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THREE

RS
LETTE

TO THE

T
DEIS .

I. Demanding his WARRANT for Eat

ing of FLESH .

II. Repreſenting his WANT of much useful

KNOWLEDGE.

III. Arguing the unexceptionable INTEGRITY

of the Great Founder of the CHRISTIAN IN
STITUTION , and his immediate Accomplices.

DS
By JOHN REYNOL .

Ye believe in God, believe alſo in me, Joh. xiv. 1 .

LONDON :
Printed for JOHN CLARK and RICHARD HETT
at the Bible and Crown in the Poultry near Cheapfide ,
´and SAMUEL CHANDLER at the Crofs - Keys in the
Poultry. M. DCC. XXV .
MVSEVM

BRITAN

NICVM

вк
T

Ave

..THE....

218

PREFACE.

HESE Letters having run out to fuch

T an unintended, unexpected Length, I

have little Heart to fay any Thing
bere concerning them ; only, fince they
went to the Press, I am rather more
affured of the Validity of the Argument produced in
the first of them. Having before That offered it (by
Reafon of its Novelty) to the Confideration of di
verfe, fome thought it duly conclufive ; others ac
knowledged, that the more they thought of it, the
more they found their Minds conftrained by it, but
were willing to fufpend their Judgment, till they
fhould fee the fuller Management and Support of
it. Some Preparative to which, I bave here an
Occafion to prefent.
A 2 Not
 1

The PREFACE.

Not now to fend our Deiftical Gentleman to I

Malabar, or other Parts of the Eaft- Indies, to 1

difpute his Title to Animal Food, with the Bra

mans, or other Natives there : Let me lead him
only to a modern, noble Author of our own, and
nearly allied (as is fuppofed) to his own Tribe. ' Tis
y
the late illuftrious Duke of Buckinghamshire, to
whofe Wit, and Reason, and Authority, the fore
faid Gentleman cannot but pay the utmost Deference
and Regard. See (in Vol . 2. of his Works ) the
beginning of his Ode upon Brutus, with the Notes
thereupon. The Ode begins thus ;

'Tis faid, that Favourite-Mankind

Was made the Lord of All below,
But yet the Doubtful are concern'd to find
'Tis only one Man tells another ſo ;
And for this great Dominion here,
Which over other Beafts we claim,
Reafon our beſt Credential does appear,

By which indeed we domineer ;

But how abfurdly, we may fee with Shame. 1

His Grace bere fuppofes, that Reaſon is our beft 8

Credential for the Defpotick Dominion we claim over
or over our
the other Beafts (as his Grace Speaks) or
better Brethren (as Mr. Cowley calls them). But
what if the beft Credential does itfelf plead againft
this Defpotic Dominion ? Let the Notes hereupon
be confulted. In the firft Note (Letter a,) bis Grace
tells us, that the Doubtful (the Sceptics , as he
bimfelf interprets that Title) conceive it to be one
of
 The PREFACE.

of thoſe Abfurdities (which they cannot digeft)

that a poor Animal called a Man (though fome
times alfo called his Grace) fhould be inveſted by
God, with a Right to Defpotic Dominion over
all the rest of the Creation ; (I fuppofe , his
Grace means, over our Neighbours in this fyftema
tic Part of the Creation. How vaft the entire
Creation may be, and how vaftly fuperior to us
Some Parts of it may be, no Mortal knows) when
all the while, we are but too plainly fenfible of
our being unable to comprehend rightly the mi
nuteft Part of it.

It is true, that every Thing around us, is, in

fome Refpect or other, to us, incomprehenfible ; and
were we more fenfible of our Inability to compre
"
hend the Things we daily converfe with, I know
not what Harm it will do us. It might teach

us to admire the Laws and Works of Nature more

than we do: It might teach us more to admire and
adore the Creator himself, the minutest of whofe
Works, is to us incomprehenfible : It might teach
us great Reverence and Awe in thinking and dif
courfing of him, who is the most incomprehenfible
of all incomprehenfible Beings : It might teach us
(as his Grace's Argument intimates it should) Care
and Caution in the Ufe and Treatment of thofe
Beings, that are fo curious in themselves, and fo
far from being our Workmanship, that they are to
us incomprehenfible. But let the objected Abfurdity
ftand in its Force, it will very naturally be en
quired, whether that Force does not reach the Scep
A 3 tics
 ****
The PREFACE.

themfelves, as well as others ; for it will be a

natural Inquiry, whether thefe Sceptics are not
themſelves, poor Animals called Men, as well
as the rest of the Race ? And then, whether
they do not exercife the fame Defpotic Domini
on over the Animal Creation, as their Neighbours
do ? And if so, whether they do not live in the
continued Practice of an acknowledged Abfurdity ?
It will be enquired then, with what good Grace
they can object Abfurdity to others, who continually
and wittingly practiſe it ?

Then in the fecond Note (Letter b) his Grace

fhews, why thefe Perfons fhould inquire about this
Dominion ; firft, Becauſe the Doubtful are a Part of
Mankind (but richerfure, than the other Part ; or elſe
as poor Animals as they) who claim this Domi
1
nion. (But if they reckon this Dominion an Ab
furdity, how come they to claim it ? Or, though a
Part of Mankind, do they difclaim this Domini
on ?) And fo are reaſonably inquifitive about it.
And one would wonder indeed, that they have been
no more inquifitive about it all this while. In o
ther Things they think it Wit or Wisdom not to run
with the Herd of Mankind, but to be diſtinguiſhed
from the fequacious Vulgar. But here, it may be,
Cuftom and Appetite bath held them by the Teeth.
And fecondly, Becauſe they have Occafion to be
troubled upon finding their Title to it fo very
weak, after fo much Wealth and Blood ſpent
in the Controverſy. Tis well too, if we are not
one
1J

The PREFACE.

one Day called to account, and made to pay dear

Cofts for fo contentious a Quarrel.

The Sceptics may well be troubled (and I cannot

but be troubled with them, and for them) upon
their finding their Title to this Defpotic Dominion
fo weak and unprov'd, as is here fuppofed, and is
like to be upon their own Principles ; for then their
own Minds, I fuppofe, will tell them, that they
bave long been Ufurpers of, and Tyrants over the
Creator's Goods and Chattels : They have taken
them for their own, have fed them for the Slaugh
ter, have flain and devoured them with lefs Fear
and Wit than they were aware of : And fhall the
wife Creator be concerned to vindicate the wrongful
Deaths of fuch poor Animals as Men, and ſhall he
have no Concern to avenge the wilful Murders of
thousands and millions of innocent, incomprehenfible
Beings ? Or fhall be not have fovereign Right to
vindicate his own Dominion and Propriety ? then,
(that they may not continue in their Ufurpation and
Tyranny) they will be obliged to quit a great ma
ny Dainties and Dishes, that have been grateful
-Fuel to an inflamed Appetite. Then, the more im
partial a Regard they fuppofe the great Maker
of All has to the Work of his own Hands , the
more rationally they may expect (as his Grace
feems to fufpect they will) to be called to account for
the Waste and Spoil they have made of their Fel
low-Heirs of the fame Globe. Is it meet, that
the Great God should permit fuch a long and vaft
Expence of guiltless Blood, without making any
A 4 Inqui
 The PREFACE.

Inquifition for it ? Or that he should maintain a

Race of moral Animals , at a long and bloody
1
Charge, without ever examining what they have
done, how they have lived, or have behaved wor
thy of fuch an immenfe Expence of Life , Blood
and Spirits ? Let them feriously confider what Cofts
may be justly demanded, and must be paid, for fuch
a chargeable Maintenance.

î How fo much Wealth and Blood (as his Grace

intimates) has been spent in the Controversy, I do
not well underſtand. Thefe Gentlemenfure were a
fcended above the Name of Sceptics (or the De
gree of Doubtful) when they had Affurance and
Refolution enough to spend much Wealth and
Blood on any fide of a Controversy. If they have
done fo in this, who were the Antagonists ? Where
and how was the Caufe contefted ? Is it yet de t

cided, or is it fill depending ?

I have not heard
of any Armies raised by them, and maintained at
vast Expence to fupport their Caufe in the Field .
of Honour and of Blood. I have not heard of a
ny Council learned in Law or Equity , that they
bave retain'd and fee'd to plead against their Ad
verfaries, in any high Court of Chancery. Where
and when has their generous , publick Spirit ap
peared, in vindicating at high Rate, the Liber
ties and Franchifes of the Mute Animals, against
the Oppreffions and Cruelties of the Talking Tribe ?
If at any Time they have done fo, it is pity they
fhould at last fap the Foundation of their own
Caufe, by the conftant Exercife of that Defpotic
མཎྞེ
Dominion,
A

The PREFACE.

Dominion, they griminate in others. I muft fup

pofe therefore, that the Wealth and Blood here
Spoken of, has not been spent in Defence of the
Rights of the poor Brutes against their Aggref
fors; but in taking the other fide of the Contro
verfy for granted, (or without due Enquiry,) and
in facrificing thousands of their Animal Neigh
bours to their own Draconic Appetites. Let them
fee to it therefore, that they do not one Day pay
dear Cofts (as his Grace feems to fufpect they may)
for fuch bloody Provifion, when the Great Fudge
of all the Earth fhall call them to give an Ac
count of their Stewardship.

Then his Grace proceeds to canvass the Argu

ment, which Divines (he fays) have drawn from
Reaſon, as an Inſtance or Evidence of our Ti
tle over all Things : And hefays, that the Scep
tics evade this again (and let them do ſo) firſt,
by denying that it is a Talent peculiar to
Man. Here we fee, that it is the Divines that
are made the Antagonists in this Controversy to
the Sceptics ; and the Divines are fuppofed to draw
the Argument from Reaſon , as an Inftance or
Evidence of our Title over all Things. Now
it is worth while to know, in what Age of the
World the Sceptics managed this Controverfy a
gainst the Divines, at a vaft Expence of Wealth
and Blood; for poffibly, the Divines may not be at
fuch a Distance from the Sceptics in this Point, as
bis Grace may imagine. Poffibly they may fay,
that Reafon indeed may qualify Man for Do
minion™
 The PREFAC E.

minion over other Beings ; not that it is an imme

diate Inftance or Evidence of a Defpotic Dominion
over them. Many Princes on Earth may have
Subjects that are more capacitated for Government
than themselves, who yet have not a Right or Title
to that Government . Whether the Sceptics or the
Divines have more need of this Argument for their
domineering Practice, let the Sequelfhew : Whether
Sceptics or Divines are more inclined to allow
Reafon to Brutes, let the Learned judge. If the
Divines fuppofe, that Reafon is fuch a proper In
fance, or fuch an infallible Evidence, or fuch an
Authentic Credential of, and for this Defpotic Do
minion, as his Grace feems to impute to them, then
they must fuppofe thereupon, that Man (by vertue
of this Reafon) was always invested with this Title
or Dominion, which very few (if any) of them will
pofitively affirm . I need not fay, that Poets were
reckoned (Vates) Divines among the Ethnics of old;
among whom Virgil and Ovid will deny the Pri
mitiveness of this Dominion. Orpheus will dif
claim all Title to it. Orpheus in Carmine fuo,
Efum Carnium deteftatur , fays Hierom. L. 2.
Adverf. Jovinian. which Testimony , ، though not 1
occurring when the enfuing Letter was wrote, con
firms the Interpretation there given of thofe Paf
fages that report to us Orpheus's Doctrine. Many
Philofophers (if they may pass for Ethnic Divines)
will difclaim this Dominion. Whether Arnobius
and Boetius, though Theological Writers, will bere
be admitted among the Divines , I know not : If
they may, they will ſcarce allow, that Reafon is a
fufficient
 The PREFACE.

fufficient Credential in this Cafe, Arnobius im

putes it rather to our Savageness and Cruelty, to
fome unhappy Neceffity or Cuftom, that we thus
broke our Primitive Friendſhip and Commerce with
our Fellow- Animals. Semiferi nos Homines, quin
immò (apertiùs ut pronunciemus , quod eft ve
rius, atque apertius dictu) Feri, quos infelix Ne
ceffitas, & malus ufus edocuit cibos, ex his car
pere, miferatione interdum commovemur illo
rum, arguimus nos ipfi, penitúfque re vifa, at
que perſpectâ damnamus, quòd humanitatis jure
depofito , naturalis initii confortia ruperimus,
Adv. Gent. L. 7. And Boetius will celebrate the
Felicity of the Age in which this fuppofed Creden
tial bad not its Force. Felix nimiùm prior ætas,
Contenta fidelibus arvis, Nec inerti perdita luxu,

Facii quæ fera folebat Jejunia folvere Glande

Metr. S.

Happy the Simple, Ancient Times,

Remote from us, as from our Crimes,
When honeft Fields alone fupply'd
The Palate's Wiſh, and Table's Pride !
When no prophane, luxurious Food
Did fret the Nerves, or vex the Blood ;
When no lewd Fleſh debauch'd the Tafte,
But Nuts or Acorns broke the Faft.

Novatian and Hierom will undoubtedly pass for

Divines ; yet they refolve not the defpotic Practice

of murdering and devouring the Beafts, into the
Authority or Evidence of Reafon, but some other
Caufe.
 The PREFACE.

Cauſe. Novatian afferts that vegetable Provifion

was the primitive Diet, and that afterward, there
was the Divine Indulgence toward human Neceffi-.
ty. Cibus primus hominibus folus fuit arborum
foetus & fructus- Pofteà etiam ufus carnis ac

ceffit ; divinâ gratiâ humanis neceffitatibus com

petentia ciborum genera, opportunis temporibus
porrigente. De Cibis Judaic. c. 2. Hierom thinks
that this Indulgence was not made to Man till after
the Flood, and then, upon an Account that 2 is not
fo reputable as Reaſon, viz . the Stubbornness of his
Heart, as Flefb was once fent to the difcontented
Ifraelites. Sciat quomodò repudium, juxta elo
quium falvatoris, ab initio non dabatur ; fed prop
ter duritiam cordis noftri per Moyſem, humano
generi conceffum eft ; fic & efum carnium ufque
ad diluvium, ignotum fuiffe. Poft diluvium verò,
quafi in eremo, murmuranti populo, coturnices ;
ità dentibus noftris nervos & virulentias carnis
ingeftas. L. 1. Adv. Jovin.

But we need not thus infift on particular Di

vines. With us, Divines are usually diſtinguiſhed
into thofe of the Old, or of the New Teftament ;
into Jewish or Chriftian Divines . Now both forts
unanimously agree, that Man was once in a State of
Innocence and Inoffenfiveness to God ; and they as
unanimously agree, that this Branch of Defpotic
Dominion, was not granted to Man in that honeft
bonourable State ; infomuch, that fuch a Profeffor
of Theology as Curcellæus, who (without Diminu
tion to bis Grace's Knowledge, may well be fuppofed
2 to
 The PREFACE.

to be acquainted with as many Divines as He) will

affure us, that he never (to his Remembrance) met
with any Divine, either Ancient or Modern, Jewish
or Chriftian, that thought that the Practice of laying
and eating Flesh was allowedto Man in his primitive,
guiltless Condition. Nec enim memini legiffe me ul
lum Theologum, five ex veteribus, five ex recenti
oribus, aut Judæum aut Chriftianum, qui Animalia
ante Adami lapfum, mactata ad eſum fuiſſe aut jure
mactari potuiffe exiftimarit. Diatr. de efu Sang.
C. I. So that the Divines are not ſo oppofite to the
Sceptics herein, as his Grace imagines ; and the Ar
gument drawnfrom Reafon alone (even when Reafon
may be fuppofed moft Bright and Brisk) will be Ac
cepted byfew or none of them.

After Sin had invaded Mankind, there is less

Reafon for a Defpotic Dominion. Man is then be
come more unworthy of, and lefs fit for a Dominion
over his guiltless Neighbours : He has even forfeited
what he had before ; And this Carnivoration must
then (1 fuppofe) be looked upon either as a Privilege,
or a Puniſhment. If it were a Privilege (and a
new one too, as it must be) it could not be procured
by the Tranfgreffion. The express Allowance of Hea
ven must be necessary to grant the Right to the con
fcious Criminal: If it were a Puniſhment, it must
be refolved into a penal Sanction, or into punitive
Juftice, as the Original, and not into mere Reaſon,
as the authentic Evidence or Credential of it.
Then his Grace tells us, the Sceptics evade the
Argument, Secondly, by alledging, that they find
this
 The PREFACE.

this Reaſon to be ſuch a narrow, miſleading, un

certain Faculty, that in their Opinion, ' tis much
unworthy of being the great Credential from the
moft High, for domineering over all our Fellow
Creatures, who indeed feem neither to owe us
nor pay us Obedience. And if the boldeſt Main
tainer of this Opinion would be perfuaded to take
a Walk into a Wilderneſs of wild Beafts, fhewing
his Credential among them, ' tis probable they
would all pay as great a Submiffion to it, as fuch
a rational Act deferved.

This Confideration indeedfeems much to undermine

thefuppofed Argument drawnfrom mere Reafon. Some
times, toferve a Cauſe, Reaſonſhall be magnified. Now·
Experience is produced to the contrary ; they find this
Reafon to be fuch a narrow, misleading, uncertain

Thing. Ifhis Grace (as well as the Sceptics) was aware

of this, one would think, he would be modeft and cau
tious in his Ratiocinations about unfeen Things, and
fuch as are acknowledged Incomprehenfible. And be
would beled doubtlessſeriouſly to confider, whether the
Divine Wifdem and Goodness has entirely abandon
ed us (in our Conduct to a bleft Eternity) to fuch a
narrow, misleading, uncertain Faculty. Sometimes
this Reafon is fufficient for all the Affairs of this
World andthe other : Now it is not fit to be a Cre
dential for fuch Dominion, as the Sceptics them
felves are willing to exercife over their Fellow- Crea
tures. His Grace at his Departure was willing to
commit himself Deo Omnipotenti Benevolentiffi
mo. Was it agreeable to all the Notion he had of
2 the
 The PREFACE.

the Benevolence and Philanthropy of this beft of

Beings, to fuppofe that he would fend us no bigber
Light, in our Concerns with himſelf and with a
better World, than what fuch a narrow, miſlead
ing, uncertain Faculty will afford us ?

If the Brutes feem to owe (as well as pay)

us no Obedience, how fhall it appear, that they owe
us their Blood and Lives ? or that they owe us Paf
five Obedience to the Death without Bail or Main
prize ? In fine, the Deift (rather than the Divine)
must be the Maintainer of this Opinion, if he will
maintain his Diet and Practice . And then (accord
ing to his Grace's Motion) let him take a Walk into
a Wilderness of wild Beafts, and fhew his Creden
tial among them, and fee, if they do not pay as
great a Submiffion to it, as fuch a rational Act de
ferves ; or let him ſee, if others will not reckon, that
fuch an Act will be a fufficient Confutation of his
pretended Credential.

Then in the next Note, his Grace, in the Perfon

of the Sceptics, feems willing to fupplant Moles's
Authority. If then there is no Credential (either in
Natural or Supernatural Revelation) for the carni
vorous Practice, why did his Grace fo long continue
therein ? Did he act upon Hobbian Principle, not to
contradict the publick Cuſtom of the Place ! Or did
be continue it in Oppofition to the Dictate of his
own Mind and Confcience ? Is fuch a Rule allowed
by the Great Governor of the World ? or will be
not call to an Account for ſo much Wealth and
Blood
 The PREFACE.

Blood that has been spent and fpilt in Contradiction

to an intellectual Conviction ? It is not a Place here
to vindicate Mofes's Veracity and Authority. But
now Ican better allow the Digreffion that is made
in the enfuing Letter, to fhew that the Deiftical
Gentleman is more obliged to Mofes, than he has
been apt to think of. I would not enlarge, to fan
any Thing of the fecond Letter. The Argument of
the third is capable of much Enlargement. I once
thought to have taken into Confideration the feveral
Methods, the feveral ſuppoſed Founders of Religions
(that had a fecular Intereft in view) have taken for
the compaffing of their Defigns ; and to have shewn 1

thereupon, how diametrically oppofite the Meaſures

and Maxims of the Lord Jeſus are to them all.

This the learned Dr. Prideaux has excellently

done in Reference to one pretended Inftitutor ofReligi

on, in his Life of Mahomet, and the Letter annexed
thereto ; but the mention'd Work was too big for me.
I would recommend it as a noble Service to any one,
that has Ability and Skill for fuch an Atchieve
ment : In the mean Time I commit thefe Effays to
the Bleffing of that Lord, whose Cauſe they e
Spouse, and to the ferious Perufal of the Solicitous
Reader.

A LETTER
 metalow

LETTER

то тн Е

DEIS T

The FIRST LETTER .

HONOURED SIR,

INCE you are pleaſed to inform

me, that many, a late,are gone off
from the Principles of fupernatural,
S (or, as it's called, revealed) Religion,
not only upon the Account of the
fcandalous Divifions, " that are found among the
Preachers and Profeffors thereof, but upon this Per
fuafion too, that the Light of Reaſon, within, is
clear ; that the Works of God, without, are vifible

£ B enough
 LETTER I.

enough, to advertiſe us of the Exiſtence and Perfec

tion of God, of our Dependance upon Him, and I
Duty to Him ; that therefore there is no great need
that a fupernatural Revelation ſhould be fent us, the
fuppofed Contents of which, now make fuch a
Noiſe, and raiſe fuch Contentions and Commotions
in our World ; you will give me leave to return
you fome Remarks upon theſe objected Surmifes.
And fo,
1. As to the Divifions and Conteſts, that are
obferved among the Entertainers of fupernatural Re

velation, you will give me leave to intimate to you

fuch Confiderations as thefe ;
1. That we are not altogether unforewarn'd of
them : The Author of our Religion has inſtructed
us to expect them, and to be more rooted and efta
bliſhed in the Principles he has taught us, that we
may not be ſcandalized or diſcouraged by the Rife
of them. There cannot be more excellent, or bet
ter inforced Injunctions for Unanimity and Con
cord, than he has given us, though they are ſo fre
quently violated ; of which, we fuppofe, an Ac
count muſt be given to him, in due Time. He
has alfo informed us, that there is a common, invifi
ble Adverſary of Mankind, who is doing all the
Miſchief he can, every where ; and fows his Tares
in the beft Field the World affords. And while
our Lord has forewarn'd us of the certain Rife of

fuch Offences, as you have obferv'd among us, he

has alfo taken fuch Care to difcourage and prevent
them, that he has denounced, and will, in due
Time, execute, a moft dreadful Woe upon the Au
thors of them.
. ‫גיי‬
2. You
 To the DEIST. CANT

2. You will obferve that the Receivers of mere

natural Religion have alfo their Diverſities and Dif
cords enough ? How little have they agreed in their
own Scheme ? How little have they agreed in their
Sentiments about the Nature and Properties, or the
Unity of God ? about the Origin of the World,
the Nature of the Soul, the Origin of moral Evil,
the State of future Retribution , and many important
Things, that are more clearly, rationally, and excel
lently refolved in our fupernatural Revelation.
3. You will permit me to obferve, that fuper
natural Revelation may, poffibly, be like the Struc
ture of the human Body, in which there are Parts,
that are apparently neceffary, noble, and vital ; from
which the reft are derived and propagated even to
fuch Minuteness and Subtilty, that they cannot ea
fily be difcerned. In the Syftem of fupernatural
Religion , there are fuch eminent , confpicuous
Branches, as in which the Profeffors thereof can ge→
nerally agree. The Conteſts are uſually about fuch
Portions, as are remoter from the primary and fun
damental Parts.
4. You are not fo unacquainted with the State of
the World, and of the Science and Learning there,
but you muſt know, that fupernatural Revelation
is not the only Study or Profeffion, in which the
Retainers thereof are divided in Mind and Opini
on. What part of Literature is there (though ne
ver fo well founded in the Principles of it ) that does
not afford Matter for Diverfity of Sentiments ? Go
you to natural Philofophy, there you will find Dif
cords abundantly. Go you to Civil, or to Com
mon Law, and Politics, there you will find the
B 2 Learned
4 LETTER I.

Learned therein, greatly difagreed in their Opinions.

Go you to Phyfick and Chirurgery ( on which
Man's Life and Health fo much depend) and you
will find Variety, of Judgments among the Profef
fors, about the fame Cafe. Nay the Mathematicks
(as demonſtrative, as they pretend to be, and, in
deed, really are) afford their arduous Difficulties,
and create Controverfies among their admiring Stu
dents. It will be but rational to fuppofe, that Mens
Judgments and Thoughts of Things will very much
differ, as upon other Accounts, fo, according to
the Depth of their Penetration, their Diligence in
Study, and other Advantages for Light and Infor
mation. He that fees farther into a Science, than
another, may eafily be fuppofed, to be of another
Opinion, in many Things belonging to that Sci
ence. He will be able to folve the Difficulties and
anfwer the Objections, by which the other is in
tangled and captivated.
5. You will allow, that to learn the Accuracy
and Criticism of a Language, is a Work of more
Time and Obfervation, than moſt Men care to em
ploy therein. It may not be eafy for the People of
one Language, to reach the Idiom of another. The
People, that are of the fame Language (for the moſt
of it) have alſo their different Dialects and Módes
of Locution. And thofe of the fame Dialect have

their general Terms, ambiguous Words, and equi

vocal Phrafes, which will want to be diftinguiſhed.
And the feveral Sciences and Profeffions ( as ' tis
known) have their Technical Words, and Terms
of Art (as they are call'd) which fhould be well
underſtood,
 To the DEIST.
5

understood, and yet are often miſtaken, by thofe

that pretend to diſcourſe of the Affairs of that Sci
ence or Profeffion. Study of Words is uſually
troubleſome, and yet exceeeding expedient and ne
ceffary for thofe, that would well treat of any Sub
ject. Skill in Propriety of Language, and Choice
of Words would open Matters clearly, prevent Ob
jections, cut off Controverfies, and promote good
Underſtanding. It might eafily happen, that the
Latin Churches did not foon apprehend the Import
and Propriety of many Greek Words. The Greek
Churches might not foon underſtand the Senſe of
Latin Terms and Language. And fo their Differ
ences (eſpecially in the Time of their Heat) might
eafily be thought wider and deeper, than they really
were. In our English Controverfies ( of feveral
forts) Men are apt to run away with Sounds, that
are difagreeable to their Ears, and to make a Noiſe
about Words, which they have not ſtudied or un
derſtood, and fo aggravate their Spleen and Jealou
fy. They that fedately look into Polemical Books,
will be apt to think, that if all the Logomachies and
Conteſts about Names and Locutions were diſcard
ed, the real Controverfies will be found far fewer than
they uſually ſeem to be.
6. Let me obferve alfo (what, I am afraid, I may
not obferve, without fome Offence) that fuperna
tural Revelation indeed, does not feem a late, (per
haps, you will think, not for many Centuries paft)
to be much obliged to its Minifters and Profeffors,
for its Subfiftence and Continuance in the World.
Natural Religion has been abuſed, and fo has the
B 3 fuper
i 3
AR
 1

6 LETTER I.

fupernatural too. Perhaps * , fome of its worſt Enemies

have been fuch as have been of its own profeffed Houf
hold. There have been Lovers of the World, Lovers
ofthe Fleſh, and of all manner of fenfual Pleaſures,
among its pretended Votaries. And Perfons of dif
ferent Interefts will have their mutual Oppofitions
and Diſcords. Nay, they that have been real
Friends to the fupernatural Revelation, and have in
deed embark'd their principal Intereſts therein, have
(it muſt be confeffed) acted with ſuch Impruden
ces, Paffions, and miſguided Zeal, as if they did
not underſtand, or attend to, their common Con
cern, and Profeffion. So many and fo great have
been the Quarrels and Contentions among the An
tiftites and Leaders in revealed Religion, that one
would wonder fometimes, that Princes would en
dure them fo long ; and States and Potentates have
not baniſh'd them out of their Dominions and Di
ftricts. No Thanks to the furious Contenders, that
Chriſtian Religion has fuch Footing in the World.
But the more there appears of an oppofing, contra- .
dictious Spirit among the Entertainers of this Re
velation, the more Improbability there is, that it
was at first contrived by mere human Agreement,
or was the Product of human Policy and Device :
And had not Divine Providence been more concern

* Nunquam igitur poterit Religio hæc aboleri, quæ Deum

vindicem habet, atque cuftodem, etiamfi male adminiftretur a
fuis & crudeliter impugnetur ab hoftibus. Stat enim, regente
Deo, quæ non minùs a fuis malè tractatur, quàm alienis. TA
Marfil. Ficinus de Relig. Chrift. cap. 9, Seen, fince theſe` Let
ters were penn'd.

ed
 To the DEIST.

ed for the Support of this Revelation, than they

that pretend to hold their Salvation by it, it might,
for ought I know, have been extinguiſh'd long ago.
But the lefs it has been fupported by human Wif
dom and Affection, the more it may feem to have
been the Care of Heaven. The Divine Power that
at firft recommended it to the World, has protected
it ever fince ; and will yet, I doubt not, make it ho
nourable and glorious. But you and I are not to
look fo much at the Conduct of the Profeffors, ei
ther of natural or revealed Religion, as at the Con
tents and the Evidence of each. A difmal Account
is indeed to be given at laſt ofthe Scandals and Offen
ces that have arifen in the Chriſtian World ; but do
you follow the Dictates and Example of the great
Author of fupernatural Revelation, and, to be fure,
you will ftand forth in Peace, and fare well in the
great Day of his publick Appearance and Glory.
Then
2. As to the Clearnefs and Sufficiency of human
Reaſon, in the Affairs of Religion, you will give
me leave to obferve, that, poffibly, we are not pro
per Judges of it, in the Circumſtances in which we
are now fet. We have had an Improvement of our
Mind, and an Enlargement of natural Light, by the
Means of fupernatural Revelation. How clear and
judicious human Reafon was of old, where fuper
natural Revelation did not come, you in fome Mea
fure know. How clear and bright was it among
the Nations of the Gentiles ? Are you not fome
times amazed to fee how irrational and abfurd Man
kind was become in the Affairs of Religion and Di
vine Worship ? You will not take it ill, that I fay,
B 4 (nay ,
8. LETTER I.

(nay, doubtless, you have obferved the fame) that

many a young Gentleman of fifteen or twenty Years
of Age, in the evangelized World, has had more
congruous and comely Apprehenfions of the Nature
and Unity and Perfection of God, of our Relati
ons, Obligations, and Duty to him, than the moft
aged of the Heathen Philofophers ſeem to have col
lected and concluded by their moſt acuminated Rea
fon. Look into the Nations of the Gentiles, and
fee their Wiſdom and Reafon in Religion ! How
many Gods had they ? of what Nature, and Pranks
and Myſteries in Worship ? Travel into Phoenicia
(while fupernatural Revelation is not there, or is
not obſerv'd) and Syria, and fee what Work Reaſon 0

makes of Religion there : This you will in fome

meaſure fee, in learned Selden's Book De Diis Syris.
Then go down into Egypt (whither many of the

ancient Sages are faid to have travell'd for religious

Inſtruction) and fee how Reafon modell'd Religion
there.
་་་་

Quis nefcit, Volufi Bithynice, qualia Demens

Ægyptus portenta colat ? Crocodilon adorat
Pars hac, illa pavet faturam Serpentibus Įbim,
Effigies facri nitet aurea Circopetheci, &c.
Where is the Man (my Friend !) don't underſtand
What monftrous ...* Gods are ferv'din Egypt's Land ?
Some there, the cruel Crocodile adore,
Others, the Fowl that feeds on Serpents ſtore ;
There, to the golden Image of an Ape,
The Things themſelves bow down, in human Shape,

Then
 To the DEIST.
9

Then march to Chaldea, Babylon, and Perfia, and fee

how Religion was manag'd there. Then go to
Greece, and more efpecially to the learned Univerſity
of Athens, and fee its State and Stature there. Then
come to Italy, view the Roman Worship ; walk to
the Capitol, and read the Infcription upon the Shield
that hangs there ; Genio urbis Roma, five Mas fit, five
Fœmina. If you will come lower, view the State
and Form of Religion in the Eaftern and Weſtern
Indies, and particularly at Mexico, before the Euro
peans came thither. Or, if you will come nearer
Home, fee how Reafon ruled Religion in this If
land, among the first Inhabitants that we can hear
of. The inquifitive Camden (treating of the Man
ners of the Britains) fays, I will say nothing of their an-,
cient Religion (and yet that would we have known)
for it was not really a Religion, but a diſmal and con
fufed Heap of Superftition : For after the Devil had in
volved the Truth of Religion in Mifts and Darkness,
Gildas tells us, that the Spectres of Britain were pure
ly bellifb, more numerous than those of Egypt, ofwhich
are yet remaining, strangely featured and ugly, and to be
feen both within and without their forfaken Walls, look
ingftern and grim after their usual manner. Or, if
you would read Gildas himſelf, in Britannia funt
portenta ipfa diabolica, pœnè numero Ægyptiaca vincen
tia, quorum nonnulla Lineamenta adhuc deformibus,
intra vel extra deferta mania, folito more ringentia tor
vis vultibus intuemur. The Romans afterward did

much to polish the Nation, and cure it of much

Barbarity, but not of Idolatry. The Saxons, bring
in their Waden and Frico (fuppofed to be Mercury

and Venus) and their Goddeſs Eofter . (ſuppoſed to

be
 ΤΟ LETTER I.

be the fame as Aftarte.) Then the Danes come and

facrifice to their Thur with human Blood. And
the fame Camden tells us from Ditmarus, concern

ing the Normans, as well as the Danes, that they met

once every nine Years in January, a little after our twelfth
Day, and offered to their Gods ninety nine Men, and as
many Horfes, with Dogs and Cocks, for Hawks, being
fully perfuaded, that these things were most acceptable to
them. Thus you ſee what Work natural Light and
Reafon (fuch as it was) made of Religion and
Divine Worſhip. Polytheiſm, Idolatry, irrational
and impious Rites every where prevail'd. Thus the
Great God was pleaſed to try, how the World
would acknowledge and ferve him, when left to their
own Imaginations and Conduct . You may well
fuppofe, that the World (fo far as concern'd for
Religion) groan'd for a fuperior Revelation. It
was needful (and you can't but think, that it had
been a fingular Bleffing) that a ſpecial Meſſenger
(of fome fort or other, in fome Way or other)
fhould be fent from Heaven, to revive and inftill
the very Principles of natural Religion itſelf. You
cannot but fuppofe, that it had been a fignal Favour
(and we are ready to wonder, how the Divine Ma
jefty, Honour and Jealouſy did to forbear) had the
great, the glorious, the only God, in Thunder and
Lightning, and Earthquake, and the Sound of a
Trumpet (louder than that, that we ſuppoſe was
heard on the Mountain in Arabia) publiſh'd and
proclaim'd to the Nations, ye shall have no other Gods
before me. You cannot but fuppofe, that in this State
of horrid Darkneſs and Error, there was great need
of ſome ſpecial Meffenger from God, to call the be
nighted
 To the DEIS T. II

nighted Nations to the Acknowledgment and Prac

tice even of the natural Principles of Morality and
Religion.
But you will ſuppoſe, that you are wifer than all
the Nations of the Gentiles ; that you have more

Knowledge of the Nature of God and Religion,

than all the Poets, Hiftorians, and Philofophers (for
ought appears) of the old Gentile World ; and that
you are able to draw up a more clear and genuine
Scheme of natural Religion , than they ſeem to be
acquainted with. Be it fo. We will not diſpute
the Sharpneſs of your Reafon, or the Compaſs of
your Knowledge . We would only inquire, how
you came by your Knowledge , and thoſe Principles
of natural Religion, which you can now prove, and
upon which you can reafon fo well. There are
many Principles, which, upon Difcovery once made,
appear very rational and demonſtrative , which yet
the Reaſon of a thouſand or ten thouſand Men
would not have difcover'd. The famous Pythagorean .
Propofition (in Euclid's firſt Book of Elements) for"
which the Author is faid to have offer'd an Heca
tomb to the Mufes, is a noble, demonftrable Truth ;
and yet it is not likely, that either you or I, or a
thouſand fuch as we, fhould ever have found it out.
The Principles of the Newtonian Philofophy you
can receive and admire ; and yet it was the Lot of
one extraordinary Mind to difcover them. You
fuppofe, you can demonftrate the Unity, or One
linefs of the Godhead, or of God. This feems to
us a very natural, rational Truth ; and yet, had you
lived in the old Egyptian, Grecian, Italian, or British
World, you might not (nay, probably, would not)
have
 12 LETTER I.

have feen that Reafon for it, that you do now.

When you read the Gentile Moralifts, do you not
wonder, that they do no more argue and infift upon
the Unity or Unicity of the Divine Being ? When
you peruſe your admired Cicero, (a Perfon, you
will acknowledge, great in Reafon and Philofophy,
(fuch as it then was) as well as Oratory) do not
you wonder, and pity him too, that ( in his Books,
De Naturâ Deorum) he is fo dark and uncertain a
bout the Nature of God ? Do not you fometimes
wonder, that he does not either himfelf employ, or
put into one of his Colloquift's Mouths, fome ftre
nuous Argument, that proves, that the true God is
but one ? That one Truth, that there is but one God,
would have gone far to have rectified their Notions

concerning his Nature and Perfection. If you fup- .

pofe, that he had met with no fuch Argument, how
fhall it appear, that in his World and Circumſtances,
you would have fallen upon one : He must have a.
good Opinion of himſelf indeed, that thinks himſelf
of greater Parts and Penetration than the learned Ci

cera. You are bred up in a Land, where (through

divine, . diſtinguiſhing Favour) fupernatural Reve
lation fhines. By the Light of that Revelation, we
are led into a more fair and open Proſpect of natural
Religion, than (fo far as appears) the poor Gentiles
did attain to. Hence the Students and Profeffors

of revealed Theology are enabled to cultivate and

enlarge our Notions in natural Religion. From them.
and their Labours, you fetch a deal of that Truth
and Knowledge, that we call natural. But the Que
ftion is, how much we had had of it, if fupernatu
ral Light had not vifited our Land. Doubtlefs, we
had
 To the DEIST.
13

had fat in the fame Darkneſs and Shadow of Death,

with our benighted Anceſtors ; ſo that the Light
and Knowledge that you and your Brethren are apt
to boaſt of, in the Affairs of pure, native Religion ,
is (I queſtion not) more owing to the Rays of our
great Luminary, the Bible, than you are either
ware of, or are willing to acknowledge.
Then

3. As to the Works of God around us, they are,

its true, vifible and confpicuous enough. The Hea
vens and the Earth, with all their Frame, and Inha
bitants and Furniture, proclaim the Glory of God.
But you must remember, that theſe Works 4 of his
do now fpeak of Mercy and of Judgment : The
Frame and Movements of the World are now a

dapted to the communicating of Divine Goodnefs,

and alfo exhibiting Rebukes (and fometimes fevere
Rebukes) for Sin. The more you know the Law
of natural Religion, the more you will fee, that the
moral World below (the World of Mankind) is
ftarted from that Law, and is almoft overwhelmed
with moral Irregularity, that is, with Immorality
towards God and Man . The more you fee of the
Immorality of the World, the lefs you will wonder,
that the Divine Purity and Juftice exerts and figna
lizes itſelf in chaſtiſing and puniſhing the World ;
eſpecially, when Sins are, at any Time, more than
ordinarily flagrant, epidemic, and national. You
will readily fuppofe, that the Great God ſhould not
eafily ſtep out of the Road of his fettled Works, and
current Providence ; or that he fhould often work

apparent Miracles, and act above the appointed

Courſe of Nature. Nay, you will fuppofe, he need
3 not
 14 LETTER I.

not do it ; for he can make any of his Works to be

in their Places, his Servants to execute his Pleaſure ;
the Stars, or other celeftial Bodies fhall, in their
Courſes, fight againſt his Adverfaries : The Execu
tions of Judgment then are to be inferted and ingraft
ed (as I may fay) into the Laws of Nature, and to
be perform'd by the Works thereof. This we call
working by fecond Caufes ; but the Terms, fecond
Cauſes, intimate a firft : And it is as eaſy for the Great
God to direct a Train of an hundred fecondary
Cauſes, as certainly to attain his end, as if he ap
pointed but one : As Mr. Whifton fuppofes, that God
foreſeeing that the Sin of the World would in ſuch
an Age be fo outragious, that it would not be fit
to bear with it any longer, did, long before (it may
be
( a thouſand or fifteen hundred Years before ; it Id
may be, at denouncing the firft Curſe againſt the
Sin of Man) fo adjuſt the Laws, the Motions, and
Power of Comets, that one of them fhould, ex

actly in that finful Age, induce an irreſiſtible De

luge upon the Earth, to deſtroy the World of the
Ungodly. But the Infliction of Puniſhment be
ing now affigned to the Works of Nature, many are
tempted to think, that the Contrivance of the Sy
ftem is not fo wife as it fhould be, nor to be impu
ted to that Wiſdom and Goodnefs, to which, in iC
deed, it is owing. Were the World intirely inno D
cent, there would be no need of thofe Laws, Mo
tions, and Operations, by which it is to be correct
ed and puniſhed. And were we to view it in the ori t
ginal State in which it ſtood and fhone before the
entrance of Sin into it, poffibly, there would be no 0
need of any farther Revelation of our Duty and
I Obligation
 To the DEIST .
15

Obligation to God, than what a perfect Mind and

fuch a perfect World would afford ; and yet even
then, we ſhould not reftráin the beneficent Creator,
from any fuperadded Communications or Diſcoveries
to us. But the circumambient Creation would certain

ly be free from fuch Phænomena, as are now reckon

ed Irregularities, Diſorders, or Imperfections there
in. Or if any of them were (as to the Subſtance
of them) there found, they would certainly be freed
from any accidental Enormities, or we fhould better
know the Reafon and Defign of them. But now,
as many Signatures as there are of Divine Wiſdom,
Power, and Goodneſs, in this Syftem of ours, yet
fome are ready (you know) to quarrel the Conftruc
tion, and to reckon it but the Ruins of an old, de
cayed and demolish'd World. They are offended
at the Largeneſs, Fury, and Irregularity of the Sea ;
at the Height, Barrennefs, and Ruggedness of the
• Mountains ; at the windy Caverns of the Earth,

and the outrageous Vulcano's. Thefe are ſtumbling

Blocks to fuperficial Spectators, and are laid hold on,
as Inducements to miſtake or deny, the wife and juſt
Author of all thefe Appearances. It is not thereup
on unfuitable to the Divine Wiſdom, Goodneſs, and
Government, to inform us a little more plainly or
certainly than mere Nature will do it, why he has
made his Creation fo fubject to Vanity, and written
Penalty and Vexation, in fuch legible Characters
upon the fublunary World, and ordain'd his Works
that are round about us, to be very frequently
ſuch a Rod and Scourge to the chief Inhabitants
of the Earth. Then

4. The
 16 LETTER I.

4. The vifible Works of God do, indeed, advers

tife us of the Exiftence of God, of our Depend
ance upon him, and our Duty to him ; but there is
no great Reafon, that his Intimations and Diſcove
ries to us, fhould be confin'd altogether within thoſe
Bounds. There are other Things alſo, that the Di
vine Majefty may pleaſe to inform us of There
may be Offices of Power and Truft committed to
us, Honours and Dignities conferr'd upon us, Im
munities, Benefits, and Privileges vouchfafed to us,
which (being fomething more than is abfolutely ne
ceffary to our Life and Subfiftence in the World,
and being withal the free. Donations of a bleffed,
bountiful God) may not be diſcovered by mere na→
tural Light, but require a fpecial Revelation, in or
der to our certain Information and full Affurance
O
concerning them. Poffibly, Man in his primitive
State, might be at an Uncertainty what would be
come of him, in cafe he ſhould continue always in
his Innocence and Obedience to his Maker, with
out once offending him. Perhaps, you will fay, that
he knew he ſhould die and return to the Duft; but

that is but taking a Suppofition of your own for

granted. Death is ordinarily fo abhorrent to human
Nature, that it ſeems much rather to be the Wages,
or Penalty, or penal Confequent of Sin, againſt the
Author of human Nature. But let that reft. You
审
cannot fay it was unfuitable to the Goodneſs of the
Great God, and to the Dignity of Man (fince you
allow that his Soul is immortal) that the Maker
fhould defign him (continuing in his Subjection
and Obedience) for a total Immortality or Exémp-'
tion from Death : Nay, it might be fuitable to the
Creator's
 To the DEIST. 17

Creator's Wiſdom and Benignity (which is not to

be meaſured by our penurious Goodneſs) to defign
him (if perfifting in his Homage and Duty, to an
appointed Period) for a Removal and Tranſportati
on to an upper, better World . If this were de
figned, fome ſpecial Revelation muft open this De
fign ; and you can't but fuppofe, that the opening
of it would be a wonderful Inſtigation to Admira
tion, Love, and thankful Obfervance.
But there is another, a more fenfible Favour, which
we are indulged by Heaven, and which we are all,
vifibly, in the Poffeffion of, and which, methinks,
you fhould not be very averſe to acknowledge, does
contain fome Intimation in it, that fome Time or
other, fome Way or other, there has been afforded
a fpecial Revelation of the Divine Pleaſure to Man
kind ; unleſs we muſt ſuppoſe, that Mankind lives
now, and has for many Ages lived, upon an unjuſt,
wrongful (or unrightful) Ufurpation and Spoil of
the Creator's Goods. Look upon your Table, and
fee if it be not fo. If fuch Revelation as has been
now mentioned, has not, convictively enough (and
it is pity if it has not) been argued from more in
tellectual and Abſtracted Topicks, give me leave,at laſt,
to entertain you with one, that will come nearer to
your Taſte and Relish, and will concern the Inte
reft of this carneous (not to fay, carnal) Taberna
cle, that you carry about you. A Topick I would
offer, which, though it may not often (if ever at
all) have been propoſed to your Rumination, yet,
poffibly, may the more fenfibly fucceed, as it may
more nearly touch the Fibres of the Stomach, as well
as the Ventricles of the Brain, and intimately affect
C the
18 LETTER I.

the voracious Bowels, as well as the penetrating In

tellect .

We muſt here fuppofe, and depend upon, thofe

Things that are mutually agreed upon between us ;
as, that there is a great and glorious God, that by
his Power and Wiſdom, and for his own Pleaſure and
Glory, has hang'd up this vaft, various Syſtem of
Things, in the univerfal Space. That he has fram
ed the feveral Parts of the Syftem for their pro
per Place, Order, and Ufe. That he has made
them all (though fo different from each other) har
moniously to confpire together, to furnish out a
beautiful, commodious Habitation for Man. In this
Theatre of curious Works, we are to contemplate
the Excellencies and Perfections of the incomparable
Maker : We are to learn our Obligations and Du
ties to him, and to contain our felves within the
Bounds of our Duty and regular Deportment ; that,
as we are to love the Creator, we are alfo to love his
(capable) Works for his fake ; that we ſhould not
be unrighteous and injurious to our Brethren of
Mankind, or barbarous and cruel to the other Fel
low-Animals, that are made Inhabitants and Inheri
ters of the Earth, as well as we.

Upon fuch acknowledged Suppofitions as theſe, I

muft demand of you (if there has never been any
fpecial Intimation or Diſcovery of the Will and
Grant of God to that Purpoſe) by what Authority
and Warrant you fo cuftomarily and unconcernedly
wound, and flay, and eat, the innocent Animals, of
·
diverſe Kinds, that are round about you, and to
whom the Earth and the natural Product of it, is

given for a Poffeffion (yea, for an hereditary Pof

feffion) as well as to you. The
 To the DEIST. 19
‫۔ہے‬

The young Deiftical Gentleman, without any

Remorse, or Hefitation of Mind, or Scruple of
Confcience, makes it his Sport, if not his prin
cipal Bufinefs, to depopulate the feveral Regions to
IF which he has Accefs, viz. the Air, the Earth, and
g

Waters. He runs with his Hounds, and feifes and

worries, and, at laft, devours the Variety of Game
the Field or Park affords. He marches with his
Dog, and Nets, and Lure, and furpriſes the cheerful
People of the Air, that would teach him to mount
upward, and celebrate the Maker's Praifes. He tra
1 vels with his Angle, Baits, or Nets, to the Rivers,
or the Sea, and intangles the Natives of the watry
Climate, that were fprightfully playing there, and ne
ver dreamt of fuch a fudden Fallacy and Fate.
Does the young, airy Squire thus move and play,
thus perform and practiſe merely by artful Springs
and exquifite Machine ? Does he ride and run, leap
and toil without Mind and Thought, without Con
fideration and Defign ? If fo, why ſhould he make
fuch Havock of his Neighbours, as may (for ought
he knows) have as much Senfe, as good Thought,
and as much Right to Life and Liberty as himſelf.
They have (to all Appearance) Life and Leifure,
and proper Abodes : They have their Food, their

Pleaſures, their propagating Power and Diverfions,

as well as he : They answer the End of their Make
and Production, as well as he, and, it may be, (pro
portionably) better too. Why fhould they be a
Prey to him, any more than he to them, in cafe
they can purfue and feize him ? Why may not one
thoughtless Being be, with equal Equity, a Spoil to
another? But if he thus performs and practifes, with
C 2 Mind
20 LETTER I.

Mind and Thought, where is his Licenſe and War

rant for fuch deftructive Paftime ? Does Miſchief,
Robbery, and Rapine, become lawful and rightful
merely by Cuftom, Inclination, and Example ?
Would he himſelf be thus ufed, be beaten, worried,
and wounded to Death, by the Law of other Folks's
Cuſtom, Difpofition, and Delight ? Though he is
not to be fuppofed to converfe with the Bible, yet
he may be thought fometimes (when the Weather
favours not the Game) to beguile his domeſtick
Hours with fome Pagan Author. One would there
fore (by the Way) propofe to him (if he has not
yet obferved it ) the following Paffage of the inge
nious Plutarch. We will not fend him to the Ori

ginal, left his bufy Life (ſpent in Paſtime) ſhould

not allow him to read it. Let us go to the modern
Tranſlation : In that Tract, that ingeniouſly diſputes
the Superiority of Craft, in the Aqueous, or the
Terreftrial Animals, Autobulus thus difcourfes his
Friend : And hence it was, as they say, my dearest
Soclares, that Men, at firſt, became infenfible and inhu
man ; having once tafted of Murder, and being all ac
customed, by Hunting and following the Chace, not only
to behold, without Remorse, the Wounds and Blood of
wild Beafts, but to rejoice at their being kill'd andflaugh
tered. Afterward, as at Athens, fome Sycophant was,
by the thirty Tyrants, fet apart for Death, as a proper
Object of capital Puniſhment ; then a fecond, and a
third; then proceeding by degrees, they feis'd upon good
Men, and at length spared not the best and most worthy
Citizens. In like manner, the first that flew a Bear or
a Wolf obtained Applaufe : Then the Oxe and Hog were
appointed to be kill'd, under Pretence of having tafted
the
 To the DEIS T. 2I

the facred Things that lay before them. Next to them,

ar
SE

Deer, Hares, and Goats were made ufe offor Food, and
in fome Places, the Flesh of Sheep, Dogs, and Horfes
grew familiar to human Tafte. The tame Goofe alfo and
the Pigeon, Means familiar Domeftick, according to So
Ed
phocles, not for Nouriſhment, or to affwage Hunger, as
$$
Cats and Weafels, but to indulge voluptuous Appetites,
B
were dreft and mangled to pieces ; which gave Strength
and Vigour to whatever was in Nature, Blood-thirsty,
and Savage, and rendring the Difpofition of Man inflex
+
ible to Pity, had almoft eras'd out of his Breaft, what
ever was inclinable to Humanity and Mildness. Thus
I the Philoſopher intimates the ill Confequence of the
Huntſman's Difpofition and Practice.
And I cannot tell, but fome Prejudice may be
defigned to be raiſed againſt it, by fome Paffages in
[ our facred Hiſtory . In Gen. x. 8, 9. we are told
S of the Founder of the firft great Monarchy, that
e he began to be a mighty one in the Earth : He was a
mighty Hunter before the Lord ; wherefore it is faid,
even as Nimrod, the mighty Hunter before the Lord.
' It ſhould ſeem, that the Foundation of his King
dom was laid in the Practice and Succefs of Hunt
ing ; and that from a Purfuer of Beaſts, he grew
up to be a Subduer of Mankind. Being unconcern
ed at Blood and Wounds, by Hunting andfollowing
1 the Chace (as Autobulus juſt now obferved) he became
1 inhuman and oppreffive. The Practice of Hunt
ing, indeed, might have its Uſefulneſs it might
inure to Hardſhip and generous Exploits. Ab omni
evo creditum Militia Rudimentum, & quafi Praludium,
Ferarum Venationes (as one of the Criticks X obferves
upon this Paffage.) But without.due Care, it may
C 3 be
?
1
22 LETTER I.

lead to an Infenfibility and Savageneſs of Difpofi

1 tion ; as we uſually fee, that they that are addicted
to the Game, little regard what Injury or Treſpaſs
they commit againſt their Neighbours. Nimrod's
Hunting-Temper , and Cuſtomarinefs in running
down the Beaſts of the Field, together with the
Intereft that he thereby had in the neighbouring
Youth and Companions of the Game, might dif
pofe him to affect a Dominion in the Country, and
having gain'd diverfe leffer Dominions, he compo
fed of them a large Monarchy. As Dr. Stillingfleet
(in his Orig. Sacr. L. 1. Ch . 5. ) fays, it may be par

ticularly inftanced in most great Empires, that they gradu

ally arise from the Subduing and incorporating of thoſe
petty Royalties, into which the feveral Nations were can
tonized before.
We are informed alfo of another great Hunter
(a Man of the Field, as he is called ) who was buſy
w
at his Sport (though at his Father's Requeft, in
deed) while the younger Brother got the Bleffing
and the Birthright, which the Sportſman had too
much defpifed ; nor would the Divine Power and
Sovereignty reverſe the Grant, though it had been
fo clandeftinely obtained. But this is fpoken, not
altogether to forbid the young Squire his agreftic
Diverfion, but to invite him to follow it with fuch
; Moderation and Care, as not to forfeit or lofe greater
Advantages,
44
If then he purſues his Game with Mind and "
Thought, he ſhould be induced to bethink himſelf to
what Right and Reafon he has for his Pleaſure ; who
it was that made fuch Variety of ferviceable Ani
mals, and for what End they were fo made ; and
who
 To the DEIS T.
23
who gave him fuch Dominion over the Beafts of the

Field, and what good Uſe he makes of that Domi

nion, to the Honour, Homage, and Service of him
that is the independent Proprietor , and abfolute
Lord of all.
If he duly thinks of what he does, he ſhould,
withal, bethink himſelf of his Authority and Com
miffion for fuch deftructive Practices. What Right
have fuch as you, to be fuch great Wafters ? What 1
Patent can you produce from Heaven, that confti
tutes youfuch Lords ofthe Manor, or Maſters of theſe
earthly Poffeffions, that innocentLives are immediately,
by thouſands forfeited into your Hands, and muſt be
feized upon by way of Efcheat ? Who hath appoint
ed your Bellies to be the Depopulators of the Coun

try, and hath repleniſhed the Elements, in order

to be made Waſte and Defart again by your carni
vorous Bowels ? It is meet, fure, that you ſhould
have your Title and your Warrant clear and evi
dent, and ready to be fhewn to your Neighbours
on Earth, who may be, fometimes, apt to call it in
to Queſtion : and to be produced alfo in the Court
of Heaven, that you may not be charg'd with Tref
pafs of Waſte, and with wilful embezzelling and de
vouring the Creator's Goods and Chattels. Any
fupernatural Indication of his Will and Pleaſure here
in, you will not pretend to ; for then our Point
is, at prefent, gain'd ; viz. That fome Time or other
there has been a Revelation of the Divine Pleaſure

to Mankind, over and above what the mere Light

of Nature will afford. It muſt be a Commiffion
then under the natural Hand and Seal of Heaven, for

killing and eating what Animals you pleaſe (unleſs

C4 you
24 LETTER I.

you will eat them alive, as fome, perhaps, will) that

you are to produce ; which, probably, will not be
fo eafy a Matter, as you may, at firſt fight, imagine.
The Practice of Fleſh-eating has been long uſed in
the World ; and every Body reckons it natural there
upon. I fay, it was founded upon fupernatural Re
velation, and ought to be fo, in order to juſtify it
before God and Man. You will fuppofe, there is
no need of fuch Revelation ; that the Practice was
introduced , and is warranted without it. But .

we will try the Cauſe a little, and then Judgment

will proceed the better : To which Purpoſe, you
will give me leave to remind you of ſuch Thoughts
and Confiderations as thefe.
1. The various Animals that you fo conftantly .
devour, are originally none of yours. You have no
Right to their Lives (or to their Deaths rather)
any farther than it is freely beftow'd upon you by
Heaven. You did not make them, or appoint them
their Exiſtence. You did not give them their Lives,
their Powers of Nutrition, Vegetation , Senfation,
Propagation, and Activity. If you ſhould ſuppoſe
that they are not properly Animals, or indued with
proper Life, but are mere Machines, made in Imita
tion of Life and Senfe , yet it was not you for any
of your Fraternity) that fo made them. They are
curiouſly and unfearchably fram'd , and fashion'd,
quite beyond the Reach of human Penetration and
Sagacity. You know not from what peculiar Mat
ter the Bones arife, or how they take fuch different
Form and Shape, fuch Size, and Strength, and Ca
vities ; nor by what various Ways and Methods
they are fo inferted, ingrafted, and inoculated, one in
another ;
 To the DEIS T. 25

another ; nor by what Ligaments and Strings they

are tied fo faft together, that, though they are to
turn to and fro, and perform fuch different Moti
ons, yet they can fo hardly be pull'd afunder : And
when they are all disjointed and feparated from each
other, and laid before ye, it will furpafs all your
Skill, to unite and compaginate them as they were
before. $ You know not how the Bones are fo art
fully cloath'd with' Sinews, Tendons, and Muſcles,
for that Variety of Geſtures, Poftures, Motions,
and defenfive Pranks, which you fo oft behold,
and of which you and your ſportful Companions
fo oft, with Admiration and Pleafure, difcourfe. You
know not the Number, the Fineness, the Length,
the Contexture of thofe Fibres that compofe that
mufcular Fleſh, that you fo frequently and guftfully
confume ; nor the Number, Branches, Meanders,
and internal Juices of thofe Nerves, Arteries, and
Veins, that ſtrengthen, moiften, and feed that muf
cular Fleſh ; nor how the fame Flesh is fo well co
ver'd and fenc'd with Skin and Hide, and by what
peculiar Mufcles they are enabled to move and
Thake their Hides, better than you can yours ; or
how they are cover'd and clad , with Hair or Wool,
with Shag or Briftles, with Furs or Feathers, or
Scales and Fins ; and fome of theſe of very differ
ent Colours, and Weight, Fineness, Softnefs, and
Confiftence, for diverſe Uſes, Ornaments, Conve
niences and • Services of Life. You little know
what is that Spring of Life and Motion that is
within them : That Principle of thoſe Wiles and
S Turns, and Stratagem and Fetches, by which they
コ fo often unexpectedly outwit your Cunning, and
lurch
5
 26 LETTER I.

lurch your Toils and Dogs. You little underſtand

what that Power is that you uſually call Inſtinct,
and by which they perform fuch Feats, as almoſt
exceed Belief. Do but read Plutarch's Difcourfe or
Dialogue upon that Queftion, Whether the Aqueous
Animals, or those that belong to the Land, are the more
crafty of the two. We little know what is the

Source of that Fear and Flight, that Hope, and

Pleaſure, and Joy, that by fo many lively Indicati
ons appears among them. - You know not what
Terror and Trembling, what Heart-ake and Grief
you put them to in your eager Purſuits, by the
Noife and Scent of your Dogs, by the Hooks and
Gins, and Nets and manifold Snares, that you lay
for their Lives. It was not you that gave them that

wonderful Power, whereby they continue their Kind,

and multiply Individuals among them, and have fo
long propagated their Race, that they have now, in
their feveral Kinds, ftaid in the World, till you came
1
up into it, and are thereby made a Sharer in the fame
•
Variety of uſeful Animals, that preceding Genera
tions have been treated with. Had they had no
fuch Power, their ſeveral Sorts or Species had been
extinct long ago. You must own, that/ it is a fig
nal Inftance of Divine Wiſdom in itſelf, and of Di
vine Care and Beneficence to Man, to furnish the
feveral forts of Animals, with fuch a myfterious
Power, that their fucceffive Generations may run
down, as it were, parallel with his, and all the Ages
of Mankind be, thereby, alike furniſhed and accom
modated. And you must own too, that Mankind
ought to put fome Bounds to their Purfuit and Con
fumption of Animals ; for if in any Age any one
Species
 To the DEIST . 27

Species had been deftroyed (as for Inftance , of

Hares ; and one would think, that no Thanks are to
be given to fome Men, that they are not all intirely
deſtroyed) then there had been none left for you,
or your Heirs and Succeffors ; and then you had
wanted all that Pleafure and Diet, that Entertain
ment for Mind and Palate, that is now fo grateful.
But you know not the Pain and Miſery, the An
guiſh and Torment, that you put them to, while you,

or your Dogs, or other Companions, tear their

Limbs, or rend their Jaws or Bowels, and worry
them to Death : And though the Butcher may, per
haps, fooner diſpatch them, yet he ufually drains out
their Life with their Blood. If this be natural,

you muſt ſuppoſe, that Nature has ordained violent,

cruel, (and even preternatural or fupernatural) Deaths ;
which looks not like the original, placid, benign
Inftitution of Nature. Does Nature ordain the un

timely Deſtruction of its own Productions ? Let

the young Squire produce the Title by which he
claims fuch Dominion over his Maker's Goods,
(the animal or animated Goods ) as to make them
the continual Fuel of a confuming Appetite.

