. 1 have looked into this
large Folio after the Summer-Q^iarter has drawn a thin Veil
over the Spring, and (hut up in Obfcurity Millions of plea-
fing Images; yet there remained ten thoufand Pieces, each
of which gave mc a very pleafing ProfpetH. At other
times, when I have been attending my Flock upon th©
Common, when the Winter had let drop her thick Sheet^
and veird from the Eye the Harveft and the fruitful Seafon,
I have been charm'd in looking even into that Apartment,
(haded with Clouds and Mifts ; and tho' I thought not to
fpend three Moments, I have ftudied there the beft Part of
a Night before I could ftir from thence. Books I think
dead Letters to thofe fair Manufcripts; for every Root that
lies buried in the Earth is a large Copy, that offers to the
Thoughts curious Notions. "A Stone, or a Pebble, is not
without a diftinguifliing Mark from its neareft Neighbour.
Each of them bcompofed of a finer or coarfer Matter, of
a more beautiful or deformed Shape, or fomething clfc that
is particular ; which cither allov/s a Preface to be made, or
gives an EplAle of its own Curiofity. Every trifling thing -

H i%



MMii



t58]

is painted out in the ftrongeft and liveliefl Colours. There
is no need of a Pencil to regiltcr any of the Works of Pro-
vidence : They are very perfedlly done to our Hands. The
Defcriptions we fee upon an Apple, or a Nut,^afFord us
Subje^ of Difcourfe as long as a Lawyer is in delivering a
Plea. A Sloe, or a Haw, gives us a (hort Hiftory of its
Growth, and the inevitable Danger it runs of being defa-
ced and eaten up by the devouring Birds or Worms. What
is imprinted on a Nettle, or a Daizy, is admirable; their
Leaves are interwoven with fine Strings of different Size ;
and that Part which faces the Sky, is more fmooth than
the lower Side, which looks down towards the Earth. I
had no fooner flrcngthen'd my Sight, fo as to make it
pierce into the moft remote Spaces, to take another View
of thofe Scenes that difplay diflant Beings, but all my fub*
lime Speculations were dafh'd at once ; Travellers came by,
and cntcr'd into Difcourfe with me. I told them the Pre-
judice they did me was irreparable, by coming at an Hour
when I had Juft received fuch new Ideas of things, as would
have been Proof againft Sword, Fire, Thunder, and the
Injuries of Time ; for I was forming in my Mind one of
the fairefl Schemes in the Univerfe, which would have rc-
prefented many great and fmall Bodies moving in their na-
tural Spheres. Nothing, faid I, was clearly or more intel-
ligibly contriv*d : It would have been a Map for defcribing
what is penciird out in the minutcfl Particles, as well as in
the largefl Figures ; but now I fear they will find it come
forth an incoherent Piece, more frightful than the Chaos
that the Earth told me (he was tumbled out of. For it is
impoilible to copy it out in its firft original Luflre, after
fuch an Interruption j as it would be furprizing and won-
derful to fee a Child, by running a Pencil upon a Piece of
Paper according to his little Humour, draw a Pidure of
Cafary as good and as like as the befl that ever Michael
Jngelo could do. The Travellers faid, they were forry
that they had hinder'd me from immortalizing a Shepherd's
Name, by utterly ruining the Beauty of his Models ; yet
they wanted to know when they received their Birth, fo as
they might fee the rough Draughts that now lie hid in the
Embryo, which I pleaded they had defac'd. After my
Quefh were gone, I laid myfeif down on my Flock-bed,
much vexed at my Difappointment ; but with a flrong Im-
pre/Eon upon my Spirits, as to what I had been taking a
Survey of. The bare Remembrance of the (hort LefTons I
found wrote upon the Blades of Qrafs, plung'd me a^a

.. int<»



ftiiiii iiiiiirriniiiitiiiMi n im mtlm^mitmmmitmiiMitimiim



C 59 ]

Into an Immenfity of deep Thoughts, about what was fur*
ther to be obfcTv'd in the moft ordinary Manufcripts of
Nature : for the fine Draughts I had form'd in my Ideas
were now entirely broke to pieces. Thefc Reflexion*
threw mc infenfibly into a moft unaccountable Revery,
that cannot properly be called, a Repofc, or a Senfation.
However it was, I fancy *d I was entertain'd with the fol-
lowing Difcouric, without feeing any Perfon ftanding \)y
me. When I got up in the Morning, it dwelt fo ftrorg
upon mc, that 1 wrote down tJie Subftance of it as pcrfeft-
ly, as my Memory was capable of retaining ; and (if I am
not miftaken) thele arc the particular Sentences. If (faid
he) you can be fo tranfporied, in gazing on every mean and
trifling Object that appears plainly difcover'd to you ; how
great would your Surprize be, if you were to know the cu-
rious Contextures of every Secret that lies hid in the deep
Ocean, and is not in the Power of the Eye to model ? And
befides, was you to behold thofe Ranges of Myfteries which
run through the Veins of the Earth, that all human Skill is
by infinite Degrees too weak to find out. Not but wliat
the things you have been admiring, afford Employment
fufficient to take up a whole Age. For the Fruits and
Flowers which grow up every Year, arc marvelous Pieces
of Antiquity ; the leaft of them throws back a Door, and
/hews a Stage fill'd with fine Scenes. We who are the In-
habitants of the invifible State have many things in your
World perfe<511y fet before us, which reprefent Magazines
of Rarities. Others are kept from us as Secrets ; and we
can only perceive that they have a thoufand unknown Cu-
riofities about them, which will Vie conceal'd in their con-
fined Apartments till the great Fallof Nature; when the
Images drawn out in the Land.skip of the Creation, which
I fliall at this time fpeak nothing of, will no longer appear
in Masks, tho* they now feem to be extraordinary Pieces.
I was furpriz*d at this Speech, and ftarted up to look if anjr
body was talking to me at the Door of my Cottage; but I
could fee nothing, though the Sky was clear, and crouded
with fmall Lights : fo that I found I was carry'd into thofc
Thoughts only by the Brightnefs of the Night, and the
Arong Intenfiveiiefs that lay imprelTed upon my Ima^n^
^on.



