AN ESSAY. 459 on one side, or restraint on the other ; when we act or deter- mine mie way, without any reluctance or any bias towards the contrary side, this is called absolute and perfect freedom: so God chuses to be just and true; so a wise being chases to follow the dictates of reason wheresoever they appear; so every sen- sible being is said to chuse and pursue. in general what it calls pleasure or happiness, though sometimes it mistakes wherein happiness consists, and follows instead of it a shadow or mis- chief. Comparative liberty or freedom is when the mind Las some inward reluctance or aversion to those actions which yet it wills to perform for other more prevailing reasons; or when it has an inward inclination and desire to.do someaction which yet it wills to neglect, being powerfully impelled by other consider- ations : so a malefactor may be said freely or vóluntarily to go to. his execution ; for though he has an inward aversion to it, yet he chases it comparatively, that is, rather than tobe dragged thitherby forcer so a sick man is comparatively free inchasing to drink abitter potion rather than to bear continued sickness. New this sort of volition in common speech is sometimes said not to be free, because the man cloth not absolutely chase this, but' only prefers a lets evil to a greater; and the words, not free, in this place signify only a less degree of freedom. Men are ready to conclude in this case, that because in common speaking the man was constrained, or as it were, necessitated to go to the gibbet by asuperior motive, therefore he went not freely; though indeed it was an act of choice, or comparative freedom, that is, ratherthan be dragged : And, by this way of speaking, viz. thathe went notfreely, we come also to imagine that freedom and necessity are utterly inconsistent things : yet it is plain that though here was a sort of necessity or constraint, yet the man was free and voluntary in his own act. It is no wonder now that there should be such contests and controversies out the nature of liberty, or the use of the word, since itplainly appears that the words not free sometimes signify only less free; and since the same action may be said at the sometime to be not free, that is, absolutely, because we do it with some reluctancy, and yet it is said to be free, that is, comparatively, ..because we do it at last voluntary, and prefer it before something worse. We may also takeoccasion to remark, that.if such actions whichare not done with a full freedom may be called comparatively free, then there can be no voluntary acts, er acts of the will, but have some naturalfreedom also, that is, at least a comparative free- dom : for the will cannot act without so much freedom as this is ; and consequently the will itself cannot be really Compelled, but natural freedom or liberty will still belong to it in all possible actions ; though not always a liberty of choice or indifference. After all this debate, I will readily acknowledge, that some
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