2. Poffibly, the young Squire reckons himſelf not

much better, in his effential Conftitution, than the
1
Animals he deſtroys and devours . It is well that
you have nobler Thoughts of the human Soul.
Give me leave to fpeak to that Race of Deiſtical
Gentlemen (and we have enough of them among us)
that are not conſcious of their own phyſical Excel
lency, nor believe any more of their own Immorta
lity, (that of their intelligent, active Spirits) than
of the Brutes, upon which they feaft and live. We
fhould
28 LETTER I..

fhould have a great Advantage in them and over

them, in order to the fwaying them to unfeigned,
vital Religion, could we once convince them of the
Immortality of that Principle, by which they are
fo active, ingenious, and argumentative ; and yet
they are ready fometimes to confefs, eſpecially when
they have reduced themſelves to fome Extremities,
that if this vain, vexatious Life, is the only one for
which we were made, it is fcarce worth the having,
or worth while to be introduced into it. Wherein
then is fuch a one much better than the grazing
Animals ? And why muft he be fuch a Lord, and
ufually, fuch a Tyrant over them ? They indeed
walk on four Feet, and he on two. But the Fowls
of the Heaven are as few-footed (if that be a Pri
vilege) and as airy too as himſelf ; and if fome of
the Quadrupeds are taught to walk on two Feet (as
they may be) they will but the more reſemble fuch
a Perfon as we now fpeak of. It may be faid, in
deed, that they naturally hang their Head downward
(Pronaque cum fpectant animalia cætera terram) as if
defigned only for an earthly Converfation ; but that
our Squire has upright Shoulders, a lofty Neck and
Eyes, and carries his Head fo high, that plain Men
(unleſs common Strollers of the Game) fcarce know
how to ſpeak to him. But the Horſe and Camel,
the Rhinoceros and Oftrich, can hold their Heads
as high as he. But what does the outward Poſture .
10
fignify, while the generous Form is belied, and the
Mind and Thought is as low and fordid, as earthly
and groveling as theirs ? He does not appear one
Jot (fanctius bis Animal) more facred and devout
than they though he
Las really is Poffeffor of a more
exalted
 To the DEIS T. 29

exalted Genius (mentifque capacins Alta,) yet he de

grades his fuperior Deſcent, debafes his exalted
Spirit , and debauches it more than any of the
four-footed Kind do theirs. He has an Averfi
1
on to believ e his own natura l Emine nce and Prero

gative ; feems to carry an Antipathy (ſtrange Dege

neracy of human Nature ! ) to the Notices of his
own fuperior Excellency and Conftitution ; as
I have heard a Perſon confeſs, that the thought of
being a Dog or a Cat was once more eligible, than
that of being an immortal Agent ; Though the natu
ral and moral Evidences of Immortality belonging
to human Nature, are fo many and bright, yet our
Gentleman is very loth to be imprefs'd by them.
He will, by affected Inadvertency, by ftudied Di
verfions, Avocations, and Pleafures, refufe the Con
fideration and Entertainment of them ; and while
the Immortality is difregarded and disbelieved, it is
all one, in this Reſpect, whether it belong to him or
no. What has he to do then, to deſtroy and devour
Things, that may be, in his own Opinion, as good
as himself? If he has Wit enough to catch them, they
alfo may be allowed to feize, and make a Prey of him
.
(as fome of them would) could they meet with him
in their Territories ; and if they ſhould do ſo, why
muft they be blamed or flain for killing him, any
more than he for them ? Why muft an outward
Shape, or a little mechanical Subtilty, make ſo great
a Difference ? What if fome of thofe Animals, that
we are accuftomed to call Brutes, fhew as much
Prudence in their Affairs, as the young Squire in his,
muft the Brute therefore tear, and rend, and fwallow

down the Man ? Why may they not run, and

feed, and play together ? Nature itſelf is harmleſs.
It
 LETTER I.
30
It ſeems a morofe, ill-humour'd Opinion, that the
State of Nature is a State of War. The Poets had
learnt from fome Tradition or other, that the Pri
mitive State of Mankind, was a State of univerfal
Peace and Tranquility. No Hoftility among the
Nations,

Mollia fecura peragebant otia gentes.

No Conteſts about Limits of Lands or Bounds of

Dominion and Districts.

Ante Jovem nulli fubigebant arva Coloni,

Necfignare quidem, aut partiri limite campum
Fas erat.

No Invaſion made upon the Rights and Properties

of our Animal Neighbours and Fellow- Commoners
round about us ;

At vetus illa Atas, cui fecimus aurea nomen,

Fatibus arboreis, &, quas humus educat, herbis,
Fortunata fuit, nec polluit ora cruore ;
Tunc & aves tute movere per aera pennas,
1 Et lepus impavidus mediis erravit in arvis, &c.

Accordingly the Philofopher, Porphyry , fuppofes,

that once there was a Time when univerfal Concord

prevail'd, and nothing at all, was willingly and de

fignedly flain . Τῆς γὰρ οἶμαις φιλίας καὶ τῆς περὶ
τὸ συγγενὲς ἀιθήσεως πάντα κατεχέσης , ἐδεὶς
ἐδὲν ἐφόνευεν , ὀικεῖα εἶναι νομίζων τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν
wwv. I believe, that when Friendship, and Senſe of
mutual Kindred poffeſſed all Things, there was no killing

killing
of
 To the DEIS T.
31

of one another, but one fort of Animal look'd upon the

other as his Familiars and Domefticks ; intimating that
he did believe, there was once fuch an harmonious,
Age of the World. De Abftinentia L. 2. §. 22 .
And he is ready to accord with Aristotle's Opinion,
that ' tis Hunger and Want that makes any ofthe Ani

0 mals favage and rapacious towards Man or one ano

ther . ᾿Αληθὲς γὰρ ἦν τὸ τῷ ᾿Αριςοτέλες, & c . For
Ariftotle's Saying is true enough, that if all Things had
Food enough, they would not be cruel and ravenous to
wards one another, or towards Mankind. And it feems
probable enough, fince it appears, that Men that take
Care to feed them, and do not too much exaſperate
them, can dwell fafely with Bears, and Tygers,
and Lions, and Serpents ; while we can fee in
the mean Time, that there are Men that will not be
tame and benevolent to the Members of their own
1
Tribe, even when their Bellies are full. But let

the felf depreciating Spark that we are ſpeaking of,

and frisk and fare with the Inhabitants of the.
go
Field ! Why ſhould he be maintain'd at ſuch a
coftly Rate, and live upon the Lofs of fo many
Lives, that may be as pertinent and ufeful to the
World as his own ? Let mortal Folks make the beſt
of their Time and ſtay together ; but let not one
(or one fort) engroſs the Lives and Pleafures of all
the reft. It may feem hard indeed, that the Days
of fome ſcores or hundreds of living and lively Be
ings must be cut off, and their Welfare and Repafts
on a fudden ended and fpoil'd, for the fake of one,
whofe outward Shape and Mien gives him the Ti
tle of Gallant, .when his Time is as idly ſpent, and
the Flame of Life that he is poffeffed of, may (in
his
 R
LETTE I.
32

his own Account) be as eafily and totally extinguiſh

ed as theirs.

3. You will give me leave to repreſent to you

alfo, how unfit and unworthy Man is to be made
abfolute Lord of the Fellow-Animals, and to be

fupported at ſo vaſt an Expence. Let him prudent 1

ly and kindly uſe them in and for his Service, but
not pretend a Commiffion for Life or Death. You '
fee and oft obferve how prone he is to tyrannical
and arbitrary Government : Every Man would fain
be lawless ; By nought, but his own Power or Will, con
fin'd. Divine and human Laws are Fetters, that he
would fain fhake off. Should he be left without
J
all moral or rational Rule, towards the mute Inhabi
tants of the Earth, he would be ready to murder
them all, and difpeople the terraqueous Globe, un
lefs his own Intereft, at any time, countervail'd ; and
yet (as we have feen ) they were not his Creatures,
or Production, or Workmanship. It is rational to
fuppofe, that they were made either before him, or
as foon as he ; either Way he could not do any
thing to deſerve them.. If they were made long
after him, then Man once lived and fared without

them. And then why can't he do ſo ſtill ? And

what a laborious, painful Life muft he then lead,
when he had none of the honeft, four footed Labour
ers to help him? And when they were made, they
might be made for Companions and Affiſtants, and
not for Spoil and Prey. But they must be the

7 Maker's free Gifts (fo far as they are given) to

Man. Being not merited beforehand, the Merit (if
there be any) muft come afterward (expoft facto, as
they fay) after the Benefit has been conferred ; and
I that
 To the DEIST. -
33

that must confift in a comely, rational Deportment

towards them, towards one another, the Poffeffors
of them, and towards God, the Author and Donor
of them. Firſt, it may be expected that there ſhould
be a comely, rational Deportment or Carriage towards
thefe Partners in Life and Motion : They are the
Gifts of God, and they are capable of being abu
fed. It is rationally fuppofed, that the righteous
Man will Regard the Life of his Beaft . But have
you not oft obferved, how tyrannical and oppref
five Men are to their Beafts ? how they often
ftarve them, how they overload them, and beat, and
wound, and maim them, for not overcoming their
fuperior Loads ? How are they torn and flayed a
live in Teams and Coaches ? and run out of Limb
and Breath to gain their Mafters Honour, and a
Prize ? And how many muſt be tapp'd in the Neck,
and fet a running out their Blood, or knock'd on
the Head, or have their Heads wrung off, to ferve
a great Man's Luxury, and furniſh out a fuperflu
ous, murderous Table ? Were the Brutes to be made
Mafters of Language (as we fuppofe a four-legged
Afs once was ; for why ſhould the two-legged ones
only be allowed that Privilege ? ) what Impeachments
of Cruelty, Sordidnefs, and all manner of barbarous
Ufage, would they bring in against their Maſters ?
Then, it ſhould be reaſonably fuppofed alſo, that
' they fhould carry it well, refpectfully and kindly
towards one another, as Poffeffors of theſe Gifts of
Heaven. But it has long fince, from inveterate Ex
perience, gone into a Proverb, Homo homini Lupus ;
J
and, indeed, Men, as they have more Craft and
Subtilty than the Beafts, fo they are worſe to one
D another
34 LETTER I.

another than they. You that are acquainted with

Hiſtory, need not have this Head dilated upon.
You know by what Means and Methods Monar
chies have rifen and fallen. You know the Intrigues,
and Frauds, and Fallacies of Courts and Courtiers.
You know the Envy, Malice, and Revenge of the
Proud, the Jealous, and Ambitious . You know
fomething of the Scenes of Villany and Blood, cau
fed by thoſe predominant Vices. You know how
Subjects have been enslaved, held in miferable Op
preffion all their Days, or made to fall by thou
fands together in Wars, only to ferve fome few Mens
capricious Deſigns. What Affaffinations, Plunders,
Depredations, Inquifitions, and Maffacres, have been
committed among the Tenants of the Wilderneſs
and the Field, as among Mankind ? You know
what Occafion and Reaſon there has been for Sa
tyrs upon Man in all known Ages. And is this the

Thing that muſt be fed at fo coftly a rate, and for

which we muft plead, that it is natural and reafon
able, that thouſands of Lives ought to be facrificed
to his ? Is it fit, that he ſhould be fo richly maintain
ed to do all this Miſchief? Muft Heaven be obliged
1
to fupport fuch a depraved, injurious Thing, at the
Expence of fo much Blood and Bounty ?
And this may fuperfede the Labour of confider
ing his Deportment, Difpofition, and Conduct, to
wards the Great God, the wife Author, and fponta
neous Donor of thefe Attendants and Affiftants of

human Life. Should I inquire after the Venerati

on, Love, Gratitude, and grateful Service that is
due to him, upon the account of fuch Beneficence.

where fhall I find it ? I would appeal to the Hearts

- and
 To the DEIST. 35

and Confciences of Men (particularly, to all the Gen

Ju
tlemen that acknowledge not the Influence and Au
1
thority of fupernatural Revelation, and even to ma
ny that do) for a vifible Teftimony of their Ad
$
miration, Thankfulneſs, and dutiful Regard to God,
H
upon the Score of that vaft Variety of Animals,
that he has made for them, and accommodated them
with. What grateful Reflection, humble Acknow
ledgment, or cheerful Service do they pay him on
their Account ? They call and count the harmleſs
Things their own ; and fo, it may be, they are, in
$ our Law or Chancery. And they look no farther.
Their Minds are immured in Body and Matter, as
well as thofe of the fubordinate Animals. They
have not Senfe enough to confider the prime Caufe
and univerfal Proprietor, and the unobliged Benefac
tor of them all. They reflect not upon the mul→
tiform Wiſdom and Skill that contrived, and fo ex
quifitely framed and fashion'd them. They confi
der not the manifold Offices and Ufes for which

they ſerve, and their wondrous Adaptation to the

Eafe and Ornament of human Life. Though they
enjoy the conſtant Labour and Service of fome, the
Toil and Drudgery of others in Waggons, Mills,
Coaches, and Chariots ; though they carefs their Pa
lates and Stomachs with others, dreſs'd in great Va
riety of Reliſh, and ferv'd up at their Tables, yer
they have ſcarce Mind and Ingenuity enough to
bethink themſelves whence all this Munificence
comes, for what end it is beftowed, how little it is
deferved, what Öbligation it confers, what is ex
pected by, or is to be rendred to, the incomparable
Donor. When they fit down to a long Train of
Ď 2 Diſhes,
 ER
LETT I.
36

Diſhes, ftored with freſh Corpfes, facrificed to Ap

petites and Luxury, they have ſcarce Seriouſneſs
and good Manners enough, to crave the Creator's
Favour and Bleffing, along with his Provifions, or
after their delicious Entertainment, to return him
humble Thanks for his unmerited Donations. They'll
be ready to laugh, or fcoff at a Perfon, that they
find reading in that devotional part of our Bible,
that we call the Pfalms ; though he reads but the
eighth in order ; which (as to the viſible Letter and
Language of it) may well pafs for an Expreffion of
natural Religion, and a fenfible Celebration of the
Divine Sovereignty and Bounty, in the Dominion
and Servants, that he has vouchfafed to Man. What
is Man, that thou art mindful of him ? and the Son of
Man, that thou vifiteft him ? Thou haft made him a
little lower than the Angels, and haft crown'd him with
Glory and Honour. Thou madeft him to have Domini
on over the Works of thy Hands ; thou haft put all things
under his Feet. AllSheep and Oxen, yea andthe Beasts ofthe
Field; the Fowl of the Air, and the Fish of the Sea, and
what paffeth thro' the Paths of the Sea. O Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is thy Name in all the Earth ? An Hymn,
fuitable, and worthy to be frequently fung at the
great Men's Tables !
And here I cannot but expoftulate the Cafe with
the Gentlemen of your Perfuafion, why they are fo
averſe to this part of Religion, and fo apt to deride

it in others. If they like not the ufual Mode of

Performance, let them take a better of their own.

But furely they ought not to manifeft a Contempt

of the almoft only part of Religion or Devotion, *:

wherein we may unite. Let us not diſagree, or ſe "

parate (in Sentiment) more than muft needs. Would

3 you
 To the DEIS T.
37

1 you have it fuppofed, that all practical Religion (at)

leaſt, all immediate Worſhip of the Great God) is
confined to the Profeffors of fupernatural Revelati
Mi on ? That will be no great Commendation of your
Party. One would think, that all Religions (or all
Profeffors of Religion) fhould agree in this, that
the Majefty, and Perfections, and Works of God
are to be proclaimed and celebrated in facred Songs.
What higher Work can the Tongue have, than to
fpeak and modulate the Praiſes of him that made it ?
They that will ſcarce allow of Prayer to God, for
fear of impleading his Immutability, fhould yet,
methinks, be ready to applaud his Eternity, Immu
bility, and other Perfections. They that would
baniſh all Grief (under the Name of Melancholy)
out of Religion (knowing not that there is a godly
Sorrow, or a Sorrow towards God, that is the Foun

dation of Peace and Joy) yet ſhould, one would

think, eaſily admit the cheerful and tuneful Acknow
ledgments of God, Creator, Preferver and Benefac
tor. It ſeems a very congruous Dictate of natural
Religion, Is any one merry, let him fing Pfalms ? Sure
ly, I need not ſhew you, that this is not merely a
Prefcript of the Chriftian Inftitution . What Re
gard you will have to the antient State of Religion
among the Hebrews, I know not. But you will
find, that when the Great God had his moft vifible
Refidence on Earth (for he dwelt there by a viſible
Glory) and had a moſt ſumptuous Palace, built on
Purpoſe, for his Name and Prefence, he had diverſe
Courſes of Servants (as it was meet he ſhould) that
were, Night and Day, employed in the worthy Work
of finging his Praiſe ; and not only fo, but there is
D3 a Phi .
2

11
01
 LETTER I.
38

a Philofopher (whom you will not fufpect to be

fwayed much by Chriſtian Inſtitutes) that will en
courage Hymns in Honour of Celeſtial Powers ;
and that is Porphyry; he will diſtinguiſh indeed be
tween the fupreme God, and his Offspring. The
fupreme God, (he will fay) is to be worſhipp'd with
Silence and Contemplation . Ἐν ἀπαθῶ ἄρα τῆς
ψυχῆς τόδε το θεό θεωρία , ἡ θυσία αυτη τελεῖται .
In and by the Mind's difpaffionate and undiſturb'd
Contemplation of this God, is this Sacrifice and
Service perform'd and perfected. But then to the
Offspring of this God, vocal Song is to be prefent
ed . Τοῖς δὲ ἀυτᾶ ἐγγόνοις , νοητοῖς δὲ θεοῖς , ἤδη καὶ
τὴν ἐν τῷ λόγε ὑμνωδίαν προσθετέον . But to the
Defcendants of this God, being themselves intellectual Gods,
Pfalmody, or the finging of a verbal Hymn, is to be of
fered. If any will, with Holftenius, render this,
τὴν ἐκ τῷ λόγω ὑμνωδίαν , by Hymnus , qui a Ratione
proficifcatur, they may. But being fet in Oppofi
tion to Silence and Contemplation , it feems to in
tend proper, that is vocal Pfalmody. Why Porphyry

fhould thus multiply Gods, and diftinguish the

Worſhip of the Gods (it being fuppofed, that he
was once acquainted with Chriftianity) I cannot
well tell ; unlefs, it be to fhew us, how foon they
that relinquish revealed Religion, fwerve from that
that is called natural alfo, and deviatę into Polythe
ifm. But all that is here argued, is, that fuch an
Adverfary to our facred Inftitution, will admit or
recommend the finging of Hymns to fome of the
Divine Powers. De Abftin. L. 2. §. 34. Nay, he

will lead us to Egypt, and inform us of the Rules

and Practice of the Priefts there ; whom he repre

fents
 To the DEIST .
39

fents as Men of fingular Gravity, Temperance, Mor

tification, Seclufion from the World, and Addicted
nefs to Study and the Buſineſs of their Function,
and worthy, in many Things, to be imitated by
the Minifters of a nobler Profeffion . Of theſe, he
tells us, that the Night they employ in the Obferva
tion of the Heavens ; that the Day is deſtined to the
Service of their Gods ; and three or four times a
Day (TSTUS Uvv) they fing Praiſes to them, viz.
in the Morning and at Night, at Noon, and at Sun
fet. L. 4. §. 8. Then he will lead us to India, and
ſhew us what the principal Claſs of their Prieſts, the
Brachmans, do there. They fpend, fays he, the Day
Time, and greateft part of the Night ( s ves
τῶν θεῶν καὶ ἐυχὰς) in Hymns and Prayers to their
Gods. And is not the one only God as worthy
of them ? And are not we as much obliged ? And
have not we more Matter of Praife and Celebration
fuggefted to us, by a fairer Diſcovery of his Na
túre and Excellency, his Will and Works ? And
what can you fuppofe more likely to be the Work
of the future, happy World, than the joyful Ac
knowledgment, Proclamation, and Praiſe of the Cre
ator's Majeſty and Glory, his wonderful Deſigns,
and Accompliſhments ? And yet how little care
your Partizans for fuch Service now ? They can
meet together to fnear at the Scripturifts, or banter
fome Portion of the Book, we, by way of Emi
nence (and juftly too) call, the Scripture. But they
R convene not , to practife that natural Worſhip,
they themſelves admit ; and they are ready to caft
a Scoff at thofe that do. How feverely will they
D 4 be
5
40 LETTER I.

be condemn'd out of their own Minds and Con

fciences ?
But this bythe Way. You may eaſily fee, what
an Averfion there is in Mankind, to ferious, cordial
Religion. The very Light, that opens to us the
Parts of Religion, and our Obligations thereto, will
fhew us (when compared with the Spirit and Dif
pofition of Men) what Enmity there is thereto,
and Unskilfulneſs therein, and Defection therefrom,
He that would preach natural Religion to the World,
had need to preach Repentance towards God, and
Reconciliation with him. What an Antipathy do
you fee in Men, towards the moſt excellent, amiable
Being ? An Unwillingness to retain him in the
Mind, Memory, Heart, or Affection ? Plays, Ro
mances, idle Tales, and impious Songs and Poetty
fhall engage the Head, and fecure the Soul, and load
the Memory, and beguile the Time, far fooner than
a vivid Treatife of the Glories of God, of the Blef
fedneſs Above, or a Difcourfe of ſeraphick Love.
Nay, it's a Wonder, if Men do not (if they have
Opportunity) become Oppofers and Perfecutors of
that very Religion, in others, which they themselves
profeſs and verbally acknowledge,
And are theſe the worthy, grateful Beings, that
fhall pretend a natural Right to any of the vital
Works of God, as due to their Support and Sufte
nance ? What have they to do, to expect to be fo en
rich'd and accommodated ? Had they ever a juft Ti
tle thereunto, Reafon will fay, they have forfeited
it long ago. Is it fit and juft, that Shoals of Ani
mals fhould be flain for fuch unrighteous ones as
thefe !
 To the DEIS T.
4T
thefe ! and that Rivulets of Blood fhould be ſhed, <

in order to preſerve their impious Souls in Life ?

They are not worthy to be maintain'd and cheriſh'd
at fuch an expenfive Rate.
4. You will confider, whether a natural Sympa
thy does not dictate, that it is Pity, that ſuch con
ftant Havock fhould be made among our Neigh
1 bours on this habitable Globe. It does not appear,
that they are too numerous. And it appears, that
they are Poffeffors of Life, Senfe, and Motion, as
well as we. They have the fame Senſories and Or
gans for it, as we ; as Eyes and Ears, Palates and
Noftrils, and other fenfible Parts of the Body. They
have the Receptacles, and Inftruments of Vitality
and vital Motion, as well as we, as Hearts, and Heads,
and Brains, and the Spina Dorfi derived from thence,
with Nerves, Arteries, and Veins, fpread over the
carneous Fabrick. They give the like Indication
of Appetite and Paffion, as we. They have their
Expreffions of Diſlike and Defire, of Hope and
Fear, of Anger and Love, of Gratitude and Re
venge, of Pain and Pleaſure, as well as we. And
their internal Senſe (viz . of Pain or Pleaſure) may
(for ought we know) be as vivid and acute, as any
of ours . As their outward Senſe (for Inſtance, of

Sight, Hearing, and Smell) is fuppofed, often to

furpafs ours. Their Shapes and Proportions are ex
quifite and accurate. Their Coverings, Cloathings,
and Colours, are often rich and beautiful. Their
Voices are fometimes melodious and charming.
Their Prefence and Company is often grateful and
diverting, Your Walks into the Fields, or Lawns,
or Forefts, would be much lefs pleafant and enter
taining,
 42 LETTER I.
‫لي‬
taining, were no fportful Cattle, or harmonious
Birds there. The Earth would be as a waſte, fi
lent Defart without them. The Lowing of the
Herds, and Bleating of the Flocks, is not unpleafing
or diſagreeable in your Evening-Retirements. Their
Services, in Life, and for Man's Eafe and Expedi
tion, are exceeding neceffary, and almoſt innumera
ble. And is it not pity now, that all theſe Things
muſt be deſpiſed, and that ſuch uſeful, comely, en
tertaining Things ' fhould be cuftomarily murdered,
all on a fudden ? The gentle Sheep is made to run
to his own Slaughter. The induſtrious Oxe muft
have his Skull broke, by the Inftrument, he himſelf
has carried. The pretty Lark is pierced through

the Head, while he is charming the Fowler's Ear.

No Uſefulneſs or Accuracy , no Sagacity or Voice,
Youth or Beauty, is Antidote or Amulet enough a
gainſt Man's deftructive Temper and Practice. Axx'

ἐδὲν ἡμᾶς δυσωπεῖ , ε χρόας ἀνθηρὸν εἶδος, όσο

But we are nothing put out of Countenance (fays Plu
tarch, in his firſt Difcourfe concerning eating of Flefb)
either by the beauteous Gaiety of the Colours, or by the
Charmingness of the musical Voices, or by the rare Sa
gacity of their Intellects, or by the Cleanlineſs and Neat
nefs of Diet, or by the rare Difcretion and Prudence of
thefe poor, unfortunate Animals ; but, for the fake of
fome little Mouthful of Fleſh , deprive a Soul of the
Sun and Light, and of that proportion of Life, and Time,
it hadbeenborn into the World to enjoy. And does this
carry no fort of Regret or Reluctance with it, to
a fenfible Mind ? What Pains and Sorrows do thefe

poor Mutes undergo for us ? Their Limbs are torn,

their Muſcles rent and cut, their Heads broke, and
Brains
 To the DEIST.
43

Brains ftruck out, their Hearts pierced, and Blood

let out of their Bodies, to ferve our Appetite and
Palate. Their Colours aud Beauties muſt be tar
niſhed and ftain'd, their Voices filenced, their Repoſe
and Pleaſures ended, their Mechaniſm all diftuned
and ſpoil'd, in order to gratify theſe luxurious Sto
machs. Is there no Commiferation moving towards
fuch unfortunate Beings ? The Cock, the Turky,
the Peacock ſhines and ftruts (it may be) in all his
Pride, Beauty, and Bravery, to Day, and appears
in a Diſh (as in his Coffin ) on the Table, to mor
row. Are human Bowels touched with no Refent
ment, but the Pleaſure of gormandizing upon fuch
Things as theſe? Does original, rational Nature in
t in fuch Inhumanity and Infenfibility ? What
ftru&
have the unhappy Creatures done, to deſerve all this
Barbarity and Fate ? What hideous Crimes have
they committed, that they muſt be thus unmerci
fully treated ? Have they Wars, Mutinies, and Se
ditions among themſelves ? Do thoſe of one Kind
commit Rapes and Robberies upon thoſe of ano
ther ? Does one Tribe combine to murder and maf
facre another ? Or do they all enter into Affociati
ons, Plots, and Confpiracies againſt Mankind ? Do
they endeavour to ſhake off his Dominion and Go
vernment ? and to break the Yoke he has laid on
their Shoulders ? If they did, much might be faid
on their Behalf, unleſs Man did manage it better.
Or are they the wild, furious, and ungovernable
Things, that we treat at this Rate ? No fuch Mat
ter ; but the moft tame, and mild, and helpful.
ε γὰρ δὴ λέοντας ἀμυνόμενοι , καὶ λύκες ἐσθίομεν , & c.
For we eat not Lions and Wolves by way of Revenge (or
we
 LETTER I.
14

we do not avenge our felves, by eating Lions and

Wolves ;) but we let thofe go, and catch the harmless
and tame fort, and fuch as have neither Stings, nor Teeth
to bite with, and flay them ; which, in truth, Nature
Seems to have produced for their Beauty and Comeliness
only ; (as Plutarch truly fays in that foregoing Dif
courfe.) Now what have theſe, gentle, fociable,ſervice
able Beings done to procure to themſelves ſo much
Enmity and Hatred, that they muſt be murdered as
faft as may be ? What have the Lambs and Leverets,
the Calves and Kids, the Fawns and Conies, and all
the young Fry ofFiſh , and the Brood of Fowl done,
that they must be deftined to the Slaughter, and dif
patched, as foon as may be, out of the Land of the
Living ?

Quidmeruiftis Oves, Placidum pecus, inque tuendos

Natum Homines, pleno quæ fertis in Ubere Nectar ?
Mollia que nobis veftras Velamina Lanas

Præbetis, vitâque magis, quàm mortejuvatis ?

Quid meruere Boves, Animal fine Fraude, Dolifque,
Innocuum, fimplex, natum tolerare Labores ?
Immeror eft demùm, nec frugum munere Dignus,
Quipotuit, curvi dempto modò Pondere Aratri,
Ruricolam mactare fuum.

As Pythagoras pathetically pleads in the 15th Book

of Ovid's Metamorphofis. How many fuch innocent,
or even fruitful Lives muft be facrificed to the Ex

travagance and Gullet of one Voluptuary ? If they

were to be devoted to him that made them, there
might be fome Reafon for it. If he would be plea
fed with the Cattle upon a thouſand Hills, he might juft
ly
 To the DEIST.
45.

ly claim them. He may do with his own, as he

pleaſes. If they could make an Atonement for our
Provocations and Offences againſt him, that made
them and us, we might juftly offer them in Abun
dance, and rejoice in the Acceptance. But to wound,
and tear, and ſhoot and flay them, in all Forms and
Methods, for our pamper'd Carcaffes, may carry
the Face of Savagenefs and Cruelty, or Ferity it
felf. What has Nature to plead for fuch Unmerci
fulness, and Thirft for Blood ? It may as well ar
gue, that we ought to know our felves, our Place
and State in the Creation . That we ought not to
do by our Fellow-Animals, as we would not have
them do by us. All vital, fenfible Nature is averfe
to Death and Diffolution. You ſhould no more put
an end to their ſpontaneous Motion, their Perception
and Senfation, than you would have them put an
End to yours. Does Nature dictate Unkindneſs and
uncompaffionate Treatment towards the gentle, foci
al, and familiar ? Ingratitude and Injury towards the
patient, helpful and induftrious ? and Blood and
Slaughter towards the amicable Affiſtants of Life and
Labour ? O horrible Cruelty ! ( fays Plutarch in the
forementioned Difcourfe) it is truly an affecting Sight
to ſee the very Table of rich People laid before them ;
who keep them Cooks and Caterers to furnish them with
dead Corpfes for their daily Fare. But yet it is more af
fecting to fee it taken away. For there is more Mam
mocks left, than was eaten. Thefe therefore were flain
to no Purpose. A good Reproof of the Extravagance
and Superfluity of our more inlightened World!

5. It
 46 LETTER I.

5. It should be confidered, whether Nature teach

es us, that Fleſh is the moſt wholfome Food. We
do not now confider what it is found to be, after
the Conceffion, that God has made ; but what Na
ture or Reaſon may be fuppofed to fuggeft concern
ing it, before Licenſe was given, or Experiment was
made. It may be faid, indeed, (as by Dr. Waine
wright, in his Treatife of Non-naturals, p . 160. ) that
Animal Food feems best qualified for Recruiting dimi
nifhed Strength, and Repairing the Lofs our Fibres fuf
tain by daily Motion ; confifting of Parts, which have
hitherto been applied to the fame Ufe ; Whereas our Ve
getable Food must be converted into Nourishment by the
proper Action of our own Stomach, and Lungs, which
are much weaker, than thofe of diverfe Animals, we O

furnish our Tables with every Day ; being thefolid Parts

of an Animal are the very Matter, with which they T
were nourished, amass'd together in a folid Form ; and 0

the Nourishment of an Animal is but a little part of that

Vegetable Food, he lives on ; as appears by the vaſt Quan
tity of Excrements, which are voided by fuch Creatures ;
therefore the fame Quantity of Flefb-meat affords much 0

greater Quantity of Nourishment, than Vegetables do.

It ſhould be remembred, that we rather confider
the State and Café of original Nature, than what it
is now. For if it ſhould appear, that there has been
any extraordinary or preternatural Alteration in any
part of Nature, as either in the Conftitution of
Man, or in the Diſpoſition of Animals, or the Com
plexion of Vegetables, that may be the Foundation
of this Grant, that God has made to Man ; then

indeed, it may appear, that Fleſh-meat is fometimes

more nutritious, than a Mefs of Vegetables. But
WC
 To the DEIST . 47
we are to confider the Dictates of free and common

Nature and Reafon, as called in, by way of Plea

for the Naturality of this common Practice of eat
ing Fleſh. And fo, 1. It is pleaded (as we fee)
that Animal Food feems beft qualified for Recruiting di
minished Strength, and Repairing the Lofs our Fibres
fuftain by daily Motion ; and that, as confifting of Parts
which have hitherto been applied to the fame Ufe. But
Things are here fuppofed, which natural Reaſon
does not immediately averr. The Animal Fibres,
that we eat, muſt be ground to pieces, muſt loſe
all the Strength, the Contexture, and Motion that
they had ; and be made quite a different Pulp or
Liquor, than they were before ; and then it may be
queſtionable, whether they, in fuch a Form, will be
more qualified to recruit diminiſhed Strength, and
repair the Lofs of our Fibres, than another Pulp
or Liquor may do. Nay, being fo broken, pound
ed, and macerated, they may, poffibly, be more un
fit to nouriſh Fibres, and perform any Animal Mo
tion, than other Particles, that have not been fo dif
qualified from former Ufe. And then, it may fo
be, that the Fibres, Muſcles, and Motions of the
Brute Animals, may be fo different from ours, that
the Particles, that, by former Ufe, we.e qualified
for their Fibres, Mufcles, and Motions, may, there
fore, be unqualified for ours. Muft we ſuppoſe, that
the Fibres that were formerly uſed in Flying, loſe all
their Tendency to former Ufe, (then other Fibres
may do fo too) or do they qualify us for Flight ?
Or do they only ſtrengthen thoſe Limbs, and repair
the Lofs of thoſe Fibres, which we ufe in Flight
(i. c. in fuch Flight, as we are capable of ?) And
I them,
 ER
TT
LE I.
48

then, as we want to have our Fibres repaired, ſo we

want to have our Spirits recruited ; thofe particu
! larly, that are lodged in the Brain, and are employed
and wafted in Thought and Study. Shall we fup
poſe, that the Fibres of Brute Animals, are, by for
mer Ufe, qualified for this Service ? Or may not
fome Vegetable Liquor, as Wine, Ale, or Mum, be
as proper? Then, it is faid, that our Vegetable Food
must be converted into Nourishment by the proper Action
of our own Stomach and Lungs ; which are much weaker,
than thofe of diverſe Animals, we furniſh our Tables
with every Day. And muft not our Animal Food too
be converted into Nouriſhment by the proper A&
ti
on of our Stomach and Lungs ? Let either raw, or
boiled, or roaſted Fibres ( without being converted
into Nouriſhment by the proper Action of the di
gefting Veffels ) be applyed to our Fibres or Muf
cles, and fee if they will recruit our Strength, and
repair the Lofs our Fibres daily fuftain. But our

Stomachs are much weaker than thofe of diverfe Animals,

that wefurnish our Tables with every Day. And there
fore as they feed upon Vegetables, we muſt feed up
on them. It feems, our weak Stomachs muſt digeft
them and their Stomachs too. Is Flesh wont to
be preſcribed to weak Stomachs ? Is Bread and Wa
tergruel, Panado and Pudding, Alebury and Choco
late, wont to be reckoned among the Animal Diet ? •

But let us confider a little ; may it not be rational

"
ly fufpected, that the more near any Food is to
Fleſh and Blood, the more denfe and grofs it will be,
and the more unfit for human Concoction ? If it be
beft, to be moft like to the Flesh and Blood that
is to be nourished, then let human Fleſh and Blood
(and
 To the DEIST. 49

(and that raw too) be taken into the Stomach, and

( .
diſtributed (if the Veffels will do it) to the Parts
that are to be ftrengthened, and to the Fibres, that
are to be repaired. But if Phyficians and Natura
lifts will tell you, that that is too ftrong, and grofs,
t
and indigeftible, why may not other Flefh be fo
too ? Why may not the Flesh of Sheep, and Dear,
and Oxen, be as ftrong, as that of Men ? Their
I ftronger Stomachs may make a ftronger Fleſh and
F Blood ; and confequently, unfit for human Digeſti
on. Befides, what is all2. the Apparatus of the Sto
mach, and its Appurtenances, of the Chylific, San
guific, and other nutritive Veffels for, but for fome
gradual, progreffive Alteration ? Surely, it is not
fuppofed that Fleſh and Blood must be put into them,
and committed to them for Diftribution. But

fomething rather, that, at prefent, is remote from

Flesh and Blood ; and that by various Poundings,
Churnings, and Macerations, by diverfe Percolations,
Alterations, and Digeftions, is, at laft, to be convert
ed into Fleſh and Blood. vile
It ſhould be obferved withall, that Nature, in her
proper Order and Office, is upon the progreffive,
perfecting Hand. She regularly proceeds and im
proves ; and not undoes, or deftroys or goes back
ward. Now fince the Food, that is good for Car
nification , and to repair decayed Fibres, muſt be
firft good Blood ; and the Blood must come from
the Chyle , and the Chyle from the Macerations
and Digeftions of1.the
< Stomach ; it fhould feem then,
that vegetable Food fhould be regularly committed
AAL
there. It will then be continually upon the Meli
oration and Improvement . It
13 will be advanced firſt
E into
50 LETTER I.

into Chyle, then into Blood, then into Fibre, or

Flefh ; as the Chymifts have been apt to fuppofe,
that it is more eafy and natural to ripen Metals into
Gold (which they take to be the moſt mature and
adult of all ; ) than to unravel Nature's Work, and
turn Gold, or any of the riper Metals, into ſuch as
are more raw and undigefted. For the Stomach then
to take in Fleſh, in order to Nouriſhment, feems to
put it upon an unnatural, retrograde Operation.
That that has paſſed through the Order and Office
of Chyle, and Blood, and Fleſh, muſt be undone
and diffolved ; and brought back to Chyle again,
and then to Blood, and then to Fleſh again . One
would think, this fhould require a ſtrong Stomach,
and robuft, digeſtive Veffels. It ſhould feem ftrange,
that the brutal Chyle, and Blood and Fleſh ſhould
be weaker and finer than ours ; and but in a State
of Preparation, or Maturation for ours ; or that, if
their Fleſh is ftronger than ours, and ſtronger than
Vegetable Foods our weaker Stomachs ſhould have
the ſtronger Diet naturally affigned to them.
It is further faid, that the folid Part
of an Animal,
are the very Parts, with which they were nouriſhed, a
maffed together in a folid Form ; and the Nourishment
of an Animal is but a little part of that Vegetable Food,
that he lives on ; as appears by the vast Quantity of Ex
crements, which are avoided by fuch Creatures ; therefore
the fame Quantity of Flesh-meat affords much greater
Quantity of Nourishment, than Vegetables do. The dif
putative Word, Therefore, feems not here clearly to
come from the Premiffes. Suppoſe we, that the
Nouriſhment of an Animal is but a little part of the

Vegetable Food, that he lives on. So alfo the Nou

+ riſhment
 T
To the DEIST.
51

riſhment of a Man is but a little part of the Animal

3 Food, he lives on ; and that alfo may appear by the
0
vaft Quantity of Excrements, that are continually,
one Way or other, thrown off. Some fay, not more
than the fiftieth Part, of what is taken in, turns to
Nouriſhment. Muft I fay then, therefore Animal 1
Food affords lefs Nouriſhment, than Vegetables ?
No furely. But fince the Nouriſhment, both of
Men and other Animals is but a fmall part of the
Food, they receive ; how fhall we judge which re
ceive moft Nouriſhment from their refpective Food,
they that live upon Animal Food, or they that live
upon Vegetables ? If there be Animals that live up
on Vegetable Food, that grow more bulky, more
fibrous, more ftrong, than Man, with all his Ani
mal Food, why may it not be fuppofed, that Vege
table Food nouriſhes as much as that that is Ani
mal ? And if Nourishment and Augmentation be
but (as fome fuppofe) the filling of the Veffels of
the Body with fuitable Liquor (fince the Body is
faid to be Vaſcular, ) why may not Vegetables (and
particularly, Vegetable Liquors) contribute as much
to the Nouriſhment of the Body, as any Animal
Food ? And perhaps, it may appear in our Proceſs,
that Vegetable Food did once nouriſh human Bodies
to a greater Bulk, Strength, and Longevity, than
Animal Food does now. Had the Conftitution of
the Blood been of old known and confulted, it might
well be queftioned, whether brutal Fleſh were pro
per for compofing fuch a Liquor ; whether it would
make good Serum, or be eafily blown into fuch
fmall, light Globules, as fwim therein. It would
rather be ſuppoſed too heavy for the Motion of the
E 2 Blood ;
52 LETTER I.

Blood ; too grofs, to run through all the Capillary.

Veffels, through which the Current muſt run, or
too tenacious and ftringy, to compofe fuch various
Liquors, as by the Glands, must be feparated from
the Blood. And if upon thefe, or any other Ac
counts, it fhould be unfit either for Chyle, or Blood,
it would be injurious to the Health of the Body.
Fleſh is reckoned unwholfome, as eaten alone ;

and when compounded, not eafily digefted. Plutarch

complains of his Times, But we are grown so wanton
in our bloody Luxury, that we have bestowed upon Flesh,
the Name of Meat ; and then require another Meat, to
this fame Flefb, mixing Oyl, Wine, Honey, Pickle, and
Vinegar, with Syrian and Arabian Spices, as though we
really meant to embalm it after its Deceafe. Indeed when
Things are (thus) diffolved, and made thus tender and
foft, and are as it were turned into a fort of Carrionly
Corruption, it muſt needs be a great Difficulty for Con
coction to mafter them, and when it hath maſter'd them,
they must needs caufe grievous Oppreffions ( vooders
añías) and qualmy ( or morbific) Indigeftions. As
in the firft Difcourfe concerning eating of Flesh. And
Porphyry would alſo argue, that it is rather injurious
to Health, than confervative of it ; and that becauſe

(δὶ ὧν γὰρ υγίεια ἀνακτᾶται, διὰ τέτων καὶ δία

LEVEL) Health is to be preferved by the fame Means,
by which it is to be recovered. Now it is recover
ed (fays he) by a very fpare and (acάena dairns).
unfleſhly Diet, or fuch as from which Fleſh is ex
cluded. De Abftin. L. 1. §. 52. It is known, that
Fleſh is generally forbidden by the Phyficians, in
the Cafe of Acute Diſeaſes ; and that they, in their
own Diſorders, ufually betake themſelves to Water
gruel
 To the DEIS T.
53
.
gruel and Abftinence. It has been thought too
that fome fort of Distempers, as the Rickets and
one kind of Confumption, has been more incident
to us Englishmen, than the Inhabitants of other Coun
tries, by Reafon of our too early, or too frequent
2
eating of Flesh. But thefe Things I leave to the
1
Phyficians. This is not faid with deſign to prove,
that Flesh (which is now a Gift of God to us) is,
i
in itſelf, an unwholfome or pernicious Diet ; but,
that Reafon can fcarce (à priori) by any previous
Confidération, argue, that it is natural, and agreeable
1 to human Bodies .

6. We may fedately confider the great Variety

of Vegetables, that ſeem defigned for the Support and
Relief of human Life. The Verdant Kingdom is
large and copious. It may be rationally fuppofed,
that, fince God has made Man, and made him for
his own more immediate Service, he has provided
fufficiently for "4his Maintenance. It may be well
fuppofed alfos that Things without Life should go
firft ; and Things of lower Life, before Things,
that poffefs a higher. Now, in order to fave the
higher, how richly is the Surface of this Earth fto
3
red and repleniſhed ? What a diverſified, plentiful
Table is here ſpread ? Here are Plants of very differ
ent Compofition, for Food or Phyfick ; and fuitable
to different Conftitutions, as hot and cold, moiſt and

dry, and of other Qualities, in their feveral Degrees.

There are Leaves, of various Virtue, for Salads,
Pottages, and Soops, and other Modes of Cookery.
E There are Roots, that afford a more fubftantial, fta
‫י‬ ble Food. There are Fruits of different Savour, of
delicate Odour, Temper, and Beauty ; and ſuitable
E 3 to
1
 LETTER I.
5.4

to the fucceffive Seaſons of the Year. There are

various forts of Grain, to furnish us with the Staff
of Life. There are Vegetable Products, that may
be candied and comfited for the Entertainment of
the Genteel and Noble. There are others, that may

be preſerved, and feaſoned with Liquid Sugar. There

are others, that are laid in Pickle, and temper'd with
Auftere or Acid Juices, to awake the Appetite, and
excite the Taſte. There are Vegetable Liquors,
to cheriſh, corroborate and enliven the human Ma
chine, and quicken all the Movements. There is
Wine to cheer Man's Heart, and Oil to make his

Face to fhine. And where the Blood of the Grape

is not a Native, Nature has its Productions, for Nu
tritive and Cordial Liquors. Preparations are made
for Beer and Ale, for Syder, Perry, and Mum ; for
Teas and Chocolate, and innumerable Potions. The
Virtues of our Vegetables, its probable, are but little.
known. They are but little ftudied, fince Paracel
fian and Chymical Medicines are got into Faſhion a
mong us. And yet many Chymical Preparations,
as Salts, Spirits, Flowers, Oyls, and Effences, are
fetched from the Vegetable Kingdom . Simple Wa
ters, Syrups, and Conferves, are, alfo frequently ta
ken from thence. There is the great Magazine of
Life and Health. Whence

Parcite, Mortales, dapibus temerare nefandis

Corpore ; funt Fruges, funt deducentia Ramos
Pondere Poma fuo, tumidaque in Vitibus uva ;
Sunt Herba dulces, funt qua mitefcereflamma,
Mollirique queant ;- 1
1930
Prodiga
 To the DEIST. 55

Prodiga Divitias, alimentaque mitia Tellus 7

日
Suggerit, atque epulas fine cæde &fanguinepræbet.

Says Pythagoras in Ovid's Language and Meaſures..

And Plutarch introduces the original Fleſh-eater, as
excuſing himſelf by the Neceffity he was laid under,
through the Want of Vegetable Food ; but upbraid
ing us with Extravagance, as having no fuch Necef
fity. But whence is it, that a certain Ravenouſneſs and
Frenzy drives you, in these happy Days, to pollute your
felves with Blood ? Since you have fuch Abundance of
Things neceffary for your Subfiftence, why do ye bely the
Earth, as unable to maintain you? Why do youprofane
the Lawgiver, Ceres, and shame the mild and gentle
Bacchus, as notfurnishing you with Sufficiency ? Areyou
not aſhamed to mix tame Fruits with Blood and Slangh
ter? As in the forementioned firſt Diſcourſe of Fleſh
eating. And our ingenious Cowley thus commends
the Garden.

When Epicurus to the World had taught

What Pleaſure was the chiefeft Good,
(And was, perhaps, in th' Right, if rightly un
derſtood)
His Life, he to his Doctrine brought,
And in a Garden's Shade, that Sovereign Pleaſure
fought ;
Whoever a true Epicure would be,
May there find cheap and virtuous Luxury, &c.

Accordingly, Porphyry tells us (De Abftin. L. 1.§.48.)

that fome of thoſe Philofophers, that made Pleaſure.
their chief End, did (which looks like a Paradox, as
E4 he
 56 LETTER I.

he fays) content themſelves with a poor and ſparing

Diet ; that many of the Epicureans themselves (TV
Επικερείων ὁ πλέιες ) following their Chieftain
•
(ἀπ ' αὐτῷ τῷ κορυφαιε ἀρξάμενοι ) lived on Vege
table Food, and filled their Writings with Declara
tions of the Frugality of Nature, and her Eafinefs
to be fatisfied. And in our Procefs, we fhall fee,
that the Riches and Variety of the Vegetable King
dom have, both of old, and more lately too, fuffi t
"་
ced for the Support and Refection of human
Life. 207 Jadik
4 (
7. It would feem that the Excellency of the fen
fitive Life, in the nobler Animals, would diffuade
us from fuch conftant Deftruction of it, without
•
the Creator's particular Leave. Their Bodies are
curious ; but their Souls ( or the Principles of Life
and Senfation, within them) feem to be much more
fo. We made neither the one, nor the other ; nor
do we well know what the brutal Soul is.It is

true, we are much better than they (as the Author of

our facred Inftitution has affured us ; ) and fo we had
need to be, fince fo many of them muft daily bleed
and dye, to ranfom or reſcue us from the Devora
tion of the Grave. But how much better than they,
$
we (or our Spirits) are, we cannot pofitively tell.
.
They have not our Hopes and Fears, our Reviews
and Proſpects, our Freedom and Confcience, our
Legiſlation and retributive Sanction ; and fo are not
fet in fuch a State of Probation and Relation to a
future World, as we ; and yet, phyfically " confider
ed, they may be excellent Beings for all that, and fit
"L
to be exempted (if the Creator pleafed) from that
bloody Dominion , that we exercife over them.
What
 To the DEIST. 57

What particular Notions, the old Ethnic Naturalifts or

Moralifts had of the Nature of the Souls of thefe Ani
mals, we cannot well fay. It is plain, many of them had
great Thoughts of them, as noble, vital Beings,
though they might not make uſe of fuch Terms, in
S their Account of them, as are cuftomary among us ;
they might not call them Spirits, or immaterial, or
incorporeal Subſtances or Effences ; but they thought
them truly fenfible and perceptive, and poffeffed of
a Degree of Reafon and diftinguishing Power. The
Pythagoreans thought them to have been once human"
Spirits, and to have been tranflated thither from hu
man Bodies. No wonder therefore they were ten
der of brutal Life. But fuch Tendernefs did not

merely depend upon that Opinion, nor was fupport

ed only by fuch Opinionifts. It was enough, that
thefe brutal Souls had fo much Senfe and Perception
་་
(called, Reafon) that fome fort of Juftice was due
1.
to them. P This, Plutarch was going to argue, at the
end of the fecond Difcourfe, concerning eating of

Flefb ; let us therefore, in the next Place, confider ( fays"

he) whether we owe any Justice to the Brute Beafts.
But that Part of the Tract is loft. But that fuch
Tenderness of, or, towards Brutal Life, and that Ab
ftinence from Fleſh, does not depend upon the Sup
pofition of a Pythagorean Tranfmigration, may appear
from what Plutarch fays in the fame Difcourfe ; when1
he thus argues ; ποῖον ἐν καὶ πολυτελὲς δεῖπνον , εις
ὁ 1 θανατεταί τι ἔμψυχον ; “ What Meal is not
co
(dear, and) expenfive, for which an tiAnimal is
દ
put to Death ? μικρὸν ἀνάλωμα ἡγείμεθα ψυχὴν ;
Shall we reckon a Soul to be a fmall Expence ? I
" will not fay, perhaps, of a Mother, or a Father,
66 or
 ER
LETT I.
58

❝or fome Friend, or a Child ; as Empedocles did ;

" but one (a Soul) participating of Feeling, of See
66 t
ing, of Hearing, of Imagination and Intellection ;
I
" which each of them hath received from Nature,
0
" for acquiring what is agreeable to it, and avoiding S
""
" what is difagreeable. ' Here excellent Powers are
attributed to the Brutal Soul. J And from thence
the Argument is drawn, without running into the
Hypothefis of Empedocles.
But here we have quoted a grave Interrogatory,
which I cannot but a little paufe upon. Let it be
applied to the human Soul (as by a Parity, or rather,
by an eminent Potiority of " Reaſon, it juſtly may)
and it will be a Theme, or a Text, worthy of the
graveft Philofopher, or Chriſtian Divine. μxey
Ανάλωμα ἠγέμεθα ψυχήν ; do we reckon the Soul a
fmall Lofs, an inconfiderable Expence ? Alas ! What is
a Soul ? How different from the organized, united
Body ? How fpiritual, pure, fine and remote from
Terreftrial Alloy ? How invifible, intangible, and
incomprehenfible to our Thought ? Though it is
our felves, and the Subject of that Thought ; how
noble in its Capacities and Powers ! Sentient, In
tellective, Ratiocinative, Self- confcious, Retrofpec
tive of Things paft, and Profpective of Things di
ftant and future? A Subject, capable of vaft Hopes
and Fears, vaft Satisfaction and Difappointment !
An Agent, capable of being loofed from the Body,
and flying to a congenerous, fpiritual World, and
poffeffing immortal Pleaſures, or immortal Woes !
Ο ! μικρὸν ᾿Αναλωμα ἡγόμεθα ψυχὴν ; Shall we
reckon fuch a Thing as this a trifling Lofs ? And what
are Men doing with their Souls ? brutifying them.
and
 To the DEIST.
59

and burying them in Fleſh ! Diabolizing them , and

' advancing them in ftudied Impiety and Vice ! bar

T tering them for the Pleaſures of a dying Body ! for
the Honours of an uncertain State ! for the Profits
of a vain, unconftant World ! exchanging them for
Shadows, Toys, and Dreams ! And are thefe Fool
eries worthy of an immortal Soul ? And after the
Poffeffion of them for a while, may not the Soul
be eternally loft ? And μng ' Aváλwpa nyśµeta
Luxny ; can we think the Soul a deſpicable Lofs ?
O what will it profit a Man to gain the whole
World, and loſe his own Soul ! And what fhall he
give in Exchange for his Soul ?
Pardon this Excurfion, occafion'd by fuch a
Query of the Ethnic Moralift ; ſo pathetick, and
fo fuitable a Foundation both of natural and reveal

ed Religion ! And as Plutarch, fo Porphyry alfo at

gues the Rationality of the Brute Animals. I think,
I have already recommended to your Perufal, Plu-.
tarch's Difpute upon that Queſtion, whether the Aqua
tick or the Terreftrial Animals have the more Craft and,
Cunning ? And Porphyry (in his third Book de Abfti
nentia ab Animalibus) 2 is large in the Proof thereof,
in order to an End and Argument, that may here .
after be mention'd. " And the Peripatetics, that were
fo apt to aſcribe ſubſtantial Forms (if they be right

ly underſtood) to all Things, muft needs afcribe them

to the Brutes alfo.
The old Philofophers had high
er Thoughts of Senfe and fenfitive Powers, than
thofe, that were lately called the new ones. The
Cartefians arife, and they difanimate the Brutes, and
mortify their Organs, and mechanize their Powers..
But the Foundations of their Philofophy have been
detected
 1

бо LETTER I.

detected and overthrown . The lateſt Philofophy

gives us the beft Account of the Nature of Matter,

the Laws of Motion and Mechanifm. And there it
is made moft probable, that Mechanifm can, by no
Means, amount to Senfation , or fenfitive Perception .
4
Some would attribute a Degree of Reafon to thefe
Animals, as Mr. Chambre, and Mr. Lock. But it
fhould feem, that the Apprehenfrons , that the Brutes
have of Things, cannot be folved without an imma
tèrial Principle . So you may fee Mr. Whiston argu
ing in his Aftron omical Principles of Religion ; Part 6.
Cor. 1. We can Philofophically trace ( fays he) material
Impulse, and the material Images of external Objects, U
inſome Meaſure, even in Brutes, through the Organs of
Senfe, up to the Brain, or the Fountain of Senfation and
C
Action. But there mechanical Caufes end, and material

Effects ceafe. There that Agent or fubftantial Being,

which fees, and bears, and feels, and taftes, and smells,
and toys, and grieves, and directs, and moves, and res

members, and hopes, is preſent, and directly comes to be

confidered by us.
But then it comes to be confidered en
tirely, as an invisible or immaterial Agent or Substance,
+
different from the Eyes and Ears, & c. and Animal Spi
rits of the Brute Creature, i. e . from all the Matter of
the Brute. And the fame is affirmed alfo by the
d
learned Dr. Clarke, while, in his firſt Defence of his
Argument againſt Mr. Dodwell, and in Anfwer toi
the fifth Objection , (p. 19.) he fays thus, It is an

fivered, that though all fenfible Creatures have certainly

in them, fomething that is immaterial, yet that it does not
at allfollow, either that they must needs be annihilated,
upon the Diffolution of their Bodies, or else that they must
be capable of eternal Happiness, as well as Man. So
that
 To the DEIST. 61
គឺ

that fomething immaterial muſt be allowed to all

tter,
fenfible Creatures, and that as the Foundation and
reit
Subject of their fenfible Powers, and actual Senſations.
ΠΟ
It is true, we are then urged with the Difficulty
of what becomes of thefe Souls, at the Death of
Libb
thefe Animals, or the Diffolution of their Bodies ;
as if that were any great Concern to us ; or the
tes
great God muft give us an Account of his Matters.
ማ..
May not he oblige us to believe or receive what is
manifeft and evident, without difcovering Things,
6.
that may be concealed ? How many Things are ex
iftent, and continually visible, the Ends and Ufes
whereof we little know ? But the forementioned

Doctor juſtly anſwers, that God may, indeed, if he

pleafe, annihilate them at the Diffolution of their Bodies ;
(and fo he might, if he thought fit, annihilate the Souls
of Men ; and yet it would be never the less true, that
they are, in their own
1 Nature, immortal ; ) or he may,
if he pleaſes, without either annihilating them, or fuf
fering them to fall into a State of entire Inactivity, dif
pofe of them into numberless States, concerning the parti
cular Nature of which, we are not now able to make
the leaft Conjecture. We may well pay fo much De
ference to the Divine Wiſdom, as to fuppofe, that
he has provided fuitable Repofitories or Abodes for
them, after their Solution from their Bodies. How
little do we know the Ufe that is made of the feve
ral Parts of this planetary Syftem ? And in the fecond
Defence, in anſwer to the fame Difficulty, the learn
ed Doctor answers : For, though they should never be
annihilated, yet why must they needs be capable of eternal
Happiness, as well as Man ; any more than their prefent
fubfifting, implies that they must needs be capable of the
1
Expectations
 62 LETTER I.