Ha m



[ 6o )

The PARABLE

Of MARY.

TH E Day I vifited Mary was appointed as a folcmn
Faft, to divert the Judgments of the Deity from
brln^rng a Blaft on the Fruits of the Earth by locking up
the vVater m the Clouds, and parching die Fields and the
Gardens with an unufual Drought. I found her fceking to
God in Prayer, * That he would be picas'd of his infinite

• Mercy to fend down Showers of rcfrefhing Rain in this

• needful Scafon. O Jefus, faid fhe, the very Heavens

• now difcover thy VVrath for our many and repeated

• TranfgrcfHons.'

I attended this Saint to the Houfe of Mourning, where
an excellent Sermon was preach*d fuitablc to the Occafion.
Her Devotion was fuch, that ihc eat nothing till the Clofe
of the Evening ; and then only a few boil'd Eggs. Her
Convcrfation fo delighted me, tliat I vifited her often. She
rciin'd my Thoughts, and flrengthen'd my Faith. The
crofs Blows of Fortune had not in the leaft chang'd or
rufH*d her Temper, nor difcompos'd her ferene Mind.
Tho* young and beautiful, {he was the fame as in the Days
of Profpcrity, Wife, Humble, Modcfl and Chafle : thefe
Qualifications were ingrafted in her. Her Virtues called to
my Mind the Mother of Jefus, worthy to be wrote in
Letters of Gold, and plac'd in the Clofets of the Youth of
both Sexes to look upon, and imitate every Day ; when
they arife, when they drcfs, and when they retire to Sleep.
Good Examples convey the Thoughts even into an endlefs
Duration. Mary confider'd that Period which is to come,
and argu*d upon it like a Miflrefs of Learning and Lan-
guages. When I awake, faid ihc, at Midnight, I con-
template on that Eternity in which I am to live when mo-
mentary Time ihall be expended. I view myfelf as having
Lttle more to do in thi$ mortal State, but to prepare for my
Change. I received a Beginning, but fhall never find an
End. In which State it will be, I know not : There is
one fixed for the Reward of Virtue, and another allotted
for Unbelievers and Deifb.

I told Mary thefe were high Ideas ; they pointed at thofc

Spheres to which we are all travcllijig, and drawing nearer

t and



I JIJ i .il l U i .ltiJlilPL4^*i - ' â– " ..j i m i wjJL|,L,!Hli|^, ' -.U ' ^ i. i j^iip i J-l ' ..



t 6^]



and nearer every Hour and Moment of Life : Our Moti-
on thither never fleeps nor (lumbers.

Thefc Thoughts, fays Alary ^ make me forget what is
behind, and look to that which is before. Muft not I be
wife ? Am not I to live Milhons and Millions of Ages,
Spaces that can never be meafur'd, a Race of Time that can
never run to an End?

I told her foe reafon'd well; but what cclipfcd our Vir-
tues, and interrupted our Progrefs and Dcfi res after Immor-;
tality, arc often owing to the Want of true Faith. The
Thoughts of Death Itrike Hope and Horror into the Soul:
We fhrink and draw back, when we come to the Brink ;
and yet the Pains and Miferies we meet with here, arc apt
to make us wifli for our Diflblution. True Virtue longs
for an Hereafter, and wants to enter upon that Duration.

We behold a Power above that is pleafing, if we could
but afcend thither ; yet when we confidcr a boundlefs O-
cean (hadow*d with Clouds and Darknefs to our SighV, wc
then draw back and tremble. O boundlefs Thought ! In
one State we muft be Inhabitants. Wc are fcnt into this na-
ked W orld with an Intent of refining our Morals, to per-
fect us to inhabFt thofe Spaces, that will ever prefcnt to us
nev/ Springs of Light, Harmony and Glory.