Expectations and Conditions of eternal Happiness, as well

as Man ? Bnt what is all this to our Purpose ? Cannot
God ifhe pleafes, cause them to perish at the Diffolution
of their Bodies ? Or, cannot he, if he pleaſes, annihilate
them at any other Time, when he shallfo think fit ? Or, O
cannot he, if he pleaſes, without ever annihilating them at
all, difpofe of them into States, fuitable to their parti
cular Natures ; which yet may, in no Propriety of Speech,
be ftiled a Capacity of eternal Happiness, as that of Man
is ? There is no Reaſon, to fuppofe, that what paſ
fes out of our Sight, or even paffes from our World,
fhould be annihilated. There is no Reaſon to think,
that immaterial Beings are annihilated, any more than
that material ones are. Surely, it muſt be an odd
Prejudice of ours, that makes us apt to fancy, that
immaterial Beings are lefs fubftantial, lefs fubfiftent,
or lefs uſeful in the Creation of God. Nor have
we much Reaſon to believe, that any fubftantial Be
ing is, at any Time, annihilated. It argues, that
the Great God has nothing more for it to do, no
End to ferve by it any more, in any part of his
Creation. And fhould he go on annihilating, a
great Chafm muſt be made in the Creation, and the
whole be impaired and diminiſhed at laft. Nor can
Divine Wiſdom be at Lofs, how to diſpoſe of the
feveral forts of Beings, that his Power, in Conjunc
tion with his Wifdom, has produced and made to
exift. We ſhould rationally fuppofe, that the Work
of Creation is fo great, and that the Ends of Cre
ation (if it be at any Time performed) are ſo perpe
tual, that what is once created, will not be annihila
ted, but continued in Being, for the continual Ho
nour and Service of the Creator.
Nor
 To the DEIST . 63

Nor does it follow, that if the Brutal Souls are

immaterial, that therefore they muſt be of the fame
fpecifick Nature and Excellency with thoſe of Men ;
and capable of the fame eternal Bleffednefs. There
may be vaft Difference among immaterial Subftan
ces. Their being immaterial does, of itſelf, only
befpeak their being different, or intrinſically diſtant
from what we call Matter. Now what Gradations
}
there may be, between the loweſt and the higheſt
immaterial Being, what Mortal knows ? The fore
mentioned Doctor tells us elſewhere, that Matter and
Spirit is no other Divifion, than Matter and not Matter.
Fuſt as if one ſhould divide the Species of Animals into
Horfes and not-Horſes. Answer to fixth Letter, p . 41 .
Now indeed the Kind of Animals, in reſpect to fuch
a Divifion, is not wont to be reckoned a Species.
Horſes are wont to be reckoned one Species of Ani
mals , and thoſe Animals that are not-Horfes, may be
of different Species befides. And Things may be
not-Horfes (as Plants and Minerals) and yet not be
Animals. But let us ſuppoſe, that there are diverſe
forts of Spirits, as there are diverfe forts of Matter,
or material Beings ; Fire and Water are different e
nough. We fee, that the Powers and Operations of
human Spirits are very different from thofe of Brutes.
Human Spirits are (as the Doctor hath lately and
properly inftanced) capable of the Expectations and
Conditions (or legiſlative Terms) of eternal Happiness,
while brutal ones are not fo. Which argues a vaft 1
Difference in their prefent Powers and Capacities.
Now I would fain know, why this vaft Difference
in their prefent Powers and Capacities, muſt needs
be fuppofed, to be owing to the different Compofure
and
64 LETTER I.
0
1
and Contexture of the Bodies only. Or, if we
fuppofe, that the Powers and Capacities of the Bru
tal Souls are only reftrained from Operation (which
otherwife would be as good as ours), by their Uni
on with their different Bodies, then it may be fup
pofed, that all forts of Brutal Souls, (as of Lions
and Hares, of Dogs and Deer, and of Fish and
Fowl) are intrinfically fimilar and of like Species ;
which feems not probable. ! And farther, if the
Great God can, by framing and uniting Bodies to
Spirits, diveft thofe Spirits of the Exerciſe of their
natural Powers and Capacities, why may he not
make Spirits, that are naturally deftitute of thofe
Powers and Capacities ? And why may we not fup
pofe, that Brutal Souls are Spirits of fuch a Nature
and Effence, as that, when loofed from the Body,
they may not be furniſhed with much higher Pow
ers and Capacities, than they now appear to exert ?
Should we do fo, the Great God may still find Place
and Ufe for them, among the various Works of
his Hands, in the various Parts of his Dominions.
A Soul, we take to be a Life, a vital Principle ; and
fo there may be as many forts of Soul, as there are
of Life, or vital Principles. Now what Variety of
Life , has Divine Wiſdom fcattered through this
Terraqueous Globe ? And fo we may rationally ar
rive at the Conclufion, made by Monfieur De la
Forge, a learned Cartefian, who in his Tract. De mente
Hum. cap. 4. fays, Nullam enim video neceffitatem fta
tuendi, omne idquod effet fpirituale, effe ejufdem Specieis
habere eafdem Perfectiones & Prerogativas, quas Spi
ritus Humanus. Why there may not be Spirits of
different Species, and fome below the Dignity of
the
 To the DEIST, 65

the human Spirit, as well as fome above, I fuppofe,

will furpass the Power of human Knowledge to tell .
And then for the Difpofal of the brutal Spirits, at
the Death of the Brutes themſelves, we need not
trouble our felves about that ; but if we were to in

S dulge Conjecture or Imagination, we might fug

geft more Suppofitions, than fome will imagine.

1 As 1. There may be a Tranfmigration among them.

The Pythagorean Tranflation of human Spirits into
O brutal Bodies, is neither fuitableto good Reafon nor
Revelation ; but a Tranflation of brutal Souls, to
fimilar Bodies again, feems to carry no great Abfur
dity with it. So they may exchange Bodies, till
this Syftem of the World fhall be deftroyed, and
this Scene of human Affairs fhall be concluded. And
then other Service and State, may the Creator eafi
ly find for them. Or if
** that will not pleaſe, then
2. They may remove to fome of the Planets, or
planetary Regions ; and there enjoy fuch Repafts
and Gratifications, as are fuitable to their Nature ;
or be of Ufe and Subferviency to the Inhabitants
there. Or, 3. They may go to Service to a fort
of People, that inhabit the airy or ethereal Regions.
Many have thought that the fpacious Territories of
the Air and Sky, are not deftitute of a fort of Inha
bitants, fuitable to that Climate ; as well as alfo,
that there are more Terrene Spirits, that frequent
the Mines, Grotts, and Caverns of the Earth. What
Dr. H. More means by an Aftral Spirit, I can't well
tell. But there have been Narratives, that would im
port, that fome fort of airy People and Inhabitants
there are. I remember, that a very grave Perſon
has told me, that himſelf with his Wife behind him,
F and
Te
 66 LETTER I.

and his Horfe under them (for the Horfe feemed to

be fenfible of the fame) were once ftopt upon the
Road, by the clear Noife and Sound, of a Troop of
Horfe (or Company of Horſe-folks ) marching over
their Heads in the Air. Such as thefe may have manifold
Ufe forthe Spirits of Beaſts among them. But if this
feem too airy, then 4. It may be eaſy to ſuppoſe, that
the brutal Spirits have, upon their Solution from their
Bodies, their Capacities, and Powers opened and en
larged. And fo, they may be ſet in a State of Pro
bation for a more elevated Condition, in Time to
come. They give no Notice now of any Regard
to Religion, or a future State. They are to ſerve
the Creator's Pleaſure, and Man's Intereft, in their
preſent Circumſtances. But if any think, that theſe
Souls are intrinfically capable of an higher State,
they may have it hereafter. If they are capable of
+ moral Rule and Government, they may have it here
after. There is Time enough for vaft Variety of
Revolutions, through the innumerable Ages of E
ternity. If it ſeems Good to the Wife, let theſe
Animals come, when their Probationary State is
ended, and be Poffeffors of this Globe, where once
they dwelt ; when the human Race is removed from
thence, and gone to their diftinct and ſeparate A
bodes. The Globe will then, indeed, be hugely
altered from what it is. Be a Terraqueous Globe
no more. The Conflagration will deftroy the Oce
an. But theſe new Animals will not need fuch a
Globe, as they had before. They will not be fed,
for the Slaughter, as they were before. They may
be our Succeffors, as the principal Inhabitants, of
this Globe, if you pleaſe. Or if that willnot do ; if
that
 To the DEIS T. 67

to that be too noble a Condition, then 5. Let them

come and be Servants, to a better Race of Inhabi
tants, that may be planted here, after we are entire
ly withdrawn and gone. No Man of Senſe ( that I
know of) fuppofes, that this Planet of ours ( if you
will allow me to call it fo) will then be annihilated.
It may reaſonably be fuppofed, that when Sin and
I
Sinners have done their Work (that is, all that they
were to be permitted to do, ) all the proper Fruits
and Iffues thereof , here, will be abolished. The
Marks and Signatures thereof shall be obliterated.
The Creation fhall be refcued from the Vanity,
Diſorder, and Corruption, to which, for our finful
Sakes, and through our Sin and Guilt, it has been 1
fubjected. A great Revolution must then com
mence. A new Syftem may well be fuppofed to a
rife. A new Set or Scene of Inhabitants may then
be ſuppoſed to be introduced, that will be more
worthy of the Syftem, than we have been ; will
admire the Creator more, and anfwer their Obliga
tions to him, far better than we have done. There
may be a new Heaven, and a new Earth (or habita
ble Globe) in which Religion and Righteouſneſs
fhall dwell. And then may all the brutal Spirits be
introduced, either as Servitors to thofe religious In
habitants ; or as Demonſtrations of the Divine Wif
dom, Power, and Perfection , radiant round about
them. And, in the mean Time, there may be fuit
able Receptacles enough, for their Entertainment,
till this great Revolution fhall take Place. Now if
all theſe . Imaginations are not enough, let us learn
to admit what is clearand manifeft, and leave Abftru
F2 fities
68 LETTER I.

fities and unrevealed Things to him, who has Wif

dom and Authority enough to oblige us fo to do.
And now, methinks, you are ready to ſay, if this
be the Cafe of brutal Souls, it is good not to flay
them , or eat their Fleſh, while the World ftands ;
fince thereby, fuch furviving Spirits are diflodged
from their Bodies, and driven to unknown Apart
ments. But that is not the Defign of theſe Con
fiderations. You may admire the Goodneſs and the
Gifts of God the more, and yet accept them at his
Hands. But this is to let you fee, how little Rea
fon there is, that we fhould feize and facrifice thefe 1
Works of God, to our Appetites and Stomachs,
without his expreſs Licenſe for fo doing.
Perhaps now, you will fay, that truly you thought
it had been natural to eat theſe Animals, and live up
on them ; that Nature having made them (as we fee)
fit for Food, did declare her Intention thereby, that
we ſhould take them, as fuch, and make them there
by ſerviceable to our Life , Health , and Wel
fare.
To this now, you will give me leave to reply in
fuch Confiderations as thefe ; 11.
1. What is this Nature, that is thus fuppofed to
have made thefe Animals, and to have made them fo

fit for human Food ? It muſt be fome intelligent

Being; for Intention, and Declaration of that Inten
tion, are here afcribed to it. Befides, the making
fuch accurate Beings, and the making them fit for
human Stomach and Food, muft argue exquifite
Wifdom and Skill. Let all the Wit and Wiſdom,
all the Penetration and mechanical Projection in the
World,
 To the DEIST. 69

:
World, combine together and contrive (if they
can) a Lamb or a Calf, a Goofe or a Woodcock, or
meaneſt Animal, whofe Corpfe is ferved up at the
下 Gentleman's Table. What an inconceivable Mind
muſt that be, that made fuch Variety of animated
d Fabrics, and made them with fuch Aptitude for hu
man Ends and Purpoſes ? What an excellent Creature
•
muſt we fuppofe, that Man is that while ? Excel
lent, both in his natural and moral Capacity ? How
much better muſt he be than they ? Better, in his
phyfical Dignity and Conſtitution ? and better, in
his Relation and Deportment towards his Maker and
7 his Brethren of the human Race ? If he be not, let

him let the poor Animals alone ; and not pretend to

live upon their Deaths, and ufurp upon their Ma

ker's Propriety and Poffeffions ! Let him give fome

good Evidence, or produce fome authentick Tefti
mony of his Maker's Will and Pleaſure for fuch ar
bitrary Devaſtation and Confumption of his Goods,
" if he can. This is what we enquire after.
2. Long Cuſtom in the World, and Ufage from
1 our Childhood, may, perhaps, be called Nature. But
fince it is a Practice, as we fhall fee, that has not
always prevail'd in the World ; fince it is a Cuftom ,
without which we may live and ſubſiſt ; fince it
deſtroys Abundance of Lives, fheds Streams of in
nocent Blood ; the Original of it may well be en
quired into, and the Warrant of Heaven for it, may
well be fought after.
3. The Great Creator has, indeed, made great
Variety of Animal Inhabitants on the Earth. But
muft therefore one fort fall on and eat the other ?
Why may they not all live quietly together ? Or
F 3 why
70 LETTER I.

why do you not eat Dogs and Horfes, Crows and

Owls, Batts and Snakes ? Or, if in the great Varie
ty of Animals, that Divine Wiſdom has ftock'd
the Earth withal, the Flefh of fome is found more
wholfome (or lefs unwholfome) than that of others,
why muft it therefore be eaten ? May not thoſe
lefs noxious Animals enjoy themfelves and their
Maker's Bounty, as well as others ? Muſt they dye,
becauſe their Lives are uſeful, and they would live
innocently with us ? Or muſt the rapacious Brutes
be allowed to catch and eat Mankind, becauſe they
find that human Fleſh is not unwholfome or unplea
fant to them ?
4. The great Variety of living Beings here (in
and among which, no wonder, fome are more eat
able, than others) may be ordained for other Ends and
Ufes, than to be flain, and cram'd into the Sto
"
mach. The wife Creator may have other Deſigns
in View. As, 1. They may be made for affifting
us with their Labour and Toil. They have Time
and Work to ſpare, and may do Good thereby.
They may plow and harrow the Fields, without
hurting themſelves. Perdere vos veftros fcite & fen
tite Colonos ! They may bear our Burdens and draw
our Carriages, and carry human Souls, from one
Land to another. How ufeful is the Horſe in fuch
a Country as this ? What a Drudgery would British
Life be without him ? It is pity, he ſhould be abu
fed. But we do not find, that our Gentry feed and
fat him for their Tables. In other Soils, there are
the Camels, Elephants, and Dromedaries, made for
Burden and for Travel. Some there are, that can
afford us, either part of their Clothing, or part of
their
 To the DEIS T. 71

1 their Bowels , to cover our Nakedneſs . Mollia que

nobis veftras velamina Lanas Prabetis -Others can
d fpare us fome nutritive Juice, or the Ambrofian
8 Fruit of their own Workmanship. Nec vobis

Lacteus humor eripitur, nec mella Thymi redolentia Flo

rem . Life may ferve us, as well as Death. Vitâque

magis, quàm morte juvatis. Or, 2. They may beA

made for their own Pleaſure and Diverſion ; fuch as
they are capable of, and that will be fufficient for them ;
may be as good to them, as ours, to us. Many of
them are fuppofed to be furniſhed with acuter Sen
fes than we. Senfe is not meerly an Impreffion up
on a corporeal Organ. The Organ does but convey
it to an internal Sentient. That internal Sentient
may poffefs its fenfitive Pleaſure, as well as we. And
why fhould it not ? Why muft fordid, infatiable
Man engroſs all the Pleafure to himfelf? Cannot he
be content, that others fhould enjoy it with him ?
efpecially, fince he is capable of fuch that is Intel
lectual and Divine. Let him fpare ( at leaſt, fome
of) that that is fenfitive and carnal, to thoſe that
know no better. Let the young Brood frisk and
frolick in the Fields ! What fhould hinder them ?
They have no Guilt, nor Care of to-morrow.

The Lambs, and Foals, and Hinds can play ;

How guiltless, and how brisk are they !

Let the Muficians of the Air revel in their

Woods and Solitudes ! Let them gratify themſelves

in all their eafy, innocent Repafts, without the Ha
zard of Lime or Gun ! Why fhould they be envi
ed or moleſted in their cheap and honeft Fruitions ?
F 4 Let
I
72 LETTER I.

Let the nimble Plyers of the Waters fail there un

difturb'd ; why fhould the Wrath or the Luxury,
of Man, be more fatal, than the Storms of Heaven ?

Let them enjoy the Eafe and Liberty, Nature has

given them. There is that Leviathan, that thou hast

made to play therein. If Man be good for nothing,

or no more, than his Neighbours, that furround
him, let him be content to fare as they, and enjoy,
as they do. If he be good for fomething, ( eſpeci
ally, if for more than they) let him mind the Bu
finefs that he is good for, and leave them to their na
tural Delights. Let him fhew his Kindnefs and
Benevolence to his Neighbours ; and rather affift,
than hinder them, in their appointed Satisfactions ;
and much lefs rob them, of what he is not able to
reftore. Or 3. They may be ordained for the En
tertainment and Diverſion of Man ; without being
deftin'd to his voracious Mouth and Gullet. What

a wide, unfrequented Defart, would this Terraque

ous Globe be, were no Inhabitant there but Man ?
The Elements would lofe much of their Employ
ment and Uſefulneſs ; and Man much of his Recre
ation and Pleafure. What a Diverfion it is, to tra

verſe the Fields in a vernal Morning, and hear the

pleaſant Organiſts, in their feveral Notes, either con
gratulating the Approach of the Sun, or applaud
ing its Light, or rejoicing in their own Innocence,
and the Accefs of Man among them, or celebrating
the Maker's Bounty and Beneficence and thereby up
braiding our Silence in our Maker's Praife ? Why muft
their Melody be facrificed to our untuneful and un
hallowed Throats ?
16 J[

" Birds
 To the DEIST.
73

Birds are the Chorifters of th' empty Air,

1
Sport is never wanting there.
S
1
The watery Animals may amaze and pleaſe us with
their various Bulks, and Shapes, and Motions.

They fing not, but a Chorus raife,

- And dance to their Creator's Praife,

Thus Sea and Air their Service bring,

The one can dance, the other fing.

And all the other vital Things, (too many to re

hearse) will afford fome Bufinefs, or Curiofity, or
Diverfion, for the Entertainment of human Life.
Or, 4. They may be ordain'd for the Maker's own

good Pleafure and Complacency. Why may not

he delight in his Works, and rejoice in the Operati
on of his own Hands ? Muft he make nothing, but
what you fhall think fit to prey upon and devour ?
Though you are fo apt to fuppofe, that the World
was made for Man, yet you do not believe, that it
was all made to be eaten. The Creator has various

Perfections to diſplay ; and one Perfection, in va

rious Works and Signatures, is to be illuftrated and
difplayed. Particularly, his Wifdom fhines in the
vaft Variety of Fabrics and Structures, that he has
ordain'd and produc'd. What Multitudes of un
fashionable Problems are there folv'd ? and the Solu
tion eafily exemplified by Execution ? Poffibly, this
may be a great (or the great) Reafon, why1 this
Earth is ftored with fo many forts of Creatures, the
Ufes, or the final Caufes of which, we little know.
We
 LETTER I.
74

We are apt to think, that Man and ufeful Animals,

might well enough fubfift, if there were no Worms
or Moles to dig the Ground, or no Fleas, or Flies,
or Bugs, to torment the other Animals. But there
may, indeed, be Variety of fuch Things, for hum
bling Man, and to be ready at God's call, to be
1
his Lictors and Executioners of his Vengeance upon
his Adverfaries. He will fometimes make it appear,
not only that there is no contending with his Arm,
but not fo much as with the fillieft Infects, that he

commiffions for War and Judgment. But what un

fearchable Wiſdom is here difcovered in the number
lefs Differences of Animals ? Let the Creator pleaſe
himſelf in his own Productions ! For his own Sake,
and his own Will, and the Demonftration of his
own Perfections, they are and were created. And
5. It may be faid, they are ordained for the Con
templation of Man, and the Improvement of his
Mind. Man will never want Matter for Speculation ,
and pleaſant Reſearches, while the World ſtands. And
theſe Reſearches ought to lead him to the Know
ledge and Admiration of his and their Creator.

All Things unto our Fleſh are kind,

In their Deſcent and Being, to our Mind,
In their Afcent and Cauſe. Herb.

So that there may be Ufes enough for that Variety

of Animals, we find in the World, without fub
jecting them to the Power and Lufts of Blood-thirſty
1
Men.
1 5. In Reference to this Naturalneſs
(as you call
it) of eating Fleſh , you will find great Philofophers
againſt
 To the DEIST.
75
5, againſt you. Such as Pythagoras, and Empedocles, and
S Plutarch, and Porphyry. And it will be fuppofed,
5, •
that they underſtood, as well as you, the Dictates and
Exigence of Nature.
Pythagoras travell'd far and wide for Knowledge
and Wiſdom. He was fo great a Philoſopher, that
1 he is ſuppoſed to have vented that Scheme of our
folar Syſtem, which our Moderns pretend to demon
ſtrate. We have no Writing from him, but his
Sentiments are deliver'd and publifh'd by many. In
the Caufe, that we now have under Confideration,
you will hear him exclaiming in Ovid's Meaſures
and Stile.

Heu ! Quantum Scelus eft, in Viscera Vifcera condi,

Congeftoque avidumpinguefcere Corpore Corpus,
Alteriufque Animantem Animantis vivere Letho !
What Villany, Alas ! is here,
That Bowels go for Belly- cheer !
That Carkafs, by fierce Hunger led,
Muſt be by ghaftly Carkafs fed !
That Souls muſt be by Blood-ſhed ſtain'd,
And Life it felf by Death maintain'd !

Empedocles you will find thus bewailing himſelf in

Porphyry. Lib. 2. §. 31. De Abftinentiâ ; ' Oíμor oт's
πρόσθεν με διώλεσε νήλεες ἡμᾶς, & c.

Hei mihi ! cur nonfava priùs me perdidit hora,

Quàm diras Epulas cogitáram attingere Labris !
Ah! Woeis me ! and Wo's the difmal Hour,
In which I dar'd at firft curs'd Fleſh devour!
I

Plutarch,
A
J LETTER I.
76

Plutarch, you know, is a grave, as well as ingenious

Author ; and valued for his Morals, as well as his
Lives ; and yet you will find him, in his firſt Tract,
thus declaiming against your fuppofed Naturalnefs
of Flesh-eating. Well then, we understand, fays he,
that fort of Men are wont to fay, that, in eating of Flesh,
theyfollow the Conduct andDirection of Nature ; but that
it is not natural to Mankind to feed on Flesh (öri yde
ἐκ ἔςιν ἀνθρώπω κατὰ φύσιν σαρκοφαγεῖν ) we firft
of all demonftrate from the very Shape and Figure of
the Body. For an human Body no ways refembles thofe
that were born for Ravenouſneſs. It hath no Hawk- bill,
no ſharp Talon, no Roughness of Teeth, no fuch Strength
of Stomach, nor Heat of Digeftion, as can be fufficient
to convert or alter fuch heavy and fleshy Fare. But even
from hence, that is from the Smoothness of the Tongue
and the Slowness of the Stomach to digeft, Nature feems
to disclaim all Pretence to fleshy Victuals. In Confir
mation of which, the famous Dr. Wallis has an Ob
ſervation, that the Structure of the human Mouth,
does not feem made for Flefh-eating. And I think,
the carnivorous Mouths are not furniſhed with fuch
broad, grinding Teeth, as thofe are, that muft chew
and mafticate the Vegetable Food. Then' Plutarch

proceeds ;
But if you will contend, that your ſelf was born, with
an Inclination tofuch Food, you have now a Mind to eat ;
doyou thenyourfelf, killwhat you have a Mindto eat . But

do ityour own felf without the Help of a Chopping-knife,

Mallet, or Axe ; as Wolves, Bears, and Lions do, who

kill and eat at once. Rend an Oxe with thy Teeth, worry
an Hog with thy Mouth, tear a Lamb, or a Hares in
pieces ; and fall on and eat it alive, as they do.
But
 To the DEIS T. 77

But if thou hadst rather stay, till what thou eatest is

S become dead, and if thou art loth to force a Soul out of
its Body, why then doft thou, against Nature, eat an
$ animate Thing? Nay, there is no Body that is willing to

} ear even a lifeless, and dead Thing as it is, but they bail
it
it, and roaft it, and alter it by Fire and Medicines, as 6745
།
were, changing and quenching the flaughter'd Gore, with
thousands offweet Sawces, that the Palate being thereby
deceived, may admit offuch uncouth Fare.
Then Porphyry is rather one of you, than of us;
he ftrenuouſly oppofed Chriftian Religion. He ,
would come as near to natural Religion, as may be.
He would have no bloody Sacrifices offered to God,

ἔτως ὅτι τὸ παλαιὸν , ὅτιον ἤν κτείνειν τὰ συνεργα

2
τοῖς βίοις ἡμῶν ζῶα , νῦν τε τῦτο φυλακτέον ἐςιν
węάTTEW. As it was not of old lawful to play the A
vimals, that were ferviceable to our Lives, so now also
Should we beware of that Practice. He fuppofes, that
Vegetables, or fome Preparation of them fhould, as
an Euchariſtical Oblation, be preſented to the Gods ,

J that they are beft pleafed, with what is moſt eaſily

procured, and particularly with the Fruits of the

Earth . Κάλλιςα δὲ καὶ τιμιώτατα ὧν ἡμᾶς οι θεὸς

δ ' ποιῶσιν, δι καρποὶ. 1 The belt and moft valuable Bes
nefits, that the God's confer on us, are the Fruits of the

( Earth. And with the fame are they to be honour'd

and ſerved. De Abftin. L. 2. §. 12. This Philofo
7.
6 pher has wrote an entire Volume, confifting of four
Books, againſt this common Practice of eating of
Flesh. Should all his Arguments be produced, his
Book must be as good as tranfcribed. If this Prac
tice is fuppofed to be taken from the Cuſtom of eat
ing any part of the Sacrifices, that are offered to
God,
↓
 78 LETTER I.

God, he will deny (as was juft now faid) that fuch
Sacrifices are to be offered ; and if they were to
be offered, he will deny the Confequence, that
-
therefore we ought to eat of them ; as you may
fee inthe fecond Book, De Abftinentia ab efu Anima
lium.
In the third Book, he will argue, that theſe Ani
mals are participant of Knowledge and Reaſon ; that
therefore Juftice is due to them. That Senſories (or
Organs of Senfe) . are uſeleſs without internal Senſe.
That internal Senſe has ſomething of Mind and Rea
fon. That this Mind and Reafon (though not fo
clear and large as ours) is a Foundation of Right to
and Wrong, of Juftice and Equity, that is to be h
exerciſed towards them ; that therefore they ought m
not to be flain and murdered at our Pleaſure.
If the Foundation of this Argument (viz. the C
Rationality of theſe Animals, as the Foundation of P
Juftice) will not much avail with you ; yet you
may pleaſe to confider, that Juftice, in the Notion an
of it, may be advanced higher, and may be confider ad
ed as due to the Divine Maker of them. They are net
his, not ours. We ought not to rob him of his Br
own ; of his Propriety and Workmanſhip . Let his of
Will and Licence be produced under his own Hand, fel
or his expreſs Patent or Teftimony ; and then we are $
fatisfied.
Then, in the fourth Book, in Anſwer to that (6
Allegation, that none of the wife Men, or no Na
tion ever refuſed eating of Fleſh, he largely replies, TH
by producing diverſe Inſtances to the contrary. Ac Re
cordingly, he tells us, that Lycurgus, the Lacedemo Yo
nian
 To the DEIST. 79

nian Lawgiver, fo ordered Matters in that Repub

to lick, that there fhould be little or no need of Fleſh
•
that to eat. That the Subject's Eſtate or Subftance was
may not to confift in Flocks and Herds ; but in fuch a .
Parcel of Ground, as would yield Grain enough to
fupply the Family. He fhews us alfo, how temper
al ate and abftemious the Egyptian Prieſts were ; that ma
ny of them entirely abftain'd from all Flesh ;
혈
흐물

and all of them, in the Time of their Purificati

on ; for they would not then fo much as touch an
Re Egg. The Effenes, a moſt temperate, chaſte, de
vout Sect among the Jews, are reprefented as dieting
350

together without Flesh. The Syrians are faid, to

have abftain'd, of old, from Animals, and not fo
much as to have offered them in Sacrifice to their
Gods. He tells us, thereupon, from Afclepiades a
the Cyprian Hiftorian, that Pygmalion, a King of Cyprus,
1G put to Death a Prieſt and his Wife, that did but eat
you a Piece of a Sacrifice. He tells us, that the chief
and moft learned of the Magi, among the Perfians,
adhere to the old Rule of Abftinence, and would
neither eat, nor flay any Animal. That both the
Brachmans, and the Samaneans, two venerable Sects
Ae

of Philofophers among the Indians, contented them

ſelves with Vegetable Food. And he concludes the
are §. 18. with inferring, that, if they that ſtudy Piety
in fome Things, do abftain from fome Animals, then
( ὁ πρὸς πάντα ἐυσεβής ) he that would be univer .
Na fally pious (wavтwv dpiğerα ) will abſtain from all.
lies Thus you have the Sentiments, and the confiderable
Ac Reaſonings of theſe Philoſophers, in Oppoſition to
your Opinion of its being natural to eat Fleſh.

And
80 LETTER I.

And to thefe, I fuppofe, I may add two more ;

and they are Theophraftus and Orpheus. Porphyry (in
his fecond Book, De Abftinentia) produces Theo- .
phraftus's Reafons againſt offering Animals in Sacri
fice. And among other Things he argues, that
~
(δδὲν γὰρ ὡς Tτὸ θῦμα ἀβλαβὲς εἶναι χρῆ πᾶσιν )
nothing ſhould be more innocent, and harmleſs than
a Sacrifice. That great Harm is done to Animals,
when they are facrificed ; ( Στε τῆς ψυχῆς νοσφιζο
Mévor) as being then deprived of Life and Soul. But
the Life or Soul (ψυχὴ δὲ πολλῶ τιμιώτερον ) is
much more valuable than the Vegetables ( or Things
that grow out of the Earth ; ) which therefore it is
by no means fit to deprive the Animals of, by of
fering them to the Gods. § . 12. Now he that
would argue againſt flaying the Beaſts in Sacrifice,
would furely much more oppofe their being flaugh
ter'd for common Food. Nay, he ſuppoſes (in
§. 22.) that while the Senfe of Friendſhip and Kin
dred continued in the World, no Man flew any
Thing, but rather look'd upon the other Animals
(oineia eivai) as his Familiars and Domeſticks .
Orpheus was one of the moft antient Poets among
the Greeks. He is fuppofed to have lived pretty near
the Time of Gideon, one of the Judges of Ifrael, as
Dr. Stillingfleet allows in Orig. Sacr. p. 61. Now let
us endeavour to learn Orpheus's Doctrine. The fame
learned Doctor reports it to us from Aristophanes
thus,

Ὀρφεὺς μὲν γὰρ τέλετας θ᾽ ἡμῖν κατάδειξε ,

Φόνων τ᾽ ἀπέχεσθαι .

Now
 To the DEIST. 81

Now let us learn to conftrue this laft Claufe as

well as we can. The very learned Doctor tells us,
that it is ufually interpreted of the Baburial, the fa
crificing of Kine, or Oxen, or any of the Neat
Kind ; the Prohibition of which, Orpheus is ſuppo
} fed to have learn❜d in or from Egypt. And it is true,
that the Egyptians had rather, that that ſort of Cat
tle fhould be facrificed unto, than be facrificed
themſelves. But Orpheus's Expreffion ſeems to reach
further, and to forbid not only Sacrifices, but Slaugh
ter. For it is to be obferved, that Dóvos, among
thefe Writers, does not fignify, as elſewhere, barely
the Act of flaying, but the Thing flain. So Plu
tarch, in the Entrance of his firft Difcourfe on this

Subject, wonders, how the firſt Man (nfato qóvu

OTOMATI) did touch with his Mouth, or taſte, a
Thing flain or killed. And fo pórov aπixe da is
3 to abstain from Things flaughter'd or flain. And fo
the foregoing Verſe will be rendred,

Orpheus, in facred Rites inftructed Man,

And taught him from Things flaughter'd to abſtain.

But then the Inquiry will be, in what Reſpect we

muſt abstain from them. And here, methinks, we
are affifted by Horace's Account of Orpheus's Doc
n trine.
#
Sylveftres homines facer, interprefque deorum
Cadibus & Victu fœdo deterruit Orpheus,
Dictus ab hoc lenire Tygres, rabidofque Leones.

G Where
W
 82 LETTER I.

Where the Claufe Cadibus & Viltu fœdo feems to in

A
clude much the fame Thing, and, (by an ufual
A
Hendiadis) may be as much as Viltu caforumfœdo, or
Victu cafo. And fo, that Diet may be fuppofed to i
be unclean, that confifts of Things flain. And flay
ing Things for Food, and eating Things flain, may
well be fuppofed to be the Matter of Orpheus's Pro
hibition and Diffuafion . As this feems a natural In

terpretation, fo it will be found very agreeable to old

Grecian Hiftory and Practice; as we ſhall fee anon .
Thus you have theſe Authorities, to oppoſe you in
your prefent Suppofition . Then
2. If this Practice of Fleſh-eating be fo natural,
1
as you ſuppoſe, it ſhould have obtained through all
the Ages of Mankind, fo far as we can learn of thoſe
Ages. But this you will ſcarce be able to prove.
Nay we have, rather, fuperior Evidence to the con
trary. Let us look into Greece, of which we have
now been ſpeaking ; and Plutarch (in his fecond Dif
courfe) will tell us, that the Sentiments of Pythagoras
and Empedocles were the Laws and Customs of the an
cient Grecians. In Confirmation of which, Porphyry
tells us, that Dicaarchus, a Peripatetic Philofopher,
wrote the Hiſtory of the Affairs of Greece ; that
therein he deſcribes the ancient Way of living among
the Grecians ; and fo tells us, that the Primitive
Men, and thoſe that were next the Gods, were the
moſt excellent Men by Nature, and led the beft

• Lives ; fo that their Age, in Compariſon with ours,

fo depraved and corrupt, might well be called, the
Golden Age. Thus far Grotius quotes the Paffage in
his excellent Book de Veritate Relig. Chrift. Lib. 1.
Note 33. and fays, that, in Senfe, it is cited alfo by
f Varro.
 To the DEIST.
83
Sta Varro. But then Porphyry adds alfo, as part of the
:
n2 fame Hiftory, that thefe Primitive, excellent Men,

μηδὲν φονέυειν ἔμψυχον , did kill no Animal ; and

ſo they did not flaughter them for daily Diet. Lib. 4.
S. 2. He tells us alfo, that Hiſtory reports, that
D22 -
the Syrians of old did abſtain from Animals, and
therefore did not fo much as facrifice them to their
Gods, as Lib. 4. §. 15. And there feems to be a
Tradition among the Ethnic Writers, that the firft
Ages of the World were free from this Practice of
killing and eating Fleſh. Whence we 17
hear Virgil
BEST

faying,
G

Antè etiam Sceptrum Dictai Regis, & ante

Impia quàm cafis gens eft epulata juvencis,
14 Aureus hanc vitam in terris Saturnus agebat.
Before the Reign of Jove, and ev'n before
Inhuman Mortals fed on Fleſh and Gore,

That Golden Age, when Saturn Empire bore.

E. of LAUDERDALE .

And Ovid deſcribes the fame Age both in the 1ft and
15th Book of the Metamorphoses.

At vetus illa atas, cui fecimus Aurea nomen,

Fætibus arboreis, &, quas humus educat, herbis,
Fortunatafuit, nec polluit ora cruore.

This, I hope, may ferve to gain fome Credit with

you to our facred Hiftorian, who fufficiently inti
mates, that the firſt Ages of the World were con
tent with Vegetable Diet ; fince it is not till after the
Flood, that God fays to Mankind, Every moving
G 2 Thing
84 LETT I.
ER

Thing that liveth, fhall be Meat for you ; even as the

"
Green Herb, have I given you all Things. Where Re
ference feems to be had to a former Grant : Before
he had given them the Green Herb (the Vegetable
Produce) for their Food. And the Grant we have
recorded, Gen. i. 29. And God faid, Behold, I have
given you every Herb, bearing Seed, which is upon the
Face of all the Earth, and every Tree, in which is the
Fruit of a Tree, yielding Seed ; to you it shall befor
Meat. It may become the Great Lord of all, to
018
difpofe of his Creatures , to determine which ſhall
be for daily Deſtruction, and which ſhall not be fo ;
and fo to affign Man the Bounds of his Devaſtation,
and afcertain his Food and Bill of Fare. This he
did, upon Man's Creation ; and this he did, with an
Enlargement of his Grant and Allowance, upon the
Defolation, that the univerfal Deluge had made. But
this latter Grant fhews, that this larger Allowance
was not abfolutely natural and neceffary ; fince Man
kind had lived about fixteen hundred Years without
it. So that Hiſtory will not affure you of the Na
turalness of this Practice, but rather the contrary.
So that our learned Selden, having quoted Jofephus
Albo, thus fpeaking according to the Mind of the
old Talmudic Writers, Nam in initiis non permiffus eft
Homini efus Animalium, fed tantum efus eorum, qua è
Terra germinant, feu fructuum è Terra nafcentium tan
tùm, &c. Et pofteà Noacho permiffus eft efus Animali
um. (Having thus quoted) a little after, adds, Et
confona jam dictis funt ea, que de Abftinentia Animali
um, in feculis vetuftiffimis, in fcriptis occurrunt Gentili
um Quale eft illud Pythagora apud Ovidium ; '· ´`·
At Vetus illa atas, & c.

De Jure Nat. L. 7. Cap. I.

And
 To the DEIST. 85

And other Rabbis are ready to avouchthe ſame. * Or if

ai you had rather hear (as your Fraternity is wont to ad
eR mire) the ingenious Dr. Burnet (of the Charter-House)
‫مگنت‬ you will find him declaring that Antiquity is againſt the
et Suppofition of the Perpetuity (and thereupon, the
original Naturalnefs) of this carnivorous Cuftom .
?
Et facilè quis fibi perfuaferit cœlum mite, & aqualefuiffe
tunc temporum, ut fuprà notavimus, tam ex eo quòd
nudi incedebant ; quàm quòd folis herbis & fructibus vi
1N'
veretur per totum annum ; neque enim primi homines
erant carnivori, ut teftatur Antiquitas tam facra, quàm
prophana. Noe primùm indultum eft poft diluvium carni
bus vefci ; & iifdem abftinuiffe primos mortales, memora
I tur ab Antiquis. Theor. L. a . Cap. 1.
Perhaps you will fay, that there has been, fome
Time or other, a Deluge of Waters, that has ſpread
over the Face of the Earth ; that thereby the Herb
age and Vegetables are egregioufly altered and
། ༔ dama
ged ; that they are not now fo nutritive, and good
for Food, as once they were ; that they are more

* In primâ enim ætate, ex Inftitutione Divinâ, non licuit ho

minibus vefci nifi plantis, ficut nos Genefis docet. In fecundâ
09 tamen ætate, poft illam Mundi illuvionem, concedente Deo,
vefci Animalibus licuit, quod etiam in Genefi declaratur ; unde
apud vos (Judæos, Scil. ) in Libro, Bereshith Rabba, viz. in Com
mentariis in Genefin , dum exponitur illud Pfalmi, Dominus
folvit compeditos, ità dicítur, Omnis Bestia, qua in hoc feculo, viz.
Seculo Legis, habetur immunda, a Deo, in futuro feculo, Scil. Meffia,
fiet munda; quemadmodum munde fuerunt Filiis Noë beftia, qua
prioribus munda non fuerant. Et ficut Deus conceffit Antiquioribus
folummodò plantas tanquam mundas, & Filiis Noë deinde omne ani
mal tanquam mundum ; fic in feculo futuro Deus concedet quicquid
anteà prohibuit. Marfil. Ficin. de Relig. Chrift. cap. 34.

G 3 cold
 }

86 LETTER I.

cold, pituitous, and lefs digeftible, than once they

were ; and that therefore it is now become neceffary
to admit fenfitive Food, to repair the Decays of hu
man Nature.
16.67
In Anfwer
23010to this, many Things are to be con
fider'd.
1. You will confider, how this Deluge of Waters
nowappears, or appears once to have involved the Earth,
and to have been univerfal. The Gentlemen of your
Perfuafion are wont to be averfe to admit fuch an uni
verfal Inundation, left they fhould be obliged to
confefs fome Miracle, or miraculous Operation con
cerned therein. If it were but a particular Deluge,
"
overfpreading fome Countries only, it would not
affect the Herbage and Vegetables, all over the Earth,
In other Countries, they would continue ftill the
Tame. And in the drowned Countries, they might,
in a while, arife as good as they were before.
2. If you fuppofe, that the Flood was univerfal,
over the lower Face of the Earth ; viz. over the
plain Grounds, the Levels and Vallies, and reaching
to the Foot of all the Mountains, and furrounding
them ; then all the Men and Beafts, that could eſcape
1
the Waters, you will fuppofe, would be driven up
into the Mountains. And there Mankind would be
very likely intirely to perifh. Being without Hou
fes, 1 the Rains, the cold Winds, the bleak, foggy
Air would be ready to kill them.} Or the Moun,
tains would not furnish them and the Beafts, with
fufficient Food. The wild, ravenous, venomous

Beaſts would get thither, as well as Men ; and foon

er than Men, being their more ufual Habitations,
The Lions and Bears, Wolves and Tygers, and other
furious
 To the DEIST. 87

y furious Brutes would devour all before them.The poi

y
fonous, ferpentine Kind, and the tamer Beaſts, would,
in their Extremities, be more fierce, and outrageous
than ordinary. It would be ſcarce poffible for Men
to fubfift in the midft of fuch furrounding Dangers
and Diftreffes.
E 3. If you fuppofe, that the Deluge was fo uni
5
verfal, and high, as to overtop all the Mountains and
habitable Parts of the Earth ; then I would beg leave
to ask, how you come by fuch a Suppofition and
Perfuafion. If by fupernatural Revelation ; then I
obtain my preſent End and Conclufion ; viz. that
fuch Revelation has, fome Time or other, been made
to Mankind.
" If you gain it by natural Revelation, as by Hi
ftory, and fuch natural Evidence, as Dr. Burnet and
Dr. Woodward have afforded ; yet that does not fhew
us, how a Portion of Mankind, in fuch a preterna
tural Inundation, came to be preſerved alive. If
they had no fupernatural, antecedent Notice of its
Approach, how came they to be faved, more than
others ? Ifthey had, then we have our Conclufion.
And then, the natural Caufes of fuch a Deluge, you
will hardly diſcover, without a particular Interpo
fure of the Hand of God ; which, whether you
will call miraculous, or no, will be but a Con
teſt about a Name. The ingenious Mr. Keil of Ox
ford has fufficiently enervated Dr. Burnet's Account
of this awful Judgment, in his Examination of that
Theory.
If you fay, with Mr. Whifton, that it was brought
upon the Earth, by the Approach, and near Paffage
of a Comet, yet there must be the preternatural In
CH G4
terpofare
 88 LETTER I.

terpofure of Divine Power and Juftice in the or

1
dering of the Judgment. For, you will acknow
ledge, that fuch a fevere Deletion of Mankind, was
the Exercife, or Execution of a Nemefis, of the di
vine, vindictive Juftice. As it was not blind Chance,
blind Neceffity, or Nature, that made Man at firft ;
fo nor was it blind Chance, Neceffity, or Nature,
that afterward fwept him off the Face of the Earth.
Sin muſt be the moral, provoking Cauſe. Ovid

fhews you how finful the Earth was, and defcribes

to you the Iron Age. And if Sin procured this
Deluge, the fecond (or fecondary) Caufes of it,
muſt be fo difpofed as to puniſh this Sin. It is here
fuppofed, that fecondary Caufes were employed,
Water, to be fure, there muft be, to make an Inunda
tion. Let there be a Comet too (or twenty Comets,
if you pleaſe) to help us to Water enough, to fur
niſh out fuch a Deluge. Yet all theſe Caufes muſt
be fo difpofed as to bring a fevere Judgment, and pe
nal Infliction on Mankind. This they had not done,
nor had been prepared or difpofed to have done, but
for Sin and the Impiety of the World. You will
fuppofe, that the World was not always finful ; that
God did not make Man fo at firft. That while
Man was innocent, the Frame and Fabrick of the
World was not fo adapted, and adjufted, as to be
his Plague and Puniſhment, You have other-guife
Thoughts of the Goodnefs and Benignity of Gods
2 than that comes to. If Man had continued inno
cent, he had not been washed off the Earth with a
Flood. Therefore, when the immediate (or the fubor

dinate) Cauſes of the Deluge were adapted, and ſettled

for that End, there must be fome Variation or De
parture
 To the DEIST. 89

parture fromthe original Law and Courfe of Nature ;

but this Variation or Departure: from the original
Law and Courfe of Nature (let it be fettled when
it will) was, in Refpect thereto, preternatural, fu
pernatural, or miraculous . Let the immediate , mate
rial Caufes be what they will, and as many as they
will (a thousand of them, in a fucceffive Train, if
you pleaſe, though then they must not all of them
be called, immediate ) yet the primordial Difpofal of
them muſt be by the fupernatural or miraculous Hand
of God. WIND A 1.
It being fo, you cannot fay, but the Train of
en Caufes might be fo laid (and it's probable were) that
-
their great Effect was not naturally forefeen, till the
immediate Cauſes began to work ; and it may be
not then neither, at the beginning. For the Rains
might fall fome Days, and Eruptions of Water might
proceed from Caverns of the Earth, before Men
would fufpect an univerfal, devouring Deluge. So
that a fupernatural Prenotice would, you may fup
poſe, be neceffary, that fome might efcape the com
mon Cataſtrophe. Nay, you can ſcarce fuppofe, but
that God would, in his Goodneſs and Mercy, give
fome Premonition of it, if it were but to call Man

kind to Repentance, in order to the preventing of

it. And then there muft have been a fupernatural
Revelation .
4. Upon Suppofition, that there has been fuch a
Flood, how does it appear, that the Vegetable Provi→
fion is lefs nutritious, than before ? How can you
tell what it was before the Deluge ? If the Vegeta
ble Kingdom,was better, in Refpect to Food, before
the Deluge, than it is now, that fupports our Hi
-D
ſtory
ITS
 90 LETTER I.

ftory and Hypothefis, that Men might live uponit,

without troubling the Beafts. If it were not better
than it is now, then the prefent Argumént is gone.
1 And there is no more need of eating Fleſh now, than
there was then. Since fuch Variety of nice, tender
Vegetables, is preferved, why may not their Good
nefs too ? Or if thoſe, that grew6 up firſt after the
Flood, were depauperated in Juice and Virtue, yet
the next Generation might recover. The Infirmi
ties and Diſorders of Individuals are not entail'd up

on the Race. A lame Man begets a compleat Child.

Things may improve and meliorate by Degrees.
The Inundations of Nile were not reckon'd to ſpoil
the Fertility and Vegetable Productions of Egypt.
And there are fome Philofophers, you know, that
deny the Declenfion and Decay of Nature. But
fuppofe we, that the Vegetable Provifion is ſomewhat
depraved and degenerated by the Flood ; yet we
know, it will ſtill fuffice for the Support of Man.
I have known an aged Perfon (of feventy, I fup
pofe, or more) and a youthful Perfon (in active,
flourishing Years) both live in total Abftinence from
Fleſh.
5. If the Vegetable Kingdom was depauperated
bythe Flood, why might not the fenfitive Nation
be vitiated too ? How came the Brutes to furvive

the Deluge ? If they were preferved by Man's Care,

there muſt be ſome Notice of the Futurity of the
Flood, that Provifion might be made for their Pre
ſervation. If they were preſerved (as we ſuppoſe,
and Plutarch encourages us fo to do, by mentioning the
Ark and the Dove ' difmiffed from thence) in a float
ing Tabernacle ; then, 1. They muft long float upon
the
 T
To the DEIST.
91

onit the Waters ; and that might make them fick, and

better weak, and many Ways diforder'd. 2. They muſt

be ftived up in Cabins and Confinements, and fo
gone.
than want Air and Motion, and fuch Lodging and Ex
ander ercife as they were ufed to before, which might
make them distemper'd and unwholfome. And
and
3. They muſt at last live upon the Vegetables, as bad
'
27

as they were, when they came out of their Cabins.

1
#

and Prifons. And why might not they contract ha

bitual Depravation, by unwholfome Air, and Ground,
and Pafturage ; AndC, why
S might not their Deprava
BES. tion be as bad to us, as that of the Vegetables ? And
fo, it will be but little Advantage to go from the
vitiated Vegetables to the corrupted Animals, for
۲۰
hap Food and Aliment.

But 6. You may vouchfafe to confider withall, that,

Lat in the Cafe of fuch a devouring Flood, as is now.

fuppofed, the more Man had fuffered for Sin, the
we
more fearful ſhould the Remnant of Survivors be, 1

of offending vindictive Juftice again. What had

Sin newly done ? What Devaftation had offended
‫دا‬
Om Juſtice newly made ? What a wafte, folitary Defart
was the Earth now become ? Man, and Beaft, and
Bird, had all periſhed together. And after all this,
10 ៨.

Shallwe again tranfgrefs thy Commands, fhould the fav

ed Remnant fay ? And will they now venture to fall
ve
on God's Works, and devour that fmall Company
re
of Animals, that is preferved together with them ?
The
What Authority have they for that ? If ſuch Vo
racity was not uſed before, how fhall it be fo now?
fe,
The Sin of the old World feems to be Oppreffion
he
and Luxury ; and will they run into the fame, fo
t
SU

foon again ? And into a new, ftrange fort of Luxury,

which
 LETTER I.
92 0

which the former World was not acquainted with ?

And eſpecially, when Beaſts are ſo few, will they fall
on them now ? That's the Way to deftroy the Spe
cies, and rob the World of the whole Race ; which
will be the Way to injure all Pofterity . How na
tural then will it feem, at fuch a Seafon, to devour
the poor Animals, that had fo lately eſcaped the com
mon Shipwreck ? and had been fo lately indear'd to
Man, by Cohabitation in the fame Tabernacle, and 1
by Participation in the fame Deliverance and Salva
tion ? How fhould they reckon fuch Voracity little
lefs , than Sacrilege ? and dare to venture upon it,
without ſpecial Warrant from Heaven ?
7. Nay, fuppofe, that upon the landing of the
Ark upon the Mountains of Armenia, the Ground
did for fome Time continue moift and clammy, and
unfit to walk upon ; fuppofe, that it was yet longer
Time, e're the Earth brought forth Vegetables fit
for Food : You will fuppofe now, that it was ne
ceffary, in this Exigence, that Mankind fhould kill
the Brutal Animals, and eat them. But if he muſt

do fo, he may well be at a Lofs, whether they will

be good for him, or no. And then he muſt do it
fparingly and cautiouſly, and according as they mul
tiply. If either of the Sexes be deftroyed, Propa
gation is fpoil'd. If any whole Sort or Species be
deſtroyed, Pofterity is entirely robb'd thereof. But'
if, in fuch an utter Exigence, it was neceffary to kill
and eat the Brute Animals (when human Life could
not otherwife be preſerved, ) what is that to the fuc
ceeding Times, when that Neceffity is ended ? Ma
ny Things may be done, in Times and Cafes of ex
treme Neceffity, that may not otherwiſe be done,
また ね。
t
In
 To the DEIST.
~=

93

In Storms and Tempefts, Sea-faring People will caft

their Goods and Provifions overboard, in order ta
ch fave their Lives. In long Sieges,"i Men are glad to
1 eat Horſes, or Affes, or even human Fleſh, which
[T at another Time, it might not be lawful to do.
.
Phyficians have defperate Cures for defperate Cafes ;
0 and fo, if Flesh were, in Neceffity, eaten, quickly
d after the Flood, it might ceaſe• to be natural or ne
ceffary, when other Provifion was grown, and was
copious. While Plutarch introduces the firft Eaters
of Fleſh, making an Apology for themfelves and
their Practice, he makes them reprefent themſelves
much in fuch a Cafe, ( for ought I know) as the In
habitants of the Ark might be in, upon its landing
at Ararat. Asfor us (fay they) we fell upon the most
T difmal and affrighting part of Time, in which we were
expofed to manifold and inextricable Wants and Neceffi
ties. As yet the thickned Air concealed the Heaven
from our View, and the Stars as yet were confused with
a diforderly huddle of Fire, and moist and violent Fluxi
ons of WindsThe Land was alfo spoil'd by the Inun
dations of diforderly Rivers ; and agreat part of it was
deform'd with Sloughs, and utterly wild, by Reason of
deep Quagmires, unfertile Forefts andWoods. There was
then no Production of tame Fruits, nor any Inftruments
of Art, or Invention of Wit. And Hunger gave no
Time, nor did Seed-time then stay for the yearly Seafon.
What wonder is it then, if we made use of the Flesh of
Beafts, contrary to Nature, when Mud was eaten, and
the Bark of Wood; and when it was thought a happy
thing to find either a sprouting Grass, or a Root of any
Plant ! But when they had by Chance taſted or eaten an
Acorn, they dancedfor Foy about fome Oak or Efculus,
calling
 LETTER I.
94

calling it by the Names of Life-giver, Mother, and Nou

rifher. Thus thefe Apologifts are fuppofed to repre
fent their Cafe, in Plutarch's fuft Difcourfe. And
in fuch a Cafe, their unnatural Practice ( as they call
it) may feem natural. But neither they, nor their
Dramatift, fuppofe, that that Exigence will excufe
us. Thence they exclaim and upbraid ; But whence
is it, that a certain Ravenousness and Frenzy drives you,
in thefe happy Days, to pollute yourfelves with Blood, fince
you have fuch an Abundance of Things neceſſaryfor your
Subfiftence? Why do you bely the Earth, as unable to
maintain you ? ——— And they are ſuppoſed to begin
their Apology thus , O happy you, and highlyfavour'd
of the Gods, who now live ! Into what an Age ofthe
World are you fallen, who share and enjoy amongyou a
plentiful Portion of good Things ! What Abundance of
Things Spring up for your Ufe ? What fruitful Vineyards,
you enjoy ? What Wealth you gather from the Fields ?
What Delicacies from Trees and Plants, which you may
gather ? You may glut and fill yourselves without being
polluted. Thus they are reprefented as envying the
Variety and Fullness, that arifes to us from the Vege
table Kingdom ; and remonſtrating againſt their
h
own Practice, as bloody and polluting, ཟ and vindicat
ing it only, as that they were conſtrain'd to, by to
tal Want, and inevitable Neceffity. We ufually fay,
Neceffity has no Law. That may be lawful and jufti
fiable in Cafe of utmoft Danger and Neceffity, which
will be very blameable and ill at another Seaſon.
Could it be proved, that the immediate Survivors of
the Flood were deftitute of Vegetable Proviſion, and
were thereupon forced to feed upon Animals, yet
that will not prove, that they muſt do ſo now, or
that
 To the D EAI ST.
95

that Heaven has granted them a Patent for fuch Di

44

et, throughout all fucceeding Ages. A

Thus you fee, that Naturalifts , and natural Mo

raliſts will ſtrenuouſly plead againſt the Naturalneſs,

and the Morality of your daily Practice, in feeding
upon your Animal Neighbours . And ftill the Di
7
vine Warrant in the Light and Law of Nature, for
7
fo doing, is wanting, and is to be placed among your
Defiderata.
1
And therefore you must give the Scripturist (or
one that admits fupernatural Revelation) leave to ſay,
now let the Butcher's Trade be cafhier'd from off the
Face of the Earth ; let the Shambles be converted in

to Fruiterers Shops, and Herb-Markets ; let the De

iftical Squires and Gentlemen be debarr'd the bloody
Toil and Game, defign'd to ferve their Bellies ; let
them be denied their lufcious Diſhes of tame and
wild Fowl, and of various Fiſh, fwimming in their
Sauces ; let them have done with their Ragous, with
their Fricaffies, and Haſhes, made of broken Limbs
of difmember'd Brother-Animals ; let them be be
reav'd of the daily Spoil of the Flock, the Herd, and
the Park ; let them betake themſelves to their Primi
tive Herbage, and run (with Nebuchadnezzar) to the
•
original Graſs ; till they acknowledge (with him)
that the moft high rules among the Children of
Men ; that he difpofes of the Kingdoms of the
Earth, the vegetative, the fenfible, the rational King→
dom ; that he ſubjects one part of his Works to as
nother ; that he made the Beaſts of the Field, the
Fowls of the Air, and the Fiſh of the Sea, and gave
them their feveral Habitations, and Tables, and Pro
vifions; that he is the great Lover and Benefactor of
Mankind ;
96 LETTER I.

Mankind ; that he has, fome Time or other, given

a free Declaration of his Mind, or publish'd a Roy,
al Edict, wherein he has given full Leave and Li
cenfe to the Sons of Men, not only to make ufe of
the Labours, but of the Lives (or even the Deaths)
of the mute Animals, that are, by Nature, Coheirs
of the fame Globe with themſelves ; and that he does,
by theſe Preſents, give and grant to us (the Sons of
Men) full Leave and Licenſe, to take and catch, and
kill and eat them, or any of them (as we fhall fee
good,) to maintain, refreſh, and delight our felves
withall, while we live in Obedience and Gratitude to
him, who made both us and them.

It is not here fuppoſed, that this Edic was writ

ten, or was, in writing, communicated to the World.
It is not faid, by what Means, or in what manner
it was communicated ; whether by the Embaffy of
an Angel, or a Voice in the Air, or an inward Irra
diation of the Mind, or any other Way. It is only
pleaded, that, fome Time or other, fome Way or o
ther, the Licenſe of Heaven muſt be notified to
Man, for the Warrant of his Practice, for reſolving
his Liberty and Duty, and fatisfying his Mind and
Confcience, in that continual Havock that he makes
of fenfible Beings, that are none of his own, and
may plead (or their Maker and his Agents, for them)
their Right to Life, and Limbs, and Air, and Food,
as well as Man, their Fellow-Creature, and Fellow
Servant.

Some other Objection there may be againſt this

Hypothefis ; but, I know, that when you are be
come Maſter of an Argument, your vigorous Rea
fon can anfwer various Objections. I would, there
472 fore,
 To the DEIST. 97
EA fore, much rather beg Pardon for paft Prolixitys
37 S
than trouble you with any more .
i Only, fince it has thus been argued that there
of muſt have been a 3 ſpecial Grant, and a ſpecial Reve
hon
=) lation, in this Cafe, you will give me leave to fee what
20
S Corollaries we may hence take along with us. And fo,
S 1. We fee, the Great God may afford a fpecial Re
velation to the World, in Confiftence with his own
J Perfections, and the Safety of Mankind . Yea, the
State of the World may fometime require it. His
5 Compaffions are free, and yet. Mankind may greatly
3 need them. Nay his Favours were not Compaffions,
if they were not needed. Sometimes, we have Tra
.
gical Confequences rarfed upon the Suppofition of a
peculiar Revelation fent unto the World. It would
be (it feems) an Arraignment of the Light and Law
of Nature, as imperfect ; as if a falutary Addition
to it, or fuitable Superftructure upon it, were a Con
demnation of it . Sometimes, it is the Way to ex
pofe the World to perpetual Delufion. As if the
Great God could not notify his. Will to us, in any

fpecial Way ; becauſe Men may deceive us, by fet

ting up theirs. And will not they alfo deceive us
by their Reaſon , and Argument ? by pretending
Senfe,and Experience ? Muft we therefore renounce
Reafon, and Argument, and Senfe and Experience, and
all the Methods, that God has given us, whereby to
come to the Knowledge of the Truth ?
2. The Great God may communicate a fpécial Re
velation to Man, that is to be tranfmitted to Pofteri

f ty. Muft the Great Father of all no Way intruft

Parents with the Good of their Children ? May not
he give them a good Land, and oblige the Parents,
H to
 R
98 LETTE I

to inform their Children, who it was that gave it

them ? May not, and ſhould not Benefactors Deeds
and Memories be configned to future Generations ?
This Grant of killing and eating Fleſh, was not im
mediately made to you 1or me, nor our immediate
Predeceffors. It has been conveyed down through a
long Tract of Time, much longer than the Date of
Chriſtian Religion. It must come either from the
beginning of the World, or from fome other Occur
rence or Seafon, in which God was pleaſed to no
tify his own Will, and our Advantage. And if oral
Information, practical Tradition (or Tranfmiffion)
and Writing be (either fingly, or conjunct) a fafe
Way of deriving a Memorandum from one Age to
another, we have all theſe in the Traduction of our
Profeffion. Nay, CI cannot tell, how much you are
obliged to Writing, for the Continuance and Deri
vation of this Practice
L down to you. You fee, that
many that had not the written Licenſe of Heaven
among them, were ready to deny it, and diſclaim
the Practice. And how foon the Memorial of the
Licenſe, and the Practice grounded thereupon, had
(without fome written Record) been obliterated,
we cannot tell. The Pythagoreans ( I mean thoſe of
Pythagoras's Opinion againſt Flesh eating, whether
before or after his Time) feem to have muſter'd up
fuch Arguments againſt the Practice, that one would
think, would have gone far (if Reafon were to pre
vail againſt Appetite) to have baniſh'd it out of
many Countries. Porphyry intimates, that by Lycur
gus's Inftitutes, it was almoſt fuperfeded, and laid
afide in Lacedemon . But the Record, appearing in
the old Hebrew Hiftorian, would fupport the Prac
tice
 To the DEIST. 1 99
tice among the Hebrews ; and the Traditions, Re

ports, and (in Time) the Tranflations, that were

made from thence, might be the great Support of it
among the Gentiles.
$1M
But fince we are now fallen upon the mention of
the old Hebrew Hiftorian, Mofes, give me leave to
confider him a little further, as a moſt valuable Hi
ftorian. Were he lefs religious, probably he would
be more valued. Thoſe that have neither the Worth,
the Antiquity, nor Teftimony to recommend them,
as Sanchoniathon, Manetho, Berofus, or Diodorus of
Sicily, fhall now, with many, be preferr'd before
14 him. The Gentlemen of your Fraternity are wont
"
to be very much diſpleaſed with him. He has too
1 much Miracle, too much Law, too much Ritual in
陳
Religion, too much Devotion, to be acceptable to
them. They would fain have us believe, that what
6 is faid by Mofes, is nothing but Suppofes, and well-in
1 vented Sham. But if it be fo, let them then ſpare
their Fellow-Animals, and let God's Creatures alone,
and not fo unmercifully devour them, at the Rate

1 they do, as they will answer it to their Maker and

Owner at laft. What Lakes or Rivers of Blood

have they ſhed, and yet what little Good have they
done upon it ? And how precarious is their Title ?
One would think, if there were any Anticipations
in the Mind of Man, any Prepoffeffions tending to
wards the Acknowledgment of God, the Honour
of Mankind, and the uſeful Diſcoveries of Things,
there ſhould be an Inclination to embrace and wel

come Mofes's Hiftory. It will not eafily appear, that

there can be, a more noble, more rational, and agree
able Account given us of the firſt Riſe of viſible
H& Things,
100 LETTER I.

Things, and of various Phænomena of the World,

than is there afforded us.

It is obferv'd by the learned Dr. S. Clarke (in his

Evidences of Religion, p. 250.) as well as by others,
that there are many Arguments, drawn from Nature,
Reason, and Obfervation, that make that Account of the
Time of the Earth's Formation exceeding probable in it
felf, which from Scripture-Hiftory we believe to be cer
tain. So that Time, Obſervation, and Experience, rather
confirm , than invalidate the Truth of Mofes's Hiftory.
Andthe Appearances ofThings, therein accounted for,
are fo many, and the Accounts thereof ſo ſurpriſingly
excellent (according to their feveral Natures) and ratio
nal orplauſible, that one would think, that that Hiftory
does, by its own Light and intrinſick Eminence, re
commend itſelf to human Acceptation, of any Hif
tory in the World. Let it not feem an uſeleſs Di
greffion to take Notice of fome of the Phænomena,
that are there eminently refolved and accounted for. As,
1. The Rife and Structure of this vifible World
is there moſt excellently difcover'd and defcribed.
What various Imaginations were there about it, in
the Gentile World ? Some would have it produced
by Neceffity of Nature, fome by mere Chance and
Accident. Some would have it flow neceffarily from
the Divine Being ; fome would have it voluntarily
made from Eternity. Mofes (according to the beſt
Diſcoveries of Nature, and moft mature Dictates of

Reaſon) immediately afcribes it to an eternal, allwife,

almighty Agent, call'd God, as the Author and
Founder of it. We fee the Heavens hang'd over
our Head ; we fee the Earth fpread, as a Footftool,
beneath us. We find it ftrangely fufpended in the
Air,
 To the DEIST. IOI

Air, furrounded by it, and made capable of Inhabi

5

We fee the Face of it diftinguiſh

tants on all fides.
ed into Sea and Land, and each of them repleniſhed
R

with wonderful Variety of fuitable Inhabitants, We

36

fee the Earth excellently enriched with great Diver

W fity of Provifion, for the Maintenance of the feve
ral forts of Natives it bears. We fee it is attended
# and ferved by great Lights, that are exceeding necef
W fary to the Welfare of the Syftem. We fee the di
ftant Stars, calling us to admire the Wonders of the
Night. All thefe does our great Hiſtorian run
through, and attributes them diftinctly and feverally
to the good Pleaſure of the Great God. And the
Great Maker is introduced as framing thefe Things,
in or with two circumftantial Modes of Operation,
S which feem to befpeak the Excellency of the Things
made, and the Honour of the Maker.
First, He takes Time to raife and model the whole
Frame. He affigns himſelf his Day's Work. Sofar
will he proceed in one diftinct Seaſon, and ſo far in
another, Not but that he might, if he had fo plea
fed, " have made all at once. The Facility with
which, (as we fhall fee) he made all Things, will
fhew that he might. He had the whole Scheme or
Idea in his Mind, when he first began to build, or
laid the firſt Stone of the Foundation. But he would
intimate, that he had a great Work in Hand, in
which all Things muſt be done with Wiſdom and

5. Counfel. He would frame all Things pondere, nu

mero & menfurd. The Number of conftituent Parts
must be wifely determined : Their Bulk, and Size,
and Place, muſt be prudently ordain'd ; Their Gra
yitation towards each other muſt be carefully adjuſted:
H3 The
ī

102 LETTER I.

The Degree of mutual Gravitation , in the whole

Mafs of Matter, muft be fettled in Reference to
all its Confequences : The feveral forts of Gravitati
on, or Attraction, with all the Rules thereof, muft
be calculated and fixed : The centripetal and centri
fugal Forces muſt be exactly contemper'd and pro
portion'd : Compreffive and elaftic Power muft be
ufefully combin'd : Solidity and Porofity (in the
various Degrees thereof) muſt be ftated : One Thing
5432
muft exactly correfpond to another, at the vafteft
0.
Diſtance So many originary Laws of Motion muft
be enacted : So many Elements, and their Quantities
muft be prepared. Such primary Qualities muſt be
ordain'd : Such Rules , of Reflection and Refraction

be given to luminous Bodies : Such a Number of dif

CJ
ferent Species of Animals must be appointed and
produced : Such Variety of Provifion made for them.
all : An accurate Harmony muft run through the
whole : The Heavens must be meaſured with a Span :
The Mountain's muſt be laid in a Balance : It muſt

appear, that a vaft Mind comprehended the whole,

*
and computed all the Parts, and Meaſures, Diſtan
ces, mutual Influences and Proportions. And here
is Work for an all-comprehending Mind indeed !
How ſmall a Portion of his Ways are yet known ?
The whole muft be fo framed, as that it may ap

prove it felf to the accurate Reflection and Review

of the moſt wife Creator himſelf, and he may be able

to pronounce it very Good, and may take Pleaſure

therein, as a noble Mirror of his own Perfections.
Suitably hereto, he is reprefented, as proceeding
gradually from one piece of Work to another, in
fucceffive
 To the DEIS T.
103

fucceffive Stages of Time, till the whole is finished.

to Then
I
Secondly, He is introduced as acting with wonder
ful State and Facility. He might have done Things
with Speed, fince he can do them fo eafily : His
Word is the Creature's Being and Subfiftence. He
peaks Entity, and calls Things into Exiſtence.
What can be more honorary to the Divine Power ?
or befpeak more Grandeur, Eafe, and Expedition ?
The poor Gentiles would be ready to enquire by
what Engines, Inftruments and Tools, theſe mighty
3 Works were fram'd and rear'd. But here's a Being,
I that needs no mechanical Inftruments, nor organical
Hands. His Word's enough for all his Works. He
but ſpeaks and it is done ; he commands and it is ac
complish'd. He fays, Let there be Light, and (as
7 fine a Creature as it is) it immediately ſtarts up into
15 Exiſtence. He fays, Let there be a Firmament, a vaſt
expanded Atmoſphere or Æther ; and it immediately
arifes in all its ufeful Qualities. Can any of the Va
nities of the Gentiles do thus ? What a noble, con
1
gruous Repreſentation of Divine Efficacy is here ?
4
One would wonder how it fhould come into the
Hiftorian's Mind, without fome Suggeſtion from
above. How impoffible would it be to reprefent or
0 paint by Words, the Mode of the Divine Agency
and Operation ? It ſhould feem that we ſhould want
Ideas to conceive, and Terms to expreſs it. It ſhould
fuffice, that the Majeſty, Force, and Eafinefs thereof
is repreſented to us. And that cannot (as it should
AB

feem) be better done, than in the Hiſtorian's lofty

(though allufive) Mode of Expreffion. He fpake,
` H4 and
 1

104 LETTER I.

and it was done ; he faid, Let there be Light, and

(dictum factum) There was Light.
2.The Origination of Mankind is there moft il
luftriouſly diſplayed. No Hypothefis can pour
greater Honour on our Race and Nature. We are
the peculiar Artifice and Workmanſhip of Heaven,
What poor Conceits had the dark Gentiles about the
Original of their firft Anceſtors ? Some would have
1
the firſt Embryos to fall (like Afh-keys or Acorns)
from the Boughs • of Trees. Some would have

them fpring (like Muſhrooms and black Balls) from

the unctuous Juices of the Earth. Some would have
them generated from Heat and Moiſture, as Mice
and Frogs in Egypt were fuppofed to be, after the In
undations of Nile. Some would be Aborigines, and
rife (it may be) clever Animals out of the Ground,
In Token of which noble Original, the Athenians
(forfooth) would wear the Golden Grafhopper,
Unless they might have had a Tradition, that Man
at firſt was made of the Earth ; and they would pre
tend to be directly and lineally that Man's Pofteri
ty. But what mean Imaginations are thefe of hu
man Nature ? How much more does our Hiftorian

ennoble it ? and what heavenly Luftre does he ſhed

upon the Pedigree ? He introduces the Great God,
in a peculiar, myfterious manner, addreffing himſelf
to this Work. This is the laft of the Syftem, the
Confummation of all that went before ; and here
muſt be Prudence and Care. In all the foregoing
Parts of the Structure, God had but ſpoke the Word,
and it was done. His Command was Production. In
Refpect tothe foregoing Inhabitants of the Globe, he
did
 To the DEIST. 105

did but bid the Earth, or the Waters bring them forth,
C

or exhibit them, according to their feveral Kinds ;

10

and the Thing was done. But here, the Great God
50% is reprefented, as proceeding with Deliberation and
13

Counfel. He fays, Let us make Man, in our Image,

after our Likeness . A furprizing Expreffion ! and
57

that, whether we confider it as a fort of Allocution,

or the Mode of the Diction, or the Pattern, accord
ing to which this Work1 is to be made, Confider
we the Expreffion, as a fort of Allocution ; the Crea
tor feems to ſpeak to fome others, and apply himſelf
to one or more that might be with him. Let us 1
make Man. Let us unite and conjoin in this Affair !
Muft we fuppofe, that he addreſſes to the Angels ?
But that looks beneath the Creator's Sovereignty and
Majefty. Will he call his Creatures to be Creators
together with him ? Nor has the Hiftorian yet made

any mention of Angels, or told us, that there are any

fuch Beings at all. Nor is it any where intimated,
15 that Man was made in the Image of Angels. Should
we fuppofe, that the Creator addreffes to himſelf,
and now invites himself to the Work before him ;
yet ftill it is ftrange he ſhould do fo, or ſhould be re
prefented as fo doing. Can there be Need of, or
Room, or Reafon, for Excitation to a Work, that
he defigned from the beginning, and muft be the
Completion of all the reft ? And if he is fuppofed
to beſpeak himſelf, the Mode of Diction is wonder
ful. Strange, he ſhould uſe the plural Form, Let us
make Man ! Shall we fuppofe, that he ſpeaks in Royal
Stile, and imitates a Potentate on Earth, that speaks
of himſelf in the plural Number ? But then it will
not appear, that fuch Royal Stile is as old as this
杯 Hiftorian,
 106 LETTER I.

Hiftorian, but rather is (comparatively) of modern

Date. And befides, when Princes firſt affumed that
Stile, it was rather out of Modefty, than Pride ; they
would not be thought to act of themſelves, or mere
ly on their own Heads, but in Conjunction with
their Council. 1 And fo, We, and Us, and Our did,
at firft, involve the Prince with his Counsellors.

Muſt we ſuppoſe, that the Great, God will not, (out

of Modefty, ) fpeak of himſelf in the fingle Form,
but rather intimate, that he has his Council in Con
1 cert with him? But who fhall thus know the Mind
of the Lord, or who fhall be his Counſellor ? Muft
we fuppofe then, that the Creator invites his own
Perfections to the Work ? That he fays to his own
Powers (fuppofing them fufficiently diftinct from
each other) Let us make Man ? Still the Preface is
grand, and intimates an eminent Application of the
Divine Majesty to the fucceeding Work. Divine
Perfections must fhine there. Man is made upon
eminent Counſel and Defign. Then confider we,
the Pattern according to which he is made ; In our
Image, after our Likeness. He muft, fome Way
or other, reſemble the Creator. Refemble him
more than Matter and Motion could do ; more than

the former Works had done. Thereupon he muft

be a ſtrangely compounded Being. He muſt be akin
to this World, becauſe he muſt live in it. He muſt
be very different from it, becauſe he muſt bear the

Image of his Maker. He muft be, in part, incorpo

real, intelligent, invifible, immortal, capable of con
verfing with his Maker, and ruling over the other
Inhabitants of the Earth. Thereupon, the Creator
is faid to form the Body of the Duft of the Ground;
as
 To the DEIS T. 107

R as if it were by his own immediate Efficiency and

J
Operation. And then he breath'd into his Noftrils
the Breath of Life ; and thereby hebecame a living
J
Soul. And fo, he is the Iffue or" Offfpring of God.
What a dignified Creature hereby is he, and what

1 Honour is thus done unto him ? How highly has

讒 the Hiftorian magnified Mankind , and advanced,
not his own Nation alone, but the whole Race, a
bove all other Naturalifts and Hiftorians whatever ?
1)
Which is further amplified, in that he brings him
into a" well-furniſhed, ſplendid World . A delight
ful Syftem waits for his Arrival. Innumerable Pof
feffors of Life and Senfe are ready to congratulate his
"
Accefs among them, and reckon themſelves imper
fect and headlefs without him. A Paradife is ready
to receive him ,, and all the Trees, with their lofty
Tops, willing to pay Obeifance. What a fhining
Theatre is here to entertain his opened Eyes, and re
gale his firft awakened
60 Profpect ? Plutarch makes the
firft Eaters of Fleſh, in their Apology for the Prac
tice, to complain of the Poverty of Soil, and the
Barrenneſs of the Land, in which they had their
Rife. As for us (fay they) wefell upon the most dif
mal and affrighting part of Time, in which we were ex
pofed, by our first Production, to manifold and inextri
cableWants and Neceffities. There was no Producti
on of tame Fruits, nor Inftruments of Art.- Mud
was eaten, and the Bark of Wood, &c. (as has been
Ual
already quoted. ) What a World was here ? And
what a Condition is Man fuppofed to be created in ?
Men and Beaſts fuppofed to be made before Vege
er tables, at leaſt, ſuch as are proper for Food ! And fo
05
Men must live upon Beafts ; and what muſt the
;
Beafts
15
108 LETTER I.

Beafts
- live upon ? Either upon Men, or upon one
another. How much more fuitably to the DivineWif
dom and Philanthropy, does our Hiftorian relate theſe
Affairs ? He introduces the Protoplaſt into a rich,
repleniſhed, adorned Habitation, where Heaven and
Earth, Vegetables and Animals, concur to ferve him,
and harmoniously contribute to his Delight and
Pleaſure. Where his Arrival too is crown'd with
the Creator's Benignity, in conferring upon him a
fuitable Dominion over all his elder Brethren, the In
habitants of the Globe, that were there before him.
Good Mofes ! What Dignity haft thou vouchfafed
us ? How is Mankind
1/3 ( ungrateful Mankind ! )
obliged to thee for the Honour of fuch Report ?
There is the most excellent Account of the
Rife of the beauteous Sex, and how the Species.
came to be fo diftinguiſhed and divided. The Cre
ator might as eafily (yea, we may fay, with lefs
Work) have made but one Sex ; or have made a fort
of Inhabitant, that might no more properly have
been faid to be of this or the other Sex, than the
miniftring Spirits of Heaven are. He might have
made as many of thefe Inhabitants at once, as would
have conveniently peopled the Earth, and have al
lowed them an immortal Stay there as long as the
Syftem fhall laft. But he defigned a larger Number
of human Inhabitants, than the Globe would receive
at one Time, yea, though the whole Surface of it
had been dry Land, without the Intermixture of
Seas. They must be tranfplanted to other Worlds,
when they fhall have done with this ; and there
fhall be room 8 enough to receive them. They fhall
rife up in this World by Degrees, and go off, fuc
ceffivelya
 To the DEIST. 109
MA
JUV
16 'ceffively, till the laft appointed Company ſhall ap
pear, after whom, no more fhall be added to the
Number. The Creator (to fhew his Wiſdom and
nd Power) deſigns that they fhall be all derived from
‫ܙܒ‬ one Root, and that there fhall be a Propagation a
mong them, from the firſt to the laſt of the ſpecifick
"J
Order. Accordingly, a fuitable Afſociate muſt be
prepared for Man, a Joint-Heir of Life, of the
World, and all the Accommodations, Life and the
World can afford. It was not good that Man fhould
1 continue fingle and folitary in this his Habitation,
as delightful as it was. He has none 4 to converfe
with, none to communicate his Thoughts and Satif
factions to ; none to fhare his Love, his Friendship,
and Delight. The good Creator will provide him
a congenerous Companion, a Partner in his Joys,
and a Co-parent of the defigned, numerous Race.
The Companion fhall be originally akin to him, and
แก่ fo fhall not be made, as he was, out of the Ground,
68
but of a part of himſelf. She muſt pertain to the Com
pletion of him in the parental State and Relation, and
fo fhall be Bone of his Bone, and Fleſh of his Fleſh.
She muſt inherit his chief Love and Affection, and

fo proceed from near his Heart. Of an inteftine

Bone then, is the Companion made, and prepared
for moſt intimate Relation, Union, Friendship, and
Delight. A ftrange Réport ! than which none can be
more honourable to the Sex, more acceptable to the
Admirers of the Sex, more agreeable to all the Cir
cumſtances of the Cafe, and more commendatory of
the Divine Wiſdom, Power, and Goodneſs !

B 4. There is the moſt honourable Account of the

Inftitution of Marriage, and of the Celebration of
the first Nuptials. The conjugal State and Relation
Mi

is
3
 R
110 LETTE I.

is the End and juft Confequent of that Diftinction

of Sex, the Creator has made in the human Nature :
1
The Completion or Confummation of that Inclina
tion or Affection for each other, - that Nature has im

planted in each Sex. This, the Great God appoints

and folemnizes. When he had made the Woman, hẹ
brought her to the Man. Brought her in Beauty
and Perfection. A charming, lovely Perfonage, no
doubt, he was ; attractive of the Admiration, Am
bition, and Affection of her defigned Husband. He
faw nothing like her in all the Creation, unleſs, per
haps, fome angelical Miniſter, that might fometimes
attend him. He could not but wifh for fuch an
Affociate as this ; his own living Image, and worthy
to be loved, as a fecond felf. Accordingly, the
Great God confers her upon him, and afferts the
Marriage Union. The Woman, whom thou gavest
me. He gave one to one, that the Affection might
be more united, compact, and permanent ; Vis unita
fortior. That they might more eaſily take Care of
one another's Affairs ; that they might more certain
ly know their own Offfpring (in Time to come,)
and be jointly concerned in the Education of them
for him, who claims all Souls as his own. Upon
this Solemnization , the Rule is enacted for Futurity ;
Therefore fhall a Man leave Father and Mother (the.
Proprietors of their Offspring) and cleave to his Wife ;
and they shallbe one Flesh, be fixed in the neareſt Re
lation ; and become one complex, one conjugated,
parental Perfon. See, howthe Hiſtorian has honour
7 ed the matrimonial State and Relation !
5. There feems to be the moſt natural Account
of the Rife of Weeks ; or of the Diftribution of
Time into hebdomadical Portions, or Syſtems of fe
ven
413
 To the DEIST. III

ven Days. This has been an ancient and a general

TAI Divifion of Time. We fpeak not how of 1 the Sa
credness of one Day in the feven, above the reft ;
but of the common Computation of Time by the
M

ts fucceffive Periods of feven Days connected, which

we call Weeks. That this was a very ancient Way
of reckoning Time, the learned agree. Our great
10 Selden produces a Paffage, faid to be taken from a
Manuſcript Chronology of Georgius Syncellus, in the
King of France's Library, in which it is reported,
that the old Fathers reckoned Time by Weeks, be
fore Months and Years were found out by the A
ftronomers ; priufquàm ratio computandi per menfes &
annos ab Aftrologis inventa fuiffet, veteres illos Patres
Spatia diftinxiffe tantùm nal' ßdoµádas, per feptima
nas. And another Annalift he there quotes, that
fays, the fame Syncellus makes the Rife of Weeks, as
well as of Months and Years, as old as Seth. Ho

cites alfo Philoponus, faying, In illud certè omnes homi

nes confentiunt, feptem folos effe dies , qui in feipfos re
voluti, totum Tempus conftituunt. He then produces
a Teſtimony from Theophilus Patriarch of Antioch,
which fays, Prætereà de Die feptimo, qui inter omnes

1 mortales celebris eft, magna apud plerofque ignorantia

eft, &c.- i. e. great Ignorance there is of the Caufe
and Reaſon of its being fo famous . Upon which
Teſtimony the great Man fays, Certè perinfigne heic
babetur de Cycli Dierum Septenarii apud Gentiles ufu ali
quo, etiam univerfos, id eft, notiores, fen plerofque Te
ftimonium, idque de feculis vetuftiffimis. De Jure Nat.
L. 3. c. 19. The learned Grotius alſo ſays, that the
fame Computation obtained both in theſe Northern
Countries and in the Indies ; which he confirms
both
M
a
 112 LETTER I.

both by diverſe Authors, and the ancient Names of

the Days of the Week. Oftendunt Antiquiffima eti
am apud Celticas Gentes, id eft, Germanos, Gallos, Bri
tannos, Dierum Nomina. And he adds, Idem de Sla
1
vis docet nos Helmoldus, L. 1. c. 84. De Relig. Verit.
L. 1. n. 16. Not. 28. Now whence fhould this fo

ancient and fo general a Mode of Computation ariſe,

but from fome Tradition concerning the Days of
the Creation ? So fays Theoponus in Selden ; hujus rei
quam certè aliam Rationem dare poffumus præter illam
folam, quam Mofes affignavit ? in the Place above
cited. And (in L. 3. c. 11. ) he gives us a Paffage
out of an old Rabbinical Book, called Sepher Cozri,
which refers both the Number and the Names of the
Days to Adam himſelf. Atque indè initium Enume
rationis Dierum, quafex Diebus Creationis innititur. At
que ibi incepit Adam Nomina Diebus imponere. Et cùm
pofteà, auctis ejus pofteris terra habitata Z eft, hominum
mos erat numerare Dies eo modo quo difpofuerat eos Adam;
unde factum eft, ut non diffentiant homines de feptena
rio Septimana Dierum Numero, feu de Hebdomadis Con
ftitutione. Of Adam's naming the Days, we have
nothing to fay. If he did name them, doubtless
he named them otherwife than they are now. But
we may confider this ; there is fome Reaſon in Nature
for conftituting Months and Years. The Revolu
tions of the Moon and Sun will lead to them : But
the Conftitution of Weeks, or conftant Periods of
feven Days Time, has no fuch Footſtep or Directi
on there. They muft depend upon more arbitrary
Conftitution : And fo their Original cannot be bet
ter derived, than from fome Tradition or Memorial
of the Days of the Creation.
6. There
 To the DEIS T.
113
6. There is the moſt rational Account of the En
trance of Sin, and the Rife of moral Evil . Unde
37% malum ? is a Queſtion, that has made mighty Noiſe
in the World, and about which fome have been rea
dy to run mad. What Principles of Evil have they
fo framed and fanfied ; as if it were impoffible, that
Freedom fhould be abufed ; and that a Free-Will
and free Power fhould be mifapplied ! Or, as if it
were impoffible or unfit, that a free Law fhould be
given (for the Trial of Submiffion and Love) to
th

which the moral Powers might not be fo much de

termined, as to other Things ! Or, as if it were un
juft, to permit a Tempter to try the Subject's Mind,
and Memory, and Refolution, after a clear Diſcove
ry of the Creator's Pleafure, and his own Danger or
Welfare. Should it be ſtrange, that a Creature
1 fhould be defectible ? or that he ſhould listen to an
infinuating Deceiver ? Things, that we fee done e
F very Day. God made Man good and upright. He
$ notified to him his Will and Law ; placed him in
> happy Circumſtances ; exempted him from any
Need or Want of any Thing that was forbidden him ;
might now justly permit, that his Duty and Homage
fhould be tried, not by Force, but Argument and
Fallacy. If, amidſt the Light, he fuffers himſelf to
be deceived, his Defection will be condemned by his
own Conſcience. Here the Creator will be juftifi
ed; and the Tranfgreffor will be afraid and afham'd
to look the good Creator in the Face. What a wife

Solution of the important Difficulty is here ? Here

upon
7. There is the beft Account of the Origin cf
phyfical Evil; and particularly, of the Calamities.
I of
 LETTER I.
114

of human Life. Satisfaction and Pleaſure had at

tended Obedience. The furrounding Creation was

appointed to pay Wages to Man, while he ' adhered
to his God. But now it is made fubject to Diſor
der and Vanity ; and Man's Life is made obnoxious
to various Evils . He himself has tranfgrefs'd his

Law ; and other Things fhall tranfgrefs their Law

(the original Law of Creation) to meet with him,
and let him know how good Tranfgreffion is. The
Earth fhall be barren , or bear him troubleſome
Fruits. Care and Labour ſhall weary him ; and Ca
lamities of one fort or other, fhall be the Fatigue of
Life. Curfed is the Ground for thy Sake ; in Sorrow
fhalt thou eat of it all the Days of thy Life. Potentates,
and crown'd Heads, and Grandees of the World,
tafte more of this Sorrow, than we are aware of;
though we are ready to call and count them happy.
Thorns alſo and Thiſtles ſhall it bring forth to thee ; and
thou shalt eat the Herb of the Field. In the Sweat ofthy
Face (occafion'd by one Toil, or one Anxiety or
another) fhall thon eat Bread, till thou return to the
Ground. Thus is the Creator repreſented as intail
ing phyfical, penal Evil on guilty Man ; and fuc
ceeding Ages find that the Intail is not yet cut
off.
8. There is the beſt Account of the Riſe of that
Shame, that fo naturally accrues to naked Perfons.
It can scarce be fuppofed to belong to original Na
ture : No juft Reaſon can be given why it ſhould.
It ſhould ſeem a Reproach to the Maker, that his
Workmanship (efpecially an eminent part of his
Workmanship) ſhould be afham'd of itſelf. Her
the Gentlemen of the Deiſtical Principles are fo

willing
 To the DEIS T. 115

willing to contradict our great Hiftorian, that, ra

ther than fail, they would contradict themſelves.
Ered
Sometimes this Shame ſhall be ſo natural and unavoid
Or able, that Mofes is not to be believed, when he re
1
60

ports, They were naked, and were not afham'd. Some

bis
times it is fo preternatural, or adventitious to hu
man Nature, fo cuſtomary and voluntary, that it
may eaſily be laid afide ; fince there are (as they tell.
us) Nations, that, without any Shame, wear no
Clothes at all. It is true, Mankind is capable of
being ſtrangely depraved, as well as highly improv
ed. Some People feem to have put off Religion,
Confcience, and Humanity. But we find, that the
more civilized Parts of the World cannot put off
Shame, in being found naked. And uſually, the
more pious, chaſte, and pure they are, the more
fuch Shame increaſes upon them, even to Dread and
Confufion. This cannot feem the Cafe of inno
cent, undefiled Nature. That fhould be as un

: abafh'd, as guiltlefs ; as bold, as beautiful. All the

Organs are fearfully and wonderfully made. Here
"
muſt be Guilt, or fome guilty Difpofition in the
Cafe. It ſeems the Creator's Pleaſure, (and it is but
= congruous in itſelf) that fome Difference fhould be

made, in this Reſpect, between innocent and guilt

ty Nature. The Body has finn'd, (or been em
5 1 ployed in Sin, been an Inftrument in Unrighteouf
nefs) and the Body fhall bear its Shame. The great
Difficulty is, why thofe Parts, that are now fo ftu
diouſly covered, fhould be fuch, an Occafion of
Shame. They were not employed in the Tranf
greffion. Whether, upon the Tranfgreffion, any
Glory, or Luftre departed from their Bodies, or
I whether
116 LETTER I.

whether any Comelineſs departed from any Portions

thereof, or any Irregularity diſcovered itſelf there
by, we cannot tell : But Shame arifes, and is ftill
tranfmitted. This therefore we may be allowed to
fay in the Cafe. The Criminal muſt be afhamed
fome Way or other. The whole Perfon muſt not
be afham'd of himſelf ( i. e. of his whole felf; )
then human Society will be broken ; Men will fly
from one another. Nor is it meet, that the Shame
fhould befall thofe Parts, with which we muſt moſt
converſe. We muſt converfe by and with the Or
gans of Speech, and Sight, and Senfe, and Reafon .
The Face and Head muft be uncover'd. That muft
be the Seat of Beauty, if the Being has any Beauty
at all. By the loweft Parts of the Body we muſt
travel and approach to one another. The Legs and
Feet were furtheft from the Tranfgreffion, and fo
need not partake of the Shame. The Hands were
directly guilty. But they are the Inftruments of
Life. If we muſt be afham'd of them, Life will be
burdenfome or uſeleſs. It remains then, that the
Shame befall the middle Region of the animated Fa
brick. And it is the most commodioufly and con
gruoufly lodged there. For there are the Sinks of
Nature, and the Offices of excrementitious Secre
tion. There are Organs, by which depraved Na
ture is apt to exert itself, and by which the Depra
vation is tranfmitted to Pofterity. And that's the
Region, that may moft feafily, naturally and conveni
ently be ſhrouded and concealed. No wonder then , that
we hear, that the firft Criminals fled from their
Maker's Prefence, and complain'd of their Naked
nefs and their Shame. A new fort of Self-confci
oufnefs
 To the DEIST. 117

ons ouſneſs arofe, which they found not before. And

62

this Note of Corruption we find about us ftill. And

who can give a better Account of the Occafion and
Rife of it, than our learned, Hebrew , Hiftorian ?
Thereupon
2

9. There we are told, the Rife of Garments and

DOT
Clothing. Shame muft cover itſelf. Self- conscious

Nakedneſs prefently feeks to be clothed. Nor are

the new Aprons, that the Criminals make for them

‫ما‬ felves, imputed to the Coldness, or Inclemency of

the Climate, for that was warm before ; and if it
was not, they should, as well, cover and clothe their
Shoulders. But they are concern'd for their Loins
The Epicureans are wont to repreſent it as one of the
Infelicities of Man, that he is born more naked, and
bare, than the other Animals. As if they would
ರ
have him born with fome fort of Clothes on his back.
But, perhaps, if there had been no Guilt, there had
been no need of Clothes. The human Body is the
moft comely of all ; and it might have been able to
have born the Severity of the inhabited Climates.
The old Britons were not fo clad as we are now :
They had not their Brick and Stone Houſes, as we
have now. Woods were their Cities, and their Hou
fes made of Reeds or flender Wood . They dwelt
in Tents, naked and without Shoes ; and in the very
Bogs would they stay, up to the Head, for many Days
without Food; as Mr. Cambden, out of old Authors,
affures us. It is not merely Heat or Cold that re
quires Clothing. The Leaves of Trees, platted a
bout the Loins, would be but a poor Shelter from
either. The Great God appointed better Garments
for the naked Criminals. Unto Adam and his Wife
did
I3
 TER
118 LET I.

didhe make (or ordain) Coats of Skins, and fo cloth

ed them. What Skins thefe were, we are not in
form'd. They might be Skins of Beafts, flain for
Sacrifice, as is ufually fuppofed. Or the Great God
might allow them to kill thofe Beàfts for Clothing,
that were not good for Food . And while they
were thus clad with Skins, it's probable, they would
tie one about their Loins ; whence, might come, in
Time, the Apron, the Breeches ( unleſs, God's Ap
pointment to the Priefts, s brought them into Faſhi
er
on) and the
r Petticoat
l d ; anotherce Skind they would
er hei ou en ul e n
O o v t S h ; w h w o
c om ( whe
tie
other Materials came in Ufe) the Mantle ; and parti
cularly, the Prophet's Mantle ; which, in Proceſs
of Time, would become a Cloak. But thus we .
have a fair Account of the Original of Clothes.
10. There alfo the Pains of Childbirth are account
ed for. They are noted, almoft, in all Nations,
for fuch as are violent, and almoſt too ſtrong for Na.
•
ture. And yet Nativity is a natural, a divine Ap
pointment. And why ſhould it be more grievous
and oppreffive to human Nature , than to brute A
nimals ? By the human Nativity, a more noble Be
ing is uſher'd into the World ; and by the Pains of
it, a more noble Life (or two) is endanger'd. How
many Mothers just hear, that a Child is born, and
then refign their Breath and Hearing ? How many
Fruits of the Body juſt inſpire, and then expire
and dye ? Muft the moſt noble Being fuffer moft,
and be hazarded moft of all ? But fuch a Brand
muſt be fet upon the Sex, that was firft in the Tranf
greffion. With Sorrow shalt thou bring forth. The
Exceptions that are made to this general Rule, may
be
 To the DEIST. 119

be to fhew, how eafily the Cafe might have been 1

otherwife ; and how it had gone with Womankind,
in this Reſpect, had there been no Tranfgreffion.
Ga
Whether there be any Defign, to intimate the Oc
그림 cafion and Rife of the Antipathy there is between
Mankind and Serpents, I will not determine . Man
is fadly afraid of them, though (in theſe milder
Countries, at leaft) they uſually fly from him. And
though they have been fometimes kept tame, yet
they have been alfo the Death of their Keepers. 1
And learned Bochart will tell us of Towns that have
been deſtroy'd by Serpents : But that I fhall leave to
Confideration. 1
11. There is the brighteſt Account of the Rife
and Entrance of that black Phænomenon , Death,
and Diffolution. The King of Terrors marches all
around us, and cuts down all before him. The high
eft, as well as the loweft of the World are laid at his
Foot. A Diſeaſe foon feizes the Body, corrupts

the Fluids, fpoils the Mechaniſm, and turns the live

ly Fabrick into a fordid Mafs. The curious Mem
branes, Veſſels, Mills, and Organs foon diffolve and
putrify. The ghaftly Corpfe muft foon be hid in
Darkness, as unfit for human Touch, or Scent, or
Sight. Strange Catastrophe of fuch elaborated Na
ture ! Sudden Ruin of inimitable Workmanship !
Can this be the Difpenfation of the wife and good
God toward the innocent Work of his Hands ?
Would he make the beſt of his Works on Earth
more miferable than the lower ; as being, through
Forefight and Fear of Death, continually more fub
ject unto Bondage ? Would he, without any Of
fence at all, thus grind, and bruife, and break his
14 Own
120 LETTER I.

own Image and Artifice ? There muſt be Difpleaſure

in the Cafe ; and Sin muft provoke that Difplea
fure. The original Sanction was juft, In the Day
thon eatest, thou shalt die (and fo be dead in Law. )
And then, upon Tranfgreffion , the Sentence muſt run,
In the Sweat of thy Face fhalt thou eat Bread, till thou
return tothe Ground. A toilfome, dying Life ſhalt
thou lead, till thou art dead indeed : And fucceed
ing Generations feal the Truth of it. O the Wif
dom andJuſtice of fuch Procedure !
12. There feems to be the beſt Account of that
Way of difpofing of the Dead, which is by Inter
ment ; or depofiting them in the Bowels of the
Earth. It is true, feveral Nations had feveral Ways
of fending their Dead out of their Sight. It is
known,
1 the Romans burnt them, and fo, reduced
them to Duft and Afhes. A barbarous Country is
faid to eat the Remains of their Parents. But the
moft ancient, general and decent Way, feems to be
that of committing them to the Cuftody of the
Grave. There they are lodged in the Bowels of the
Primitive Parent. There they are fown as Seed in
order to a Refurrection. There they are laid to reft,
and to refolve into their firft Elements ; according to
the Divine Sentence ; In the Sweat of thy Face, fhalt
thou eat Bread, till thou return into the Ground (for
now thither muft thou return ;) for out of it wast
thon taken (thence thou cameft at firft. And now the
Earth fhall claim and poffefs her own again ; ) For
Duft thou art, and unto Duft fhalt thou return. This
Truth, thus written in the Duft, is more durable
than Adamant, and fubfcribed by all Ages,

Our
 To the DEIST. 121

Our Hebrew Hiftorian alfo informs us of the Rife

and Founders of feveral Arts and Occupations ; as
of Agriculture and Tillage, in Cain ; of the Shep
herd's Life, in Abel ; of dwelling in Tents and Pa
10 fturage, in Fabal ; of Mufick, in Jubal ; and of
1
metalline Manufacture, in Tubal-cain, a Name fa
927

mous among the Gentiles, being contracted to Vul

1M cane; but thefe being not ftanding Phænomena in Na
1: ture, we infift not upon them.
13. There is the fairest Account of the preſent
Face of our Earth, and the prefent Conftitution of
our dry Land. This we confider now as a natural
Phænomenon, and what Sight and Search difcovers,
Whoever takes a Survey of the Surface of our
Globe, of the Seas breaking in upon the Land, and
the Lands running out into the Sea, of the Ifles as
broken off from the Continent, and the Continent
as ftrangely diverfified with Craggs and Clefts, with
Precipices and deep Vales (much lower than the
common Surface of the Land) with Grotts and
Caverns, (whofo diligently furveys this ) will be
apt to conclude, that thefe are rather the Ruins of
an old World, than the Features of a new one. Not
but that the new one had its Sea and Mountains ; but
one would fcarce think, fo broken, fhatter'd, and
"
irregular as they are now. And the interior Parts
of our Earth (at leaft, as far as we ufually fink) are
a Confirmation of fuch a ruinous State ; as the di
ligent Dr. Woodward has fhewn to the Satisfaction of
the learned World. The Spoils of Sea and Land are
found in the Earth, and teſtify a mighty Inundation
14

there ; according, to an old Obfervation ;

-Vidi
122 LETTER I.

-Vidi Factas ex aquore Terras,

Et procul à pelago Concha jacuere Marina,
Et vetus inventa eft in Montibus Anchora fummis.
I fee, that Earth a furious Deluge bore,
The Corn from Fields, and Trees from Hills are
tore ;
The Spoils of Fiſh lie ſcatter'd o're the Ground,
And Anchors are on Tops of Mountains found.

That fo mixed and blended are the Strata of our

Land, all over the Earth, the forefaid Doctor fhews,
from univerfal Intelligence. Of which univerfal
Cataſtrophe, and promifcuous Deſtruction, a very
proper and natural Caufe is found in that high and
univerfal Deluge, that the Hebrew Hiftorian has fo
fully reported and repreſented.
14. There is your faireft Ground , and moft au

thentick Warrant for your daily Practice in feeding

upon Fleſh . The Foreigners to our Hiſtorian were
at a Lofs for the Riſe of it. Plutarch (as we have
feen) fuppoſes it occafion'd or neceffitated by the
Want of Vegetable Food at the first Production of
Mankind . Porphyry ſays, that the irrational Motions
of Nature (τὰ τῆς ἀλόγε κινήματα φύσεως ) and
the Neceffities , that accrue thereby , did, with ma
ny, introduce the eating of Fleſh . De Abftin. L. 3 .
S. 27. And whereas fome would argue, that it a
roſe from, or was conjoin'd with the Rife of facri
ficing to the Gods , he largely pleads ( L. 2. ) that
Animal Sacrifices are not to be offer'd ; and if they
were, that it does not follow, that therefore we muſt
eat of them . And though fome of our Divines feem
to
 To the DEIST. 123 .
to think, that Sacrifices were eaten of, before the
Flood ; yet our learned Selden will deny it, and will
affert, that all Animal Sacrifices were then Holo
caufts, or totally confumed by fire. Nay, and not
only fo, but that afterward, when Fleſh was allow'd to
be eaten, there was no Alteration quickly made in the
Mode ofbloody Sacrifices ; but they muft all be con
fum'd. Et cum carnium efus, verbis difertis, Generi hu
mano, poft compluria fecula à Numine indultus eft, de Sa
crificiorum cruentorum ritu nihil intereà eft novatum. Sed

totum animal, pro Victimâ oblatum, excoriatum tamen

ex more & diffectum, ut ante, concremandum erat. De
37
Jure Nat. L. 3. cap. 8. But did eating of Fleſh
depend upon eating of Sacrifices, you that take a
way Sacrifices, muft take away eating of Flesh alfo.
A
You must then have Recourfe to Mofes for the Co
py or the Record of your Patent for this delicious
Practice. And this preternatural Practice was occa
fioned by a preternatural Cauſe. A preternatural In
undation of Sin had procured a preternatural Deluge
of Water, for the Puniſhment and Deſtruction of it.
A
Whether this preternatural Deluge (by its Vapours
arifing from the Multitude of Dead that were there
in) had vitiated the Air, or corrupted the Vegetable
Kingdom, or both, does not fully appear. But this
we find, that after this fweeping Deluge, the Term
of human Life ſhorten'd apace. But the Great God
would , after Judgment , remember Mercy ; and
ItA
makes an Enlargement to his former Grant ; Every
བྱུང་

moving Thing that liveth fhall be Meat for you ; even

as the green Herb have I given you all Things. To
him are you obliged for the Grant itſelf, and to Mofes
forthe Record of it.
feem
15. There
3
124 LETTER I.

15. There is the authentick Order for judicial

Procefs in Inquifition for human Blood. The Great
God, to fhew how he values Man, has fet a Guard
about human Life. Man is originally noble, and
has great Work to do in the World. None muft
fend him out of the World, before God, in his u
fual Way, calls him thence. Whoever does fo, muft
1
feel the Stroke of avenging Juftice. The Blood of
your Lives will I require ; at the Hand of every Beaft
will I require it ; at the Hand of Man will I require it.
Whofofheddeth Man's Blood, by Man fhall his Blood be
fhed ; for in the Image of God made he Man.
16. There is the fair Account of the repeopling
of the defolated Earth, and the diftributing of the
Nations thereupon. Their Progrefs and firft Seats
are defcribed, very fuitably to the ancient Names of
Places, and the oldeft Geography ; as may be feen
in learned Bochart's Geographia Sacra.
17. There is the Account of the Origin of the
Diverfity of Language in ' the World. To be fure,
at the firft Production of Mankind, there would be
but one Language. In the Remnant of Mankind
(being a fmall Remnant, and of one Family) after
the Flood, there would be but one Language. But

we fee, there are a great Number of Languages in

the World. Hereby the Diffufion of Learning, and
Religion, and Commerce, are much obftructed and
retarded. It is argued indeed, that in Procefs of
Time there would have been great Diverſity of
Language. Perhaps there would ; but then it is
probable alfo, that the Diverfity would have been no
greater, than that of various Dialects of one and
the fame original Language ; or as the Italian, Spa
niſh,
 To the DETS T. 125

nifh, and French, now differ. But that there should

be ſo many Languages, and thoſe fo different (in Sig
T 22

nature, Pronunciation, and Senfe) from one another,

and that, in fo fhort a Time, as they were, is a fome
A
what ftrange Phænomenon. This is very congru
ouſly refolved into a Judgment of God, upon an ill
Confederacy. They would combine to prevent the
like Judgment of God for the future ; and God
will confound their Language. How this was done
we cannot fay ; whether only by ftriking them with
an Oblivion of their former Language, and fo leav
ing them (pro re nata) to form new ones ; or by in
ftilling new ones alfo into their Minds. But con
N
founded they must be, and difperfed, for repleniſh
ing the Earth, thereupon.
18. There feems the moſt probable Account of
*
the ftrange bituminous Lake, that is now call'd
Afphaltites and the Dead Sea. It is defcrib'd by Di
Qdorus Siculus, and Strabo and Pliny. Tacitus and So
linus report, that the Places there were overthrown
with Lightning. Grotius cites their Paffages, in his
Book De Verit. Relig. L. 1. §. 16. Not. 65, 67.
Here Geographers reckon, were the Cities of the
Plain, upon which, our Hiftorian tells us, God rain
ed Fire and Brimftone (fulphurous Fire) from Hea
ven, andfo overthrew them, as to be a Monument of

Divine Juſtice, to all Ages.

19. There is the Founder, and the Occafion of
founding the firft City. Cain, being banish'd from
the Divine Favour and Prefence, falls to building.
รส A guilty Confcience would fain be diverted. The
Time that fhould be ſpent in Divine Worſhip and
Converſe, is confum'd in fecular Buſineſs. Tis : to
0.0 be
 126 LETTER I.

be fear'd, ' tis too much the Cafe of Cities ftill. The

Poet, ſpeaking of the Garden, as made and given by

God, to our first Anceſtors, might well fay,

. But well he knew, what Place would beft agree

10
With Innocence, and with Felicity ;
And we elſewhere ftill feek for them in vain ;
If any part of either yet remain,
If any part of either we expect,
This may our Judgment in the Search direct,
·
God the firft Garden made, and the firft City, Cain.
20. There we are inform'd of the Rife and Found
er of the first great Monarchy or Empire in the
World. The great Hunter lays Babel, and Erech,
and Accad, and Calneh together, in the Land of Shi
mar, and raiſes a mighty Kingdom, which was af
terward famous in Gentile Hiſtory.
21. There is the moſt honourable Original of
Circumcifion. A ftrange, vulnerary Ritual, which,
one would think, Parents fhould not devife, or rea

dily admit, either for their Children or themſelves ;

and yet it ſtrangely took and prevail'd in the Nati
ons. Mr. Brerewood, in his Inquiries (Ch. 13.) ar
gues, that Circumcifion is no fure Token of Defcentfrom
the Ifraelites as he may well. It might (and did)
come from Ishmael (who was Prior to Ifrael) to the
Ishmaelites, or Sarracens. Nor need it be ſuppoſed
to be a fure Token of Abraham's natural Progeny ;
for not only his Progeny, but his Servants, were
circumcifed. All that were born in his Houfe, and all
that were bought with his Money , every Male among
the Men of Abraham's Houfe were circumcifed. Gen.
xvii. 23. now Abraham had a large Family, when he
went
 To the DEIST. 127

went to reſcue his Nephew, Lot, out of the Hands

of the Kings, that had taken him captive, he arm
ed three hundred and eighteen Perfons, fit for War,
born in his own Houſe. Theſe and more might be
with him at the Time of Circumcifion ; and theſe
might propagate Circumcifion more than is uſually
taken Notice of. And they might either forget
the Prefcript of Circumcifion, as to the Time, or
might think, that it did not fo much concern them ;
but that they might circumcife at the Age, in which

"8 they themſelves were circumcifęd ; as the Sarracens

were circumcised at the thirteenth Year ; the Age in
2 which Ishmael, the Founder of the Nation, was cir
cumcifed. And this might occafion the Difference
that is found in the Time of Circumcifion , among
the Nations that received it. But it is not pretend
ed to be older than Abraham. And the Token had
need to be given, at firft, to one that was ready, not
only to circumcife, but to facrifice, his Son to the
Command and Honour of the Divine Majefty.
And no greater Honour can be put upon the Rife,
than that it fhould be a Token of Dedication to the
God of Life and Grace.
22. There is the Original of the Hebrew Nation,
3
fo diſtinguiſh'd from other People, fo noted among
the Nations ; admir'd by fome, and reproach'd by
others.

There is the Genealogy of true Religion, and the

Profeffors of it, from the firft Founder of the hu
V
man Race. But I fhall add no more of theſe In

ftances. This may fhew you, that the World is

32-0

more indebted to Mofes , than it is willing to take

Notice

(
‫י‬
 ER
128 LETT I.
1
Notice of. The beſt Origines Sacre, Phyfice & Civi
les are found with him. But pardon this Digreffion
concerning the great Hebrew Hiftorian. I hope, theſe
few Obfervations will induce you to confult him
more. We had obferv'd, that God may juſtly com
municate a ſpecial Revelation to Men, that ought to
be communicated and tranfmitted to Pofterity. From
this Royal Grant of Heaven, I muft fay
3. See the Dominion and Sovereignty of God,
that has thus fubjected fuch Variety of Animals to
Man's Ufe and Service. He has fubjected, not their
Labours only, but their Lives and Spirits to our Ex
igence and Accommodation. Here are Lives that
are fenfible, Spirits that are incorporeal ; and yet the
one muſt be extinguiſh'd, and the other difmiffed
from the Body, at our daily Pleaſure. Here are
Souls (though not now capable of moral Govern
ment, ) that are excellent in themſelves, incomprehen
fible to us, that are free from Guilt, and never of
fended their Maker, that muft (as your Occafions Pay

require) be divorced from their native Tabernacles,

that thofe Casks and Carkaffes of theirs may be
ferv'd up (as on an Altar) on your Table, and fa
crific'd to the Calls of your Stomach. What ab
folute Dominion is here ? Shall not fuch a Thought
as this fometime ſeize you ? Why was not I fuch.a
Being as theſe ? Why was not I, inſtead of being a
Man, made to ferve fuch voracious Ufe as this ?
Why was not my Blood thus pour'd forth ? and my
Corpfe thus roafted ? Who made me to differ ? Let
each Dinner of yours read a Lecture of Divine Su
premacy and Dominion .
4. See
 To the DEIST. 129

* , is to Man ; and
4. See how good the Great God
100 what ample Provifion he makes for our Subfiftence '
hep
here. What vaft Variety and Multitude of Lives
In muſt go for ours ? What Rivers of Blood muft be
m. ſhed to maintain ours in its appointed Circulation ?
9

.to How many Souls muſt be diflodg'd, to preferve ours

100 in the corporeal Union, till the appointed Race is
ended ? Strange, that Mankind can be fo unmindful
-། T
of, and ungrateful to their great and generous Bene
factor ! Who is it, that fo wondrously made fuch
Diverſity of Cattle ? and made them fo fuitable for
Ex human Food? as the Neat, the Sheep, the Goats,
the Deer, the Swine, the Hares and Rabbets ? The
great Diverſity of Fowl and Fish ? Who hath given
1 theſe to Man, as formerly, the Green Herb of the
Field ? The great Lord of all ; the Maker of Man,
and of this his living, moving Diet. How highly
is his Wifdom and Goodnefs to be admir'd and
magnify'd ? His Wifdom, that has invented or con
triv'd fuch eminent Variety ; fuch excellent Struc
tures, fuch curious Mechanifm, fuch unfearchable
Natures and Inftincts ! How vaft is the Difference
between the Cow, the Sheep, the Goat, and the
Hind, though they feed upon the fame Grafs ?
What unfathomable Skill is employ'd in the Forma
tion of them all ? 'Tis a noble Acknowledgment of
Dr. Burnet, in his Theory, (Lib. 2. Ch. 10. as I find
it cited ;) 1 In the Construction of the Body3 of an Ani
mal (ſays he) there is more of Thought and Contrivance,
ada
-20 more of exquifite Invention and fit Difpofitions of Parts,
**
than is in all the Temples, Palaces, Ships,+ Theatres, or
me
any other Pieces of Architecture, the World ever yetfaw."
(Let not the braveft, human Architecture then
4.9 K compare
 LETTER I.
130 R
compare with the Body of a Fly !) And not Archi

tecture only, but all other Mechanism whatever, Engines,

Clock-works or any other is not comparable to the Body of
a living Creature. What incomparable Mechanifm
do we ſpoil every Day ? How does Divine Wif

dom ferve the Goodnefs ? Goodnefs , in preparing

fuch animated Fabricks for us, and conferring the. m
upon us ! Why are we not amaz 'd at the Bou nty ?
Strange, that Conftancy fhould feem to diminiſh
the Love, and obliterate our Senfe of it ! Can we tra
verfe the Fields , and not animadvert upon the ſtrong,
the beautiful, the nimble, the fagacious , fearful, me
lodious Provifion, that is made for our Repaft ? Can
we travel the Roads, and meet the Droves or Loads
of Cattle, that are tamely, 1 and innocently, and un
thoughtfully travelling to the Shambles, and to our
Tables ; and not reflect upon Divine Benignity, and
our increasing Obligations ? The Paftures are clothed
with Flocks ; the Valleys alfo are covered with Corn ; they
About for Foy (for Joy to ferve us) they even fing!
Can we pafs through the Markets , and the Butcher's
Row, and fee the Numbers of innocent Victims,
that hang bleeding there ; and can we forbear to
fmite the Breaft, and fay ; Good God! What are we,
and what are we good for, that we are maintain'd at
fuch a Rate as this ? Muft the Butcher's Trade be

appointed for us ? Muſt ſo many Lives be produc'd,

be fed, and flain for ours ? Muſt ſo many Fellow
Animals be bereav'd of Life and Motion, of Senſe
and Pleaſure, to fatisfy our craving Stomachs , and
prevent our going down into the Grave ? What
manner of Perfons fhould we be ? How fruitful and
fignificant our Lives ? How devoted to the Lord of
Life,
 To the DEIST. CIZI

Lifes and Breath, and Time ? How elle fhall we

anfwer the Expence of fo much Blood ; and acquit
our felves worthy of the Ranfom, that is daily paid
for us ? And while you think on fuch Things ás
thefe, let them prepare you for the Belief of a high
er Love and for a Revelation, that may, poffibly,
inform you that the Great God employs even high
er Spirits for fuch as you and gives his celeſtial
-Minifters Charge concerning fome Perfons in this
D
World; yea, defigns eternal Blifs and Glory for
them, with himfelf ; as having invented (sugáμavos)
44
or found out, an eternal Redemption for them.
For/ gribr
chas . If God has thus reveal'd his Pleaſure, in Re
ference to an Affair of this Life, why should we
think it ftrange, that he fends us peculiar Notices,
in Relation to a far better ? How highly preferable
is the Soul to the Body ? If he maintains a fordid,
+ dying Body, at this rate, what will he do for the

immortal Spirit? And what an unspeakable Exchange

2
will he give for that ? How incomparably inferior
is a little Time, to endleſs Eternity ? How incom
E
I parably more excellent is an eternal Life in Heaven,
than this Shade of Life, that is vanishing away ?
Did he think meet, by fpecial Revelation, to enlarge
his Grant of Food and Diet to human Nature ; and

will he not have proportional Mercy upon Souls, and

difcover to us Provifion for our endleſs Joy ? Will
& he not pleafe to teach us, how we may be fav'd
1 from the Deluge of Sin and Wrath, and may be
fafely landed at eternal Glory ? And will you gladly
receive one Revelation, and as earneſtly refuſe the
K 2 other ?
ord
La
 LETTER I.
132

: other ? The Conceffion concerning Flesh is every

where admitted . Why fhould it not be thought,
that the Great God would hereby try the World,
how it would receive immediate Revelation ? The
Fleſh of Beaſts might feem ftrange Food at firft.
He might ſeem a hardy Man, that firſt ventur'd up
on it. 1 But ventur'd upon (it ſeems) it was ; and
the Atchievement has continu'd , with fome or o
ther, through all Ages. Shall a Revelation touch
ing the Intereſt of the Body, be readily embrac❜d ;
and a Report concerning the more important Af
fairs of the Soul, be rejected with Contempt ? What
Partiality is here ? Shall not this be a ſtanding Wit
nefs againſt the Gentlemen of your Fraternity, in the
Day of their Account ? Shall it not be alledg'd a
gainſt them, that they would willingly act and walk
according to one Revelation, but not according to
another ? That Favour towards the Body and the
Animal Life, they would cheerfully accept ; but an
Act of peculiar Grace towards the better part, they
refolvedly difdain'd ? They were willing to pamper
and indulge the Fleſh ; but the Soulfhall be impo
veriſh'd and ſtarv'd. The Blood of Bulls and Goats,
of Heifers and Sheep, fhould be ſhed for the grati
fying of their Appetites ; but not ſhed in Sacrifice
to God, or thankful Acknowledgment to the Lord
of all. Brutal Blood they will allow, to reprieve
them from the Grave ; but (the Blood of the Son
of God, fhed for the Expiation of Sin, and the
Ranfom of the Soul, they trample under Foot. In
a Word of God, relating to the prefent Life, they
rejoice ; but to the Word of eternal Life, they are
blind
 To the DEIST.
133
EUR

S
blind and deaf. Happy they, that condemn not
24

themſelves in, and by, the Things that they approve !