Says Maryy I am tir*d in this weary Wildernefs of
fleeting Time : I want to be gone. I will venture to truft
my Soul with Jefus. If it be loft, it fhall be v;ithin his
cvcrlafting Arms. Haftc this blefTed Time. I wait to
pafs the Gulph, and care not to abide any longer here.
Though I am young, yet I find Nature herfelf begins to
decay. She hath pafs'd through many Generations, and
muft be diflblved ; but my immortal Soul will exift, when
the World, this Globe of Earth, is cruihed into its primi-
tive and original Nothing.

From this Subje£t Mary went upon another. Says fhe,
I refle£t that there is a great Similitude in the Motion of
the Thoughts; and I think the Occafion of Grief, as well
as Joy, fuddenly arifes even unknown : for the Mind has
not always an Opportunity to recoiled its Force; (b that
the Eyes water with Tears, before wc can really exprc6
our Conceptions of the Objeif^s reprefented to our View.

I told her, that her Sex was of a more tender and com-
panionate Nature than Man. They take in the Miferies
and Misfortunes of others with a deeper Senfc of Pity. It
is Pain to a virtuous Woman to fee Diftrefs and Anguifli
lie in their View, and not capable of giving Relief. To

behold



jtfjiEl i ifriS i Wjm " ^



behold a melancholy Air, mean Apparel, and a worn At*
pe<fi, attra£li Sorrow from a tender Heart. Some Men, as
well as Women, are naturally inclin'd to this Virtue, and
a6l fuitable to the Dignity of it. It is recorded, that there
liv'd in the laft Century a learned Author of refin'd and
excellent Parts. He never publifh'd any Treatifcs, but he
difcourfcd in fome one Chapter either upon Grief or Joy,
or upon Humanity. I am of the Opinion, that it is as va-
luable a Virtue as can lodge in the Breaft of a Chriftian, or
in a wife Man. For what great Mind can fee his own
Image in Sufferings, and not come into its Relief according
to his Ability ? VVho can behold an Obje<fl naked and ftar-
ving, and not be touched with his Misfortunes ? I wifli this
Compaflion and Mercy were implanted in every Mind :
3uch a Sympathy beautifies the Affedions.

Pity is an irrefiftible Stroke of Eloquence ; and whcre-
cver its Language is heard, the very Sound makes an Im*
prcffion upon a tender Heart.

It is to me an agreeable Scene, to fee a Woman in Tears
of CompafEon. Once I faw a Female weep as i( fhe had
loft a Husband or a Child, only by obfcrving Cruelty a£led
upon an Animal reduc'd to Extremity of Torture. That
Sight ftruck me with a deep Senfe of her Humanity;
therefore I record her in this my Work, as an Example to
be imitated even by Men of Refolution and Bravery. I
have read of Heroes endow'd with this Virtue of Sorrow
upon gaining or lofmg of a Battel, li a Victory has been
gained, the very View of the Defolation their Arms have
made upon the innocent Subjects of a Tyrant hath drawn
Tears from their Eyes. It is fomething higher than what
is common, when the Imagination is touched with an ex-
tenfive Benevolence, that breaks our Paffions into Tears,
At that Inflant the Mind is poflefs'd with foft and eafy
Pleafures, a Joy more divine than moral.

After this Conference with Mary^ I retir'd to my Study ;
and took Pen, Ink, and Paper, to write how degenerate,
and below the Dignity of an Author it is, to range Men in
an high Order on Account only of their Riches or Honoun,
^ when at the fame time they a£l below the meaneft of their
Species, and have neither Sorrow, Joy, nor Pity in them
on any Account but their own contracted Intercfts. They
never fetch a Sigh, or fhed a Tear, tbo* they fee the Height
of Barbarity and Injuftice aded upon Men, or innocent
Animak. V ,

^ 5upa»



163]

Superiority ftiould be to thofc who live to tlie wlfcft
Knds, and who aflTumc no higher than their Virtues and
Parts entitle them to. Human Life is not to be confider'd,
as to the Stations we are placed in, but in the Spheres where-
in we aft. We are not to enquire who is the World's Fa-
vourite, but who behaves himfelf in Afiions that diflinguifk
him from the common Level of Mortals.

The Scene that Mary afte in, raifes her to a higher Sta-
tion than an Emprefs diverted of Wifdom, The Order
and Difciplinc of a Perfon is to be valu'd, hot for his Rani:
and Station, not his Eminence or Superiority, but for his
Virtues. A crown'd Head without good A6is ftands birt as
a Figure, It is not Diftin<Slion and Fortune that raifes our
Merits, or feats us above others. If we would be noble,
we muft pafs through the Scenes o^Joby Solomon^ and Dtf-
vid» In them were Humility, Wifdom and Grandeur feca
to move in their high Orders: Their Ideas moved in the
unerring Way, and kept fteady in that.Courfc to the End
of Life. Thofe that are ambitious of Glory fhould fup^
port their Prctenfions by doing fomething that is fingular,
and out of the common Level. Virtue has an Averfion to
any thing that is mean and trifling, and not worthy ilic
Notice of great Minds. To be converfant with the Licen-
tious is a Blemifh to our Charafters, and takes away the