H

I truft, Sir, that you will reflect a little upon this

Mode of reafoning ; and not defpife it upon the
The fcore of its Novelty. It fincerely aims at your beſt
Advantage, and at approving the Author as,

SIR!

Your affectionate, faithful

Friend, and Servant,

J. R.
: ¿

" La d

GF

C: 3

M
SALTSV
91

VA
-poqxtile is moy or an
bac moitative & Tou A.HINA
43 194

o ed vK 3
e; ile, thob od vitiof A LET
 1

A
1112

LETTER

TO THE

DE IS T

The SECOND LETTER .

HONOURED SIR,

EAVING the foregoing Argument to

work its Way, and attain its End by
Degrees ; (for new Methods and Me
dicines muſt have Time for Trial, and
for Proof of their Congruity and
'Aptitude to their defign'd End.) I would take O

leave to proceed, in repreſenting to you the Expedi

ency and Uſefulneſs of fupernatural Revelation ; and
thereby, the Injury that may be done both to God
and
 To the DEIST.
2 135

and Man, by that Opinion that would preclude the

Divine Majefty the Liberty, the Goodness, or Be
neficence of communicating his Mind and Pleaſure,
ſometimes, by extraordinary, preternatural ( or fu
pernatural) Means or Meffengers, to Mankind,
You would fuppofe, that Divine Wiſdom has
order'd Things fo, as that fupernatural Revelation is
by no means YY! neceffary ; nor, upon diverſe Ac- ,
counts, expedient. But, upon due Confideration of
the Cafe of Mankind, you may find, that it will
often be neceffary and expedient for our Good, and
the Glory of him whofe we are , and whom we
fhould ferve.

In our Way, it may be convenient to obferve theM

Notion offupernatural Revelation ; A Revelation may
be filed fupernatural, either upon the Account of
the Contents or Matter of it, the Thing reveal'd ;
or upon the Account of the Way and Manner, in
and by which it is revealed. Supernatural Truths
(fuch as the Light of Nature cannot diſcover) you
will own, muſt ་་་ be fupernaturally reveal'd, if they
are reveal'd at all : But natural Truths may also be
(as to the Means and Manner) fupernaturally re
yeal'd. 3 It may be a natural Truth, (and in Time,
may be difcern'd as fuch) that a Man fhall, at fuch
10
a Time, have a Child born to him. But if God
will pleaſe to ſend
in an Angel at any Time, to make
fuch a Report to a Man, you may call it a fuper
natural Revelation, if you pleafe. The Unity of
God, or the Unicity of the Godhead, you will fay,
is a natural Truth, difcover'd by natural Reafon ,
but if the Great God will, at any Time, by a
1
K4 Voice
27
136 LETTER II.

Voice from Heaven,, proclaim the Unity or Oneli

nefs of his Being and Godhead, to a Polytheiſtical
World, or Nation, it may be call'd a fupernatural Re
velation. It is fo, in the Means or Manner of it,
Natural Truths are fometimes loft (eſpecially fuch
as relate to God and the invifible World) at leaft
in fome Nations and Countries. The Evidence of

thofe Truths is frequently loft, through Inadverten

cy, neglect of Study, or the prevalence of a contrary
Sentiment or Practice. Nay, it may fometimes be
hard to find out a due Medium, or folid Argu
ment, whereby fuch Truths may be clearly and fa
tisfactorily evinc'd. In fuch a Cafe, why may not
fome Mind or other be immediately illuminated from
above, to the Perception of a Divine Truth, that at
prefent ( through the epidemical Darkness, or Debi
lity of Mens Minds) lies hid and conceal'd, when it
may be of fignal Ufe and Advantage to the promo
ting
ng of natural Religion and Piety ? Of old, in fome
Nations (and among the Athenians particularly) it
would not have been eafy to have gain'd and fe
cur'd the certain Knowledge of the Existence of

1.s only God. Would it not now be a great Fa

one
vour, and Benefit to himſelf and others (in cafe.
they would receive it) that a Perfon of an upright
Spirit, (as a Socrates, fuppofe) fhould, either by fome
good Genius, or by an immediate Ray from Heaven,
be inftructed in fo important a Truth ? I fay not
that he actually was fo ; but had he been fo, and
been believ'd by the State, what an eminent Refor
mation in Religion had thence enfu'd ?

You
 To the DEIST. 137
༄ 3

You are willing to acknowledge, that God is moſt

d. wife ; that he is Good, (yea, the moſt benign and
benevolent of Beings ; ) that he loves to do good ;'
4
8948

IL that he is a great Lover of Man, whom he made in

fome excellent Image of himſelf; that he is willing
that we ſhould come to the Knowledge of the Truth,
and to an endleſs Felicity thereby.
Now let us ſeriouſly confider, whether your Sen
timent, or ours, in the prefent Point, is more agree
able to this Idea and Character of the bleffed
God.

You know what fort of Objection Atheiſtical

Minds do ufually raiſe, from the preſent State and
Diſorder of the moral ,World, againſt the Provi
dence and Superintendency of the bleſſed God.
They tell us, that were there fuch a wife and good
Being at the Helm of human Affairs, and prefiding
over the World , he would by no Means permit
fuch an Inundation of Impiety, Impurity and Un
righteoufnefs, as is there to be feen : That it would
become and concern his Goodneſs, Authority, and
Honour, to prevent the outrageous overſpreading Pi
of
Sin and Vice, and to preferve✓the Order, Innocence,
and Integrity of the World.
Nowin anſwer to this, I fuppofe, you will accord
with thoſe that fay, that the Great God is not (nor
is to be fuppos'd) a phyfical Mover or Manager of
Mankind, but a proper Governor, or Rector ; one
that affumes the Relation of a moral or political
Conductor of Men, by moral Rules, or proper
Laws, with wife and fuitable Sanctions annex'd
thereto, in the Way to their prefent Welfare and e
ternal Happineſs. That it was meet therefore, that
!
Mankind
 LETTER II.
138
Mankind fhould be invefted or endow'd with fuch
Liberty of Heart and Will, as might make them
capable of fuch a Government, and render them
proper Subjects of (or Agents in) Duty or Sin, and
proper Recipients of the legal Award and Retri
bution at laft . That therefore, if Man will fin, and
forfeit his own Bleffings, the Fault is his own, and
his Deftruction of himself; that the Divine Go
vernment is clear, and will eafily be juftified : Yea,
that the Divine Wiſdom and Prudence is exceeding
illuftrious, that can produce Beings fo noble, fo un
determin'd and free, as to be capable of fuch a Go
vernment, and fuch rich Reward, as may be obtain
ed by a dutiful Submiffion and Obedience thereto.
And this, perhaps, you will fay, is all the Stand (in
Conjunction with the common Providences of Life)
that the Divine Goodnefs and Authority has made,
or need to make, againſt the overflowing of Iniqui
ty among Mortals.

But furely we have much• more to fay, in Vindi

cation of Divine Providence, than this. The Great
God has, in his Wiſdom, Goodneſs, and Power, in
many, if not moft Ages of the World, by extra
I
ordinary Means and Meſſengers, born Witneſs to
himſelf and his own Glory, and remonſtrated againſt
the Sin of the World. Upon the Creation of the
World, one would think, that the Notice Mankind

had of that great, aftonishing Work, and of the

Difplays of the Divine Majefty therein, and there
upon, fhould have preferv'd them in an awful, grate
1. 207
ful Subjection to God, for many Ages. The Tran
flation of a religious Perfon to Heaven, would be a
publick Evidence, both that God is, and that he
is
 w
To the DEIST. 139
is a Rewarder of them that feek and ferve him. The
preaching of Religion and Righteoufnefs, by a Pro

then phet that threatned and predicted the Approach of

an univerfal, irreſiſtible Deluge, while he was build
ing an Ark, for the Prefervation of himſelf and his
A.

ad own Family, was an open Conteſtation againſt the

23 Impiety of the World. The Remembrance and re
‫ی‬

maining Signatures of the defolating Deluge would

To be, one would think, a long Memorandum againſt

human Iniquity : The fignal Deftruction of Sodom
L
and Gomorrah, with the neighbouring Cities, would
be another : The fudden Confufion of Languages
1 would be a Reproof to Pride : The Call and Tra
vels of Abraham and his Family from Mefopotamia,
was a Remonftrance againſt the Idolatry of the
Place : The Reduction of that multiplied Family,
by an undaunted Hero, and by invincible Miracle,
out of the Egyptian Territories and Slavery, was an
uncontroul'd Eviction of the Power, Prefence, and
Dominion of that God, that claim'd them for his
own : Their miraculous Conduct, Provifions, Pu
nishment, and Exploits, for forty Years in the De
farts, could not but be heard in the Nations about :
Their fettling in Canaan, and the ſtrange Difpenfa
tion towards them, by Prophets, Victories, and
Judgments, even till the Seclufion of them thence,
muft proclaim to the World, the Holiness and other
Perfections of God. Nor can you fay, that he con
fin'd the extraordinary Teftifications of himſelf to
one People or Nation. We fuppofe, that he fent
U a prophetical 7 Meffenger to a vaft City of the Gen
tiles, the famous Nineveh, to declare against the Im
1 piety of the Place, and to denounce the Judgments
'of
140 LETTER II.

of Heaven thereupon, if not prevented by feaſon

able Repentance. But your Hypotheſis is fo fevere
and cruel, that it will not allow fuch a Meffenger to
be fent, though it were for the faving of many hun
dred thouſands of Lives. Inthe Time of the Baby
lonifb Monarchy, and in the Reign of Nebuchad
nezzar (fuppofed to be the ninth Monarch, and the
fecond of the Name) he (by inftructing his Servant
Daniel to report, and then interpret the Emperor's
Dream) extorted from him a Confeffion, that he
was the true, the fupreme, the incomparable God.
For the want of a due Improvement of which fen
fible Conviction, the faid Emperor might justly be
diveſted of his Reaſon, and turn'd a grazing. And
in the fame Reign, he procur'd, that a Manifefto
fhould be publish'd to the Provinces of the Empire,
declaring the Signs and Wonders that he had wrought,
and the Kingdom and Dominion of his own Sove
reign Majefty. In the Reign of Belshazzar, the
laft of that Empire, he teftified againſt the Ingrati
tude and Forgetfulness of that Prince, foretold him
his Deftruction, and the Tranflation of the Empire,
In the Time of the Median Monarchy, he oblig'd
Darius, (fuppofed to be the laft of that Empire, ) by
folemn Edict, to proclaim his Works, and command
his Worſhip, throughout his wide Dominions. In
the beginning of the Perfian Monarchy, he oblig'd
Cyrus to recognize his Title, as the Lord, the God
of Heaven, that had given to him the Kingdoms of
the Earth, and had charg'd him to build his Houſe
at Jerufalem. This might induce all the Nations to
learn the God of the Hebrews, and renounce all o

ther Deities and their Worship. Hiftory tells us,

that
 To the DETST.I 141
alor
that the Grecian Monarch was fatisfied that the God
arer
of Ferufalem was the true God, that he faw there,
in Daniel's Volume, the Prediction of his own Con
bus
quefts, facrific'd there, and allow'd the Jews their
Religion : This was an Obligation to have counte
nanc'd it more. In the Time of the Roman Mo
narchy, the Great God has fent abroad twelve Mef
ENE
fengers, or more, furnish'd with fupernatural Pow 1
ers, to convince the World of Sin, and reclaim it
to himself, and the Obedience of Faith : And how
*
much more of this 인 Nature God has done, others
may tell better than I. Nay, whether any Hiſtory
tells us of all of this Kind, that God has done for
the Recovery and Reformation of the World, we
know not now ; but must be left to the
"a Revelation
of another Day. You will own, that the World
is accountable for all
4244 the Evidence it has had, of
the Exiftence, Nature, Perfection, T Law, and Go
vernment of God. And you will fee by this Bre
viate, that we have much more to fay, on the Be
half of the Divine Providence, as eminently proteſt
ing and remonstrating againſt the Idolatry and Im
piety of the World, in anfwer to the mention'd
Atheistical Objection, than you have.
Again, you can't but know, how Idolatry and
Polytheism had, for many < Ages, overfpread the
World. One would wonder, whither Reaſon and
Judgment was then fled ! Whither was the Philofo
pher, the Metaphyfician (if that once fignified the
natural Theologift) the Rationalist, the Difputer
on of this World, then gone ? One would wonder3
what fort of Gods, and how many of them, the
Ils . benighted Nations invented, or fram'd to them
felves ! And theſe Deities became hereditary, and
were
 142 LETTER II.

were deriv'd from Parents to Children in a long

Succeffion. And in the Cafe of fuch parental Tra
dition, and epidemical Prepoffeffion, few, or none,
take Occafion to bethink themfelves, what the Gods
are that they worship, how much better than their
Worshippers they are, how rational and fuitable the
Worship is, that is paid them how many Gods
there may juftly be fuppofed to be, what muſt be
the Properties and Perfections of the Living and
true God ? Or if any Mind be free and great enough
to ponder theſe Things, it is very probable, he will
want proper Means and Affiftance for his Informati
on. And fhall the Great God now perpetually con
nive at this Darkneſs, and this Affront offer'd to
his Crown and Dignity ? Shall he, without any
Controul (fuperior to the common Current of Af
fairs) permit Idols, Vanities, and imaginary Things
to ufurp his Throne, and the Homage due to his
own incomparable Majefty ? Muft fuch Abominati
on be propagated from one Age to another, perhaps
to the end of the World, if fome preternatural
Stand and Stop be not made to it ? How long may
we fuppofe, the Empire of Perfia, or of China,
would continue in their priftine Religion, in cafe
no Europeans, or others, furniſh'd with. more emi
nent Notices, came to inform them better ? It is
probable, that it is fupernatural Revelation, that has
been the great Reftorer and Preferver of natural Re
ligion in the World. But now, you would not
that any fuch fupernatural Communication fhould
be made. No fpecial (or fupernaturally illuminated)
Meffenger muſt be fent, to call the World to God, that
made it, or to reftore the facred Truths, that Idolatry
and Sin had defaced and almoft obliterated. No fuch
+ Meffenger
 TT
To the DEIST.
143

Meffenger muſt at any Time be rais'd up to plead

the Caufe of the living God, or to decide (in any
open Conteſt and Competition) the Controverfy
between Jehovah and Baal.Can you, upon fecond
Thoughts, fuppofe, that this is fuitable to the Jea
loufy of the only Lord God ? and that it becomes
him, to put on no more Concern and Zeal for his
own Honour, and the Rights of his own Glory ?
Would not that be the Way to countenance and
harden the World, either in Atheism or Idolatry ?
$!
You know alfo, that as Idolatry has prevail'd, fo
horrid Rites have been made ufe of in the Worfhip
of the Idols. It is ftrange to fee, how Idolatry,
falfe Worship, and Will-worſhip are ufually more
hard, more coftly and expenfive than the true Wor
ſhip of God. Falfe Gods will not be ferv'd at the
Rate that the true God is. They that will ſcarce
part with their Riches to the bleffed God, will
offer their very Children to Moloch. The Great
God (we ſuppoſe) was once pleas'd to try the Faith
and Devotion of a very eminent Servant of his, by
commanding him to facrifice an only Son to his Do 2
minion and Sovereignty. The pious Father obey'd,
to the lifting up his Hand to flay the Son ; but the
gracious Deity would not admit the Execution. He
accepts the Sacrifice of the Father's Faith and Love ;
and ſubſtitutes a Ram in the Son's room. But falfe
(I might fay, diabolical) Gods will not be fo in
dulgent ; they muſt have the Children, and, it may
be, the Parents themfelves. The inhuman Practice
་་
of human Sacrifices
"J ſtrangely run over the World :
You may find it in Africa, in Afia, and in Europe
100. Upon the opening of America, you may find
it
 LETTER II.
144
it there, and particularly at Mexico. Now you will
not allow, that the gracious God fhould at any time
raiſe up a prophetical Servant, to declare his Refuſal
of fuch Service, and to prevent the not only need
lefs, but impious , fhedding of human Blood . You
will not allow that any fpecial Meffenger, (though
never fo needful , and never fo uſeful) fhould come
from God, with fuch rebuking Language, as we
find in him, whom we call the Prophet Jeremiah.
And they have built the high Places of Tophet, which
is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their
Sons and their Daughters in the Fire, which I com
1
manded them not, neither came it into my Heart. Ch. vii.
C
31. The good God never thought of fuch a Ser
vice ; and yet you are not willing, that when or
dinary Methods fail, he should teftify againſt it by
an extraordinary Envoy. Is this the Way to com
mend to us the Goodness of God , his readineſs to
do Good, and his wondrous Philanthropy, his Care
and Love to Mankind ?
You acknowledge that he is Lord of all ; that he
has the whole Creation in his Hand ; that it is as eaſy
for him to check any part of its Motion, as to fet
it a going at firft, or to continue it fo ftill ; that he
can as eafily fufpend, or counteract any of the Laws
of Nature, as protract its Operation and Influence,
that he has made all Things for his own Honour
and Service, and the Demonftration of his own
Name and Glory ; and very much alfo for the Ufe
and Benefit of Mankind , the Lieutenant, or chief
Tenant here below . Now why muſt it neceffarily
be fuppos'd, that there never was a Cafe, wherein
the Glory of God and the Good of Man was fo

3 apparently
 To the DEIST. 145

apparently and eminently concern'd, that it was ex

56
pedient, that in that Juncture, fome Lawry of Na
ture fhould be, for a while, fufpended or overrul'd,
d and what we call a Miracle,, be really wrought ? It
U is plain by all Hiſtory, how univerfally (as has been
lately faid) Idolatry fpread over the Nations of the
a

Earth. Now it is very hard for the great Princes

we and Potentates of the World to bear with, or for
bear thofe that confront their Commands, or that
openly remonftrate against their Wills and Edicts.
And indeed the more proud, fenfual, and felfish they
are, 1 the more impatient and outrageous they will
‫טו‬ be, againſt thofe that profefs a Diffent or Difobedi
ence to their Enactions : And probably, in the Af
fairs of Religion, they can leaft of all bear it. To
demur
47 to (at leaſt to proteft againſt ) their Gods,
their Confcience, and Rule of Worſhip, will feem
intolerable. Now it may eafily come to pafs, that
fome idolatrous Prince or other may, by fome fe
vére Sanction, enjoin the fame fort of idolatrous
Worship to all his Subjects, throughout his Domi
nions. And it may likewife come to pass, that
fome few of his Subjects may have (however they
came by it) the Knowledge
**** of the true God, and
the right Way of worshipping him. Theſe Ortho
dox Deifts now (for fo, at prefent, I may call
them) are reduc'd to this difficult Dilemma ; either
to quit the Acknowledgment of their God, the
Dictates of their own Confcience, and to comply
with their Prince's Idolatry, or elfe to venture
# ). upon
his Fury and fiery Sanction. Suppofe now they
cheerfully venture upon the laft, refigning themfelves
intirely to the Goodnefs and Faithfulness of that
L God,
 146 LETTER II.

God, whom they ferve, with fuch an undaunted

Profeffion as this,Our God, whom we ferve, is able
to deliver us from the burning, fiery Furnace ; and he
will (fome Way or other) deliver us out of thy Hand,
A
O King; but if not, (for we will leave it to his Wif
dom and Determination ; ) be it known unto thee, O
King, that we will not ferve thy Gods, nor worship the
Golden Image, which thou haft fet up. This open,
bold Renunciation of the publick Worſhip, muft
needs incenfe the Prince, and all his Court. Sup
pofe then, the zealous Deifts are immediately con
demn'd, and caft to the Fury of a flaming Furnace ;
what will your Reafon and Judgment now fuppofe,
that it is meet and congruous for the Great God to
do in this Cafe, in which his Honour, and Love,
and Faithfulness, his Intereft and Servants are fo

immediately and publickly concern'd ? Shall he fuf

fer his faithful, refolved Witneſſes to perish in
the Flames ? or fhall he quench their Fury, and give
his Servants leave to walk, unaffrighted and unhurt,
amidſt their flaming Prifon ? If he fuffers his Wit
neffes to perish in the Flames, he feems unconcern'd
at his own Glory, and at his Servants Faith, and
Truft, and Refignation to him : He diſtinguiſhes not
himſelf from the Vanities of the Gentiles ; from Baal,
Dagon, or Moloch : The King and Court, if not all
the Kingdom, are harden'd in their Idolatry, and
Perfecution of the Servants of God, if any more
remain. But if the Fury of the Flames be quench
ed, and the devoted Witneffes are found walking,
untouch'd thereby, in their fiery Prifon, what Ho
nour and Acclamation muft accrue to their faithful
Deliverer ? Here is Demonftration of the Truth,
" Power,
 To the DEIS T. 147

Power, and Excellency of that God, to whomthey

refign'd themſelves ! Here's an open Reward of Faith,
Patience, and religious Conftancy ! Here's Convic
tion to the King and Court, and the extended Do
minions ! Here's Glory and Renown procur'd and
proclaim'd to this mighty Deity ! Here's Encou
ragement given to all his zealous Worſhippers, in
future Ages ! Reaſon muſt dictate, that in fuch a
Cafe as this, a Sufpenfion of the Courfe of Nature
would be exceeding expedient, honourable, and glo
rious And fo we have no more Reafon to conclude,
that fuch a Thing was never done, than we have,
PLAS that fuch a Cafè never fell out.
And if fuch a Cafe might ſometime fall out, it is
no very difficult Thing to fuppofe, that, within the
D Courfe of Time, from the beginning of Things, as
many Cafes of like Exigence may have fallen out, in
E fuch a World as this, as the Scripturiſt ſuppoſes there
have been Miracles wrought ; whether thofe he be
lieves have been truly wrought, or no.
It is not indeed for us to determine, when, and
E in what Cafe, the Divine Majefty fhall fufpend or
1 countermand the eſtabliſh'd Rules of Nature. But
SC were weto judge by the4mere Light of Reafon, per
haps fuch an Inquiry as this may arife : Since the
Y Great God thinks it meet to frame the Courſe of
Nature at firft, and to fuftain it through all Ages,
for fuch a fmall Revenue of Glory as he receives
from Mankind, upon the Account thereof, whether
it may not be rationally reckon'd, as congruous to
E his Wiſdom and Goodness, and the Defigns of his
Glory, to fufpend the Law or Rule of Nature, (and
fo to work a Miracle, as we call it) in fuch an im
L 2 portant
 LETTER II.
148

portant Cafe and Exigence, as has been now repre

fented, as it is fuitable thereto, to tranfmit the
Courfe of Nature, without Interruption, to any one
Age of the World ? In the former Cafe, there is a
furprizing Illuſtration of his Power , * Goodneſs >
Faithfulness, and other Perfections ; an unconteſted
Vindication of his Witneffes, and of their Cauſe;
and of his own in them. And as to the Event, there
enfues as folemn an Acknowledgment of, and Defe
rence paid to the Divine Majefty, as is procured by
the common Courfe of Nature, not barely in one,
but in many Ages : So that the fame Reafons, for
42
which the Great God fram'd, and ftill fuftains the
Courſe, or current Rules of Nature, may, we fee,
induce him alfo, in and upon certain great Emer
gencies, to fufpend or countermand the current Rules
of Nature: And yet every Body fees, that Miracles
must not be frequent ; for then they will either
ceafe to be, or ceafe to be reputed, Miracles.
For the Illuftration of the Neceffity, or the great
Expediency of Miracle, in this World of ours, you
8 will give me leave to propofe this Cafe to your Con
fideration . Mankind, you know, is capable of egre
gious Degeneracy, as well as of wonderful Improve
ment. It has been a Queſtion among the Learned,
whether there be fuch a Thing among Mankind, as

a fpeculative Atheift ; any one, that upon fedate Con

fideration of the Cafe, and Perufal of the Evidence

there is for the Divine Being, is yet determin'd in

Judgment, that there is no fuch Being. Some are
very willing to excufe Mankind from the Charge of
fuch grofs Atheiſm, But let that be as it will, we
7
fee, that Mankind can practically be Atheiſtical
enough.
 To the DEIST . 149
•
enough. We fee, they can be inadvertent and incon
2

fiderate about the Evidences there are of the Divine

Nature : They can live without due Thoughts of

him, without Confcience towards him, without Fear
of him, or Care to pleaſe him ; fo that they may be
justly faid to live without God in the World.
And Mr. Lock would inform us, that there are
fome Nations that live without any Divine Wor
M1
fhip, or visible Acknowledgment of God at all.
Suppofe now, that all the Nations of the Earth were
fuch : That the Strokes or Strictures of natural Re
ligion were erafed : That there was as little Adver
tence and Acknowledgment of the Divine Majeſty
among Mankind, as among the Brutes that are a
round us: Or if that be too low a Suppofition ;
we will fay, as little of fuch Advertence and Ac
}
knowledgment any where, as among the most ftu
3
pid and deprav'd Nations ; who are, it may be, as
{ to all the great Ends of Life and Subfiftence, but
little fuperior to the Beafts that feed them. Can
we now ſuppoſe, that it would be worth while (if
we may fay fo) to ordain at firft, or ftill to fuftain
the Fabrick of this Syftem, with all the Parts and
Furniture of it, for fuch blind, incogitant Things
as theſe ? Could the due Ends of fuch a Structure,
and of its Utenfils and Furniture, be obtain'd by,
and from, fuch indifpos'd, degenerate Creatures as
thefe ? What Honour or Homage can the Creator
receive from them ? That he may be refpected and
acknowledg'd, that the proper Ends of the Creation
C may be attain'd, and theſe Animals may be advanc'd

to the Happiness, of which they are radically capa

ble, it is needful, that Meffengers fhould be fent to
L3 them
70%
1501 LETTER II.

them with the firſt Principles and Rudiments of na

tural Religion. The Meffengers thus fent to them,
will find them exceeding dull, carnal, earthly, and
flow to hear and receive the Inftructions that · are
brought them . How well and happy would it now
be for both (the Inftructers and the Inftructed ) were
thefe Meſſengers furnifh'd with Power to awaken
the Attention of thefe heavy Mortals, to gain their
Audience and Affection, and to atteft their own

Authority, by fome fuitable, miraculous Powers,

as healing their Sick, Pained, or Wounded ; feeding
their Hungry, and raifing fome of their Dead ?
Should now, by fuch Means and Meffengers as theſe,
fuch a blind and barbarous People be rais'd up to a
found Knowledge of the bleffed God, to a ſerious
Practice of the feveral Branches of natural Religion,
would you not think this a Work worthy of God ;
exceeding congruous to his Wifdom, Goodnefs, and
great Compaffion towards Mankind, as well as high
ly conducive to the prefent, and the everlaſting
Welfare of thefe inftructed Mortals?
Be it granted now, that the Nations of Mankind
are not fo ftupid and brutiſh, as is here repreſented ;
yet they may be as hoftile and averfe to God and

Religion (or more fo) than theſe ; they may be

fill'd with erroneous Sentiments, with falfe Princi
ples (call'd Learning, Wiſdom, Philoſophy,) with
Prejudices, and impious Traditions, with Enmity to
true Piety, and Alienation from the Life and Love
of God, with Frauds and Deceits, • with Senfuality
and Selfiſhneſs in themſelves, and Hatred, Envy,
and Malignity of one towards another : In which
Cafe, the Converfion of the World to God, may
be
 To the DEIST. 151

be as great and difficult a Work, as in the other :

3 And the fending out an Embaffy, furnish'd with
Power to gain Audience and Attention, and to cer
1
tify their Commiffion receiv'd from Heaven, to in
struct and
er. intreat the World to return and be recon
: ciled to God, cannot, in Reafon, be look'd upon as
a Matter lefs worthy of the Divine Majefty, lefs
fuitable to his Perfections, and particularly, to his
kind Regard to Man, or lefs conducive to our ou Fe
licity.
But if you will not yet believe, that God has
ever spoken to the World, either by Angel (or In
2 habitant of another World) or Prophet (one infpir'd
ĥ by or from Heaven ; ) let me leave this Thought with
you. You cannot rationally fuppofe, that Man is
the nobleft Creature that. God has made. Ours
may not be the beſt Syſtem in the whole univerſe.
Man may not be the higheſt Inhabitant. You ac
knowledge, that he confifts of Spirit and Body :
He that has ineffably united thefe two together, could
have made Spirit alone, and furniſh'd it with all its
1
Powers, yea with higher Powers than it has now in
this Concatenation with a mechanical Body : It
might not then have fulfill'd all the Functions it does
now, but yet it might have been as active and
happy.
You can fcarce fuppofe, that the lofty, lucid Re
gions above us are all Waſte and Defart ; that they
La are all filent, unfeen, unenjoyed, and uninhabited :
Wai The Territories below are full of Life, and ſome
Sor fenfitive Beings or other.
wh
L 4 You
 D

152 LETTER IÌ.

You fcarce fuppofe, but that it becomes the Great

God, who has chofen the Heavens for his Throne,
to have a vaſt Retinue round about him. He is wor
thy, that his Perfections ſhould ſhine to innumerable
Multitudes. Worthy, that ten thouſand times ten
thouſands ſhould be his Spectators and Admirers.
He is able to caft Rays of Light, and Joy, and Blifs,
upon numberlefs Myriads of Attendants. Happy,
happy they, that fee his Face, and ' behold his
Throne ! If he will have a Creation to know, and
love, and enjoy him, it becomes his diffufive Good
Gj
nefs to communicate its flues to many more than
20
our narrow Minds can comprehend. Ifhe will have
dow
any bleſſed, it is meet (you will ſuppoſe)-it ſhould
be fo vaft a Multitude, as in which his own royal,
munificent Mind will take Complacency and De
light,
You will fuppofe alfo, that this vaft, inconceivable
Multitude of Attendants need not be all of one Rank
or Order, or Approximation to the Throne. There
may be Diverſities of Orders or Degrees, of Offices
and Honours among them ; and yet may all confti
Cheat
tute one beautiful, harmonious Society ; an auguft
Court or Miniftry for the King of Kings.
To this add alfo, that you fuppofe your felf a
Mortal, as well as your Neighbours ; that you are
retiring from this World apace, and muſt e're long
bid it good Night : That when thofe Eyes, that
read thefe Lines, are clofed in the Duft, the Eyes
of the Mind fhall be opened and enlarged, and take
a wide Survey of the now- inviſible Worlds.

We
 To the DEIST.
153
-241 We know not what Thoughts and Notions of
ON 1 Things the Dead will have ; or what Ideas and Ap
prehenfions of Affairs will, by their new Light and.
AL 1
DI Evidence, be imprinted on departed Minds ; but
Cer were you to appear in the other World, with your
prefent Thoughts, and your prefent Compaffion, and
indulgent Regards to Mankind ; will you give it
me under your Hand, or will you engage (if it were
poffible or lawful, to lay Engagements on the Dead;s
or Engagements that are to be remembred and obferv

# ed after Death) that when you come into the other

#1 World, and feethe vaft Multitudes of heavenly Inha
bitants, and the numberless Myriads, and Millions of
active Spirits, all ready to fulfill their Creator's Plea
fure, and ambitious to execute his Commands, whi
therfoever he ſhall fend them ; (will you engage, I
"
fay, that when you fhall fee all this) you will not
be ready to repine at Divine Providence, and accuſe
the Difpenfation, Goodness, and Mercy of God,
that when he has fuch innumerable Multitudes of
Servants about him, all glad to run or fly upon his
Errands, and all kindly-affectioned to this World,
yet that he would never vouchſafe to fend any one
of them, in any Age of the World, to give any
of us (either by their Appearance, or their Meffagey
P
the leaft Affurance of, or leaſt Information about,
1
their World, their own Exiſtence, their God, their
Bleffedneſs, or our Way thereto ? If fuch a Sight
Iརྩྭ

will ſet you a wondering, that the merciful God

fhould never fend any of thofe Ambaffadors hither,
why ſhould it be now thought incredible, that they
have fometimes appeared and brought their Lord's
Meffages to Mankind ? Or, is your Hypothefis
more
 LETTER II.
154

more confonant to the Divine Oeconomy and Phi

lanthropy, who fuppofe, that never any of them
have fo been fent ; or ours, who believe (upon good.
Teſtimony) that they have been often and uſefully.
diſpatch'd to this our World?
And fo in the Cafe of Infpiration : When you
fhall more fully know, how eafy it was for him
that made the Mind, to irradiate and illuminate it,
and for him that caufed the Light to fhine out of
Darkneſs, to ſhine into human Underſtandings ; you
will be amazed, it may be, at the Thought, that the
good, condescending, merciful God, fhould never
have fo much Regard to his own Glory, or our
Good, as to fend one Prophet ( or infpired Perfon).
to inftruct, inform, and reform this dark, degenerate
World, from the beginning to the end of it. It is
true, we cannot well judge of Times and Seaſons, nor
determine particularly, when fuch Meſſengers fhould
be fent to the World : But we may ventureto ſay in
general, that fuch illuminated Meffengers fhould
fometimes be ſent to the World, for the Reproof
of its prevailing Impiety, and for its Inftruction in
Righteoufnefs, which is a Sentiment more agreeable to
the Divine Favour, Compaffion and Benignity, than
the contrary, that fays, fuch facred Meſſengers never
were fent to the World, nor ever will be. 1
But thefe Notions, which perhaps you will rec
kon unuſual and uncuftomary, are not the prin
cipal Confiderations , I would here preſent you
+
with.

Upon the Pretence, either of the Sufficiency of

1. Nature's Light, or of fome Inconvenience, that is
fuppofed to arife in cafe of particular, fupernatural
Revelation,
 To the DEIST. 1 155

Revelation, or of the grand Abufe that is made of

the Pretence thereto, you would have us believe,
that there never was any really made to Mortals,
and that we ought to be content without it.
But then we might enquire, how it came to paſs,.
that the World, in all Ages, has been fo little con
‫ב‬ tent with natural Religion ; and has fo conftantly,
pretended to fupernatural Revelation, or has, with
1
out fuch Pretence, made manifold Additions to na
tural Religion ? Go to the most ancient Hiftory,
whether call'd facred or prophane, and you will find

3 this to be true. What will you gather from uni

verfal Confent and Practice ? Will you fuppofe, that
***
all Fleſh have agreed to corrupt their Ways, and de
prave pure, genuine Religion ? Or that it is the Voice
my
of Nature, that there has been, or ought to be
fome fupernatural Revelation ? But to let that
paſs.
I fuppofe, upon further looking into the Cafe,
you will find, that the Sentiment you would have
us entertain is not fo fuitable to the Divine Goodneſs
and Philanthropy (which you would have us ad
mire, ) nor to the Peace, Pleaſure, and Satisfaction
of Man, nor to the Honour and Glory of God, as
you at prefent may imagine.
Will you pleaſe to confider then, that while you
confine the Matter of Divine Revelation, to our

natural Dependance on him, and Duty to him, you

reftrain it (as has been already faid) to too narrow a
Compafs. What Reafon have you fo to limit the
Divine Informations and Reports ? There are ma
ny Things very fit, yea expedient, for us to know,
as pertaining to our Honour, Pleaſure, and Inftiga
tion,
 R II.
LETTE
156
tion, to all Parts of our Duty, that cannot be known
by natural Means and Meafures. And will you de
bar the Great God the Liberty of fuch Communica
tions ? and condemn the World to perpetual Igno
rance in thofe Things ? And muft the bleffed God
lofe all the Honour, Gratitude, and Service, that
will be due to him, and may (for ought you know)
be eventually paid him, upon the Difcovery of them ?
I would therefore defire you calmly and cloſely to
confider, with what Juftice, Right, or Reaſon, you
can feclude the Divine Majefty from the Revelation
of all thofe Things (be they never fo -real, excellent,
beneficial, and important) that do not lie within the
Reach of natural , rational Light and Informa
tion . 3..!

Are you refolved, that you will not allow him

(r
to diſcover to us any Thing that was paſt, before
Man was made on the Earth ; or any Thing future,
that depends either upon God's free and abſolute
Pleafure , or upon Man's unconftrain' Will ; or any
d
Thing prefent and exiftent, that lies concealed from
prefent Sight and human Indagation ? Let us view
thefe Things fedately and fejunctly , though in their
propofed Order.
Knowledge, you know, is ſweet, and very dear
to generous Minds, and apt to ennoble all their
Powers.

18
Knowledge and Love make Spirits bleft,
" Knowledge their Food, and Love their Reft.

In the Acquifition of Knowledge, how many

havewafted their Spirits, evacuated their Purſes, and
emaciated
 To the DEIST. 157
Va
1 emaciated their Bodies ? The ambitious of Know
ledge travel far into foreign Countries, Books, and
1
Converfations : The Naturalifts and Chymifts con
70
fume their Days and Nights, as well as Treaſure, in
nd
expenfive Difquifitions and Experiments : The Ma
thematicians exhauft their native Vigour in delight
378

ful tracing of connected Truth, and comparing of

H
27

Proportions : The Metaphyficians grow pale at their

own 8 Speculations, and (as if affrighted at the Crea
tures of their own Underſtanding) foon put on old
Scotus's Countenance (if you have ever ſeen his Pic
ture) or the Facies Hippocratica : The Pneumaticians
are fo eager of knowing the Inhabitants of the other
World, that they are ready to put themſelves too
foon under the Power of foreign Spirits. As the
famous Mr. Boyle affures us (in his Excellency of The
ology) that he had known fome that had fo done.
5

What would all thefe now give for a little Informa

tion from another World?
1. Muft we refolve now, that the great God may
edt not, will not, or fhall not reveal to us any Thing
LISTE that was done (any further than dry Ratiocination
10 B difcovers) before we were made on the Earth ? What
Reafon for that ? Why should we exclude the good
God from fuch a Work, and our felves from fuch a
Gratification and 1 Pleafure ? You will allow that

Man was made on the Earth, and made by a moſt

A
wife, beneficent Being. But muft we now fay, that
there was a firſt Man, or a firft Number of Men
Reft made on the Earth ? or were Men there, in all Points
of Time, throughout all Ages, from Eternity ? It
FA
feems hard to fay, that they were there, living and
fes,a dying, generating and being generated, coming into
the
+
 158 LETTER II.
1
the World and going out of it, and peopling the 1
inviſible Worlds, through all the (conceptible) Ages
of Duration and from all Eternity. Muft we fay
then, that there was a firft Man, or firft Number
of Men, from whom all others defcended ? If we
muft fay fo, it ſhould then feem that this viſible
Syftem was not long made before Man was made
upon it. For what ſhould it long exift for, before
there was an Inhabitant capable of enjoying it, and
making good Uſe of the Accommodations there,
and taking Notice of, and admiring the great Ar
chitect thereof ? Why should it long be a wild,
favage, inhuman, howling Wilderneſs ? or even an
unfeen, unfelt, uninhabited Deſart ? Why ſhould it
feed Beafts, long before it entertained Mankind ? or
be long exiſtent, and furniſhed with its Elements
and Vegetables, before it entertain'd either ? If there
were Protoplafts, or thoſe that were the firſt Indivi
duals of Mankind ; and if the World was not long
exiftent before them, then we muſt not ſuppoſe, that
the World was eternal, but was made (as we are us'd
to fay) in Time. What fhall we fay then to a late
learned Author, who (in his Demonstration of the
"
Being and Attributes of God, p . 37- ) tells us, that
the Time when the World was created, or whether its
Creation was, properly speaking, inA Time, is not fo eafy
to demonftrate strictly by bare Reafon (as appears from
the Opinions of many of the ancient Philofophers concern
ing that Matter) but the Proof of it can be taken only
from Revelation. Muft we then quit the Arguments
of Reaſon in this Cafe ; and be content to hang in
fufpence, and be uncertain (as to any Demonftration
ty bare Reafon ) whether the Formation of the
World
 To the DEIST . 159
T
World was in Time, or without the Limits of Time,
or from Eternity, or no ? And yet the fame learned
Author (in another Book, intituled, The Evidences
FUC
of natural and revealed Religion, p. 249.) aſſures us,
e That about the Space of fix thousand Years fince, the
Earth was without Form, and void, that is, a con

+ fufed Chaos ; out of which God framed this beautiful

and uſeful Fabrick we now inhabit, and stocked it with
the Seeds of all kinds of Plants, andform'd upon it Man,
and all the other Species of Animals it is now furniſhed
with, is also very agreeable to right Reafon. He adds
alfo, that at this Day there are remaining many confi
derable and very strong rational Proofs, which make it
exceeding probable (Separate from the Authority of Re
velation) that this prefent Frame and Conftitution ofthe
Earth cannot have been of a very much longer Date.

st Among theſe very ſtrong, rational Proofs, he menti

ons the manifold Abfurdities and Contradictions ofthofe
few Accounts, which pretend to a much greater Anti
quity : Among which Accounts, that that pretends
to the Eternity of the World (a much greater Anti
" quity) must be included. Has not that Account

1 then its manifold Abfurdities and Contradictions ? Now

does all this Agreeableness to right Reaſon, all theſe
very strong and rational Proofs of the Novelty of the
Earth, and of our Syſtem, and all the manifold Ab
"
furdities and Contradictions of thoſe Accounts, that
pretend to a much greater Antiquity, amount but
to a ſtrong Probability, that the Earth (and fo our
1
World) is but of the aforesaid Date ? Yet even
323

then, a Bar ſeems to be put to the Demonftration

O

of its being eternal. Will Reaſon then neither

ftrialy prove nor difprove the Eternity of the
3 World
 160 LETTER II.

World we inhabit ? Muft we be (as to Reafon) un

certain about the Antiquity of the World and its
Duration ? How welcome would a little Light here
be ? And yet muft we be inevitably denied it ?
If we are puzzled about Creation, and cannot
imagine how Things ſhould be made out of no
thing, or come into Exiſtence, when they had
none before, we fhall then incline to admit the E
ternity of the World ; and if fo, we ſhall be apt to
think it a felf-exiftent, independent Thing; and fo
fhall be in Danger of refufing and denying the glo
rious Maker of it ; if not alfo in Danger of paying
Honour and Homage to fome of the principal, bene
ficent Parts of it ; which a little Revelation might
prevent.
If we fuppofe the World had a beginning, and
was actually made in Time ; that will commend the
Self-fufficiency of the Author, who was happy with
out it; who made it for his own Pleaſure ; who had
all that Wiſdom, Power, and Goodneſs, that ſo vo
luntarily made it ; and to whom all the Parts of it
(though never fo beneficial to us) are but precarious
Effects, Creatures, and temporary Servants. A No
tice (if true) worthy to be communicated to the
World, for the brighter Illuftration of the Maker's
Greatneſs, and the better Security of the World
from Idolatry ! We ſhould want alfo to be informed
a little, how (i. e, with or without what Utenfils)
God made the World. Qui Vetes ? Que Ferramenta?
inquires the Colloquift in Tully. 7With what Inftru
ments did he raife the Moon ? or advance the Sun
higher, and fix him in his Orb ? How did he turn
the Stars, and fet them at that Diſtance, and place
them
LAZA
 To the DEIS T. 161
BUT

them in their Order ! Or did he need no Utenfils

its or mechanical Inftruments at all ? What Laws of
THE Motion did he make ufe of, or geometrical Rules,
which our modern World-Makers are fo fond of dif
ot covering ? Were diverſe forts of Worlds within his
10 Power ? Were diverfe forts of Matter and different
Laws of Motion capable of his Production and In
E ftitution ? And could he do all Things by his Will,
otto his Nod, the moſt facil Exertion of his Power,
d:
fignified by his Word ? Could he fpeak Things in
to Being, and into all the Beauty and Order he plea
fed? What a noble Truth is that, and worthy to be
reported ?
Min!
We want to be inftructed a little about the Or
der, in which the Parts of the Syftem were fram'd ;
which preceded, and which follow'd ;about the
Li
da Time in which God was pleafed to raife this mag
nificent Structure ; whether it were rear'd all in a
" Moment, or in many Days, or many Years Time :
LOR Or whether he took diftant Times at all for the di
ftinct Parts? Whether he would chufe to fhew his
Power in framing all at once ; or his Wisdom in
proceeding gradually from one Portion to another, as
if he would intimate, that there muſt be a Symme
try throughout the whole, and all Things must be
made and adjuſted, Pondere, numero, & menfurd? Will
orm you not permit the Great God to give us any Light
ents in thefe Things ?
Then we ſhall want to be inftructed in many
fir Things relating to the Origination of Mankind ;
meSt unlefs you would have us fuppofe, that Mankind has
etu had properly no Origination at all ; or no inceptive
Origination : That the Exiſtence of Mankind never
M began
162 LETTER II.

began on the Earth ; but though the feveral Indivi

duals arife and fall, are born and die, yet the Race
has been there uninterruptedly from Eternity ; which,
I ſuppoſe, you do not believe . We go then to a
temporary Origination . How fhall we fuppofe that
Man was produc'd? The Mode of his Origination
may conduce much to his Honour or Difparagement :
Muft we fuppofe, that he fprung like a Tree, or
fome other Vegetable, out of the Ground ? or that
he dropt from fome certain Tree, as the Acorns
from the Oak ? or, that the young and lufty Earth
produc'd certain Cyftes, or Bags, like Wombs, that
were fraught with feminal Liquors, or feminal Ani
mals, that, by the Moiſture of the Earth, and the
Heat of the Sun, were fomented and nouriſh'd up to
Infants, much after the Epicurean Method of Pro
duction ?

Crefcebant uteri Terra Radicibus apti,

Quos ubi Tempore maturo patefecerit atas
Infantum, fugiens humorem, aurafque petiſſens,
Convertebat ibi Natura foraminaTerra,
Et fuccum venis cogebat fundere apertis
1 Confimilem
lactis ; ficut nunc Femina quæque
Cum peperit, dulci repletur lacte, quod omnis
Impetus in mammas, convertitur ille alimenti.

Terra Cibum pueris, veftem vapor, herba Cubile

Præbebat, multâ & molli
66 Lanugine abundans.

Next Beafts and thoughtful Man receiv'd their

Birth ,
For then much vital Heat in Mother-Earth,
Much Moifture lay ; and where fit Place was found,
3 There
 To the DEIST.
163
-=

There Wombs were form'd, and faftned to the

$ J CG

ww Ground

In theſe the yet imperfect Embryos lay,

2
Thro' thefe, when grown mature, they forc'd
at go their Way,
S

Broke forth from Night, and faw the cheerful

Day. cheerfulS
Then Nature faſhion'd for the Infant's Ufe
Small Breafts in Earth, and fill'd with milky Juice,
Such as in Womens
st Breafts fhe now provides
For future Infants, thither Nature guides
7
The chiefeft Parts of Food, and there they meet
Fit Ferment, there they grow both white and iweet ;
Earth gave the Infants Food, thin Mifts were ſpread
For Clothes, the graffy Meadows gave a Bed.
Creech's Lucret. L.5.

Will Lucretius pleafe you in this illuftrious Ac

count of human Origination ? Which alfo is very
nearly receiv'd and deliver❜d by Diodorus the Sicilian,
an Author, that your Friends are uſually very fond
of . Επειτα διὰ τὴν θερμασίαν ἀναζυμωμένης τῆς
ἐπιφανείας , συνοιδῆσαί τινα τῶν ὑγρῶν κατὰ πόλη
AY'S TÓTUS, &C. Deinde verò cum fermentaretur fum
ma facies, intumuiffe pluribus in locis humentia, inque
- iis putredines extitiffe (vuoi XeπTOTs ) tenuibus pellicu
lis circumdatas. And fo we muft fuppofe, that from
the putrid and fermented Matter, incloſed in theſe
Skins or
3 Membranes, all forts of Animals, and In

wh fants among the reſt, at laſt broke forth. A gene

rous, though equivocal Production ! But then we
want to know, why the Earth does not ftill produce
fuch Nefts and Rudiments of Animals ; and how
24
3
$

M 2 they
164 LETTER II.

they came to be framed of fuch different Parts, as

Bones, Cartilages, Nerves, Arteries, Membranes, and
Muſcles ; and how they came to be ſo curioufly fet
together, and to be ſo ſtrongly knit and compacted
i
together, as to be able, amidſt ſo many Motions, +
Toils, and Labours, to laſt ſo many Years : And how
they came to be, each kind of Animals, diſtinguiſh
ed into two Sexes, that they might hereafter fave the
Earth the Labour of any more fuch Productions,
and might thenceforward derive a long Detail of
Offspring from themſelves : Had they been all Boys
(as Lucretius calls them , Terra cibum Pueris) they
had been res unius ætatis, a Production but of one
fingle Life, and fo had foon been extinct . Or muft
we fuppofe, that God employed fome celeſtial Mi
nifter to make Man, and frame him after a diviner
Pattern, according to one of Ovid's Conjectures ?

Siverecens Tellus, feductaque nuper ab alto

Æthere, cognati retinebat femina Cali;
Quam fatus Fapeto, miftamfluvialibus undis, '
Finxit in effigiem moderantûm cuncta Deorum.

Or muft we fuppofe, that the Great God took

this Work into his own Hand, and immediately
made Man himself ? This will befpeak his Ex
cellence, and his immediate Relation to God; efpe
cially, if it is reported to us, that he was not merely
commanded into Being, as the Light and Air may
be faid to be ; or that he was not barely order'd to
rife out of the Waters, or out of the Earth, as other
Animals were ; but a very different Method taken
for his Formation . If the Great God fhould now
be
 To the DEIST. 165

be reprefented as addreffing himſelf to a Work of

peculiar Wiſdom and Counſel ; if he be repreſented .
1 as Author of both Parts of Man himself; as fafhi
oning the Body of the Earth, and animating it with
d his own Breath ; or communicating a Spirit thereto
immediately from himſelf, that Man, may bear the
Image of God, and be his Vicegerent in this World,
and be Lord Lieutenant to the Animals that furround

him, what Dignity will hereby be conferr'd on

Man ? What Nobleness of Nature and Capacity will
hereby be intimated ? And what perpetual Obli
gation laid on him, to pay all Homage, Honour,
" and Gratitude to his Maker's good Pleaſure and
T
Bounty auobod
63 51

Natus homo eft, atque hunc Divino femine fecit

S Ille opifex Rerum, Mundi melioris Origo.
dw povolg

If we want to know whether Man or the Brute

Animals were form'd firft, your Reafon cannot cer

tainly determine : The Vegetables indeed muft be
firſt prepared, as being Food for both. Plutarchin
deed (as we have feen) fuppofes a Time, in which
Men and Beafts were extant without Vegetables ;
to J
which was the Reafon that Men fed on Beafts. But
TME
23

then what muſt the Beafts feed on ? Muſt they feed

E
on Men or one another ? That's the Way to destroy
both. But if Man hath Plenty of nutricious Ve
getables, he may live and fubfift without the Brutes ;
and fo they need not be made before him ; nor,
perhaps, was it abfolutely neceffary to his Conti
O nuance in the World ( though they are ſo uſeful)
that
M 3
166 LETTER II.

that they ſhould be made at all : At leaft, they might

be made long after Man. n 112
4
But the greater Concern will be, to know when
and how (in what Order and Manner, as to fome
Generals at leaſt) the two Sexes of Mankind (or of
the human Species) were fram'd and produc'd at
firſt. Your Reafon, I doubt, will have much ado
to determine, how many human Individuals were at
once, at the firſt Rife produc'd ; whether only one,
or many. It was as eafy for the Creator to make
many of that Tribe, at once, as of any other Species :
And you may fuppofe, it may be, that it was expe
dient that the Earth fhould be foon peopled and
ftored with Inhabitants. And the Accounts of hu
man Production, that were fancied among the Pa
gans, ufually fay that diverfe Individuals were pro
duced together : And if fo, it will be difficult for
your Penetration to difcover, in what Proportion
to each other the Individuals of each Sex were
made ; whether there were moreof the Males, as
being the nobler Sex, or more*3=2
of the Females ; as the
more accurate Obfervers of the Bills of Mortality
ufually compute, that there are now (in SW
a fmall Ma
jority ) more Women in the World than Men ; or
whether there was an exact Equality on both fides,
2677
that each Man might have his own Woman. If
you 3 fay, that ' tis rational to fuppofe, that the Crea
tor made but two of every Species at firft , and that
from that Pair all others are derived : That to one
Couple of the human Nature he would commit
the Poffeffion of the Earth at first, that they might
enjoy it without Interruption, and cheerfully tranf
mit it to their own Pofterity ; and that there might
be
 To the DEIST. 167

be the greater Obligation to Love and Peace among

Mankind, as being all made of one Blood, and de
Den
fcended originally from the fame Parents : Yet ftill
me we ſhall be at Lofs to know in what Order and Me
of thod the firft Individuals of each Sex were produ
at ced. If you fay, they were both fimultaneouſly,

and in the fame Way produced out of the Earth or

th

the Ground, then the Poffeffor of the Fair Sex tells

HUW
1 you, that in Refpect of Origination, fhe was inde
pendent on you, made for as free and full a Poffef
fion of the Earth, and its Furniture, as you, and de
fign'd for a Co-ordination and Equality in all ter
reftrial Privileges with you : That therefore the and
her Sex owes no**more Subjection to yours, than
yours to hers. If you fuppofe that 01one Sex was
made before the other, which then, will Reafon fay,
was made firft
Or Suppofe, for once, that the Female
was made firft ; for the might eafily be made the
Mother of all living, that is of the fame Species
with her felf. It was as eafy for the Creator to take
8 the Method, that is near to the eſtabliſhed Courfe
of Nature, as any other : He could with as much
Eafe caufe a Virgin to be pregnant, and bring forth
I a Man (as a Woman now ufually does ) as produce
£
$ a Man or a Woman out of the Ground, or derive a
Woman from a fingle Man. In that Cafe, all Men
had come under the Appellation of Sons of Women,
and thofe that are born of Women (i. e . of fome Wo
man or other :) And if this Suppofition be made,
the Fair Sex triumphs "in
Ch her Original and Preceden
cy, She pleads, that he was introduced into the
World before you ; that the enjoyed the Pleaſures *of
the untainted Earth before you were feen ; that the
M4 had
168 LETTER II.

had full Sway over the admiring Animals, reign'd

Emprefs over all, without any Fear of virile Con
troul ; that he had Knowledge of the Creator and
his Glories, Experience of his Benignity, and Hap
pineſs in his Favour, before you were capable of
any fuch Blifs ; that she was acceffary to your Ad
miffion into the World, and to a Participation of

her Rights and Joys ; that your original Title and

Tenure here was but by the Mother's fide, or by
the Apron-Strings ; and that therefore you ought to
pay a great deal of Refpect and Deference to the
grand Parent and Benefactrefs of your Sex and
Race.

If you ſuppoſe that the Man was firſt produced,

the Sharer in the Fair Sex ftill allows the Rationality
thereof, and rejoices therein. ' Tis very likely fo,
fays the 'Tis very agreeable to the ufual Courſe
and Method of Divine Wiſdom, in the Production
of Things : The great Former of all Things ufually
proceeds from the lefs perfect, to the more compleat
and accurate Accompliſhments : The great Tradition
of the World is (and Reafon does
111 not reluctate) that
the World was, at firft, educed out of a Chaos, and
raifed out of Confufion, by a gradual Advancement
of Things, to its prefent Beauty and Luftre. It is
rational enough then to fuppofe, that the great Cre
ator firft made the Earth, as the Footstool of its
Inhabitants : That he then commanded up the Ve
getables, the Virtue and Efflorefcence of the Earth :
That he then quickned brute Animals, and ſent
them a feeding upon, and among the verdant Ve
getables : That then he made Man to enjoy the no
bler Vegetables, and maintain Dominion over the
Brutes
 To the DEIST. 169
T
'd Brutes: That, laft of all, he framed the Woman,
the Epitome of all precedent Excellencies, the Crown
and Glory of the Man, the Emprefs and the Enjoyer
P of all the foregoing Creation : So that upon her Pro
of duction in all her Beauty, and Introduction to the
न्द्र

Man, he may be justly fuppofed to be conſtrain'd

छ
13 23

(by her charming Appearance) to accoſt her, much

to the Purport of the Miltonian Addrefs,
1 12.

O fairest of Creation ! laſt and beſt

.)
Of all God's Works ! Creature, in whom excell'd
Whatever can to Sight or Thought be form'd,
.!.
Holy, divine, good, amiable, or fweet !

It will be pleaded, that the Man was as much made

forher, as fhe for" the Man ; that though fhe is not
to rule by Force (nor is he ; nor, as will be fuppo
fed, need fhe) yet the is to fway by her Charms,
and guide by Counſel and Diſcretion, and be made
happy by the Husband's Society, Indearments, and
W
Friendship : And fo you may, in Time, be told, "
thati

1. " Your ancient Privilege you plead in vain,

If Man muft be the Head, ' tis Woman is the
I
Brain.

44
Two Reaſons, indeed, our fcriptural Revelation af
fords us for the Primacy, or Superiority of the maf
culine Sex ; the one taken from the Priority of Pro
duction; for Adam was firft form'd, then Eve : The
other from the Pofteriority of his Offence. He
was longer innocent, and obfervant of the Law of
Creation ;
170 LETTER II.

Creation ; yea, offended not, but by the Inftigation

of the weaker Sex. But the Woman, being deceived, was
(furft) in the Tranfgreffion : And thereupon the Sen
tence proceeds ; Thy Defire shall be to thy Husband,
and he shall rule over thee. But now you are defi
rous to undermine the Certainty or the Evidence of
thefe two Reaſons, and confequently, the Honour
and Dignity that is founded thereon. It 7 will be
long enough, e're you can demonftrate either of
·
them by your natural Reafon. Both the Individu
als of the human Nature might be Aborigines, (as
fome Nations were willing to fancy themſelves) ei
ther fallen from Heaven, or fprung from Earth,
without any Predeceffors of the fame Nature : They
might be both immediately form'd by the Divine
Hand, and brought into Being together, and at once,
as the Pairs of other forts of Animals are ufually fup
pofed to be ; equal in Nature, Order, and Time of
Production, as being defign'd for Cohabitation, Co
ordination, and Equality: Or the Female might be
made firft, that the might truly be Evah, the Mo
ther of all living : Or fhe might be made laft, as
the Perfection of all ; and made either without the
Man, as being independent of him; or made of him
(of fome part of him) that fhe may be of a purer
Mafs, and maturer Metal, than he was, as being or
dain'd for finer, neater Service.

Thus by relinquishing Revelation, and relying on

uncertain Reafonings, in fuch Cafes as thefe, you
and your Friends will give more Room and Scope
than you are aware of to the Ladies, to deny you
the Dignity of Primogeniture (or prime Manufac
ture, or Priority of Production and Exiftence) to
remonftrate
 To the DEIST. 171

remonftrate againstthe long-pretended Title of

Headship and Pre-eminence, and difpute the fo much
talk'd-of (and fometimes , vi & armis, contefted)
Prerogative of the Breeches.
In fuch Things as thefe, relating to the Creation
of of the World, and the Formation of Mankind, there
is much Light poffible to be had, and may eafily be
communicated to us by the Father of Lights ; fuch
as would highly conduce to his Glory, to the Ho
nour of our Nature, and poffibly, to the Advance
ment of our Sex, which your Principles would un
adviſedly , as well as injurioufly, deprive us of.
1 Then

5 2. You are not willing to allow us the Know

B ledge of fuch Futurities, as depend upon the free

Difpofals of God, or the voluntary Tranfactions of
Men; and fo are exempt from human Difquifition
and Forefight : The Futurities that are fettled by the
Current of natural Caufes, no doubt, you allow us
to trace out and foreknow. You will permit us to
perceive an approaching Change of Weather, by the
Variation of the Barometer. You will allow, that
an Aftronomer fhould calculate the Time of an
Eclipfe, a Year or more beforehand : But you are
not pleaſed to allow, that the Divine Being ſhall
JH
give us Prenotice of Events, that are beyond the
Reach of Philofophy and human Indagation : And
yet, if he fhould not do it fometimes, it is very
probable that your Partizans will be fome of the
firft that will expoftulate the Cafe with the Divine
Wiſdom, Goodneſs, and Juſtice.
TO
For inftance, the natural Hiftorians make it evi
dent, that there has been, fome Time or other, an
co univerfal
 172 LETTER II.

univerfal Inundation over the Face (the higheſt Face)

of the Earth. It does not eafily appear, by what na
tural Means it was brought about and effected : Dr.
Burnet takes one Way, and fuppofes that the Heat
of the Sun fo chapt the Earth, that, in procefs of
Time, the upper Cruft of the Earth brake, and fell
down into the fubterraneous Waters : Mr. Whiston
takes another, and ſuppoſes that a Comet paffed by,
and from its Atmoſphere and Tail, communicated a
prodigious Quantity of Vapours to our Earth, which
being rarified by Heat, would afcend into the Air,
and being condenſed there into Clouds, would af
terward fall down in violent Rains. But whether
V
the Vapour of a Comet, that comes fometimes near
the Sun, and is thereby heated to a prodigious De
gree, will turn to Water, may very well be quefti
oned. Every Thing that is called a Vapour, may
not be fit to make fuch a Liquor, as our Water is.
It looks as likely, that the drieft Fume of our earth
"L "
ly Fires fhould turn to Rain, as that the Vapours
of a Comet fhould do fo. But let that pafs . The
ingenious Mr. John Keil thinks it impoffible to
give a true, mechanical Account of the Deluge : To
"
find fo much Water, and then diſpoſe of it again,
T
will be very difficult. But let that pafs alfo.
You cannot but fuppofe, that the Great God
forefaw it ; whether it was effected by any unfeen,
natural Caufes, or by any immediate Intervention
of his own. It was his own Appointment : And
you cannot but fuppofe, that it was a penal Ap
pointment. Your Reaſon will tell you, that the
good God would not, by an irreſiſtible Torrent,
fweep away an innocent Generation of Mankind,
from
 70 the DEIST. 173
P
2. from off the Face of the Earth. Now, poffibly,
Di neither the moral nor the phyfical Cauſes of this fu
rious Deluge were much foreſeen, or perceived, till
of they began to work ftrongly towards the dire Ca
taſtrophe. Not the moral , provoking Cauſes ;
though the Earth was then, you may ſuppoſe, full
of Wickedness ; yet poffibly, Men were not fuffi
ciently aware of it : They might fee much, as we
do in our Day ; and yet not fee enough to make
them conclude, that an unfurmountable Inundation
was a preparing. They that lived in one Place of
the Earth , would hope that another was better.
Good Men, and good-natur'd Men, are willing to fup
poſe the beſt of Places and Perfons : As Abraham,
(we believe) was inclined to think, that there might
be more religious Perfons in a neighbouring City,
than were indeed to be found there.
Or, though it might appear that Sin was then
rampant in the World, yet it might not be known,
that it was ſo much, fo villainous, and bloodily ag
gravated, as indeed it was. There might be much
committed in fecret, to which therefore there were
no Witneſſes ; as we now hear, by our publick Pa
›pers, of many notorious Villanies, but little know
the Abominations that are cover'd with Art and
Secrecy, with Perjury and Lies : And yet thefe Pro
vocations muſt come into the Account, and concur
to make up the Meaſure of the Sin of the World.
And then the flagrant Sinners themſelves had little
Self-reflection, Conviction, and Conſciouſneſs of the
Error and Evil of their own Ways : They diverted
themſelves with fecular Cares, with fenfual Avoca
kis
tions
4. and Pleaſures. Our Hiſtory of them fays,
they
174 LETTER II.

they eat, they drank, they married Wives, and were

given in Marriage, and followed the Gratifications:
of Life, infenfible of the Indignities 'offered to Hea
ven, and of the deep Refentments thereof: And it
is exceeding probable, their Pofterity praiſe their
Sayings and Doings, and fo indulge themſelves juft
upon the Brink of Ruin. The phyfical Caufes
(fuch as there were) it is likely, wrought flowly and
infenfibly, till the Devaftation was inevitable. Nor
was the Deluge fo fixed by the Laws of Nature, as
that it muſt infallibly enfue , whether Men were
wicked, or no ; or repented, or no. Nor would
it be eafy (if poffible) to know, when the Meaſure
of Sin was fo fill'd up, that the Great God would
forbear no longer, but would, irremediably, bring in
the Flood upon the ungodly World. Now, in this
tremendous Cafe, you will not, upon your Princi
་
ples, allow, that the good and gracious God fhall
fend an enlightned Meffenger to the World, to tell
them of their Sins, to call them to Repentance, and
forewarn them of their approaching Deſtruction.
He muft not give a peculiar Knowledge (if you call
it Infpiration) of this his vindictive Deſign, to any
Perfons, that they may inform the reſt, and fave
them (if it may be ;) or at leaft, provide for their
own Deliverance and Safety. When natural Caufes
have their apparent Effects and Efforts, ' twill be too
late to cry and call for Prefervation : When the Sea
breaks its Bounds, when the Rains begin to fall, and
the Fountains, Caverns, and Orifices of the Earth,
throw out their fubterraneous Waters, the Ruin is
irreſiſtible. The Sentence is gone forth in Righte
oufnefs, and fhall not be revers'd. Now, accord

ing
 To the DEIST .
175

ing to your Sentiment ( which you judge fo wife and

:
AS good) rather than any fupernatural Diſcovery of
this impending Evil, fhall be made to any of Man
kind, you muſt concede, that the righteous God fhall
deftroy the Righteous (if there be any) together
with the Wicked, and fo put a Period to the human
Race at once. Is this the Way to commend the
Goodneſs, Patience, and Philanthropy of God ? and7.4
to vindicate his Juftice and Severity, againſt the
Reproaches of his Adverfaries ? Then
2. We find there have been great Monarchies rai
fed up fucceffively in the World : Their Wings
have been extended far and wide, covering the great
eft Part of the then known World. Their Rife
1
would be attended with a great deal of Blood-fhed,
Devaftation, and Confufion among the Nations :
Their Poffeffion and Adminiftration (it is to be
feared) would be accompanied with Tyranny, Ra
pine and Oppreffion to the conquered Countries :
Their Fall would be remarkable, and befpeak the
Juftice of God, and the Vanity of the World, the
Uncertainty of Man, and of the higheſt human
Affairs : Their Tranflation from one People to ano
可
ther, might diſplay the Power and Sovereignty of
God, and his Defign to try, whether one People or
Nation would be better than another, and would
4282

honour him more with their Dominion . It might

8

be very uſeful to forefhew to the World the Rife

and Fall of theſe Empires : Nations would be taught
3 8

what to expect ; to prepare for Trials and calamitous

Seafons ; to count upon the Inftability of the
World, and all its Grandeur and Profperity. To
ftudy another World, and the Entrance into it by
rd. Death :
 176 LETTER U.

Death : The Religious ſhould learn

1: to poffefs their
Souls in Patience, and reckon upon Revolutions s
and remember that God governs all, and will hum
ble the Proud, and protect them. Princes fhould
learn to bear their Victories and Succeffes with Mo
deration and Meeknefs, with Humility and Grati
tude, knowing their Fall muſt come : At leaft, the
Great God would give a Teftimony to the World,
of his own Foreknowledge and Perfection. And
the Nations might learn, it may be, feaſonably to fub
mit to the Conqueror, and make the beft Terms
.
they could with him, when it was T/ L known, that he
was deſtined to prevail ; i. e. that God had given
the Dominion to him. But notwithſtanding thefe
Advantages, or other, that may accrue to the World.
by ſuch a Prediction, you will not allow that it
fhould be given forth : Confider then who beft
confults the Intereft of Mankind.

3. The Country of Judea and City of Jerusa

lem were once famous for Religion, and great Ex C
ploits among them. The Temple of the true God
was once there, and his Worſhip folemnly and fplen
didly performed. Natural Worship was there in its
Glory, though not in that Simplicity that you de
fire, or that we now follow ; yet far from the Im
purities and Abominations of the Gentiles. There
were (it may be) the best Prayers and Praiſes pre
fented unto God that were in the World, together of
with corporeal Gifts and Oblations : There was a
fplended Temple, inhabited by a vifible Glory from N
Heaven, or Hiſtory is not to be credited : There dc
&
R

was a People, demonftrated by the ſtrange Protection

B

of many Ages, to be peculiar to Heaven : Their

3 City
 To the DEIS
** T. 177

City has been overthrown : Their Temple deſtroy

S ed by the Romans : The Inhabitants were prodigi
mˋ
oufly flain and murdered under Vefpafian : The Peo
·
ple, you fee, are exiled from their original Country,
0. and difperfed about the Nations of the Earth : A
Being and a Worship they have, to remind us what
once they were : Their Calamities, Slaughters, Dif
Tug perfions, and long Exile could not befall them, but
for fome egregious Sins. Was it not meet now,
that they ſhould be foretold the Miferies' that were
coming upon them ? that they fhould be informed
how they might prevent or eſcape fuch tremendous
•
Defolations and long-protracted Puniſhment ? Would
-N"
1 it not be kind, that Heaven fhould warn them be
11
forehand, by fome faithful Seer; that their Enemies
would encamp againſt them, would befiege them
round about, would pull down their Glory, and
not leave one Stone upon another that ſhould not be
overthrown, unleſs they would repent, and learn the
Concerns of their Peace, in the Day of their Vifi
tation ? But you are for allowing no fuch gracious
Inftruction and Vifitation as this. Sh
4. You can't but fuppofe that the Great God
has fome fincere Worshippers in the World : Though
11+ he will have few indeed (fewer than we fuppofe, );
if he has none but Deifts, or thofe that adhere only
to natural Religion The Company or Collection
of theſe fincere Worshippers, we will call the Church
'
JA
31 of God. I fuppofe you will not fall out aboutT a
7
Name. This Church, as it loves God, is alfo, no
doubt, beloved by him. If this Company is but
finall, it will not follow, " that his Love to them is
abated on that Account. It fhould be the more ra
ther, in that they are fe few, and are obliged to
"N (and
178 LETTER II.

(and do) withftand the Temptations and Corrupti

ons of the furrounding World : Their Faith and Pa
tience, their Love, Fidelity, and Conftancy are the
more tried and commended. Now, as they ufually
meet with Enemies in the World, it may fo fall
out, that in fome Age or Ages of the World, fome
very formidable Adverſary (or adverſe Power) may
arife, that will go near to captivate and deſtroy (by
Allurements or Perfecution) the whole Flock and

Family of God. The Great God may eaſily fore

fee this, and foretell his Servants of it, to rouſe their
Vigilance, to forearm their Minds, and fortify their
Faith and Refolution againſt fuch an Hour of
Temptation , that is coming to try thofe that
dwell on the Earth. Now you refuſe, that theſe
fincere Worshippers fhould be thus forearmed
againft fuch a Foe, or provided against fuch [ a
Snare, and ftumbling Block that will be laid in their
Way. Are theſe the Notions that we muſt fup
pofe are fo fuitable to the Goodness of God, to the
Love he bears to Mankind, and more eſpecially to
thofe that he loves and are devoted to his Fear ?

15. The more you love Piery and Morality, and

the more fatisfied you are that they tend to the Im
provement andR Benefit of Mankind, the more plea
fed you will be to fee them profper and flouriſh in
the World : Therein the Reign and Kingdom of
God appears. Can you fay that you would not
rejoice, in cafe a Perfon of unquestionable Know
ledge fhould affure you, that a Time is a coming,
wherein Religion fhall be more fincere and univerfal
among Men, than it is now, and ſhall, by its En
tertainment and Practice , blefs the Inhabitants of the
Earth ? Give us now leave to be Partakers of this
bre) Joy!
 224
22

To the DEIST. 379

Joy. We judge that we are from Heaven inform❤

ed, that a confiderable Space of Time will come.
" World, wherein the Kingdoms
before the end of the
of this World will, more generally and more tho
roughly become the Kingdoms of God ; wherein
Or
日
22

the malignant Spirits that we believe are haunting

TY Air, and infecting our World, willbe more nar
our
rowly reftrain'd and confin'd to their own diſmal
es

Apartments ; wherein the Great God fhall be more

known and loved, his Worſhip more purely and zeal
M oufly perform'd, his Servants be more loving and
lovely, and his Glory more fought and celebrated
The more corrupted his Churches have " for fome
Time been, the lefs he is honoured and acknowledg
ed now, the more Sin reigns, and Immorality a
bounds ; the more glad we are in the Profpect of
fuch a Day, and the more incited to pray, Thy Kings
dom come ! Why fhould you be fo inclin'd to de
prive us of this Joy, and to deny us the Satisfacti
on of its forefeen Approach ? Perhaps indeed we are
not all agreed in the Duration of that happy Reign,
་་་ us, or in fome Circumftan
from
or in its Diſtance ་་་
ces relating to it. Predictions are not, it may be,
fully underſtood till their Accompliſhment: Buc
it is our Pleaſure, that fuch a Seafon will come that
1 Tubos
Earth fhall be "a little more like Heaven, than it is
£ C
D
at prefent ; that the Great God fhall have a fuller
Sway over the Minds and Confciences of Men, and
fhall be more heartily ferved and adored... You can
baboda brz
not but fuppofe, that it is very meet he fould be
a
fo, before ALS
the Conclufion of the dark Scene of this
E
World . Sin and Idolatry, Infidelity and Prophane
nefs, have had their Time, and reign'd long enough
N 2 Death
vid... no
180 LETTER II.

Death fpiritual and everlaſting has preyed long e

nough upon Mortals : It is Time that Life and Love
ſhould rife ; that Grace and Righteouſneſs ſhould
kifs each other, and reign to the Glory of the blef
fed God. Teach us not to be unthankful for a plea
fant, entertaining Revelation !
6. You frequently attend the Corpfes of your
Relations and Friends to the Grave, and there you
leave them to Silence, Duft, and Darkness : The
Bodies that have inftrumentally done a deal of Good,
or a deal of Miſchief, are promifcuouſly depofited
there. You cannot fuppofe (methinks) that they
muft for ever lie mouldred and diffolved there, and
blended with the moſt fordid Duft, that was never
fo animated and honour'd. Why ſhould we not
defire and covet a Refurrection of the Dead ? Give
us leave to love the Body as well as you. It is a
curious Piece of Divine Architecture and Artifice.
We may juſtly refpect and love it for its Author's
fake : It is near us as well as to you ; a Portion of
our Nature, an Appendix to the Soul : It pertains
to the Completion of the human Perfon : The hu
man Spirit ſeems to be defigned and made for Ani
tx
mation ; and confequently to be, in fome Meafure,
lefs perfected, without its animated Organ and Com
panion. The Perfon feems to be put into a preter
natural (if not penal) State, while difunited and di
vided into Halves ; and thofe Halves conveyed to
fuch Diftance, and fuch different States and Abodes.
VE
In the Time of Life, we can fcarce defire this Se

paration : It must be the Profpect of an excellent

Felicity, that muft reconcile us to it : 'Tis a difmal
Cataſtrophe of Nature ; a dark Entrance into an un
conceivable
 To the DEIST. 181

conceivable World : And the Exuvia, the Relicks

that we leave behind, muſt be obliterated and defa
ced. The accurate Compofition, fo full of Stric
tures and Lineaments of Art Divine, muſt be entire
TEALT
ly diffolved, as if it had never been fuch : This
muft certainly be the Fruit of Provocation. Would
the Creator eafily fall out with his own Workman
fhip ? And will he always be difpleafed with the
Duft, and never more be reconciled to it, when he
is reconciled to the more guilty Part, and that that
was more**active
** in the Sin ? Muft our Globe al
(
ways confiſt of innocent and guilty Duft, ? of pu
f nished and unpunished Particles ? Muft a Separati
on be never made, nor a Diftinction fet between
thofe that had once been fedulous and bufy in the
World, and thoſe that had ne'er been fo ? Muft Man
be punish'd or rewarded in one Part only, while the
other lies for ever dormant and infenfible ? Muft he
ར་ རས་
be accountable for all that he has done in the Body
and by the Body, and yet the Body itſelf never
come into the Account ? If the Body be, by a
deceitful Word, ufually called the Inftrument of the
Soul ; it is yet an hypoftatical Inftrument, and was
made and join'd, in order
1* to the effential Conftitu
tion of the Man : And as it was an Inftrument in
#11
C Sin or Duty, ſo it is capable alfo of being an In
# ftrument in the Reward or Punishment. It is con
gruous to the original Conftitution of human Na
ture, to the Amplitude or Fulnefs of legal Retri
bution, to the Demonftration of divine, retribuent "
S Juſtice, that there ſhould be a Refurrection of the
B Dead. It is fuitable to the Honour of the great
Governor of the World, to the Benefit and Re
N 3
' formation
 LETTER II.
182

formation of the World, to the Encouragement of

ardent Piety and Religion, that it fhould be publish
ed Abroad, that there fhall be a Refurrection of the
Dead. But now you would tell me, that be there
never fo many Congruities in it, it is an unaccount
able, fupernatural Thing ; that the Doctrine of it is
fo too, and not to be admitted. Thus you would
deprive the Great God of the Glory of his Know
ledge, and Wiſdom, his Power, Grace, and Juſtice,
and us of the Satisfaction and Hope of feeing and

receiving our Bodies again ; and all through a preju

dicate Opinion of yours aboutfupernatural Revela
tion. You will, I hope, more awfully confider,
whether it is prudent, pious, decent, or tolerable, to
lay fuch Reftraints as thefe upon the eternal, bleffed
God.
" 7. As the World was once deftroyed by Water,
it may be determined, for ought you know, that it
fhall at laft be confumed by Fire : So it will appear,
that the two uſeful Creatures of God, and conftant
Servants of Man, ſhall be armed againſt Man in the
Creator's Caufe, and fhall avenge the Quarrel of his
Dominion, and Goodneſs, and Covenant, upon our
Heads. You cannot rationally fuppofe, that this
World muſt always continue in the State and Po
fture it is now in : That it muſt for ever reſt in the
horrid Plight of Sin, and Mifery, and Death, in
which it now lies : That the irrational Part of the
Creation muft for ever remain under that Vanity and
Diſorder it is now thrown into, by the Curfe of
God : That Men muſt always dwell here, thus fin
ning againſt God, indulging the Flesh, lufting after
the World, and kicking up one
4 another's Heels for
the
44
 X

To the DEIST.
183

the Poffeffion 得 of it. It feems probable, that there

will be a determinate Number of Mankind, that
must be in due Time removed to very remote Re
re
gions, and, perhaps, give Place to another Set of
Inhabitants , that may come hither. But Dr. Wood
wardhasinform'd us of a fubterraneous, if not a cen

tral Fire, that may in Time break forth, and make

a flaming Inundation. If that will not do, Mr. Whifton
i
has informed us of a Comet, that will run by fo
"
near the Earth, as to fet the Globe on Fire : But let
that be as it will, there has been an old Tradition
I
(from whence foever it came) that our Syftem muft,
12 fome Time or other, be burnt.

Effe quoque in Fatis reminifcitur, affore Tempus,

Quo Mare, quoTellus, correptaque Regia Cali
Ardeat, & Mundi Moles operofa laboret.

And the more obferving Philofophers affure us,

that there are fuch Mutations and Diminutions in

Nature (though flow and unperceiv'd) that will

not allow this preſent Fabrick to be truly perpetual
and everlaſting. But whether it will actually laſt as
long as the Laws of Nature will carry it on, may be
PO queftionable: The Patience of God towards the

World may be ended before that, for ought we

" know. It bears vaftly much in every Age : And
Ca

the Great God will in Time have all his Enemies

under his Foot. We cannot fuppofe, that Sin and

Death, Corruption and Mifery, Folly, Prophanenefs,
and Hypocrify, fhall thus reign, World without
end. If the End muſt come, it will be meet, that
fome great Tranfactions of Heaven fhould then take
N4
3

Place.
 LETTER II.
184

Place. 呻 It will be proper that the World ſhould

then be called to Account ; that the Dead fhould
be raiſed, and that the long variegated Scene of Di
vine Providence towards the World, fhould be open
ed and illuftrated. 3 It would be very proper too ( if
it might be) that fome illuftrious Perfon fhould ap
pear ( that is able and competent for the Work) to
manage the vaft Tranfaction of the univerfal Judg-,
What a noble, joyful, awful Solemnity muft
that be, to have all Nations of all the fucceffive A
ges of the World, prefented before the majeſtick Tri
bunal, and Z to be impartially adjudged, and infalli
bly doom'd to their endleſs Abodes, according to
their Deportment in this probationary World? O
the Glories and Triumphs, the Terrors and Tor
tures of that Day ! O the Airs and Beauties of thofe
Countenances that outfhine the Sun ! O the Glooms
A and Frightfulness of thofe, that call to the Mountains.
to be their Monument ! Now fuch a Scene, K fuch a
Procedure may be determined and decreed by Hea
ven, for ought you know : And if it be, it muſt
not be revealed (forfooth) left it should require fome
Angel or Prophet to bring the News : Though the
Report of it would be fo ufeful and important to
the World; though it would terrify Men from Sin,
and draw them to Religion, and all manner of Good
nefs and Virtue, though it would teach them to
mortify their Minds and D Affections to the Allure
ments and Inchantments of the World, though it
would infpire them with Thoughts and Defigns to
be looking out for
[ a better World, to be folicitous
about their Souls, to redeem Time, to be preparing
for the Approaches of the Judge and of that Day :
Though
 To the DEIST. 185
P

Though the Accompliſhment itſelf would be fo fuit

H able to the divine Grandeur, fo illuftrious to the di
.
vine Perfections, fo entertaining • to the invifible
Worlds, yet the Report muft not now be made to us.
A Fondneſs for natural Knowledge, it feems, will not
allow it. Alas ! how fufpicious fhould we be, left
fuch a Fondness fhould ruin us ? But thus, we fee, we
muſt be debarr'd the moſt uſeful, excellent, and mo

mentous Prophefy and Prediction, through your af

fected Surmifes : So well do you confult the Ho-*
nour and Vindication of the divine Government,
and the Intereſt and Welfare of the human Race.
Then
3. There are many Things really exiftent, and in
prefent Being, but within the Veil, or beyond human
Reach and Difquifition, the Knowledge of which
would be exceeding advantageous and delightful.
But, it feems, we must be content to be without it,
(and all the Advantage that would come thereby) for
fear of fupernatural Revelation., Things invisible
are Myfteries ; that is, ftrange and incomprehenfible.
But must they therefore be altogether, unrevealed,
becauſe they cannot (or need not ) be totally reveal
ed? We cannot rationally fuppofe, that this plane
tary Syftem of ours is the only one that God has
made ; or that Man is the only Being that he has
prepared for the Knowledge and Admiration of him
felf. Muft we believe, that all the Planets are un

inhabited ? that the Stars, or the Syſtems to which

they belong, or the vaft interftellar Spaces are unfit
for Habitation ? What are the Territories beyond
the Stars ? How12 vaft and various is the created U

D piyerfe ? And how tranfcendent are the Regions

that
186 LETTER II.

that are defigned and prepared as the moſt ſtately,

fplendid, furprizing Part of the Univerfe, the moſt
éminent Palace of the Divine Majefty, the Mirror
of divine Perfection, and the native Seat of Blifs
T
and Glory ? How welcome would fome fure and

certain Light (whether natural or fupernatural) in

to theſe Things be? What would a Naturalift give,
to know the Nature of the feveral Strata, that com

pofe this dark Globe that we tread upon, from the

Surface down to the Centre ? or to know the Con
Atitution of the Soil ( if ſo be 'it may be called Soil,
and not rather fome metallic Subftance) at the Di
ftance of an hundred or a thouſand Miles deep ;
fince uſually the lower we go, the heavier the Mat
ter is found to be ? Or what would the Philofopher
give to have a little Converſation with an Inhabitant
of the Moon, to learn the Laws of Nature, that
more eſpecially obtain there ? to know the Genius
of the fuperior Inhabitants ; to know what Animals
they are attended with, what Vegetables their Soil
affords, what Religion they practife, what Polities
and Arts are found among them ? The oftner he
peeps at the travelling Globe through his Teleſcope,
the more his Curiofity is excited to know fome of
thefe Things. The Virtuofo would travel far, and
fpend a deal to fpeak with a Native of Saturn's Orb,
and learn from him the Temper of that diftant Cli
mate, the Genius of the Inhabitants, the Conftitu
tion of the Soil or Surface on which they dwell, the
Accommodations made for their Subfiftence , the
Number and Ufe of their Satellites, the Subftancè
and Service of the Ring, that furrounds their Globe,
and a Multitude of Myfteries, which his Curiofity
would
 To the DEIST: 18+
2
would dictate. And fhall not we receive the Light,
that is fenttus from a fuperior World, and is conver
Of fant alfo about more neceffary, more weighty and
Is important Things perfuade us not to be fo unkind
1 to our felves, and fo ungrateful to our illuminating
Benefactor is an ad C
324 12 no
There are feveral Things, in and about which we
want to be inftructed a little more than Nature will
teach us ; and in which fome fuperior Information
will be exceeding deſirable, and ought to be exceed
17
ing acceptable and welcome. As
1. Poffibly Forgivenefs may be defigned for this
"
finful, guilty World. You cannot fay the Divine
Ripoti
Majefty is it : He is leaft obliged thereto,
of all the Governors, that are or can be offended.
No Ruler is lefs oblig'd to his Subjects, and lefs
ftands in need of them, than he that is fupream. No
Subjects are more dependent upon, or more receive
from, or are more indebted to a Sovereign, than God's
Subjects are, in10Reference to him. There may be
A
Patience, and yet not Pardon and Remiffion. While
the World lafts, and the human Race is to be pro
longed, the Accommodations of Life are to be ad
miniftred. But this amounts not to Forgiveneſs and
Admiffion into divine Favour. Now here your learn
ed, Ethnic Rationaliſts and Moralifts will gravely
leave you in the dark. How little do they concern
themſelves about, or treat of this momentous Sub
BA
ject, the endleſs Pardon of our Sin ? They can
fometimes confefs the Depravation of the World,
and the Villany of Mankind, and yet they inquire
not after the Exiftence, the Neceffity, the Mode or
Means of Forgivenefs with God. And indeed, how
fhould
 188 LETTER II.

ſhould they know much of the Nature and Way of

Forgiveneſs, unless they knew more of the Majeſty
and Perfection of God, against whom the Offence
is committed, and who alone has the Right or the
Authority to forgive it ? You will fay, that the na
tural Goodnefs of God teaches us that he will par
don Sin : But you will pleafe to remember, that
Pardon muſt be an Act of Grace, not of Conftraint ;
an Act of Free-Will, not of determined Nature :
And the Acts of divine Grace are not afcertained to
us by the Light of Nature. And befides, you will
remember alfo, that the natural. Goodnefs of God
does not teach us, that all Sin may be forgiven. " For
then no Sin muſt be reckon'd unpardonable. Now
the natural Goodnefs of God does not teach us, that
Sin perfifted in to the end of Life ſhall be pardoned ;
that final Atheiſm ( fuch as continues through the
whole Term of Life) final Irreligion, and Prophane
nefs, and Contempt of God, or final Impenitence
fhall be pardoned. We may rather fuppofe, that
there are fome Sins, or fome Modes of Sin, that the
Great God will not pardon ; and then you will
pleafe to confider, that as there is a2000
natural Goodneſs
A
and Benignity in God, whereby he is inclined to do
Good to his Creatures ; fo it may be rationally faid
alfo, that it is his innocent and undefiled Creatures,
1 that are the proper Object of that Goodness and Be
nignity. He takes Pleafure in them, and delights
to do them Good : But then he hates Sin, and the
Workers of Iniquity : And his Hatred of Sin, and
of the Sinner, may be as natural to him, as his Be
nignity to the Good. As he is the beſt of Beings,
fo he is moft averfe to Evil : As he is good to o
thers,
 To the DEIS T. 189

thers, fo he muft love himſelf, his own Perfections

-Enc and Glory. He must be holy, pure, and juft, and

th the Avenger of thofe that work Unrighteoufnefs .

na. And this will amaze and terrify the convinced, fen
fible Confcience: So that we have need of more
Knowledge and Affurance of a State of Pardon and
H
1 Forgiveneſs of our manifold Sins, than the Light of
Nature will afford us.
2. We need Inftruction concerning the Mode
and Method of Forgiveneſs, and the Continuance
of the pardoned State. We fhould be well inform
ed what are the Means, Terms, and Requifites to fo
great a Favour, as a full Pardon and Reconciliation
.
with the bleffed God. The felf-exiftent Being is an
incomprehenfible Majefty, and a great King, and
may juſtly reſolve, that his Name fhall be great a
a
1 mong the Nations of the World. It may justly be
furmifed, that he will not eafily or lightly forgive
our Trefpaffes against w him. Sin fhall not feem a
1
fmall Thing in our Eyes : That will be the Way
to pour Contempt upon the fupreme Owner, Legif
lator, and Benefactor of the World. The more we

contemplate the Holiness, Purity, Jealouſy, Juſtice, 2

and Grandeur of the eternal God, the more will ra
tional Light direct us to enquire, whether an A
tonement fhould not be made to that offended Ma
8-4

jefty, for the Sins of the World. What did all the
Multitude of the World's Sacrifices fignify, but
that fome Propitiation ſhould be offer'd to a pro
33

voked, difpleafed Deity ? It becomes the Great God

to have a Regard to more Perfections than one :
And when his Goodnefs and Jealoufy, his Grace
000
and Righteoufnefs are reconciled and illuftrated to
J
gether,
190 LETTER II.

gether, the poor, trembling Tranfgreffor can the

more cheerfully and boldly believe and hope a Par
don and plentiful Forgiveness. Here then we fhall
want Light, to fhew us whether the Great God
will freely (ie. without proportional Atonement)
2
forgive our Sin ; or whether he will demand a Com
penfation to his Glory, and a fufficient Sacrifice for
the Impiety of the World ; that fo he and his Law
may appear honourable, equitable, and righteous,
while he forgives the Sins of Mankind. And if he
demands fuch a Sacrifice, we fhall want to be in
form'd, where it is, what or who it muft be, by
whom provided, when, and how, and by whom of
fer'd unto the glorious God. And would you pre
vent our being happily inftructed in fuch excellent
and important Things as theſe ?
Then we fhall want to be inform'd about the
Means and Method of Pardon. Will the Great
God immediately forgive the Sin of the World ;
or will he require fome Acknowledgment and Re
cognition on our fide ? It is but meet indeed, that
we should be fenfible of our Offences, repent of
our Indignities, and return to him, that pardons us.
You will fay, that to be fure Repentance must be a
Qualification for Pardon; and that God will for
give the Penitent. But you must still remember, that
we here difcourfe of the natural Rights of the
Great God: That Pardon ( especially of a Multi
tude of wilful Offences) is ftill an Act of Grace &
that Penitence cannot merit, or by any Efficacy of
its own, procure a Pardon from God. You cannot
fay, that all Governors are oblig'd to pardon all the
Penitent : Befides, there must be an Hope of Par
I don,
 To the DEIST. 191

don, in order to encourage Repentance, and prevent

the
Deſpair. And further, if an expiatory Sacrifice be
Par
infifted upon, in order to the cancelling of the
And
Guilt of Sin, then it is meet, that befides (or to
Go
gether with) our Repentance toward God, there
nt)
hould bean honorary Regard (in Mind and Heart)
Com
to that great Sacrifice, an Acceptance of it, to all
cefor
the Ends and Purpoſes for which it was claim'd by
La
God, and prefented to him, and a Dependance upon
DAR
Now its Value and Virtue. Here is room for celeſtial,
30
for angelical Revelation !
bea
Then, in cafe Repentance does obtain our Par
De don, how long will our Pardon, or our pardoned
Om Condition laft ? What if the next Sin repeals and
L cancels it all ! then we are loft again. You will
11
fay, then we muſt repent again. Well, fuppofe we
335

do ; then the next Sin cancels the Fruit of that Re

pentance : And fo we ſhall be in a pardoned and un
G
pardoned Condition twenty Times a Day ; and if
we die in the unpardoned Interval, we are loft for
ever. Nay, how fhall& we know, that a Repentance
fo often followed by Sin is effectual to Pardon at
ent all ? And how fhall we know, that a Repentance fo
Ons imperfect and defective as ours, will be accepted to
ftth our Forgiveness ? If after Repentance we could live
S

without Sin, then we might fuppofe, that our Par

Eyü don will be perpetual . But a Repentance fo weak
of: and fo interrupted as ours, had need of good Affu
rance of 2 its Admiffion in the Court of Heaven.
Befides, the Imperfections and Defects of our beft
Cy Virtues are very great : For fuch Sinfulneſs may we
Canne be rejected of God. Our Faith and Fear, our t Love
and Truft is fmall and lame. If we die in the Ex
FTF
-Pap ercife
don,
 192 LETTER II.

ercife of fuch Virtues, we die in a very defective,

imperfect Exercife. And who fhall affure us of the
Forgiveneſs of our final Imperfections and Sinful
nefs ? We have need of the Examples of fuch im
perfect, defective ones, as our felves, that have been
pardoned and accepted of God, for the Support of
our Faith, Hope, Peace, and Joy. And would you
deprive us of a Covenant of God, of great Promi
fes, and fuch Affurances as theſe ?
€ But fince you and your Accomplices are fo apt

to make light , of Sin againſt the beſt of Beings ;

fince you are fo inclined to think the Pardon of it
is an eaſy Thing, and eaſily obtained at the Hands
of God; as if it were as natural to him to forgive,
as ' tis to the Sun to fhine, and the Refufal of it
would be an Impeachment of his Goodness ; let me
remind you, that he has fometimes fhewn, that he
L
will not forgive. He would not forgive the old
World, but violently fwept them all from off the
Earth : He would not forgive the Cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah, but fo confum'd them with Fire from
Heaven, as to leave a ftrange Memorial of them to
*
this Day: And not only fo, but thouſands there are
whom he cuts off in the very Perpetration of Sin,
as being refolved never to forgive them. And not
only fo, but give me leave to tell you, that he is fo
far from confining his Diſcoveries to our natural
Dependence on him, and Duty to him, that he has
quite another Thing to tell us alfo ; and that is, that
there are vaft Multitudes of Criminals within the
Verge of his Dominions, whom he is refolved never
to forgive : Such that are caft down from their lofty
Seats in the heavenly Regions, and ſhall never be
A
permitted
44
 To the DEIST
193
permitted to return thither again, or be delivered
from their flaming Prifon : Such, that were by Na
ture and Situation higher than we ; by Excellencies
and Powers nobler than we ; capable of more Love
and better Service than we now are : And yet they
'
are rejected and reprobated for ever ; muft lie under
the effufed Vials of divine Wrath and Indignation
for ever. This News may well be fent unto the
World to awaken our Fear, to teach us to dread an

Impenitent, harden'd Heart, to throw down our

rebellious Arms, to haften with our Submiffions to
the gracious Throne, to proftrate our felves at the
Footstool, and admire and gladly accept the pardon
ing Edict, and the pardoning Grace, in fuch diftin
guishing Favour and Mercy now offer'd to us.
Now fuppofe, that fome of thefe apoftate Spirits
are near our World, and have leave at any Time to
furround it ; we may well reckon, that they will
do all the Miſchief they can. Being fallen from
God, and fallen into Defpair of his Favour, they
will at against him, and undermine his Intereſts all
they 7can. His Kingdom here fhall have their Spleen
1 and Malice : The more they fee of the Sin of the

‫ܙܐ‬ World, the more they will push it on : The more

they fee that the holy God, in juft Judgment, is re
tired from the World, the more glad will they be
of the Opportunity to promote all Impiety and Op
pofition to God : They will be zealous Tempters,
Enticers, Infnarers, and Deftroyers : And the more
inviſible they are, the more politic and formidable
TR
Adverfaries they will be, and the more likely to pre
vail. If we were now in fuch a forrowful Cafe as
this (and there are fome Phænomena in the World
Ο thas
 LETTER II.
194

that would tempt us to think that we are) you will

not allow, that we ſhould be certainly told fo. No
Angel, no Prophet muft inform us of our fpiritual
Enemies, and teach us any of their Defigns and De
vices, and what Artillery we muſt uſe againſt them.
So kind and friendly are your Principles, and well
calculated for the Safety and Welfare of the World!
But
3. You believe that Spirits are continually depart
ing from this World, into unfeen Apartments. You
believe, they have their Exiſtence, their Intelligence
and Operations there ; their Pleaſures or their Suf
fering there. Muft we needs fuppofe, that they
have immediately put off ( together with their Bo
dies) all Knowledge and Remembrance of the Sy
ftem , the Company and Converfation from which
they are withdrawn ? They carry their Confciences
along with them ; and their Conſcience and Self- con
ſciouſneſs muſt include fome Remembrance and Re

view of the Time they had, the Life they spent,

the Tranfactions they were engaged in on Earth.
The State to which they are gone, you believe is a
State of Retaliation and Retribution. The Notion
of Retribution (in that their ultimate State) re
quires, that they ſhould underſtand why and where
fore they are fo treated there. And can we fuppofe
then, that they are altogether indolent, and unmind
ful of all Perfons and Affairs they have left behind ?
Muft we fuppofe, that never any one of them was
afterward defirous to inform of what had been for
got, to rectify what was done amifs, to fulfill any
Promife, to execute any Refolution, to prevent any
1
Danger from furviving Relations, to take any Re
venge
 To the DEIST.
195
venge on Murderers, or put any unknown Cafe into
N
the Way of human Juftice ? Surely, that fome Time
100 or other, fome of them ſhould appear, and notify
1 their Exiſtence, Intelligence and Will concerning
net
fome Things here, cannot feem irrational and incre
W
dible : It would rather feem ftrange that they should
not.

20bi 4. Some of theſe Spirits, you believe, are gone in

to a State of Remuneration and Joy . Is it not expedi
ent and proper that we ſhould have fome Notion of
their Felicity and Employment ? How dark and un
certain is Reaſon's Eye towards fuch a Diſcovery ?
Would you have us fatisfied with the poetical De
fcription of the Elyfian Fields ; or with a Mahometan
Paradife ? The remunerating Bleffedneſs the Great
God beftows (we know, in general) muſt be fuit
able to himſelf : But where it will be, and in what

it will principally confift, it is meet he ſhould in

form us. The Felicity , doubtlefs, will be pure as
well as great, holy as well as magnificent. Theré
will be the Riches of the Glory (the rich Glory, or
the glorious Riches) of his Inheritance in the Saints ;
in thofe that are devoted and confecrated to him.
How little can Socrates, or Plato , or Tully, or Seneca,
tell us of this exalted Happiness ? And would you
deny us a more exalted Revelation ?
5. Others of thefe Spirits, you believe, depart to
a vindictive State and Region. Is it not meet the
great Legiflator fhould, in fome Meaſure, open to
" us the Sanction he
s is pleas'd to add to his Law ? If
we muſt be influenc'd by Hope and Fear, the more
the Promife and the Threatning (and therein the
promis'd Felicity and the threatned Woe) are illu
O 2 ftrated,
 LETTER II.
196

ftrated, the more will our Hope and Fear be awaken'd.

Who, but himſelf, can tell us the Terrors of the
1 Lord? Would you have us be put off with the
Notions of Charon and Cerberus, of Styx and Acheron,
and the Judges in the fubterraneous Caverns ? How
much more formidable is it, to be told of a Worm
that will never die, and of a Fire that will never be
quenched ? and of more fubtil, potent, furious Tor
mentors ? How much more does it concern us to
hear of theſe Things, than to be inform'd of My
fteries about the Stars, or Curiofities about the

Planets ?
But to conclude this Letter, Reafon may ſuggeſt
to us diverfe Benefits, that the great and good God
may defign us, which your prejudicate Hypothefis
would deprive us of, 1 and feclude us from. The
more you confider and admire the divine Philan
thropy, the more you will be induced to believe,
that he would pity and compaffionate us in our dark,
difmal State of Sin and Sorrow : And fo, poffibly,
his good Will may be towards us, in fuch Inftan
ces as thefe.
1. He may defign to make us wiſer than bare
Reafon and Nature can. The human Underſtand

ing is a feeble, imperfect, unconftant Thing : They

that have cultivated it moft, we find very vain in
their Imaginations, and looſe in their Reafonings.
What wild Philofophy have we had, till now, that
the Laws of Nature have been more diligently ob
ferved, and Theories have been built thereon ? But

the Great God may have Thoughts of Peace and

Mercy towards us, which no human Penetration
can difcover. There may be Divine Wiſdom fet on
Foot
 To the DEIST. 197
Foot for our Bleffedneſs and Glory : There may be

J (for ought we know) an eternal Purpoſe, which he

has freely purpofed in himſelf, and which may con
tain wonderfully deep and myfterious Things in the
Bowels of it ; and that for our Advancement and
Blifs ; which are to be opened in due Time. And
would you have us reject the Wiſdom and Counſel,
that is to make us wife to Salvation ?
2. The Great God may love us (for ought you

know) at a ſupernatural Rate ; and ſhall we refufe

to be beloved ? We are not to meaſure his Love by
our own. There is no Dominion, no Sovereignty "
like his, and he may teſtify too, that there ſhall be
Condefcenfion or Compaffion like his. As there are
diverſe Syſtems of his Works, he may befriend and
dignify which he pleaſes : He may afford a De
monftration and Spectacle of Goodnefs and Love,
to the Admiration of the chief Minifters that at
tend his Throne. In the Way of Benignity and
Love, he may chufe to feek and recover us to him 1
felf: He may think that it becomes his tranfcendent
Greatnefs and Goodneſs, to furprize his guilty, fu
fpicious, trembling Creatures with the Inftances of
his Love : He may ſeek to gain us to a moft fin
cere, genuine, facred Repentance of all our Rebelli
on and Folly, by the Surprizals of his Love : He
may defign us a Redemption out of the Hand of
his own Juftice ; a Ranfom from Sin and Death
and all adverfe Powers : He himſelf may provide
the Redeemer, and ordain him for us, and anoint
him for all the Work of an eternal Salvation : He

may make fuperior Minifters wait on us, and per

form many Offices for our Good : He may defign
0 3 fome
198 LETTER K.

fome great Meffenger or other to inftru&

t Mankind,
to rectify their Miſtakes, and correct their Miſcarri
ages, and guide them into the Way of endlefs Blifs :
And muft our Prejudices now againſt ſupernatural
Light refift any of, or all this Love, and violently
refufe all the pleaſant Reports of it ?
3. Poffibly, the Great God may be willing to
eaſe us of a great deal of Labour and Study. In
Puteo latet Veritas, is wont to be faid. Truth lies

deep ; and it cofts Time and Pains to get a little of

it. How little has been advanc'd in a thouſand
Years ? Good Foundations and fure Principles are
not foon laid ; and when they are, film Superftruc
tures are not eafily rais'd thereon. How little did
the old Philofophers and Rationalifts, by all their
Refearches, attain to, in the Knowledge of God, and
his Kingdom , and Affairs ? It may be, one of
your Friends thinks himſelf wiſer than all they :
He lives where natural Religion is more furely found
ed, and more clearly enlarged, Immediate Revelati
on is ſpeedy and expeditious : Rational Deduction
is long and laborious ; and when the Learned, with
much Toil, have drawn a rational Scheme, the Vul
gar cannot receive it : They must take the Parts as
they can bear them ; and, at laft, confide much in
the Wiſdom of the Learned : And fo it will be as

good, that their Faith ftand upon the Wiſdom of

God, as on the Wiſdom of Men. But would you
have us refufe the Eafe and Expedition that God
would give us in the Knowledge of Things ?
4. Poffibly, the Great God would decide for us
fome of our Difputes below. If there are Contro
verfies in the Chriftian World, through Mens Fond
nefs
 To the DEIS T. 199

nefs to add to revealed Religion, yet you cannot

fay there are no Controverfies, where true, reveal'd
Religion has not come. How have they divided a
bout first Principles ? about the Origin of the
5 World, and the Rife of Man ? about the Nature,
Number, and Qualities of their Gods ? about the
Nature and Duration of the human Soul ? Confult
again Cicero's Books de Naturâ Deorum : How many
Opinions were there about the fummum Bonum ?
Varro, I think, fays, two hundred or more? What
Debates had they about the Nature and Notion of
Virtue, and the feveral Kinds or Branches thereof?
Now theſe are fundamental Things in natural Reli
gion : To be always difputing about them, is the
Way to run the World into Scepticiſm : They may
come at laft to be like School-Queſtions, deliver'd
down from Age to Age, bandied to and fro by ri
fing Wits, without any Profpect of Decifion. It
may justly pleaſe the good God to give fome preter
natural Determination of important Matters to pre
vent endleſs Scepticiſm, and to fecure his own Glo
ry, and the Good of Mankind. J
5. It may pleaſe the good God to give us the more
a abundant Affurance of fome important Affairs. If
Things are likely and probable by rational Light,
they are the more afcertain'd by Report from God :
And in this State of Doubt and Darkneſs, we need
all the Satisfaction we can get. If Reafon tells us,
there is but one God, Revelation tells it us with
Confirmation. If Reafon tells us, that poffibly God
will forgive us our Sins, Revelation tells it with
more Satisfaction ; and it is good to have it under
his Hand and Seal. If Reafon tells us, there is a
04 Reward
 1

200 LETTER II.

Reward for the Righteous, and a Puniſhment for

the Wicked, Revelation confirms the Truth : And
it is good to have as many immutable Pledges of
the Divine Goodnefs and Grace as we can get, that

the Heirs of Promiſe may be fraught with the more

abundant Confolation.
See now what Embargo you would lay upon the
Divine Perfection, Compaffion and Goodneſs to
wards us ! Can you feriouſly think, that it is fit for
us thus to limit the Almighty ? Shall we preſently
conclude, that his Thoughts are like ours ; and that
he will proceed only in the Way of our Imagina
tion ?
Believe it, Sir, it becomes him to break down the
Reftraints that we would lay upon him, and ride
over all the Bounds, that our narrow Minds would

prefcribe him. He will take the Way of his own

Wiſdom and Love (and it becomes him fo to do)
without asking our Leave, or giving us any Account
(beforehand) of his Matters : He knows our Cafe,
our Exigencies and Circumftances, better than we ;
He will lay a Foundation for his future Glory, whe
ther it be agreeable to our Minds or no. It is not
for us to determine what he fhall do, but humbly
inquire what he has done : And if we find a Revela
tion illuſtriouſly adapted to his Perfections and Glo
ry, and to our fingular Advancement and Blifs, let
us receive it with all Joy and Thankfulneſs.

So with much Refpect and Affection,

I am yours?
J. R.

A LET:
 COON

‫ו‬
A

LETTER

ТО ТНЕ

DE IS T

"
·
The THIRD LETTER .

1 HONOURED SIR,

HOPE, by this Time, you are pret

ty well prepar'd and difpos'd to re
ceive an heavenly Revelation. You

have ſeen, that the Juftification ofyour

daily Practice and Diet requires the
fame ; and that without it we muft live in the Dark,
in Reference to diverſe Affairs, which it would be
of great Ufe, Advantage, and Satisfaction to be ac
‫م‬

quainted
LE
 L

202 LETTER III.

quainted with. Upon theſe Preliminaries, we may

now advance to that facred Inftitution, that is fo
profeffedly receiv'd among us ; and take a View of
the Founder, the Accomplices, the Conſtitution and
the Rife of it; and fee if we can defcry any Foot
ſteps or Signatures of any earthly Contrivance, or
crafty Defign, whereby the Founder thereof, or his
Accomplices therein, may be fuppos'd to feek any
carnal Intereft, or any fecular Advantage to them
felves ; whereby they may be induc'd to devife the
Syftem, of their own Heads, and employ all their
Power, and Care, and Induſtry, to infinuate it into,
or impoſe it upon the credulous, or the reluctant
World.
In this View that we would take of the Author,
Rife, and Circumftances of our Chriftian Inftituti
on, we will begin at the loweſt and moſt viſible
Steps ; that fo in our gradual Progreſs, its divine and
heavenly Original may the more fatisfactorily and il
luftriouſly appear.
§. 1. Our Religion, you know, is contain'd in a
fmall Volume, ufually call'd, The New Testament ofour
Lord andSaviour Jefus Chrift. It has or may have other
Titles and Appellations : It is called, The Gospel of
Chrift, asbringing us the joyful Meffage or good News
ofan eternal Redemption and Salvation byJefus Chrift.
It is the Law of Chrift, as containing his Royal
Edict, or authoritative Rule, by which he obliges
\ to govern our Spirits, Converfation and Con
us
duct, while we are fojourning in, or paffing through
the World: Which Law of his is inforc'd with the
moft folemn, awful Sanctions imaginable ; Premi
ant, the Promife of endleſs, bleffed Life above :
Vindictive,
 To the DEIST.
203

Vindictive, the threatning of everlaſting Punish

ment from the Prefence of the Lord himfelf, and the
Glory of his Power. It is his Covenant , as con
taining the Articles of Peace and Agreement be→
tween him and thofe that defire to be his. Hence

forth I call ye not ( mere) Servants, but I have called

you Friends ; for all Things (relating to your Peace
and Joy) that I have heard of my Father, I have made .
known unto you, Joh. xv. 15. His Servants he takes
into the honourable Relation of Friends and Allies.

'Tis his Teftament, as comprehending his laſt Will,

difpofing of his heavenly Goods, bequeathing Le
gacies to his Friends, confirm'd by his Death, and
feal'd with his Blood, and thereby made irrevocable
and unalterable. Such is the Volume of the New
Teftament, the Charter of the Chriftian Corpora
tion, the Record of our Inftitution and Society :
Though various Matters are withall comprehended
therein, as Hiftory, Doctrine (fpeculative and prac
tical) and alfo Prophecy.
§. 2 , The Volume of the New Teſtament con
fifts (as
9 to its firſt Divifion) of Hiftories and Let
ters. There are five Hiftories : The four firft of

which give us the Life and Death, the Doctrine

and Tranfactions of him, who is the great and fa
mous Founder of this Inftitution. The laft re
ports to us, the Diffufion, Succefs and Progrefs of
the Inftitution, after the Founder of it had difap
pear'd and withdrawn from the World. With the
Hiftories there are join'd two and twenty Epiftles
1 or Letters ; fome infcrib'd to whole Societies, pro
feffing this Inftitution, in fome of the moſt famous
Cities or Places of the World, Some addreffed to
fingle
 204 LETTER III.

fingle Perfons : The Doctrine and Prophefy is inter

ſpers'd and intermix'd with theſe Hiſtories and Let
ters ; fo that this Volume is diſtinguiſh'd into ſeven
and twenty Parts or Portions, which you may call
Books, if you pleaſe. They all concur in the fame
principal Matters, and in the fame End : They all
contribute fomething towards recommending the
Inſtitution itſelf, and the glorious Founder of it,
Now concerning theſe two eminent and prime Di
ftinctions of this facred Volume (viz. into Hiſtory
and Letters) you will eafily and naturally obferve ;
1. That falſe Hiſtory is one of the worſt Things
in the World, to found a new Religion upon, i. c.
a falſe Hiſtory of Things faid to be openly and pub
lickly done ; and there (or in that Place) faid and
reported, where the Things themſelves are faid or
fuppofed to be done. Such Hiftory will eafily be
confuted, and fuch Foundation foon overthrown.
Doctrines, Laws and Commands may be gradually
infinuated, perfuaded and inftill'd into Perfons ; but
pretend to perfuade People, that Things were done
publickly in their Sight, to their Knowledge and
Conviction, which were not fo done ; and pre

fently their Sight ( or Self- confciouſneſs ) their

Knowledge and Conviction rifes up againſt you,
and calls you Deceiver and Liar. The miraculous
Life and ignominious Death of Jefus Chrift is ftre
nuouſly reported in that Land and Country, where
it is fuppofed to be tranfacted. The miraculous At
teftation given to this Report, and the ſtrange Suc
cefs of it in the Places where it came, is earneſtly
pleaded and appeal'd to, in and with thofe Societies,
where that Atteftation and Succeſs is ſuppoſed to be
given
 To the DEIS T. 205

given and afforded : All which, were it contrary to

Knowledge and Experience, would foon end in the
ਚ
ਏ

Shame and Confufion of the Reporters and Appel

lants.
E
a

2. That Letters are ufually taken as the trueft

the Tranſcript of the Author's Mind and Heart ; eſpe
cially thoſe that are written to the endear'd, beloved
D. Friends : Then the Thoughts of the Heart, the in
ward Sentiments, Cares and Counfels are communi-"

"1 cated. In thefe Letters there appears the greateſt

Openness of Heart, Enlargednefs of Mind and Bow
els, Endearment and Affection ; the folemneſt Ap
peals to God, the moſt awful Proteftations and Pro
feffions of Confcience, the deepeft Joy in the Wel
fare of the Perfon's written to, the moft ardent Con
cern for it, and all the moſt pregnant Proofs, Marks
and Characters of inviolable Honefty, Sincerity and
Integrity, that the World can afford. Your Rea
*
fon will eafily fuggeft, that a Deceiver of the
World fhould not take fuch a Method of Procedure.
1
§. 3. You will obferve, that this Volume of the
New Teftament was not all written by one Perſon,
T
or by the Dictate and Direction of any one Perſon,
then vifibly prefent and converfant among them.

T Many are concern'd, and thoſe not perfonally pre

fent and combin'd together. As feveral Perfons
write, fo they write at different Times, and in dif
ferent Places. The Founder of the Inftitution writes
nothing himself; what is to be done in that Kind,
he leaves to others : They that write, pretend not to
write till he is withdrawn and gone out of the
World (as we fhall obferve more anon.) ' Tis ei
ther his Authority and Command, or their Love
to
 206 LETTER III.

to him (though departed) or their Zeal for his In

ftitution and Glory, that obliges them to write of
him, and for him : And they are well acquainted
with, and affured of the Matters and Affairs of which
they write. Here are five Perſons that were inti
mate with the Founder himſelf, were acquainted with
his Perſon and Works, with his Doctrine, Defign
1
and Death ; and fo are fit to be Eye and Ear-Wit
neffes of him to the World. Four of them are
plainly of that peculiar Company, that the Founder
chofe to be his principal Companions and Accom
plices in his Inftitution and Deſign : Theſe are
Matthew and John, Peter and Jude. James might
be one alfo : For there were two James's in the A
poftolical College ; James the Son of Zebedee, Bro

ther to John ; and James the Son " of Alpheus, Bro

ther to Jude. If the James, whofe Epiſtle we
have, is neither of thoſe James's, but one ( as fome
would fuppofe) of the feventy Difciples, yet even
then he was perfonally acquainted with the Founder
himſelf, and was fent out by him upon his Service ;
and fo there are five authentick Witneffes. To thefe
is added a notorious Profelyte : One, whoſe Account
of himſelf and his Converfion, if it be once admit
ted (and confidering how it is confirm'd by his
fubfequent Life, and Letters, and Labours, and Suf
ferings, there will be no Reaſon to refuſe it) it will
fufficiently argue, that the whole Inftitution is from
Heaven and of God : He profeffes, that he was o
riginally a Citizen of Tarfus, a Denizon of Rome,
brought up to Jewish Learning under the Tuition
of Rabbi Gamaliel ; that he was, in his Judgment
and Difpofition, a fevere Pharifee, and a flaming Zealot
for
 To the DEIST. 207

for all the Jewish Rituals ; that he was a ftrenuous

Adverfary to Jesus of Nazareth, and all his Inte
reft and Followers ; that he thought it his Duty to
impriſon, moleft and perfecute them, wherever he
came, and do all he could to rid the Country, or
even the World, of fuch peftilent Fellows : Thas
1
on a Day as he was travelling to Damafcus, to fetch
1
fome of theſe Apoftates to be punish'd at Jerufalem,
he was fuddenly ftruck blind with a Light that o
pen'd his Underſtanding, and fmote to the Heart
with a Voice, 2 that terrified him from perfecuting
-
Jefus of Nazareth any more ; and taught him to
K
preach that Faith, that before he deſtroy'd ; and
propagate that Intereft, that he fo violently wafted
and confum'd. This Story he is ready to tell before
the Keeper of the Caſtle, and a vaft, tumultuous
Throng of People at Jerufalem, by whom he had
R
like to have been pull'd in pieces for fo doing. This
3
he teftifies before King Agrippa, and the Queen Ber
[ mice, and the Governor of the Province, and the
whole Court at Cefarea : This he declares and ftands
to, in his Letters to his Friends, and the profelyted
Affemblies : This he evinces by his fubfequent, in
defatigable Labours and Sufferings , for this new
Cauſe, in the moſt famous Cities of the Gentiles.
S Nor have we the Story from himſelf alone, but from
the pious Phyfician that addreffes it to the excellent
Theophilus, and was himſelf a Companion of this
1 great Convert's Labour and Travels. Now the pa
thetic, holy, heavenly Letters of this flagrant Pro
3 felyte make up a confiderable Part of our New Te
0 ftament. To him and to the foregoing Witneſſes,
t there is added the Teſtimony of two other Perfons,
る who,
 208 LETTER III.

who, if they were not acquainted with the Founder

himfelf, yet frequently converſed with, and accom
A
panied thoſe that were ; and fo could, and did, from
Eye and Ear-Witneſſes report the Truth of his Af¿
fairs to us: So that our Chriftian Bible is not like
a Mahometan Alcoran, the Contrivance of one Man
or of two or three Perfons, under the Guidance of
one ; there the fame Things may be more eafily
compacted and deliver'd : But here are eight Per
fons writing at differing Times and different Places
(as Peter at Babylon, John at Patmos, Paul at Gorinth,
and afterward at Rome) and all concurring in the fame
principal Matters of Fact, relating to Jefus and his
Inftitution. In any other Cafe, you will fuppofe,
that a Set of eight credible, competent Witneſſes,
ought not to be refus'd. Could you get the con
current Teftimony of eight Pagan Hiftorians or
Moralifts, to any fuppos'd Matters of Fact, faid to
be done in their Times, and in their Country, to

their Knowledge, or to the Knowledge of thofe -

they converſed with, you would think the Man
very impudent, that would fet afide their Credit
1
and Hiſtory : Their joint Teſtimony you would
reckon as good Evidence in hiſtorical Affairs, as a
Demonftration is in mathematical Matters.
§. 4. Let me obferve to you (what, it may be, has
not been often propofed to your Confideration)
that our Jefus writes nothing of his own Bible, or
Alcoran ; (for though the Word Alcoran may feem
a prophane Name, as being ufually appropriated to
that Book of (pretended) Religion, that is facred
among the Mahometans, as our Bible with us ; yet
they that know the Original and Import of the
Word,
'
m
 To the DEIST. 209
Hei Word, know that it fignifies no more than a Lection
-
or Lecture; and fo may be applied to any Thing
On that is, or ought to be read.) I fay not, that our
_f. P
Jefus never wrote any Thing : It is faid, in one of
ke our prefent Hiftories, that, in a certain Cafe, he
an wrote on the Ground: And there is a Letter now
extant, fuppofed to be wrote by him to the King
fly of Edefa. But it is no part of our New Testament,
or ofthat Book that principally fupports and fo
ments his Name and Inftitution in the World.
There he himself writes nothing, but all is done by
his Servants ; fo that whatever Miftake, or Error,
or Evil is there (if there be any) it is none of his,
!
is not committed by him, but by his Servants. The
Praife, Homage and Renown that accrues thereby
to his Name, is not procured by himſelf, by his
own Memorials and Writing. He feems ftudioufly
to decline that feeming Piece of Vainglory, of
writing his own Commentaries : As, when he was
on Earth he folicitoufly avoided all Shew of Pride,
Boafting and Oftentation ; fo, nor should his own
H
Pen trumpet his Praiſes about the World, after he
B was dead and gone. When he2 was here, he affected
Privacy for the far greater part of his Life ; when
he appear'd in his publick Miniftry, he oft forbid,
that his excellent Cures and Works fhould be di
vulg'd ; which is far from the Way of Deceivers :
He refused Dominion and Government ; and though
he fometimes told his Followers in plain Terms
T who he was (or elfe he had fcarce been faithful to
himself and his Office) " yet he oft declines giving
anfwer to Queftions of that Nature ; and far more
than the
frequently ftiles himfelf the Son of Man, WIT
P Son
210 LETTE III.
R
Son of God. He will not write his own Life and
famous Works, nor the Hiftory of his Death, and
Conqueft of Death and the Grave, in his quick
Refurrection from the Dead. His own Tongue fhall
not praiſe him, nor his own Pen procure his Ap
plaufe : That might tempt the World to a Sufpici
on, Doubt, or Disbelief. That Work muft be done
for him by others, if it be done at all. And fo it
muſt be obferved, that they that write our Chriſtian
Bible (fo you will give me leave to call the New Te
ftament) write not for themſelves, but for him :
They refund all their Honours and Praiſes into the
Bofom of that Jefus, whom they admire and ſerve :
They advance, glorify and celebrate him, and would
have all the World to do fo too. We preach not our
felves, but Chrift Jefus the Lord ; and our felves, your
Servantsfor Fefus's Sake. They are entirely devoted
to him, to his Inſtitution and Intereft : All they
gain, redounds to his Glory ; and all they fuffer
(and it will in Time appear, that they fuffer enough)
is for his dear Sake and Service. And it is to be
obferved too, that thefe Servants of his write not of
him, or for him, till after he is dead and gone out of
the World. All the Writers willingly give an Ac
count of his Death ; fo that if he be ftill dead,
they ferve a dead Man that can do them no Kind
nefs. He is not now among them, as once he was :
He cannot now encourage, and quicken, and hearten
them, as once he did : He is now no more in the
World, and fo has no earthly Kingdom, no Crowns
or Scepters to beſtow upon them ; no Royal Palace
or victorious Throne on our Globe to invite them

to defire that one may fit on his Right Hand, and

the
 To the DEIS T. 211

the other on his Left, in any fuch Kingdom. He

issgone, and has no worldly Riches, Preferments and
Dignities to confer upon them, or wherewith to
reward them for their Writing and Service : He is
gone, and if he is dead, and they know that he is
dead, (and do but bely him as to his Refurrection)
it is Time to go too ; it's Time to go and ſtudy the
World, and their own Peace and Intereft therein.
It is Time to go to the High Prieft, and the whole
Sanhedrim, and the Roman Prefident, and tell the :
Truth, and lay open the whole Defign and Fraud ;
and fhew how their Mafter has deceived them, and
neither rofe from the Dead, nor fulfilled his Promi
= fes ; but has left them to themſelves, and the Con
tempt of the World, and expoſed them to utmoſt
; Shame, and Sorrow, and Confufion . " This had been
1
the Way to have fecured (as well as might be) their
Honour and Safety : But inſtead of this, they (af
ter Jesus's Departure) when they could have no
vifible Combination or Confederacy with him, when
they could expect no temporal Reward or Advan
tage from him, fet upon writing, preaching, acting,
# and fuffering for him at that Rate, as if they had
been to gain the whole World for their Pains. Here's
da a difintereſted Book, not wrote by him, that is moſt
I concerned therein ; but by others, that muſt have
their Labour, and many additional Sufferings for
their Pains, and is devoted to the Fame, Honour,
<
and Service of a Perfon, that was, fome Years before,
gone out of the World ! Here's an Atchievement, '
moſt remote from all fecular Defign and Projection !
Here the Impulſe muft be,either Conviction of Truth,
I we cannot but Speak what we have ſeen andheard ; or
P 2 the
<
212 LETTER III.

the Neceffity and Importance of the Cafe, for there

is no other Name given ander Heaven, by which we
muft (or by which we ought to) be faved : Or in
deed, both theſe together.
§. 5. We may fuppofe, that there muſt be Dif
ference enough between a Book that is to begin, and
fet up a new Religion in the World, and one that
fuppofes, that it is by other Means begun and fet
up already. In the former Cafe a deal of Craft and
Caution muſt be uſed : Nothing must be faid that
may be likely to offend thofe with whom it is de
fign'd to take and prevail : Its Pages and Paragraphs
muſt be fuppofed to come from Heaven : It muft
beware of faying, that it had been admitted already,
when it has not been really fo. But a Volume that
.
comes out in purſuance of a Religion already fer
afoot and advanced in the World, is more bold and

adventurous. Our Chriſtian Bible fuppofes Chri

ſtianity already commenc'd and kindled in the World:
It was not devis'd and ſtudied for the fowing of its
firft Seeds and Principles : It talks plainly and bold
ly as of Things known and believed : It fpeaks hif
torically, as of Things that could not be well gain
faid or contradicted . It has been already obferv'd,
that fuppos'd Hiſtory (that has not Truth to fup
port it) is one of the worft Ways to lay the Foun
dation of a new Religion in the World. Mat
thew's Goſpel is the first of the facred Hiftories ;
and that relates the Refurrection of Jefus. Now
before that Time, many Difciples had been made by
the Saviour's own perſonal Miniſtry, and that of
his Apoſtles and feventy Difciples : If we fuppofe,
with fome, that the firft Epiftle to the Theffalonians

(or
 To the DEIST.
213

(or Theffalonicians) was the firſt Part of our Chrifti

an Bible, that was penn'd, and fent Abroad ; we ea
fily fee, that Chriftian Religion had got confidera

ble Footing in the World by that Time : It had

fpread in Judea, and Samaria, and Galilee : It had
f
arriv'd at Cefarea, and Damafcus, and Antioch in Sy
ria. The Apoſtle himſelf had planted it at Derbe,
and Lyftra, and Iconium ; he paffed through Phrygia,
: and the Region of Galatia ; came into Macedonia,
and fet up Religion at Philippi, before he came to
Theffalonica. When he writes to the Church there,
he reminds them with what Power and Succeſs the
facred Word had entred there ; what Efficacy it had
upon them, infomuch that they of that Church be
came Examples to the other Believers in Macedonia
and Achaia. If this had not been fo, no Appeal
could reaſonably be made thereto : It would be e
nough to blaft the Apoftle's Credit with that Com
вре
munity. Thus our Bible, fuppofing the Religion
it would recommend already upon good Grounds,
begun and fet up in the World, proceeds without
Fear or Flattery, with Courage, Refolution, and
Authority : It reports Things as commonly known
and aſcertain'd : It appeals to former Light, Know
ledge and Conviction ; and though its own
AAJ Pages
J may well be ſuppoſed to be dictated by the fame

Light and Spirit, by which the Inftitution was at

first directed and advanc'd ; yet it pleads not fo
much its own immediate Authority, as the Light,
Power and Inftruction that had been already receiv
ed. The Work of God, the Seal of Heaven, the
Signatures of the Divine Spirit are appeal'd to and
9 :3

infifted upon, as the Ground of its enfuing Inftruc

tions
P 3
1214 LETTER III.

tions and Injunctions. This is fomething far dif

ferent from writing a fair, plaufible Book, in order to
intice, allure or inveigle the fupine, negligent World.
Here, in our Way, the Penmen laid themſelves open
and obnoxious to all the Denial, Contradiction and
Confutation imaginable : They fear no Oppofition
to what they have to fay, but appeal to foregoing
Conſciouſneſs, to Confcience, Evidence and Expe
rience ; which´ muft not be the Way of thoſe that
lie in wait to deceive.
§. 6. As the Servants of Jeſus muft carry Hifto
ry (or hiftorical Narrations) about the World, fo
they are commanded to begin their Publication in
1
that very City and Country, where the Things are
fuppofed to be done, and their Hiſtory to be verifi
ed. The Foundation of that Pardon and Peace with
Heaven, of that Redemption and Reconciliation
they are to preach to the World, is laid in the Per
fon and Tranfactions of this Jefus. The Hiſtory of
him, of his Life and Works, of his Doctrine and
Death, of his Reſurrection and Glory, is to be con
veyed to, and divulged and inculcated in all Nati
ons : But they muft firft go through the Cities of
Judea, where Jefus is fuppofed to have been moſt
known and moft converfant. In thofe Parts and
Places muft they firft plant the Faith, where it was
moft likely to be confuted, if it could be fo. Nay,
in that City muft they begin, where Jefus was pub
lickly crucified and fent out of the World So he
himfelf inftructs them, Thus it is written, and thus it

behoved, that Chrift should fuffer, and riſe from the

Dead the third Day ; and that Repentance and Remiffion
of Sins ſhould bepreach'd in his Name (as thus having
तू
fuffer'd
 To the DEIST. 215

fuffer'd for Sins, and rifen again for the cancelling

to
of them) among all Nations, beginning at Jerufalem.
D
Luk. xxiv. 46, 47. There muft ye begin, and from
p
thence muft ye fet forth, to carry the fame News
an
. (as far as ye can) to all the World. Accordingly
H
at Jerufalem must they wait, till he furniſh'd them
m
with Power and Spirit enough for fo great an En
terprize ; which would be feen in the Execution.
They must not through Shame (when their Mafter
was ignominiouſly put to Death) fly to their own
=
Homes, nor through Fear and Sufpicion of Difap
pointment (when their Maſter was gone out of the
World) fcatter Abroad, or abfcond themſelves, but
continue together at Jerufalem (where the ſuppoſed
Redeemer of their Ifrael was buried) and wait a
little while, till they fhould be prepar'd for fuch
Miniſtry. Accordingly they did fo ; and in a lit

tle while fill'd Jerufalem with their Doctrine concern

1рует ing Jefus, as if they intended to bring that Man's
Blood -upon the Inhabitants thereof ; as they are told,

Acts v. 28. This Doctrine they teſtify before the

High-Prieft and his Officials, before the Sanhedrim,
ME
and all the Citizens of Jerufalem,. This they incul
cate and infift upon in Oppofition to all Threat
nings, Scourges, Impriſonments and ill Treatment
they can meet with, And great is the Succefs :

Thouſands in Jerufalem are profelyted to this dan

gerous Faith Nay, in fhort Time, a great Company
of the Priests were obedient thereto, as Acts vi. 7.
7 Strange, that the Priefts fhould be fo ! Their Re
putation, and Office, and Intereft led them quite
C

another Way Their Reputation with their Bre

thren would be fo loft, that they muſt be turn'd out
P4
www of
 ER
216 LETT III .

of the Temple and Synagogue : Their Office, ac

cording to their new Faith, must be abolished ; and
all their Intereft therein and thereby, muft die and
ceafe. How muft they now live ? They have no
Inheritance in the Land : It muſt be fome great, vic
torious Evidence, that muſt make Priefts (and a
great Company of them too) obedient to the Faith.

From Jerufalem the Heralds of Jefus proceed into

the Countries and Regions round about ; and in a
Hittle Time, ftated Affemblies of thefe Mufulmen

(or Believers) are planted in Judea, and Galilee, and

Samaria, and flourish in their holy Faith . A De
ceiver fhould have fent his Factors further a Field,
and have diſpatch'd them firft to thofe Places, where
he was not known, and had not lived, and been fa
moufly talk'd of and convers'd.
2
Having thus confider'd the Conftitution and
obvious
53 are
Contents of our Chriftian Bible, which
to your Eye ; we proceed to contemplate the Per
fon, Doctrine, Conduct, and Menage of the Foun
der of this Religion, with that of his Affociates and
Accomplices ; and let us fee what Trace, Signature,
or Footſtep of Fraud or Fallacy, of fecular Defign
and carnal Policy, we can defcry or difcover there.
You will readily fuppofe, that they that engage in
a fecular or worldly Defign, do defign and propofe
to themfelves fome fecular and worldly Advantage :
This fecular and worldly Advantage muft either be
the Luft of the Flesh, in the Indulgence, Gratifica
tions and Pleafures of the Body ; or the Luft of the
Eyes, in the Riches and Treafures, the gaudy Spec
tacles, Scenes, and Shews, that court and pleaſe a
vagrant, Wanton Eye; or the Pride of Life, in the
Pomp
 To the DEIS T. 217

Pomp and Grandeur of Courts and Palaces,, in the

2

airy Notion of Fame and Applaufe, and the imagi

TT

n nary Satisfaction of external Dominion and Dignity ,

no Promotion and Empire.
ic Now you will eafily fee, that no Perfons in the

d: World could more cleverly and thoroughly cut the

Sinews of fuch Aims and Defigns ; or more intirely
purſue the Means and Methods that are directly and
diametrically oppofite and contradictious thereto,
than the holy Founder of this Inftitution and his
Bri Accomplices did : Let us view them but in fuch a
ſhort and faint Light as this.
§. 1. Jefus himself is a Perfon altogether 'diftant
from the Pleaſures and Gratifications of this Life
and World. His Mind and Heart are totally intent
upon God, and the Kingdom of Heaven and Reli
gion : It is his conftant Care, and Buſineſs, and Em
ploy to do Good, to inftruct Souls in the Way to
a better World, and call them off from their Af
fection and Love to this : He will not be Great

here, when he might be fo. Were I here to prefume

upon the Notice or Doctrine of his Pre-exiſtence to
his human Nativity, I might tell you, that he chofe
W to come poor into the World ; not only naked, as all
Men do, but to be born of a poor Parent ; one,
that was not able to bring the Offering of the Rich,
which was but a Lamb and a Pigeon, and muft there
by fore bring a Pair of young Pigeons for her Purificati
on: He was capable of chufing his Parentage and
Place of Birth ; and yet would be the Offspring of
a low, decayed Family, the Son of a poor Matron,
born in a Stable, attended by Beafts, and introduced
1
into a Carpenter's Family. He was exiled his na
tive
Por
 218 LETTER III.

tive Country almoſt as foon as born : Was, all his

Minority, fubject to his Parents , and, probably,
work'd with his Father-in-Laws in his Shop and at
his Trade ; though prepar'd and furniſh'd for much
higher Bufinefs, being fit at twelve Years of Age to
keep an Academy, as being able then to difcourfe

and difpute the learned Doctors in the Temple.

When he came forth into publick Miniſtry, he
would be conceal'd as long as he could ; infomuch
that fome of his Friends were offended, that a Per
fon of fuch fingular Abilities and Works fhould
court fo much Privacy ; He convers'd moftly in the
Country Towns and Villages, and among the poorer
Populace: Frequented the Mountains and the Gar
den, and led his Difciples thither : Seldom went to
a Great Man's Houfe or Table, but when intreated,
and then only to guide and inftruct the Company
to beware of the World, and the Snares of it, and
get fafe to Heaven. He might have been made Um
pire in the Divifion of an Eſtate ( which fome would
have been glad of) but he declin'd the Office, and
only gives Caution againft Covetoufnefs . The Por
pulace were once fo pleas'd with him ( which had
been
‫ܚܪ ܐ ܐ‬a happy Juncture for an ambitious Mind) that
they would have crown'd him, but he 173 ftudiouſly
withdrew himſelf from a fecular Throne , and Do
minion. Crowns and Scepters he leaves in their
· Places, to the Poffeffors of them : An invifible Crown
and Scepter is in his Eye, and guides all his Moti,
ons. A King indeed he profeffes to be, but not an
earthly one. A Kingdom he will have, but not of
this World, as he affures the Prefident that examines
him ; Intimating, that if there be no other World,
evit he
 To the DEIST. 219

he has no Kingdom, and muſt be content to be with

out one; and the Kingdom that he gathers here, is
in order to another State and World. Religion is
all his Bufinefs . The Love of God, and the Love
of Man , and feeking the Kingdom of Heaven,
and the Righteouſneſs thereof, he continually pref
fes and inculcates, Humility, Meeknefs, Spirituali

3 ty, heavenly Difpofition and Beneficence fhine

through all his Life and Converſe : He spends the
Day in Preaching, and the Night in Prayer ; and
t thus he proceeds with unwearied Diligence, not
B
withſtanding the Contempt, Hatred and Malignity he
meets with where he comes. He hears of his Fore
C
runner's Decollation in the Prifon, and then prepares
for his own Departure. He withdraws indeed into
the Country, but it is to do Good, to feed Bodies
and Souls, and work the Works of God, while Day
lafts, and Light continues. He knows his End of
Life approaches. When I faid he ſpent the Night
in Prayer, I might have obferv'd to you, that a
Numa Pompilius, that had a Kingdom to fettle and
-ful
poliſh, would pretend to private Converfation with
the Goddeſs Egeria for his Inftruction. That a
Mahomet, that had a Kingdom to raiſe, profeffes an
Intercourfe with the Angel Gabriel, which none
knew but he himſelf. On the contrary, whatever

retir'd Correfpondence our Jefus had with Heaven,

and with any of the Society there, he never boaſts of
it, nor requires any Reliance thereon. He only ap
peals to what was publick and viſible, and what the
Eyes and Ears of other Folks may be Witneffes to :
And his great, inimitable Works he will conceal as
Jong as he can : His Transfiguration muſt not be
Į publish'd,
JVA
 220 LETTER III.

publiſh'd, till he is gone out of the World. He

f
knows a glaring Light cannot long be hid ; and
when it appears, the Eyes that cannot bear it will
feek its " Extinction ; and he had rather do Work

privately, than be prevented or hindred from doing

it at all. He once accepted an humble Triumph ;
but an Afs carries him without any Caparifon or
Accoutrement, fave what his Servants ordinary
Clothes can make : But he weeps while they re
joice : He fees the deplorable Cafe of the City to
which he travels : He forefees the defolating Judg
ments that are haftning thither : He rides in Tri
umph to the Grave ; for he knows that he must re
turn from Jerufalem no more. Upon the Road, he
informs his Companions what will befall him there.
When one of them would pretend to diffuade him
from fuch Sufferings, he does but call him Adver
fary or Devil for his Pains, and rebuke him for fa
vouring human Things, rather than thofe that are of
God. There he treats his Companions at Supper,
condefcends to wash their Feet, continues (after all
their Faults and Failures) to love them to the End ;
entertains them with moſt noble, heavenly Difcourfe
and Prayer, as his Farewell ; affures them of his
own Felicity in the other World, and his Concern
for them; and fo leads them cheerfully to the Place
where he was to be betrayed. There he spends his
Time in Prayer, till the Traytor and his Complices
come to feize him. Away he is led to the Rulers,
both Ecclefiaftical and Civil : The Roman Prefident

would acquit him, but the Jewish Priefts and Peo

ple will have the Innocent condemn'd. He is in
fulted, ridiculed, fcourged and fpit upon, and at laft
barbaroufly
 To the DE IS T. 221

barbaroufly crucified with a couple of notorious Cri

I
minals. He bears all with unparallel'd Patience, Meek-i
1
nefs and Refignation : He ends his Breath in a gra
cious Promiſe to a Penitent Fellow- Sufferer, in pray
3
ing for his Murderers, and committing his departing
Spirit into his Father's Hands. Here is one that is
worthy to be a Founder of Religion, being fo bright
D
a Pattern of it. Here is nothing carnal or fecular
or that favours of a fenfual, terrene, or merely hu
man Spirit. Here is perfect Averfion, or a total Re
verfe to all of that Nature.
A
§. 2. It is a Sign, that Jefus ftudied no earthly
A
Politicks, or fecular Kingdom, fince he would pro
vide no Succeffor for himſelf, or for his Dominions.
!
A King he would be, and yet he knows he muſt be
but a fhort-liv'd Monarch as to this World : Hel

muſt be cut off in the prime of his Age, or in the

midſt of his moft flourishing Years, and yet leaves
none to affume the Power and Dignity from which
1
he retires. It pleaſes earthly Potentates to think,
that they bequeath their Poffeffions and Empire to
their Heirs, and that, in them, they ſhall almoſt fur
vive themſelves, and reign even when they are dead
and gone. But our Jefus has no fuch Thought,

Defign or Profpect : The Dominion and Regency

4
that he here fets up and claims, muſt be tranſmitted to,
and perpetuated in another World, or be extinct
with him. Though he is of the Royal Family,
and of the Lineage of David, yet he folicits no
Confort, feeks no Progeny : Though he might be
greatly affifted in his Rife and Advancement (as is
ufual with Politick Princes) by great Relations and
rich Alliances, he regards none. It was Mahomet's

great
"
222 LETTER III.

great Aid and Ground of Promotion in Mecca, that

he married his Mafter's Widow, who brought him
much Wealth, many potent Relations, together with
Hope of Iffue : Or if that Hope fail'd with one,
he knew how to procure himſelf ten more. Such
Aims and Purpoſes are moſt remote from the holy
Jefus : He will not be diverted by Family Cares
and Domeſtick Relations, from going up and down
to do Good, to heal the Countries, and preach the
Way to the Kingdom of Heaven. He has no E
state, no Houſe of his own to dwell in, and yet he
covets none (as the manner of many is) by Alli
ance with a Female Companion. If any liberal or
grateful Perfons of that Sex contribute to his Sup
port, or minifter to him of their Subftance (while he
has not other Means of Subfiftence) he craves none
of them, unless it be for Religion, and the heaven
ly World. If a good Woman (and one that he has
a Refpect for) runs up and down the Houfe, 4 with
Concern to make kind Proviſion for him, and the
Company he brings along with him, he will rebuke
her Solicitude and Care, and rather commend her Si
fter, that fits by him, and entertains her Mind with
the Words of eternal Life. When his Difciples re
turn'd to Jacob's Well, they marvell'd to find him
talking with a Woman there ; though he was talking
to " her of the Water of Life. So abftemious and
inoffenfive had his Converfation been. As he defigns
no Progeny, he intends no Succeffor. He values
not his Relations in the Affairs of his Kingdom ,
above others. His obfervant Difciples are to him,
as his Mother, and Sifter, and Brother. Some of
his Relations comport not with him : Thofe that do,
muft
SPO
 To the DEIST. A
223

muft be humble, and fuffer like his other Compani

•
ons. If Fames and John prefume, that upon the
Score of Kindred they may have leave to defire, that
they may fit, the one on his right Hand, and the
other on his left, in his Kingdom, he will call them
$ A
to think of Conformity to himself, and to meditate
.. V
S a bloody Baptifm. And probably it was the fame
James (the Lord's Brother, or near Kinſman) that of
*
all the Apoftolical College was firft flain, being be
headed at Ferufalem : And John fhall have his Share
of Sufferings in his Time. If Peter pretend that he
is Prince of the Apoftles , he is told by what
Death he muft glorify God. But Jefus appoints no
Succeffor to himſelf in his Honour and Dignity :
He tells his moſt eminent Profelytes, that he is Lord
and Maſter, and muſt be fo, 1 and all they are Bre
thren, and muſt carry it as fuch towards one ano
1
ther His Kingdom muſt be a ſhort one, for it
can fubfift but his Life Time ; or must be remov
ed in him, the Head of it, to another World. His
Monarchy is a very fingular one, appropriated to
himself; not only (as other Monarchies ) admitting
but one Regent at one Time, but admitting only
one for all ; one for all Ages, and for the whole Du
ration of it. He has no more a fucceffive King
dom than a fucceffive Priefthood : His Reign was
fmall while he was here, and muft die with him, if
it is not transferr'd to Heaven. His chief Follow
5
ers muſt look upon themſelves as his Servants, when
he is gone out of Sight, and out of the World, and
3
not pretend to ufurp any of his Dominion, Dignity
or Lordship. 03 to the
blaca
!"
L.C §. 3. Yet
 224 LETTER III.

S.3. Yet his Inftitution is not for himſelf, but

forthe World: The fame Kind or Mode of Reli
gion will not ferve or fuit him and us too : He
•
muft Worſhip God, as one that is himself inno
cent; we, as thoſe that are guilty. His Inftitution,
and therewith his Kingdom, is to be communicated,
to, and propagated about the World : For this he
muft chufe proper Ambaſſadors and Accomplices :
To theſe he must open his Deſigns, and theſe he
muſt admit into the Secret of his Projections, and
acquaint with the Intrigue and Myſtery of profe
cuting and compaffing his Affairs and Interefts.
Now thefe, one would think, fhould be but very
few : In a Multitude there is lefs hope of Secrecy,
more Fear and Danger of Tale, Unfaithfulneſs and
Diſcovery: There will be different Intellects, dif
ferent Capacities for Bufinefs, different Thoughts
and Counfels, different Schemes and Interefts : Some
will be concern'd for themfelves, fome for their
Families, Friends and Relations. It will be hard, if
poffible, to perfuade many to forfake and forego
their private Intereſts, and embark all conjunctly in
one Man's Advantage and Concerns ; efpecially if
he does not fecure them of as much as they leave :
They that are rich will covet more ; and they that
are poor will be urged by their importunate Wants
and Neceffities. Jealoufies, Envies and Sufpicions
will be apt to ariſe among them : Mutual Supplan
tation is then likely to enfue ; and then there will
foon be a Detection and Defeat of the whole Plot.
The Arabian Pretender was wife enough to begin
with one or two Confederates ; was content to be

at firſt contemn'd by his Wife, till he and a Com

panion
 To the DEIST.
225

panion had infinuated into her his prophetical Pre

tenfions. The holy Jefus takes quite other Mea
fures : He admits twelve at a Time into his Society
and Counfels : Leads them not to a private Cave,
to be treated with private Inftructions, but chufes
them to go out and come in with him, to be im
pregnated with the fame Spirit, to be Eye-Witnef
fes of his Works, Ear-Witneſſes of his Preaching
and Doctrine, and Inſpectors of his whole Con
verfation : And what of his publick Doctrine they
underſtood not, he gives them leave to enquire of
him privately, in order to their further Informa
tion. At another Time he fends forth feventy Ac
complices at once ; he gives them much the fame
Errand ; furnishes them with much the fame Pow
ers, and directs them in the fame Method of pro.

moting and inhanfing his Kingdom. Here are eighty

two Confederates engaged in his Service in his Life
Time, and more are admitted and added after his
Death. Here are enough to betray a Project, that
did not anfwer their Expectation and Hope ; to
diſcover and ſpoil one that was not well founded,
and withall expos'd them (without fufficient Re
1 ward) to Sorrows and Calamities in the World.
W
Surely it muſt be a good Caufe, and a good Pro
fpect (and we ſhall yet fee, that it was none of
this World) that could oblige fo many Hearts and
Hands to be faithful to one Man's Intereft and
Service.
S. 4. It may be worth while to confider the
Quality of the Accomplices he chufes, and the Pla
ces he goes to feek, or rather to find them in : He
chufes not the Rich, the Learned, the Honourable
and
Q
226 LETTER III.

and Potent, and thoſe that were moſt likely to pro

cure and promote a fecular Kingdom : He requires
not a Concurrence of Purfes, a Contribution of

Wealth and Treaſure, for carrying on of his De

fign : He goes not to the Schools of the Prophets
(fuch as they were then) or the Academies of the
Rabbi's, to pick out thofe that were verfed in the
Arts of Reasoning and Oratory, and could difpute
or perfuade the World out of their Senfes, and into
the Belief of fenfible Things (or Things fit to be
the Objects of Senfe) that they had neither feen
nor heard : He goes not to the Camp or to the Ca
ftle, to find out well-difciplin'd or couragious Men,
that were fit for a bold Encounter, could face an
Enemy in the Field, or venture upon an extraordi
nary Enterprize : He goes not, to the High-Prieft's
Palace, or the Roman Hall, to feek the Stateſmen ,
and thoſe that were skill'd in Politicks, and in
drawing and executing a wide, political Scheme :
He goes not to the Cities to look for the polite and
accompliſhed, or thoſe that were acquainted with
Traffick and Commerce, with Remittances and Ac

counts : The more plain, fimple, undifguifed and

undefigning People are more fit for his Purpoſe ;
and the more fit, as they are the more fincere. He
walks into the Country, and picks up thoſe that are
of the more honeft, ruftick Spirit. He marches a
long the Sea- Coafts, and calls thoſe that were in
ur'd to Labour, and Hope and Patience, and under
takes to make them Fiſhers of Men. He calls one
indeed from the Tax-Office, or Receipt of Cuſtom ;
but it is not to encreaſe, but rather disburfe 'what
he had gain'd, and communicate a Treaſure that
coft
 To the DEIST. 227

coft him nothing. He must be ready to fay with

Zaccheus (a very hopeful, promifing Diſciple) Be
D bold, Lord, the half of my Goods I give to the Poor (i
is well if half will ferve his Turn ) and if I have
taken any Thing from any Man, by falſe Accufation, I
O

reftore him fourfold. Such as thefe are the fitteſt In

1
ſtruments in Jeſus's Hand ; and the moſt proper Pro
fecutors of his Defign and Kingdom .
§. 5. We may look a little into Jefus's Family
" or School, and fee how he educates and inftructs his
Pupils : They muſt be with him, and be train'd up
も
for his Kingdom, and the Methods of it : Their
natural Genius, and ordinary Education, and epide
mical Principles, did not prepare them for it, or
adapt them thereto : They must learn new Notion
and Meaſures. But here they are not treated with
Syftems of Logick or Oratory : Plain Senfe and
Reaſon will ferve their Turn ; or a naked Report of
what they have heard and feen. They are not train
ed up to Politicks and State Affairs, nor tutor'd to
be Viceroys, or Provincial Preſidents, or Plenipo
tentiaries to foreign Courts : Their Fancy of being
Jeſus's Affeffors in his Kingdom, is foon turned in
to a quite different Scene. They are not inftructed
in the Arts of War, in Feats of Chivalry and mili
tary Diſcipline : They are not taught to be Gene
rals and Commanders of well-accoutred Legions ;
have no Lectures read to them about the Methods
of laying Sieges to Advantage, or raiſing them with
I
Security ; about ſtorming of Forts, blowing up Ma
gazines, fapping the Foundations of Caſtles and Ar
fenals, taking of Cities, and putting to flight the
Armies of the Aliens : Alas ! They muſt know,
Q2 that
228 LETTER III.

that his Kingdom admits no fuch Methods as theſe.

If his Kingdom were of this World, then indeed
his Servants and Subjects might fight for him : But
now1 his Kingdom is not of this World, but muſt
be defign'd and prepar'd for Heaven. Here the
Sword will fignify nothing : It may foon be the
Deftruction of him that moft ufes it, or is moſt
skilful at it. Alas ! Their Art, and Skill, and Bu
finefs must be to fulfill the Angels Song, founded
forth at their Maſter's Birth ; to raiſe Glory to God
in the higheft, to diffufe Peace on Earth, and diffemi
nate good Will among Men. Jefus's Academy is the
School of facred, practical Science ; the Seminary
of pureft Humility and Love, of moſt exquifite
Virtue and Religion : There they are taught to be
pure in Heart, and poor (yet divinely rich) in Spirit ;
to mourn for Sin, and the Impieties of the World ;
to be meek and merciful ; to hunger and thirst after
Righteousness ; to be Peace-makers, and to rejoice in
being perfecuted for Righteousness (or Religion's) fake.
There they are taught the Art of forgiving
Wrongs, of loving Enemies, of bleffing thoſe that
curſe, and praying for thoſe that ſpitefully uſe and
treat them : There they are taught to abandon Hy
pocrify, Fraud and Guile ; to be fincere and upright
before God and Man ; to love God with all the
Heart and Strength ; to fear God, as being able to
deftroy Soul and Body in Hell for ever ; to value
the Soul above the World ; For what shall it profit a
Man, to gain the whole World and lofe his own Soul ?
They are not inftructed how they may fuitably
fuftain illuftrious Titles and Characters, as of Arch
bishops and Primates, of Patriarchs or Cardinals :
They
 To the DEIST. 229

They are not inur'd (without Offence be it ſpoken)

to the reverential (or deferential) Addreffes, of your
Lordship or your Grace, your Eminency or your
Holiness. It may be queftion'd, whether their
Lord would himſelf admit fuch Applications : He
the accuſtoms them to more Humility and Familiarity :
They muft walk with him, and fit down with him
at his Table. Alas ! He teaches them the Skill of

A Self-denial, and taking up the Crofs, and fo follow

11
ing him in the Way to an invifible Kingdom. In
fhort, their Weapons must be their Innocence and
Integrity, their Tongues and Breath : Their Inno
cence and Integrity is their defenfive Armour round
about, on the right Side and on the left : Their
Tongues and Breath are their offenfive Artillery ;
Tongues, not fet on Fire by the Sulphur of Hell,
but by the Rays of the Sun of Righteouſneſs and
Peace : Fiery Tongues muſt they diſcharge ; but
fuch as are kindled by pure, celeftial Flames : The
Exploſion of Air and Breath there must be ; not

1 bombardical, but fuch as is impregnated and en

flamed by the Spirit of God. Their Maſter (or
Tutor) teaches them to pray and preach : For Prayer,
he gives them fuch a rich, comprehenfive Magazine,
the World had not feen before : It begins with the
- Sanctification and Celebration of the Divine Name and
Glories; and ends (its Petitions) with our Salvation from
Evil : The Accompliſhment of both, muſt be afcrib
ed to the Dominion and Power, and will redound
to the Glory of God. With a fuitable Artillery of
and for preaching, he will provide them : They muſt
preach as he did, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven
is at Hand. Repent, intimates the World's Sinful
nefs
Q3
230 LETTER III..

nefs and Revolt from God ; calls for facred Sor

row and Regret, and fummons us to God, from
whom we have fallen. The Kingdom of Heaven be
ing at Hand, fuppofes the Methods God has taken
for reftoring the World to himſelf, and for return
ing to the World with Honour ; and intimates his
Defign, and beginning to fet up a Kingdom of
Grace and Religion on Earth, in order to a King
dom of Happineſs and Glory in Heaven. With
theſe two pieces of Ordnance muft they demolish
the Devil's Kingdom, blow up his ftrong Holds and
Garifons, and fcorch the Devil himſelf in his own
Territories, and bring him tumbling down, as at
his firſt Fall, or like Lightning from Heaven ? What
fecular Craft and worldly Cunning is here, let the
Devil himself defcry, if he can.
S. 6. His Charge to them, at their firſt ſetting
out into the World, and the firft-Fruits of their
Function, is highly remarkable : Some Effay of their
Work and his Service they muſt make before he
leaves them: Some Trial of their Arms and their
Skill they must have, while he is among them :
Some Experience of their Enemies Ways, and of
any Succeſs of their own, will improve and encou
rage them for future Encounters, The Mafter will
not diſmiſs them from under his Wing, or fend them
Abroad upon fuch Miniſtry, without a fuitable
Lecture , or Ordination-Sermon for their In
ftruction , Memory and Advice. And here he
fends them without fecular Arms or Treaſure :

They muſt take no other Clothes than what they

had on, no Money (unleſs they had already a lit
tle, which, poffibly, fome of them had not) in
+ their
 To the DEIST. 231

their Pockets, no Bag of Provifion for their Jour

ney : Scarce will he allow them to ftay fo long, as
to take Shoes and Staves along with them. They'
muſt not be nice in their Diet or Lodging, and
change from Houfe to Houfe upon that Account.
They muſt blefs the Houfe that receives them, and
do all the Good they can : They muſt freely exert
the Powers they have receiv'd, and diftribute Health,
and Mercy, and Peace all around them : They muſt
depend upon his Care, though out of Sight, and
upon the good Providence of their Father in Hea
ven. He affures them, he fends them out as Sheep a
mongWolves. A great Encouragement indeed ! How
fhall they eſcape being devour'd ? They must be
459
brought before Governors and Kings for his fake : And
how ſhall poor Fiſhermen bear fo great a Preſence ?
ㄨ
ㄓˋ
They must be deliver'd up to Councils, andscourged in
the Synagogues : And that's a little worse than toiling
? all Night, though they catch nothing but Labour.
for their Pains. He tells them, They shall be hated of
all Men for his Name'sfake *. Did ever any Foun
der of a politick Inſtitution allure or draw Men in
to his Interefts by fuch a Promiſe or Affurance ?
Was ever worldly Deſign fo raiſed and eſtabliſhed ?
2 This was enough to make them betake themſelves
G
to their Heels, and fly fuch a hated Name, and fuch
an odious Service. He plainly tells them what they
muft expect, what the World's Wages will be, and
what his will be here and hereafter. Here's Plain

dealing indeed ! No Sign of Collufion or Craft :

* O fuafionem diffuafionis omnis undique plenam ! An pu

tamus Demofthenem, Ciceronemque hâc ratione quicquam perfua
dere cuiquam potuiffe ? Marfil. Ficin. de Relig. Chrift. cap. S.
Q4 If
 LETTER III.
232

If they are not content with this Work, and this

Wages, they muſt let both alone : He will be ready
to treat them with the fame Difdain, he orders them
to fhew towards the Cities, that would not receive
their Meffage ; to fhake off the Duft from his Feet,
in Teftimony againſt them.
It is too obfervable to be omitted (what I had

forgot in its Place) that the holy Jefus ſeems to al

low them to tell Abroad all that they could ; all
that they knew of him, and his private Intercourſes
with them, and his Deſigns upon the World. What
I tell you in Darkness (or have told you in Darkness ;

for he is now fending them out into the Light :

Whatever I have faid to you in any of our Retire
ments, or in any of our Evening-Conferences, when
I gave you leave to enquire into any Thing, you

did not underſtand ; and when I expounded all

Things to you, in our Recefs from the Publick,
all that) Speak ye in the Light, fpeak it in the Face of
the World ; and what ye hear in the Ear, ( whatever
has been whiſper'd to you, ) that preach ye upon the
Houfe-Tops. Let nothing of our Aims, Intentions,
Hopes and Meaſures be conceal'd from Mankind :
Impart all you know : And you know enough to
attain the End for which you are fent, Mat. x. 27.
Such a Permiffion (or Commiffion, if you pleaſe)
muſt be far remote from any fecular, finifter Pur
pofe or Project.
§. 7. It is his Care to take down the aſpiring
Thoughts of his Difciples, and the Prejudices they
had on the Behalf of a mundane Kingdom : Prejudi
•
cate Notions they had of the fecular Grandeur and
Glory of their Meffiah, when he fhould come : He
muſt
44
 To the DEIS T. 233

muft exalt his own People, and fubdue the Nations

before him. The Sceptre must not entirely depart from
Judah, nor the Lawgiver from between his Feet, till

ive Shiloh come. And then Shiloh, they fuppofed , would

J wield the moſt ſplendid Sceptre, and diſplay the moſt
ftately, legiflative Power. The Rod of his Strength
(his invincible Truncheon, or, Staff of Command)
must go forth out of Sion, and he muſt (bloodily, and
unmercifully) Rule in the midst of his Enemies : And
his Advantage might he have made of fuch Prepof
feffions, if he had pleaſed, and if his Mind had
ftood that Way. Great Hopes are great Affiftants
to, and fometimes the Prefage of great Succefs : But
then he ſhould have chofen, as it fhould feem, other

guife Perfons for his Aim and Enterprize : But if

1
they are unfit for their own Expectation and De
fign, they are the more fit for his, or he will make
them fo: And fo he takes all Occafions to fink
their towering Hopes, Defires and Affectations of
this World. He calls them to meditate the Croſs,
and a Conqueft by their own Blood. When two
of them (prompted, poffibly, by a near Relation to
him, and a prefum'd Intereft in him ; the one being,
probably, the Lord's Brother, and the other, the be
loyed Difciple ) ambitiouſly requeſted, to be made
his chief Favourites or prime Miniſters of State in
e
his Kingdom ; he (notwithſtanding their Kindred
and his own Affection ) enquires into their Ability
" or Readineſs to ſuſtain a Baptifm by Blood ; he calls
them to an Account for their private Diſputes a
bout Primacy and Pre-eminence in his Kingdom ;
will allow no fuch Conteſts there, no Image of
worldly Power : But to their Mortification , affures
them
55. ,
 LETTER III.
234
them, that the Chief in his State, muft be the first
in Humility and humble Offices. When (upon the
Suppofition of his continu'd Death) a couple of his
Friends utter'd fuch a defpairing Complaint, but we
trufted (and accordingly hop'd) that this had been
he, that should have redeemed Ifrael ; (ſhould have
broke the Roman Yoke, and have advanc'd their
Ifrael, as Head, and imperial Ruler of the World ;)
he does but call them Fools, for fo faying, and remind
them that their Meffiah muft, through Sufferings,
enter into his Glory and Kingdom. When, upon
his known Refurrection (and when he might be fup
poſed to be furniſh'd with more Power than before ;
and when, perhaps, he had told them, that all Power
in Heaven and Earth was committed to him) they ask
him, Lord, wilt thou at this Time restore the Kingdom
(the Sovereign Empire) to Ifrael? He rebukes their
Fancy, by letting them know, that it is not for them
to know Times and Seafons (beforehand ; ) that the
World muſt not bow to their Arms ; but they muſt
travel about the World, as Witneffes of and for him
(of his Life and Death, and invifible Reign above,)
in Jerufalem (in the firſt Place) and in all Judea,
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermoft Parts of the
Earth. Their Ifrael fhall be diffipated and deſtroy
ed ; and another fort of Kingdom ſhall be fet up.
§. 8. He affures them of fuch an Offence, like
to befall them in Reference to himſelf, as was enough

to make them renounce all Confederacy with him,

and expofe any wily Defign that was committed to
them . All ye (as long as ye have been with me)

fhall be offended (or fcandaliz'd) becauſe of me (and

upon my Account) this Night. This they could
fcarce
 To the DEIST. 235

fcarce believe: They thought they knew him fo

well, and were fo confcious of their own Affection
to him, that nothing could fever them from him :
But when they faw and heard the Swords and Staves
2

about their Ears ; faw their Mafter apprehended, and

ED
themſelves in utmoſt Danger, it was Time to be
take themſelves to their Heels : Then, where was

the Requeſt of fitting on his Right Hand, and on his

Left, in his Kingdom ? Where was the zealous
Peter, and the Lord's Brother, and the fpecial Fa
vourite ? Then all the Difciples forfook him and:
fled: And then was the Time to forfake all Com
bination with him. When their Expectations were
fo defeated, their Maſter's Power ſo reſtrain'd, him
felfin the Enemy's Hand, and they in Hazard of
their Lives, or of total Difperfion, when fo great
a Stumbling-block was laid in their Way, and their
Hopes of a Kingdom fo difmounted ; it was Time to go
1 and confefs to the Magiftrates all the Intrigue that was
among them, and fave themſelves by impleading their
Mafter. Now it were better for Peter to turn In
former, and open the Truth, than forfwear an
Acquaintance that could not be hid. Now let them
turn Evidence, and fhew how their Leader had laid
a Scheme to undermine or overthrow Cefar's Go
vernment, to wreft the Sceptre out of his Hand,
and reftore it to his own Houſe and Family. The
近 chief Prieſts will want Witneſs mightily, and, to
be fure, will gratify any of theſe authentick Wit
neffes for their Pains : But they have nothing to
03 confefs, but what the World muft hear of in a
while. · Their Faith and Hope is now • in a Deli

quium, in a fainting Fit ; But they rally again in a

ald few
*
 236 LETTER III.

few Days Time, and, when their Maſter is gone

out of the World, prove more zealous, undaunted
Evidences and Witneffes for him, than ever they did
before.

§. 9. But (what is exceeding remarkable) one of

the Affociates turn real Apoftate and Traytor : He
was Steward or Treaſurer to the Society. As he
bore the Bag, he lov'd the Load of it, and was re
folv'd to gain fome Portion, fome Time or other,
to himſelf. He covenants with his Mafter's Ene
mies, to inform them of his retir'd Refidence, and
of a fit Time and Place of Seizure, and ſo to deliver.
him into their Hands ; which he faithfully did, and
accordingly receives his Hire. Now here is it a fit
Time, and a brave Occafion (even his own Juftifica
tion) to go to the chief Prieſts and Elders, and (in
ftead of bringing his Wages, like a Fool, back again)
to tell them the whole worldly Defign of his Leader
and Followers (which he knew from the beginning)
and fo expoſe the Cheat to the Eye of the World,
and prevent the Execution of it for ever. Thus
he might have vindicated his Name and Fact, and
faved his Life, and done Good in his Generation,
and guarded the World from an outrageous Impo
fture ; But instead of this, the poor Wretch has
nothing to do, but to bring his Money back again
(he can't hold it, it is fo• hot) and to own (with
deſperate Remorſe) that he has betrayed innocent Blood,
and even go and hang himſelf, or fuffocate himfelf
with Grief, or both, as far as they can confiſt.
Now this Traytor the holy Jefus knew well e
nough : He eafily foretold the inquifitive Difci
ples, who should betray him; yea, he knew from
the
 To the DEI'S T. 237
32

the beginning who fhould betray him : And yet he

chofe this Man to be one of his Intimates, to be
with him, to attend him in his Travels, to be acquaint
이

of ed with his Doctrine, his Works, and his publick

He and private Converfation : He thus chofe him, though
he knew he would prove a Traytor ; which cer
tainly he did by the Spirit of Wiſdom, that he
23 131443

might be juſtified by the Traytor's Self-Condemna

tion. If timorous Friends or a treacherous Foe had
had any Evil to diſcover, or cunning Plot to detect,

Jefus had been condemned : But they will far foon

er condemn themſelves. Peter's Penitence ſhall be
...

feen in his Face ; and Ifcariot's Defpair in the break

ing of his Heart, and the bursting of his Bowels :
The Traytor's Confeffion is the Maſter's eternal Ju
ftification .
29 §. 10. After the Maſter's Death and Departure
out of the World, the furviving Affociates gather
together again, and become more zealous and active
for their Maſter's Name and Honour, than ever they
were before. This they had little Reaſon to be, if
they knew he had deceiv'd them ; and was ſtill dead,
and unable to do them any Good : Yet now they
teſtify that he is alive, that he has been ſeen of
them , has converſed with them, is gone to Heaven,
and has ſhed another-guife Spirit on them than they
had before. This is apparent, that their timorous,
daftardly Spirit is fled : That they can face the Ru
lers and the Sanhedrim, that they can boldly apolo
gize for themſelves, can plead their Maſter's Cauſe
in the Face of the World, and in Defiance of Threats
and Terror : Though they are but plain, unpolish'd 1

and unlearned Men, they can now plead the Cauſe

of
 "
LETTER III.
238

of God, of their Mafter, and his Inftitution, in

Oppofition to all the Learning they meet with :
" They can work miraculous Cures ; can fo pray, as
to ſhake the Houſe where they meet ; and fo preach,
as to ſhake the Hearts and Confciences of thoſe that
hear them, and bring in thouſands into the fame In
tereft with themſelves. They are ſo far from being
difcouraged now, upon their Maſter's leaving them
to the wide World (though formerly, upon the Pro
fpect of it, Sorrow had fill'd their Heart) that they
fill up the Vacancy in their College, and adopt one
(that had alſo been a conftant Witnefs of the Ma
fter's Spirit and Conduct ) into the Traytor's Room.
They meet publickly, they make Profelytes, they
gall and vex the Rulers by their Hiſtory of Jefus,
their Maſter : They are threaten'd, beaten, impri
fon'd and revil'd, yet they go on undauntedly ; yea,
are pleaſed and glad, that they are fo far honour'd,
as to be reproach'd and vilified for their dear Ma
fter's Sake. Here muſt be ſomething more and better
than Fraud and Fallacy, to bear them out in all this
Work and Jeopardy.
The Time was now come, when their Maſter's
great Promiſe to them muft be fulfill'd. He had

affur'd them at his Departure, that he would not

leave them comfortleſs, or in an headlefs, Orphan
State : He would give them an Encourager or Com
forter, that ſhould teach them the Things they could
not then receive, (and that, perhaps, becauſe they
were ſo intent upon earthly Things) and ſhould ena
ble them to carry his Name to the Ends of the
Earth. As he was glorified in Heaven, he would
(as it was meet he should) be glorified on Earth too,
and
 To the DEIST. 239

and make the World ring with his Glory. At the

Feaft of Pentecoft (for as he was crucified at one great
W
Solemnity, it was fit he ſhould be glorified at ano
2

ther, and indeed, the next enfuing) when religious

Jews were gather'd together, out of all Nations,
there was a moft confpicuous Diffufion of the Di
vine Spirit upon the Diſciples of Jefus : There were
KTM

fenfible Emblems of this diffufed Spirit : There was

the Sound of a rushing, mighty Wind ; to inti
mate, there muſt now be a great Concuffion on
Earth. The Jewiſh State and Polity, and Ritual Re
ligion muſt be ſhaken : Yea, the City and Temple
(where it is fuppofed they were now fitting) and
whole Nations would be fhaken. The Gods and
THE
Religions of the Gentile Nations would now be
fhaken, which would cauſe great Commotions there :
There appeared cloven, fiery Tongues ; cloven, to
intimate their Diverſity, and their penetrating Power ;
and fiery, to intimate the Fervour and Zeal by which
they were mov'd, and which they would kindle in
others. This effuſed Spirit foon diſcovered itſelf
in the various Languages it taught the Apoſtles to
fpeak, of which there were numerous Witneſſes.
This Gift was a fuitable Remedy againſt the Confu
fion at Babel: Without it, the Apoſtles could have
done little to convert the World, and advance their
Maſter's Name among the Gentiles. The quick
and fpeedy fpreading of his Name and Inftitution
about the World, muft fhew, that they were fur
niſhed with ſuch a Power : And then the fame Spi
rit appear'd in the Fortitude, Refolution and Con
ftancy of the Apoſtles themſelves, in their Mafter's
Cauſe and Service. Had they been never fo good
001 Linguifts,
 240 LETTER III.

Linguifts, if ſtill they had the fame timorous, trepid

Spirit they had before, they muſt have ſtaid at Home,
and not have ventur'd with fuch a dangerous Name.
and Cauſe, into the Oppofitions of the World.
But now they fear no Colours : Scoffs and Tears,
Bonds and Impriſonments are no Difcouragements at
all. Their Mafter's Glory is more valuable than
Life. Thefe Atteftations given to them, could not
be done in a Corner ; are made evident to the crowd
ed City, and are Teftimonies of the Apoſtles Honour
and Integrity.

S. 11. It will be needful and proper to ſee what

this new Inftitution would be at ; what it leads its
1
Profefforst , and what is the Spirit, Life and Prac
tice fit pires and inftills. Hitherto, we may fup
poſe, it has been imperfect and upon the Growth : 1
While Jefus was alive, it was itinerant, and tra
vell'd up and down with him : The Converts were
comparatively few, and they ſcatter'd ; fome in one
Town or Village, fome in another. Now the Head
of the Inſtitution is fuppofed to be glorified' ; and
the Spirit of it to be eminently diffuſed and com
municated. What would it lead us to ? Now thou

fands embrace the Inftitution, and are capable of

mutual Converſe, and Encouragement in the fame
City. Now they have Eſtate and Wealth among
them : Diverfe fell their Poffeffions and Goods, and
make a common Stock. Now they have Peace, and
Liberty to put their Inftitution into Practice. As
the Profelytes are many, the Apoftles are all with
them, to head, and guide, and influence them, to
all they would have them do, and all the Inftitu
tion requires. What is now their Care and Bufi
nefs ?
 To the DEIST. 241

id nefs ? Are they ſtudious of the Flesh, and its Appe

tites and Inclinations ? Do they make Provifion
ne for its Gratification ? Are they intent upon the
World, upon the Pleafures, Profits and Grandeur of
S, it ? Do they feek to raife an Army, to lift Soldiers,
to purchaſe Arms, and fet up for Conquerors of
the World? Do they difturb the Government, or
declare War against Herod or Cefar, or any of Cefar's
1
Lieutenants ? No fuch Matter. Alas ! How far
are theſe Things from 8 their Heads and Hearts ?
Love and Devotion is all their Care : The Worship
of God, and of their glorified Lord, is their Em
ploy, together with facred Converfation among
themfelves : They continued fredfastly in the Apostles
7 Doctrine (as being the Ground of their Hope and
Practice) and Fellowship, (in Conjunction and Com
munion with the Apoſtles, and with one another)
and in breaking Bread (probably, in breaking facred
Bread, in Commemoration of their Lord's Death

for them) and in Prayers ; (in Communion with

Heaven, as Prayer could either maintain, or obtain
it.) Andthey continuing daily with one Accord in the Tem
ple (it fhould feem, they had the Liberty of the
Porch, or of fome other Room pertaining to the
Temple ; and they were not afham'd to appear o
penly) and breaking Bread, from House to Houfe, did
eat their Meat (it fhould feem, their common Meals,
as well as facred Repafts, were taken, as much as
might be, together, ) with Gladness and Singleness of
Heart, (Deceit and Guile could never be a good
Foundation of Gladnefs and Singleness of Heart)
praifing God, and having Favour with all the People.
Here is a Heaven upon Earth ! Praiſing of God,
R Taftes
242 LETTER III.

Taftes of his Love, Joy in prefent Circumſtances,

and Hopes of better, pleaſant Love and Communi
on with each other ! Had ever pure, natural Reli
gion fuch an Iffue, fuch an Effect upon the Earth ?
Here's Contempt of the World ! One would be no
richer than another : They that had Poffeffions fold
them, and lived in common with the reft . They
that fold them, feem'd to take it as a Favour, that
the Purchaſe-Money might be accepted : They ven
tured not to put it into the Apoſtles Hands, but
laid it at their Feet : They knew, that the Men that
had taught them fuch Alienation from the World,
could themſelves trample it under their Foot. They
might fee, if they pleaſed, the Ufe their Money
was put to, and the Diſtribution that was made of

it to others. The Apoſtles (though Preſidents of

the Society) car'd to pocket none of it : For after
thefe Sales began to be made, and theſe Contributi
ons brought to the Community, when two of them
were walking up to the Temple, Peter (fuppofed to
be the Prince of them, but he had not yet been at
Rome ; and yet to hide his Poverty, or exert his
Charity, one would think he ſhould have borrow
ed of his Companion, if he were then the richer of
the two ; but he is as willing, as able to fay, and
accordingly) fays, Silver and Gold have I none ; but
fuch as I have, give I thee.
The rich Powers con
ferr'd upon him by his Mafter were his Treaſure.
What Simplicity and Purity, what Charity, Com
munion and Piety is here ? Can this be the Produc
and Fruit of crafty Fraud, Seduction and Deceit ?
· But let us fee what is next .

S. 12. Now
 To the DEIS T.
243

• §. 12. Now a gloomy Scene arifes, and a Cloud

is drawn over this Joy and Glory. The Serpent
will creep into Paradife : The pureft Society on
h Earth must not be entirely fincere and unmixt :
no 1
The Joy is diſturb'd : The Praiſes are interrupted :
Tak Hypocrify and Lying enter there ; and are fudden
-
ly and dreadfully punish'd in a Society, that fome
would have us believe, was founded upon Hypocrify
and Lying. A couple of Profeffors pretend to do
as others (in their Love and Zeal) did ; to fell their
Eftate, and bring the Price thereof, and lay it (as
the others did) at the Apoftles Feet. It was but
part of the Price, which they would have to be
thought was the whole ; one of them fays, was fo.
By the Holy Ghoft the Apoftles are inform'd of
the Deceit : They are convicted, and immediately
executed and ftruck dead . The facred Community
is affrighted. They that, at Diſtance, hear the News
1
are terrified. Great Fear (as it well might) came
upon all the Church, and upon as many as heard ofthefe
Things. Strangers are detain'd at a Diftance, and
made afraid of joining themſelves to fuch an awful.
Society : Of the reft durft no Man join themselves to
them. The fincerer Populace cannot but venerate
fuch a Company. The People magnified them : But
how could this be done in a Society founded upon
Deceit and Lies ? Or muft (in an heavenly Com
munity) the lefs Sinners be punifh'd, while the
much greater efcape ? Would the Holy Ghoſt
(fhall we imagine) be fuch a Refpecter of Per
fons, as to let the great Criminals efcape, while the
lefs are moſt feverely chaftifed ? How could Peter
pbraid Ananias with lying to the Holy Ghoſt, if
R 2 he
244 LETTER III.

he knew that himſelf lied much more ; if he father'd an

Effufion of Gifts, and Works , and Miracles upon
the Holy Ghoft, which he knew the Holy Ghoft ,
never wrought ? With what 1 Face could the Apo
ftles entitle this Inſtitution of theirs to the Holy
Ghoft, while they knew that it was a Device of
their own, and no Appointment of his ? How could
any of them pretend to accufe Sapphira of tempting
the Spirit of the Lord, while they did it in a more ag
gravated Mode and Degree ? They tempted him in
deed, if their Doctrine and Practice were for fome
Years full of Fallacy and Falfhood, and that impu
ted to God himſelf, as the Author of it. Yea, we
arefound falfe Witneſſes of God (faith another Apoſtle, )
because we have teftified of God, 1 that he rais'd up Chrift
from the Dead; whom he rais'd not up, if the Dead rife
not. Could they tell many Lies to the World, and
be fevere upon a poor Woman, that helpt . them to
a Purfe of Money for telling one ? Or would the
Great God, or the Spirit of God, stoop to their
Partiality and Hypocrify ? It is not to be imagin'd.
Let God be true, and every Man a Liar : Ananias's
and Sapphira's dreadful Doom is their Juftification.
And this probably was the Reaſon of their fo dread
ful Doom, and fudden Extinction ; not only (in ter
rorem) to deter Hypocrify from the Church of
God for the future ; but to intimate that this was
the firft Sin of the Kind, in the preſent Conftitu
tion of the Kingdom of Jefus ; that ſtudied Hypo
crify and wilful Lying had not yet enter'd into the
Apoftolical Church, the Church of God, fince the
Saviour's Refurrection and Afcenfion ; that that
Crime the jealous God would not endure ; that he
would
 To the DEIST.
245

would immediately flay thofe that first introduced

1 it : And fo their fudden Execution is an irrefragable
11 Vindication of the Divine Authority of the Infti
tution, and of thoſe that were concern'd in the E
ſtabliſhment of it.

§. 13. The Ambaffadors of Jefus, in the Propa

gation of his Kingdom, are to travel far, and labour
hard : He appoints them not a Life of Eaſe and
fenfual Repoſe : They muſt be his Witneſſes to the
M
V

Ends of the Earth. Still it muſt be remember'd,

they act , and ferve, and labour for him, and not for
themſelves : They raiſe a Kingdom for him, and not
for themſelves : And a fpiritual, felf-denying, mor
tified Kingdom it must be. Nor is Jefus in the
World, to countenance them in their Work, or to
reward their Labour. It must be pure Labour of
Love, to a withdrawn, unfeen Mafter : And they
muft labour hard. It will be hard Work to profe
lyte the prejudiced, malignant World : Infuperable
Difficulties will lie in their Way : They muft tra
vel far ; as far as they can well go, either on Foot,
or by Carriage, by Land or Sea, as long as they
live. Neither Horfes nor Coaches, Mules or Ca
mels have they for Land, nor Ships for Convey
ance by Sea, nor Treaſure to procure them. The
eftablish'd Religions of the World they muſt take
down, and fet up a new one ; which will enflame
the Artificers of thofe Religions against them.
Learning and Philoſophy, Priesthood and Augury,
pious Fraud and Prieftcraft will riſe in Arms againſt
them. From Jerufalem they muft fet out, and dif
fufe their Mafter's Name (his crucified Name and
Honour) through the Earth. What a Task is here ?
3R

R 3 What
246 LETTER III.

What confiderate Mind is not almoſt ſhock'd at the

Thought of it ? This was fomewhat elſe, - than be
ingimmured in a Monaftery, or refiding at a Cathe
dral, or entertaining one's felf in a Library, and fend
ing out from thence, fometimes, fome learned Enter
prizes into the World . Theſe Emiſſaries are expo
fed to Hunger and Thirſt, Poverty and Nakedneſs,
Toil and Fatigue, Contempt, and Scorn, and Op
pofition, wherever they came. And yet how far

did they go, and what Conquefts did they make ?

We foon hear of them in the moſt famous Cities of

the World: Jerufalem, and Rome, and Babylon are

foon fubjected to the Name and Homage of the
crucified Jefus .

And not only do the appointed Emiffaries carry

the anointed Name abroad, but the more private
Members of the Chriſtian Society are defirous to
fpread the Inftitution wherever they come. They
are fo fenfible of the Truth and Excellency of it,
they cannot but publiſh it in all Places, whither they
are driven, and driven upon the Account of their
Profeffion of it. Now they that were fcatter'd abroad
ироп the Perfecution that arofe about Stephen, travelled
upon
as far as Phoenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preach
ing the Word to none, but the Jews only ; (they were
not yet well acquainted with the Enlargement of the
Church of God ; but what they had heard and
feen, they could not but teſtify to their Brethren :)
And fome of them were Men of Cyprus and Cyrene
(who had been to worship at Jerufalem ; and, doubt
lefs, had feen and found the Power of the Divine
Spirit there) who, when they were come to Antioch,
Spake unto the Grecians ( the Greek Jews) preaching
the
1
 To the DEIST. 247

the Lord Jefus ; and the Hand of the Lord (of the fame
Lord Jefus) was with them, &c. Alts xi. 19, 20. It
muſt be Evidence that open'd their Mouths in theſe
Circumftances. They were driven from Jerufalem ;
Ľ but Force diſcover'd no Fraud. They would preach,
where they could not peaceably affemble and pro
fefs . The Members of the Church (as they thought
themſelves, in thofe Circumſtances, in Duty bound)

would preach the Lord Jefus ; and Philip, a Deacon

of that Church, (whofe original Office was to take
Care of the Poor) would become an Evangelift (an
itinerant Preacher) rather than not publiſh the Af
fairs of his Mafter. And, probably, thefe difperfed
Difciples laid the Foundation of many Chriſtian
Seminaries in the Gentile World. As they brought

the Word of Jefus to the famous Antioch in Syria,

they might carry it to Rome too, before either Pank
or Peter came there : For, at the famous Pentecoft in
Jerufalem, there were Strangers from Rome. Some
have thought the Roman Soldiers brought the Chri
ftian Profeffion into our Britain. If Jofeph of Ari
matheabrought it hither (as the old Britains are wil
ling to fuppofe) he was (or would have been) but
a private Member (or Lay-Member, as we fay) of
the Church at Jerufalem. It must be Conviction of
Truth, and proper Evidence of Affairs, that muſt
make theſe Profelytes (who knew, that the ſtated
Publication of this Inftitution was committed to
other Hands) to open their Mouths, and teftify the
facred Truth wherever they came : They could
not but ſpeak the Things they had heard, and feen,
and known.

R 4 §. 14.
248 LETTER III .

§. 14. The appointed Emiffaries (or theſe Com

miffaries of Jeſus) as they go abroad, they admit
ted many into the Defign and Work together with
themfelves. Their own principal Buſineſs was to
impregnate and replenish the World with the Seeds
and Seminaries of Chriftian Inftitution. When they
had planted any in one Place, they must go to ano
ther : And yet the Seminaries they left, would ftill
need much Cultivation and Manurement. For this
End, there was need of fuch an Office as that ofthe
Evangelift ; there muſt be thofe that may be fent to
the new Plantations, to water, and weed, and prune,
and regulate, and beautify them. Theſe muſt be
let into the Mafter's Defigns and Intentions, into
the Modes and Meaſures of managing his Affairs.
And many are admitted thereinto, and are willing
to be fo, notwithſtanding the Difficulty and Dan
ger of the Service, and the Hardſhips they are cal
led to therein. Not only a new Member is quickly
taken into the Apoftolical College, but they have
many Affiftants or Fellow-Servants to attend them,
or to be ſent about upon the Affairs of the Semina
ries and the Inftitution . There's Silas or Sylvanus,
Timothens and Titus, Apollos, Epaphras or Epaphrodi
tus, Tychicus and Trophimus, and others. Here was
great Danger, left fome of thefe miniſterial Profelytes
fhould disagree among themselves, or ſhould be
touch'd with an invidious or fplenetick Emulation,
or difcouraged and fatigued with Difficulties and
Oppofitions ; and fo fhould go and open the whole
Intrigue. But we find no fuch Thing : The more
fincere they are, the more faithful to their Mafter
and his invifible Intereſts .
It
 To the DEIST. 249

It might eafily be, that minifterial Inftruction

could not proceed faft enough, for promoting and
Fit propagating the Inftitution in the World. There
might be need of immediate Inftillation from Hea
med ven, for illuminating and edifying the facred Semi
naries : And fo there must be Prophets among them ;
8.4

not merely Prognofticators or Predicters of Things

to come, but infpired Preachers ; fuch as by the Ir
radiation of the Divine Spirit, were able to build
up the facred Seminaries in their holy Faith and Dif
cipline. Such we are affur'd they had : And the
more Evidence they had, that fuch Prophets were
among them, the more affur'd they muft be, that
their Religion was from Heaven and of God.
S. 15. The great Emiffaries are not without fome
Variance and Difcord among themſelves : In fome
Modes, Circumftances of Affairs, and extrinfick
Things they differ : They profefs not an abfolute
"1 Perfection. Differences in fmaller Things might be

providentially permitted them, that their Coheſion

and Concord in greater Affairs might be the more
illuftrious. Their Union was not a politick Com
bination : It must be Truth and Evidence that must
hold them together. The endeared Paul and Bar
nabas fall out about their Companion, and the Ex

pediency of taking John-Mark along with them in

their next Journey : And the Contention was fo fharp
between them, that they parted afunder, and could not
agree to go together to the Work. In this Paroxyfm
5:
one would think they ſhould (one or other of them)
have relinquifhed the Service, and have troubled
-6 It might be Time
themfelves no more about it.

now to perceive and reſent the whole Fraud, and

renounce
 LETTER
· III.
250

renounce it : But in their Separation, they adhere

to the fame Inftitution and Intereſt, and as zealouſly
promote it, as in their Conjunction. In process of
Time, the two great Ambaffadors, Peter and Paul, fall
out about fome Mode of Converfe with the Gen

tiles. Paul (the later Emiffary) withſtands the

former to his Face. It was Time for the prime A
poftle to refent it : He might ftand upon his Privi
leges, and might fay, that he was in Chrift, and
with him, a Witneſs of his Life, and Companion of
his Converfation, before the other knew any Thing
of him. When Paul charges him with a fort of
Diffimulation (or a Concealment of the Latitude of
his own Principles, while he converfed with the
Jews) he might have charged his Antagoniſt with a
far worse Deceit, in impofing his Apoſtleſhip upon
the Gentile. World, in cafe the Apoſtle of the Cir
cumcifion had found any Fallacy in it. Here was
Time now to throw one another's Faults (as is
ufual in fuch Cafès) in one another's Faces : Here
they might have upbraided one another with Er
ror, Guile, or Mifmanagement in the Foundation.
When Knaves fall out (it is ufually obferv'd) Truth
comes to Light, and honeft Men come by their
Goods : But here, they ftill agree in their Doctrine.
Peter fubmits to the Expoftulation . Let Jefus be
true, though Mofes and his Rituals be difcarded.
The facred Seminaries too have their Conteſts and

Animofities : The Jewish Converts would fain im

pofe their antiquated Rites upon the Gentile Profe
lytes. Some would introduce the Gentile Philofo
phy : Some would alleviate the Strictneſs and Pu
rity of the Chriftian Inftitution ; Hence muft arife
3 Debates,
 To the DEIST. 251

Debates, Contentions, Whiſperings, Swellings, Tu

mults. In this Ferment fome might encline to re
ject the whole Inftitution, and the Power of it :
I But they ſtill retain the Foundation on which they
are built ; and ſtill no human Fallacy or Device is
e detected therein.

§. 16. Theſe Emiffaries fail not to reprove, chide

and chaſtiſe their Seminaries, for any Revolt made,
or Miſdemeanor committed among them, as not fear
ing any Fault could be found with the Inftitution
itſelf, or any Recrimination made upon thoſe that
had conveyed it to them . So excellent and heaven
ly is the Doctrine contain❜d in the Inſtitution, ſo ho
ly and pure are the practical Rules of it, that poor
Mortals may eaſily be feduced from either. Ac
cordingly we have manifold Complaints in both
Cafes : Sometimes facred Doctrine is forgotten, neg
lected, refufed or exchanged for its contrary : Some
times the Chriftian Canon and Preſcription is for
faken and tranfgreffed : Defection is made from ori
ginal Light and Rule. Hereupon the Seminaries are
rebuked, upbraided, threaten'd, blamed with all the
Authority, Gravity and Seriouſneſs, as if they had
been affur'd, that nothing but honeſt Truth and
Purity had been deliver'd to them. If there be any
Pride, any Self-conceit or Zeal for Self-juſtification,
remaining in the Seminaries, (or Churches) they are
fufficiently provok'd to expofe the Inftitution if
they can, and Retort upon the Perfons that ſet it up
among them. Their Failure in the Faith, their De
parture 6 from any Branch of it, is foon fufpected

and blam'd ; which fome profeffing, have erred concern

ing the Faith. Who, concerning the Truth, have erred,
Saying,
 252 LETTER III.

faying, that the Refurrection is past already, and (fo)

overthrow the Faith offome ; holding Faith, and a good
Confcience, whichfome havingput away, concerning Faith,
have made Shipwreck: As if the Faith could not be
ſhipwreck'd, till firft a good Confcience were put
away. Their Failure in Love to the Lord Jefus is
foon objected and taxed . Thou haft left thyfirst Love :
Yea, a total Privation of it, in any of theſe Semi
naries, is dreadfully anathematiz'd. If any Man (a
mongyou) love not the Lord Jefus Chrift, let him be
Anathema, Maranatha. Either as certainly accur
fed, as that the Lord will come ; or accurfed,
till the Lord himſelf fhall come, and pronounce the
Curfe with his own Lips. Moft of the young Se
minaries are accufed and criminated for one Thing
or other ; which might tempt them either to find
Fault with their new Inftitution, or with thoſe that

brought it to them ; or to be weary of it, or dif

courag'dunder it, and willing to throw off the Bur
den of it. The Corinthian Seminary is charged with
a great many Irregularities and Mifdemeanors : There
are thoſe that are unfound in the Faith ; fuch as "have
not the due Knowledge of God (according to the
Chriſtian Inſtitution) which is ſpoken to their Shame.
They, have Intemperancies and Diſorders in their
Feafts ; Indecencies and Corruptions in their facred
Affemblies ; unlawful Marriages, fcandalous Law
Suits, unfeemly Strifes and Contentions among them

felves : For which they are feverely rebuked and re

primanded. The Galatian Societies are (to the Apo
ftle's Wonder and Surprize) foon turn'd from the
gracious Doctrine that had been deliver'd to them ;
and are chaſtiſed by a Who hath bewitched you, that
ye fhould not obey the Truth ? as if it muſt be a
Charm
 To the DE IST. 253
5)
Charm or a Spell that had withdrawn them from
that Scheme they had once entertain'd. Among the
Philippians, there were thoſe that walked, not as
3

ut Friends, but rather as Enemies to the Cross of Chrift

.។

whofe End therefore is foretold to be Destruction ;

of whom it is faid, that now, in the Way, ther
學

God is their Belly, and they mind earthly Things. Were

there any Appearance of fuch Defign, fuch Practice
among theſe Emiffaries of the Gofpel, how eafy
would it be to retort the Crime, and fhame the Ac
+3P cufer ? The Coloffians were in Danger by Philofophy
"
and antique Traditions. At Theffalonica there were
thoſe that walk'd diforderly, and not according to
the Preſcript of the Inftitution : Such are fo avoid
TE

ed, that they may be afham'd and recover'd. The

Cretian Profelytes had their Enormities, for which
they muſt be rebuk'd fharply, that they might be
found in the Faith. The Hebrews are accuſed, as be
ing too much ſtill Children in Underſtanding, dull
of Hearing, and needing to be inftructed in the first
4

his Principles of the Inftitution. This might provoke

them to accuſe the Inftitution, as too myfterious
and fublime for their Capacities. Among the dif
perfed Tribes, there are thoſe that would feparate O
bedience from their Faith, and fo boaſt of a Faith

L which the Devils themſelves may have : And among

other Crimes, their Covetoufnefs and Luxury is
charg'd home upon them. Is there no room for
Recrimination ? In fine, the famous Seminaries in
Afa have their Faults and Defections laid before
them, are heavily threaten'd for them, and that, as
in the Name of the Lord himfelf from Heaven.

Here is all the Authority of fpiritual Governors, or

hom authoriz'd
 LETTER III.
254

authoriz'd Directors of the Mind and Confcience

Here is all the Gravity of Men in deepeſt Seriouf

nefs and Earneft : Here is all Confidence in the
Truth and Honeſty of the Inftitution, planted in
thefe different and diftant Seminaries : Here is not

the leaft Sufpicion or Fear, that any Blot can be

caft upon the Religion itſelf, or the Way by which
it was introduc'd, or the Agents that introduc'd it
among them : Here is great Affurance of, and De
pendance upon the unblameable, unreproveable Tran
factions of thefe Emiffaries, in all Things relating
to their fetting up of this Inftitution among
them .

§. 17. They are very fevere upon the Oppofers,

the Corrupters of, and Apoftatizers from the In
ftitution ; as if they did not fear any of the Dif
coveries that could be made about it. The Inftitu
tion met with (and ſtill meets with ) Oppofition and
Averfion enough (as any Inftitution from Heaven
may well be fuppofed to do in this blind, alienated
World. ) 1 It met with Oppofition from the Jews
and from the Gentiles. No wonder it met with

Oppofition from the Jews ; they were brought up

in the true Religion, fo far as it was agreeable to
their original Law : They had not only Education
and paternal Tradition on their Side (as other Reli
gions and Religioniſts might have) but they had
had Anceſtors that were famous for Religion and Fa
vour with God : They alſo knew, that God fpake
by Moſes ; and therefore, we may be fure, that no
thing but invincible Evidence could oblige them
to forfake Mofes, or even to join Jefus with Mofes ;
which the Profelytes were every where very prone
to
 To the DEIST. 255

to do. When Paul came to Jerufalem, the Clergy

there fay to him, Thou feeft, Brother, how many thou
fands of the Jews there are which believe ; and they are all
zealous of (or for) the Law, Acts xxi. 20. The Con

: viction they had of the Truth of Jesus's Miffion,

engag'd them to believe ; and the Satisfaction they
1 had of Mofes's Authority, made them zealous for
his Law. And fo zealous were they for it, that one
would be apt to think, that each believing Jew was
an Evidence of the Conviction and Force, that the
Chriſtian Religion brought along with it. The fu
rious Jews oppofed it ; the believing Jews would
compound it with their Law, and fo corrupt it.
The Gentiles oppoſe it by their Learning and Phi
lofophy, and preconceiv'd Opinions relating to Re
ligion and Divine Worſhip : And fome would be
apt to corrupt the Inftitution, by mixing Ethnick
Notions or Practices with it. Againſt any or all
thefe, the facred Ambaffadors are bold, and plain,
"
and fevere. Againſt Jewish Oppofers, they thun
der and lighten. O full of all Subtilty, and all Mif
F chief, thou Child of the Devil, thou Enemy of all Righte
oufness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right Ways of
the Lord ? as is faid to Elymas, who was immediate
ly ftruck Blind, Acts xiii. 10, 11. God hath given
them the Spirit of Slumber, Eyes that they should not
fee, and Ears that they should not hear unto this Day,
Rom. xi. 8. Forbidding us to ſpeak to the Gentiles, that
they might be faved ; to fill up their Sins alway ; for
Wrath is come upon them to the uttermoft . They that
tempt the Chriftians to the Law, are feverely ani
madverted upon : They are the Concifion, the cutting
Tribe ; fo fanguinary, they would have Men cut in
the
 " R
256 LETTE III.

the Fleſh for nothing : They are Dogs, continually.

fnarling at what they can't rationally contradict. I
wish they were even cut off that trouble you:: For there
are many unruly and vain Talkers, especially they of the
Circumcifion whofe Mouths must be stopt, who fubvert,
whole Honfes, teaching Things which they ought not, for
filthy Lucre's Sake, Tit. i. 10, 11. But how fhall
their Mouths be ſtopt, but by evident, uncontroul
able Truth ? How can they be convicted of ftudy
ing filthy Lucre, by thofe that feek it themſelves ?
Then Gentile Philofophy is run down and refuted.
Beware, left any Man Spoil you through Philofophy and
vain Deceit, after the Tradition of Men, after the Ru
diments of the World, and not after Chrift, Col. ii. 8.
There are Oppofitions of Science ( learn'd Science) falfe
ly fo called. There are Brands or Puniſhments ſet or
inflicted on thoſe that depart from the Inſtitution,
or the facred Laws of it. The immodeft Profeffor

at Corinth (without due penitential Shame) muſt be

expell❜d the Society. Hymenaus and Philetus are o
penly nam'd, and charg'd with overthrowing the
Faith of fome. An Accufation is brought againſt
the AfiatickProfelytes, that they were revolted from
the Apoſtle's Side and Caufe ; among whom were
Phygellus and Hermogenes by Name. One Alexander,
a Coppersmith, had done him much Evil, whom he
refigns to divine Retribution. Hymenœus and Alex
ander make Shipwreck of the Faith, and are there
upon deliver'd unto the Devil, that they may learn
not to blafpheme. This is the Way to exaſperate
the Oppofers and Revolters : They will ſtudy Self
vindication : They will be provok'd to look wifely
into all the Grounds of the Inftitution, into all the
* Conduct
 To the DEIST. 257

Conduct of the Planters of it, that they may find

I Matter of Accuſation, and Self-juſtification, of Re
7! crimination and Retortion : And yet the Ambaffa
dors write with all Openness and Freedom, Boldness
and Confidence, as if they would dare their Anta
gonifts to all the Detection and Apology they could
make.

The Cafe of Apoftates from this Inftitution is

very confiderable, and ought to be duly remark'd .
There have been fuch in all Ages : There was one
in the Apoftolical College ; for the Traytor (I think)
may be call'd, in the end, an Apoftate. He revolted
; to the Enemy's Side : But the Inquiry may juftly
be, what have they at any Time confefs'd ? What
Forgery or Fraud have they ever detected in Reference
to the original Inſtitution ? We have heard of pious
Frauds as among fome primitive Profeffors : Let
them be diſcover'd. But thoſe that were once initi

1 ated into the Myſtery, were acquainted with the

Grounds of it, and afterward revolted from it, are
moſt likely to make the beſt Detections of Fallacy
and Fraud. But what have they done in that Kind?
Has any one Thing, reported as Matter of Fact in
the New Teſtament, been confefs'd (by thofe that pre
tended to know Matter of Fact) to be falfe ? Have the
Founder and his Accomplices ever been acknowledg
ed by thoſe that knew them, and were once intimate
with them, to be in any Thing Deceivers and Sedu
cers. Has any Revolter diſcover'd, that any one

Article of our Chriftian Creed is a Forgery, and

built upon the Craft and Device of Men ? What

did the great, imperial Apoftate diſcover, but a 9

Vicifti Galilae, i. e. What did he but confefs the
S Conqueror,
 ER
LETT III.
258

Conqueror and die? We have had Revolters and

Apoftatizers in our Age, who never pretended to
difcover the Fallacy or fallacious Grounds of our
Religion : But fome have bitterly lamented their
Apoftacy, and that with ſo much afflicting Remorfe,
that they could ſcarce endure the poor Remains ofLife.
§. 18. The partial Revolters return to the Infti
tution, or to the Service of it, with new Life and
Love. A partial Revolt there may be, through a
partial Deliquium of the Mind, or of the Adver
tency, or of the Goodneſs of it. A partial Revolt
there may be in an Hour of Temptation, in a Sea
fọn of fudden Fear or Surprize, in a Fever of Cor
ruption, in an Ague of Confideration and Confci
ence, in a Paroxyfm of Flesh and Blood. In fuch
an Hour, and fuch a Paroxyfm, the poor Revolter
is apt to go as far as he well can. All Objections,
Difficulties, Excuſes, arife in his Mind, that can
well be made : And if there be any Diſcovery or
Confeffion to be made by Way of Reaſon, Motive
or Inducement to the Revolt, it is then made, and out
it comes. And ifupon Reflection and fecond Thoughts.
the Reaſon, Motive, or Inducement appears good, the
Practice or Conduct occafion'd thereby, and founded
thereon, is continu'd, prolong'd and juftified. If it ap
pears ill, weak or infufficient, the Revolt is difcontinu'd,
and a Return is made. In the Cafe of this Inftitution,
there feem to have been fome partial, temporary Re

volts, that 4 were afterward repented of, heal'd and

compenfated by fucceeding " Care and Service. At
the Time of the Founder's being feiz'd, and carri
ed away to fuffering, his principal Diſciples (as we
have obferved before) forfook him, and fled. Ți
morous
 To the DEIST .
259
nd morous Nature now exerted itfelf : But when the
10 Mafter was quite gone from the World, they re
O turn'd to their Place and Function, and profecuted
her it with more Vigour and Zeal than ever before.
rfe Time was, when John-Mark car'd not to attend the
Work, and the Planters of the Inftitution , farther

than to Pamphylia ; but there left them, and return

ed to his Home, and ( it may be) his Eafe in Je
rufalem : Which was the Reafon that Paul was for
a while loth to truft him, and fo thought not meet
ET to take him, in Conjunction with Barnabas and him
! felf, to the Service from Antioch, Acts xv. 38. But
t afterward this Mark had fo well acquitted himself
in his Bufinefs , that he that had refufed him, defi
E red his Company and Affiftance. Take Mark and
bring him with thee ; for he is profitable to me for the
Miniftry, 2 Tim. iv. 11. The fame Apoſtle com
plains, that Demas had forfaken him, having loved this
prefent World, 2 Tim. iv. 10. Some have thought
that the Letter to Philemon was written after that fe
cond to Timothy. In that to Timothy he is defired
to come to the Apoftle as foon as he could. In that
to Philemon he is prefent with the Apoſtle, and join'd
$

DICE with him in the Affair of the Letter. There Demas

is recounted as a Fellow-Labourer : So that now he
had fhook off the Fit of worldly Love, and was
return'd to his Work again. Or if he was not now
return'd, yet it appears, that Love of this preſent
World will far fooner carry us away from the In
ftitution of Chrift, and the Service that , belongs
thereto, than lead us to it. But partial Revolts and
fucceffive Returns thereto, have often commended
the Integrity of the Inftitution.
20 S 2 §. 19. The
260 LETTER III.

§. 19. The Doctrines belonging to this Inftitu

tion, are too many to be eafily agreed upon, with
out Truth for their Foundation. A cunningly de
vifed Fable fhould be as fhort and concife as may be,
that it may the better hang together, may be the
better told and ſpread Abroad: Or if it be large,
there muſt be the more Skill and Sagacity to con
trive it, and to make the Parts of it correfpondent ;
the better Memory there muft be to retain it, and
the more Difficulty to Contrivers to unite in the
whole, and in all the Parts of it, and to prevent the
Detection or Confutation of fome Branch or other :
And the more the Contrivers or Accomplices are
fuppofed to be, the more difficult will they find it
"
to accord and agree in the feveral Parts of their
Scheme. We have already fhewn, that many were
concern'd in the beginning of this Inftitution, who
muſt all have the fame Defign (at leaſt in the gene
ral) and be of the fame Mind and Sentiment there
in. There was the Founder and his twelve Accom

plices : Afterward feventy other Servants were com

miffion'd and fent out upon the Bufinefs of the In
ftitution : Befides a Baptift who prepar'd the Way
for them all ; and profeffes, that he knew not the
Founder himself, . till he was advertis'd, that an ex

traordinary Signal from Heaven fhould notify the

fame unto him. After the Founder's Departure out
of the World, many more are admitted into the
Confederacy and Defign, and purfue it with utmoſt
Zeal and Diligence, in feveral Parts of the World :
Their Doctrine is extenfive, and of large compaſs.

It is true, it may be, and often is, fum'd up in fmall

Epitomes, and concife Abridgments : But then it
will :
 To the DEIST. 261

will appear, that the fhort Sentences , or Articles are

pregnant and full ; that they contain many Things,
either as prefuppofed, or directly included, or con
fequential from them. Thefe Informers of the

World, and Spreaders of this Inftitution, have ma

ny Things to tells us, in which it will be hard for
them to unite and harmonize, without Truth at the
Bottom ; many Things that will appear new, and
contrary to the common Traditions, Philofophies,
Schemes, Customs and Opinions of the World :
They have many Things to fay in Reference to
God, whom they are to declare; in Reference to the
Founder, whom they are to preach ; in Referènce
ཕྲ
to the World, to which they are to go.
1. In Reference to God, whom they are to de
clare. They agree in the moft noble, exalted No
tions of him, that the human Mind can form or
bear That he is the moſt excellent, perfect , glori
ous, bleffed Being, that can be apprehended or con
ceived: That he is Father of Lights, Father of Spi
rits, and Father of Glory : That he is the King
(the Sovereign Lord and Ruler of all Things) the
eternal, immortal, invifible, the only wife God :
That he is therefore One, and but One, in Oppo
fition to the Multitude of Gods among the Gen
1
tiles : That yet there is with
**) him a glorious Son,
and a potent Spirit by whom Things are made, fu
8> ftain'd and rul'd : That & he is (or was) Creator of
Heaven and Earth, and all Things therein : That by
E 4 conftant Providence, he prefides over all Things
without the leaft Laffitude or Wearinefs : That

he difpofes all Affairs in Heaven and Earth ,

without the leaſt Diſtraction or
I, Disturbance of Mind
or Thought That he fills all Things, or pervades
S3 Heaven
262 LETTER III.

Heaven and Earth, with his invifible, immenfe Pre

fence : That he is the worthy Object of Admira
tion and Love, of Adoration , Thankſgiving and
Praiſe, and to be worshipped by all the capable Cre
ation. That as he made this World, he loves it ſtill,
and has prepared unconceivable Bleffednefs for the
Inhabitants of it . That though the World is grown
unfpeakably finful and woful, he has ordain'd Sal
vation for it, and ordain'd a competent, all- ſufficient
Perfon for the full and perfect Accompliſhment of
it : That he has fent his own Son to be the Author
and Captain of eternal Salvation, to be our Exam
ple, Guide and Leader to eternal Life : That Jehovah,
the God of the Jews (that felected and fegregated
the Hebrew Nation to himſelf, as a peculiar, adopt
ed People) is this God ; and that by Repentance,
Faith and Love, we muft return to this God, and
cleave to him (in Oppofition to Sin, and Earth, and
Fleſh) as our Portion and Felicity for ever. Where
fhall we find a Jury of Pagan Teachers, ( Philofo
phers or Moralifts) agreeing in fo large a Declarati
no concerning the bleffed God ? Though it is true,
many excellent Things are found among them,
2. In Reference to the Founder, whom they are
to preach. He would not write (as we have obferv
ed) his own Life ; nor direct his own Pen to pub
lifh his own Praifes. His Servants must do it at the

Expence of Labour and Travel, and Ink and Blood :

And they feem to be at a Lofs how to do it fuffici
ently ; either to anſwer his Dignity, or their own
Defires, They tell us, that he is the only- begotten,
the dear, the well-beloved Son of God ; that he ex
ifted in an heavenly State, before he came into our
World : That he was born for us and our Redemp
3 tion i
 To the DEIS T.
263

tion ; that here he lived above thirty Years an holy,

obedient, patient, forrowful, fuffering Life ; that yet
he went about doing Good to the Bodies and Souls
७. of Men ; that he was a great Preacher to the World,
and attefted the Truth of his Doctrine, and of his
own Commiffion from Heaven, by innumerable, c
vident Miracles which he wrought. That yet after

all, he was taken and put to a cruel, ſhameful, pub

lick Death, by the Order of the Magiftrates, at the
Metropolis of his own Country : That yet in a lit
tle while, he rofe from the Dead in fuch a State, as
to die no more : That after a few Weeks hè afcend
4.
ed (in the Preſence of many) up into Heaven, was
M honourably received there, gloriously entertain'd,
and made in Honour and Glory next to the eternal
God himfelf: That there he ftill lives and reigns,
prefiding over, and taking Care of the Affairs of
his Followers here below : That he intercedesF with
the bleffed God on their Behalf ; and will do fo, as
long as the World fhall laft : That he will have a
Kingdom here on Earth, which he will guide and
guard from all its Adverfaries : That he will (at the
end of Time, or of our Time) return in Glory
from Heaven, to raiſe the Dead, and judge the
World, and fentence the Inhabitants thereof to their

final Abodes, according to their Life and Deport

ment here below : That then he will take his faith

ful Followers along with him to Heaven, and his

Father's Prefence, to be everlaſting Companions with
him in his Felicity and Glory,
3. In Reference to the World to which they are
to go and preach : They commend and condemn the
World: They (confequentially, at leaft) commend
S4 the
264 LETTER III .

the World, as to its original State and Order : It

was the curious Workmanship of God. Man is a
noble Being, the Offspring of God, made pure and
upright ; fince God was not the Author or Cauſe
of Sin and Rebellion. He was made capable of
Life, Immortality and Bleffedneſs in an higher ,
brighter World: But they agree to condemn the
World too. All have finn'd and come short of the
Glory of God: None are innocent ; none are likely to
emerge to Happineſs and the Enjoyment of God, by
the Way of Innocence and finleſs Integrity. Jews
and Gentiles are all concluded under Sin : The
World lies in Wickedness : Is full of Idolatry, Ha
tred of God, Unrighteoufnefs, Uncleanness, and
all manner of Abominations in the Sight of Hea
ven. All ſtand in need of Pardon and Forgiveneſs :

That Pardon and Forgiveneſs are only to be had from

God, through the Sufferings, and Death, and Blood
of the Founder of this Inftitution, and through
the Atonement made to Heaven thereby, and the
Redemption that pertains thereto : That therefore
all Nations, and all Perfons of all Nations, have need
of the Blood and Death of this glorious Founder
of Religion, and of the Pardon, Releaſe and For
giveneſs, that is procur'd thereby : That the World
is highly indebted to God, who has fo lov'd it, and
provided for its Redemption and Salvation : That
it ought to receive thefe good Reports, and haften to
be reconciled to God. That this Gofpel, or thefe News,
ought, as faſt and as far as may be, to be proclaim'd
over the World. That thereupon the World ought
to repent and return to God ; and to embrace this
Inftitution and the Founder of it, as worthy of all

Acceptation :
 To the DEIS T.
265

It Acceptation : That they that do fo, fhall be eternal

ly fav'd and bleft : That they that refuſe them ſhall
be condemn'd to everlaſting Puniſhment : That Sin
is to be fubdued and mortified ; that the Fleſh is to
be fubjugated and crucified ; and the World, 9 with
all its Enchantments, to be refifted and conquered :

That Sufferings, in the Way of this Inſtitution, are

patiently, yea, cheerfully to be fuftain'd, as know
ing that the End will be Reft and Peace : That this
World, and all the Affairs of it muſt be ended :
That the beautiful and belov'd Furniture and Trea
fures of it muſt be confum'd and burnt up : And
the Inhabitants muſt be removed and tranfplanted far
away, to unfeen and unconceivable Worlds...
A. Now let the Genius of the World be confulted ;
let the different Size of Mens Heads, and Intellects,

and Capacities be confider'd ; let it be remember'd

what different Schemes and Methods a few Men
will have for executing the fame Defign, and com
paffing the fame Project ; let the innumerable Con
tentions and Controverfies of the World be a little
We
reflected on ; and it will in fome Meaſure appear,

how improbable it is, that a Company of Men

fhould agree upon fuch a Syftem of Doctrine, con
fifting of ſo many Parts and Articles, without
found and folid Truth for the Support of it.
Nay,
§. 20. The Doctrines belonging to this Inftitu
tion, are too ftrange and paradoxical for a Company
of Men to unite and agree in, without Truth for
their Foundation . A cunningly devis'd Syſtem
fhould carry a deal of. Probability and Plaufibility

along with it : At least, it fhould have nothing to

fhock
2
 266 LETTER III.

fhock the Mind, and stagger the Underſtanding at

the firſt hearing of it. Since Chriſtianity has ta
ken Root in the World, its Rationale, or the rational
Grounds of its Doctrines and Preſcriptions have
been enquir'd into, and reprefented. Of late Years
many excellent Difcourfes upon that Subject, and to
that Purpoſe, have been compos'd and publish'd.
Confider we well the State of our Caſe (the Cafe
of our World) the Glories of the Great God, from
whom it was fallen, the State we were to be advan
ced to ; and the Inftitution will approve itſelf as
moſt noble, congruous and rational, to the cleareft
Mind, and moft illuminated Intellect. But, alas !
that was not the Cafe of the World, when Chrifti
anity began to fpring and spread there. There was
then no fuch Reaſon, Judgment, and Confiderati
on prepar'd for the Entertainment of it. Dark
nefs and Error, abominable Idolatries and Superſtiti
ons every where prevail'd : The moſt learned Na
tions were moſt ready to laugh at it, and fcorn its
Propofitions and Pretenfions. As the Deift (accord
ing to what has been already obferv'd) does not well
confider how much of his natural Scheme is deriv'd
from our Bible : So the Rationaliſt in revealed The
ology (it may be) does not duly advert, how the
Cultivation of his Theme has been the Fruit of
long Animadverfion and Study. The Advance- .
ments that have been made in • the Light of natural
Religion, have highly illuftrated the Congruities
and Rationalities of the facred Inftitution : But

though there is great Wiſdom ſhining therein, to

thoſe that are perfect (or perfectly initiated into it,
and acquainted with it) yet it muſt be confeffed,
that
 To the DEIST .
· 267

that there are feveral ſtrange, furprizing Doctrines

contain❜d therein, that it would be ſcarce poffible for
Į a Set of Men to agree upon, by a Contrivance of
:
their own ; or if they could ſo agree, to hope that
S
they could inftill and infufe, or fpread and diffuſe
1 the Belief of them about the World. They pre
tend not (like Mahomet) to carry the Sword in their
Hand, and terrify the World (by the Fear of Blood
1 and Rapine) into a Compliance with their Inftitution'
1 and Religion : Their Arms are ſpiritual ; their Wea
pons reach only the invifible, intangible Part : Their
Revenge upon Refufers is only (according to their
Maſter's Direction) to shake off the Duft of their Feet,
in Teſtimony againſt them : Which fuch Refufers
Ĭ will certainly, as eaſily defpife, as they do either
their Perfons or their Doctrine. It fhould be a

plain, rational Scheme that fuch Pretenders fhould

advance, and fuch as is fomewhat level and obvious

to the common Senfe and Capacity of Mankind :

Or the more uncommon and inconceivable their
Scheme is, the more Oppofition and Unbelief they
may expect to meet with. How then will they be
1 able to agree in fuch ftrange, myfterious Doctrines
as thefe ? Suppofe we, that twelve or thirteen Per
fons were conven'd, and confulting together about
the Scheme or Form of Doctrine, they would build
their Fame, and Reputation, and Intereft upon, and
would to that end, diffeminate and fpread about the
World : Suppoſe we alfo, that one of their main
C Defigns, and one of the Mafter-Pieces of Doctrine,
was to advance the Honour and Dignity of their
Mafter's Nature and Perfon : Suppofe now, that to

this End it was propoſed by one or other among

them,
268 LETTER III.

them, that they would fay and teach, that their

Mafter had an Exiſtence (an heavenly, glorious Ex
iſtence) before he was born into the World : That
he was a moſt excellent, bleffed Perfon, before he
was Fleſh and Blood, and a Member of Mankind :
How would fuch a Propofition, and fuch a Propo
fal look among them ? How uncouth and incompre
henfible would it appear, and ready to fhock the Cre
dit ofthe whole Scheme ? Ifhe were fuch a noble, glo
rious Perfon beforehand, how could he be born, how
could he be a Man, and inveſted with our Fleſh and
Blood ? This would feem as unfeaſibleand paradoxical,
as that a Man fhould enter a fecond Time into the
Womb, and be born : And if two or three of theſe
fuppofed Creed-Makers were at laſt (after much
Debate and Arguing) brought to an Admiſſion of this
Article, it is ſcarce probable they would all be fo.
Different Minds and Sentiments about the Poffibili
ty, the Suitablenefs, the Credibility, or the Con
gruity of it to their Defign, would be apt to throw
it off, or feparate them one from another, as a lefs
Matter afterward could feparate Barnabas and Paul.
Again, fuppofe it were propofed among them, that
they would fay and teach, that their Maſter was
born of a pure, unſpotted Virgin : That the com
mon and natural Mode and Means of human Propa
gation, were fuperfeded in Reference to him ; and
(that he might be more pure than the reft of Man
kind) he was conceiv'd and brought forth by an
holy, untouch'd Virgin. What an Afpect would
fuch a Propofal have among them? How unlikely
and impoffible would it look ? And how [fhould
they perfuade the World to believe it ? How hard
would
 To the DEIST.
269
would it be to reconcile them all to the Admiffion

of it Again, fuppofe we, that it were propoſed a

[
mong them, that they would confidently affirm and
teach, that their Mafter went up and down the
Country ( or the Landy where he liv'd, working
innumerable , illuftrious Miracles That he caft
Devils out of Mens Bodies, or out of the Poffeffi

on they had of them : That he heal'd all manner of

Difeafes, and even the moſt incurable of all, even
Death itſelf. Now in cafe this were a downright
Falfhood, how impoffible would it be to gain all
into1 the Profeffion and Publication of it ? Some of
their Confciences would ftartle at the Lie : Others

would plead the Impolitickneſs of it ; it would be

denied A and contradicted to their Faces by all the
Country ; and fo they ſhould be afham'd and con
4 founded in the beginning of their Enterprize. A
gain, fuppofe it were propofed among them, that
they would profefs and preach, that their Maſter
was publickly crucified, dead, and buried in his
own Country, and at the chief City of his native
Country, and by the concurrent Suffrage of the
Magiftrates there : If this were a Contrivance (or a
piece of contriv'd Doctrine) with ་ what Scorn and
Contempt would fuch a Propofition be treated ?
What ! Was this confulting the Maſter's Glory,
to own that ignominiouſly, and like a baſe Fellow,
a flavish Malefactor, he was condemn'd and execu
ted by the Governors in his own Land ? What
Folly and Inconfiftency is here ? Did ever Founder
of Religion defire, that fuch a Report ſhould be
made concerning him ? Was this like to gain them
Credit, Honour and Applauſe in the World ? Would
3 not
 270 LETTER III.

not this be a Contradiction to all that 1 went before?

This he, that was exiftent in Heaven, before he was
born on Earth ? Gloriouſly Refident there before he
"
was join'd to Flesh and Blood ? This he, that was
born without a Father, the Offspring of an undefiled
Virgin ? This he, that went up and down working
4
Miracles, in Oppofition to Difeafes, Death and
Hell ? He that fav'd others fo wonderfully, why
did he not fave himfelf from coming to the Crofs,
or quickly come down from thence ? This muſt
needs be to the Jews an Offence and Scandal, and
<.
to the Gentiles Folly and Nonfenfe. This one
Propofition would be enough to break their Scheme,
?
or break them to pieces among themſelves. Again,
*
ſuppoſe it were propofed among them, that ( for
falving the Matter as well as they could) they
would fay and profefs, that that ignominious, fean
dalous Death of their Mafter was a rich, ineftima
ble Sacrifice to the holy God for Sins of the World:
That thereby a moſt valuable Atonement was made
to the Juftice of Heavens for the Wickedness of
Mankind; this would look as uncouth and incre
dible as the other ? What ! Muft the Blood of a
Man executed as a Criminal in his own Country,
be the Expiation of our Sins in the Court of Hea
ven ? Muft our Pardon (or Releaſe from Guilt)
come by Way of Juftification ? As if Compenfati
on or Satisfaction could be made to Heaven for our
Tranfgreffions and Trefpafles ? And muft we be ju
ftified in the Sight and Court of the great God, by
the Blood of a poor Man, whom the Rulers put
1
to Death at Jerufalem ? Or was that poor Man at
the fame Time Lord of all, and capable of making
fuch
4

To the DEIST. 271

fuch invaluable Atonement for us, to the Governor

S of the World ? What Paradox is here ? How could
it enter into the · Heads or Hearts of Men to devife
it, and agree upon it, and then fancy, that the
World would quietly and tamely receive it ? Again,
were it propoſed, that they would declare and pub
liſh to the World, that their Mafter was rifen from
the Dead, that he was gone up into Heaven ; that he
was fo honourably received there ; that he was feat
ed above all the great Minifters there, and enthron'd
next to the eternal God himfelf: This would look
paradoxical too. Can the Man that was hang'd a
mong Thieves at Jerufalem, be thus exalted and dig
nified ? Credat Judeus Apella. And fo far the Re
port of his coming again to judge the World, and
doom Mankind to endleſs Retribution and Abodes,
it would feem amazing and incredible. In fine, it
would be hard for them to agree to preach to the
World (as a crucified Leader, fo) a crucified and
crucifying Doctrine. To agree to preach down
Sin in all the Forms of it ; to preach down the
Polytheifm, Idolatry, Luxury, Covetoufnefs, and
Uncleanness of the World : To preach Crucifixion
to the World, and all the Allurements of it ; Mor
tification of the Flesh, and all the Pleaſures and
3
Blandifhments of it ; to preach Self-denial, Patience,
Belief of unfeen Things, and manifold Sufferings
in the Way to Blifs : This was not the Way to
make Profelytes, and make Progrefs in the World :
This was not the Way to Applauſe, Honour, Do
minion or Grandeur. The Chriftian Doctrine and
Inftitution could by no Means appear to be a cun
n?
ningly-devifed Fable. It was no Way calculated
for
uch
272 LETTER III.

for the fecular Honour and Advantage of thoſe that

fet it up: But that is but by the by. Its moſt
eminent and capital Doctrines are fo uncommon, pa
radoxical and unheard of, that it would be next to
impoffible for Men to agree in them, as the Founda
tion of a ſelfiſh, politick Scheme, to be propagated.
among Mankind.
§. 21. The original Confederates in this Inftitu
tion, appear to be too religious and holy to forge a
long Lie, and Father it upon God. If they forge a
Lie, it is a long one, as has been already fhewn : It
confiſts of many Parts. There is much faid con

cerning Jefus Chrift, as the only, and the potent

Mediator between Heaven and Earth : There is much
faid concerning his Incarnation and Entrance into the
World, concerning his Life and Holiness, his Miracles,
Death and Refurrection from the Dead ; concerning
his glorious Afcenfion and Admittance into Hea
ven, his Reign there, and Interceffion with God on
the Behalf of his Friends and Followers here be

low. Theſe and many more Things are father'd on

God, as the Ordainer and Revealer: And this not
once or twice, but through the whole Courfe of
Life, moſt deliberately and avowedly with ſtrongeſt
Proteftations and Affurances, through Sorrows and:
Sufferings, with moſt earneſt Atteftations to the
Death. Now how could good, religious, holy
Men thus invent Lies, thus contradict their own.

Confciences, make it their Bufinefs to fpread them

in the World, and that under the Name and Au
thority of the bleffed God ? That theſe were moft
good, religious, holy Men, muft evidently appear :
Holinefs lives and breaths, acts and fhines in their
Lives
 To the DEIST. 273

Lives and Writings. Where, in all the Ethnick

Philofophers, Moralifts and Sages, do we find fuch
elevated Piety and vigorous Godliness ? The Service
of God is their Practice, the Glory of God is their
Endand Aim. The Founder of the Inftitution is a
moft facred, devoted Perfon. Religion, Devotion
and Righteouſneſs run through his Life : He preaches
Religion by Day, and prays by Night : He com
mends all the Appointments of God and obferves
them : He cuts off human Traditions and Devices,
that the more Care and Attention may be given to
God's Commands : He is continually calling thofe
about him to the Fear of God, to the Love of God,
to the moſt inward Worſhip of, and ſtricteft Obedi
ence to God. Love to God with all the Heart and

Mind, is his firſt and great Command. The King

dom of God, Xand the Righteoufnefs thereof, he con
tinually inculcates and enforces : Truth and Gravi
ty, Seriouſneſs, Purity and Piety in all his Converſe.
and Conduct. His Enemies cannot charge him with
Irreligion, Guile, Diffimulation, or any Thing of
Impiety His Profelytes he trains up to be like
52 himſelf. God muſt be their Guide, and Hope, and
N End, and Joy, and All : God muſt have their Hearts
and Tongues, their Lips, and Lives, and Services,'
and All: God muſt be feared, dreaded, reverenced,
and refpected above all the World ; and that upon
the moſt ſure, and lafting Grounds. Fear him that
is able to destroy both Soul and Body in Hell : ISay unto
you, fear him: And they were excellent Copies after
him. Holinefs is vifible in their Lives and Lines.'

Can any Thing be more holy, more heavenly, more

7

pure and fpiritual, than what appears in them ? They

Τ
L. are
274 . LETTER III.

are rather too holy for the World, than otherwife

There Holiness makes them diftaftful there. Were
they more read, more imitated and confulted, the
World would be much more holy than it is They
would fet up Holiness in their Şeminaries, and ftated
Affemblies, in Families, in the Hearts and Confci
ences of Men : It is their whole Defign, Work and
Employment of Life, to practife Holiness, and fet it
up in the World, and that to the Lofs of all that
the World can give them . And can fuch holy Per
fons be found conftant, avowed falfe Witneffes of
God, and Imputers of his Name and Authority to
Lies of their own ? It cannot be. The beſt Men
cannot be, at the fame Time, the worft and the moſt
50.
defperate Offenders.
S. 22. The original Confederates in this Inftitu
tion appear to be too great lovers of Mankind, to
decoy and deſtroy them by a devifed Lie . If their
inftituted Doctrine be a Device of their own, it

muft appear, that they are the great Seducers of

Mankind. And what do they feduce them to?
They have no Honours, Pleafures or Profits to be
ftow upon their credulous Profelytes : They call
them to Poverty and Reproaches, to Lofs of Quiet
and Liberty, to Diftreffes, Impriſonments, and Death
itſelf, and that in the Way, and for the Sake of that
Inftitution they communicate to them ; fo that if
they thus deceive the World with a ftudied Lie,
they must be reputed the great Murderers and De
ftroyers of Mankind. But this can never confift
with their unfeigned Love, Compaffion and Good
Will. In them it is that Love to Man is victorious
and triumphant. The Founder of the Inftitution
I incom
 To the DEIST. 275
197 315

incomparably abounds in it. Never was there a

brighter Example of Philanthropy , and univerfal
t
Mercy and Goodneſs . His Time and Life was ſpent
FB

in doing Good : As Preacher, he did Good to Souls ;

25

as Phyfician (and a miraculous one too) to the Bodies

:

of Men. He pitied the Diſeaſed, and had Compaf

fion on*. the hungry, thirfty, weary Travellers . Ra
.
7 ther than fend them away difpirited and faint, he
would miraculouſly feed them in the Wilderneſs :
Pa And that his Cures and kind Offices might be the
de
more free and general, he ftáid not at Home to be
fent for, or addrefs'd unto with Cap, and Compli
ment, and Fee, but went through the Towns and
21 Villages, healing their Sick, Infirm and Difeafed.
His Works were calculated for the Good of Man

kind. No Judgment executed, but what might (and

ſhould) have benefited the Mind. The blafting of
a barren Fig-Tree was a Warning to a barren Peo
ple. The precipitating of the Swine into the Sea,
fhould have taught the Neighbours to have defir'd
his Prefence, who could fend Devils out of Men,
to and out of their Courts. He fympathizes with his
Friends, weeps with thofe that weep, and rather than
Grief fhall break their Heart (or they be overcome
De with too much of it ) he will raiſe and reſtore to
oft them their lamented Dead. He returns Good for

ha Evil, prays much for his Friends before he leaves

dia them, and almoſt concludes his Breath in praying
36.8.2

da down Forgiveneſs for his murderous Enemies. His

Com Death could be but a Demonftration of Love to
Goo Mankind, and that, whether it be confider'd as a
ond Confirmation of his holy Doctrine, or an Example

cuci of Patience and dutiful Submiffion to the Will of

T 2 God ;
NOD
276 LETTER III .

God ; but much more as an Expiation of the Sins

of the World. Therein there were unfearchable
Riches of Love : He could, by his miraculous Pow
er have refcu'd himſelf from the Approaches of
Death : He could have commanded Legions of An
gels to his Service and Deliverance. But he would
die in Love to the World : His Accomplices he
trains up to the fame Spirit and Practice of Love.
Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf, is the ſecond
Rule in his Academy, or Law of his Kingdom :
And they copy well after their Maſter. Who can
read their Lines or Lives without admiring, and be
ing in fome Meaſure touch'd with their Love : U
'niverfal Love flames among them : Strangers and
Foreigners they long to make as happy as themſelves.
Their Friends are laid up in their Hearts and Bow
els. Te are in our Hearts to live and die with you.

Who can read the Beginnings and Conclufions of

their Letters, the Salutations and Valedictions, with
out a fympathizing Emotion of facred Love ? Grace
and Peace from God the Father and the Lord Jefus,
are poured out upon them abundantly. Prayers and
Thankſgivings, on their Behalf, flow out with a moft
natural, impetuous Current. Their Sighs and Tears,
their Labours, Hopes and Joys difcover exuberant
Love to Men. Te are our Epiftle written in our
Hearts, known and read of all Men. Behold, the third
Time I am ready to come toyou ; and I will not be burden
fome to you ; for I feek not yours, but you ; for the
Children ought not to lay up for the Parents, but the
Parents for the Children. And I will very gladly spend,
and be spent for you ; though the more abundantly I
love you, the less I be loved. What flagrant diſintereſt
ed
 To the DEIS T. 277

ed Love is here ? Therefore, my Brethren, dearly be

loved and longed for, my Foy and Crown, ſo ſtand faſt
‫טיג‬ in the Lord, my dearly beloved ! Affection in Grain !
Pow For I would that ye knew, what great Conflict (or deep
5332

Concern) I have for you, and for them at Laodicea,

and for as many as have not feen my Face in the Flesh ;
27

NOW that their Hearts may be comforted.-- -Diſtant, bene

volent Love ! For what is our Hope, or Joy, or Crown

LO of Rejoicing? Are not even ye in the Prefence of our

Lord Jefus Chrift, at his coming. Their Love will
appear in another World. But we were gentle amongyou,
even as aNurfe cherishethher Children ;fo being affectionate
am!!
dia ly defirous of you, we were willing to have imparted toyou,
not the Gospel of God only, but our own Souls also, be
caufe ye were dear unto us. But to tranfcribe their
ers .
Love is to tranfcribe their Letters and their Life.
m
What in all the Earth can parallel that Paffage ; I fay
H
the Truthin Chrift, I Lie not, my Confcience alſo bearing
me Witness in the Holy Ghost ; that I have great Hea
vinefs and continual Sorrow in my Heart ; for I could
Sy
wish that my felf were accurfedfrom Chrift, for my Bre
thren, " my Kinsmen according to the Flesh. Strange Ex
preffion of violent Love ! Brethren, my Heart's Defire
yes.
and Prayer to Godfor Ifrael, is, that they may be faved!
that
Theſe are the Bowels of Jefus Chrift ! Such as he
had himself; fuch as he implanted in his Retinue,
arbe
And not only have they Love for theirFriends ( who are
indeed not fo much confider'd as their own,but as their
Mafter's Friends) but Love and Forgiveneſs for thoſe
that carry it not fo well as they ſhould do. At my
firft Anfier (or Defence in Court) no Man ftood
with me, but all Men forfook me ; I pray God it may

not be laid to their Charge. But can any one fee their
T 3 Life
278 LETTER II .

Life and Labour, and read their affecting, affectionate

Epiftles, and not be perfuaded, that ferious, prèg
nant, conftant Love to Mankind, and to the higheſt
Welfare and Happinefs of Mankind, fhines and flames
there ? And can fuch Love confift with a form'd
Defign to cheat and feduce Mankind, with a ſtudied
Contrivance to draw them (by Forgery and Lies)
to all manner of Miferies, Woes and Deftructions ?
4
It is impoffible predominant Love and Hatred to
wards the fame Perfons may dwell together, when
Fire and dat Water, or vehement Contradictions lofe
their Hoftility.
S. 23. Thefe original Confederates in this Infti
tution, fet up the best, the moſt ſtrong and ſtable)
Grounds and Principles of the moft impregnable Ho
nefty and Integrity. They advance all the fureft,
firmeft Foundations of Truth, Equity and Righte
ouſneſs ; and fuch as are the moſt oppoſite that can
be, to all Lying and Forgery, Hypocrify and Guile.
As

1. They fet up Confcience in its Light and Vi

gour. Confcience is an invifible Agent, and acts
upon invifible Motives and Inducements : It has a
Regard to J God, to the Eye and Knowledge, the
Authority and Juftice of God. ? Confcience they
awaken, enlighten, quicken and call to Office and
Duty. Confcience is to accufe or excufe, to guide
and direct, as under the Infpection of God.. Now
the end of the Commandment ( and indeed
7 of the whole
Inftitution) is Charity (holy Love) out of a pure
Heart, and a good Confcience and Faith unfeigned. The
unfeigned Faith will breed a good Confcience.
Holding Faith and agood Conscience (the Faith in Chrift
and
 To the DEIST. 279

and a good Confcience are very good Companions)

which (Confcience) fome having put away, as to the
Faith have made Shipwreck. Holding the Myſtery ofthe
mes
Faith in apure Confcience. That's the proper Seat of
='d
Chriſtian Faith, a pure Conſcience ; which it could
A

not be, if the Faith were founded in a Myftery of

Deceit and Lying. Let us draw nigh with a true
O Heart, in full Affurance of Faith, having our Hearts
4 Sprinkled from an evil Confcience, and our Bodies wafb
ed with pure Water. The full Affurance of Faith
SE will ſprinkle and cleanfe the Heart from an evil Con
ſcience : And the washing of the Body muft beto
ken Cleannefs within, and engage * to a good Con
fcience. The like Figure whereunto, even Baptifm doth
now fave us ; not (ſo much) the putting away the Filth
•
of the Flefb, but the Anfiver of a good Confcience to
42

ward God. Pet. iii. 21. Vi The initiated into this

Inſtitution are baptized into la good Conſcience to

ward $ God; into the Obligation of maintaining a
good Confcience ; into the Privilege of poffeffing
۵۲ one (a Conſcience purged from dead Works) through
da Faith unfeigned. Here Confcience is fet up in its
Jurifdiction, Dominion and Power. ::
‫ܐ܀‬ 2. They declare the Holinefs, Purity andJuſtice
ethr of God, to awe the Confcience : They declare his
Hatred and Revenge of all Iniquity, Hypocrify and
Deceit. That no Mango beyond or defraud his Brother
in any Matter (not of Liberty, Wrath or Life) be

canfe that the Lord " (even their Lord, Chriſt) is the
Avenger of all fuch ; as we have also forewarned you
Is and teftified : And they had preach'd their own Con
Clene demnation, in cafe they were guilty of Circumventi

Ch on and Fraud. Their Mafter would prejudice them

I4 againſt
 280 LETTER III.

againſt all Hypocrify and Deceit, by telling them

the dreadful Conclufion thereof, and that as from
his own Hand. And fhall cut him afunder (rip up
the injurious Servant) and appoint him his Portion with
Hypocrites (especially Deceivers and falſe Dealers in
Religion ;) and how fearful will their Portion be ?
4
There shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth. They
know their God, and their Lord are of tremendous
Majefty. Our God is a confuming Fire. And the Lord
Jefus will be reveal'd from Heaven in flaming Fire :
+
And thefe Thoughts are to guide the Confcience.
Knowing the Terror of the Lord, weperfuade Men. The
terrible Majefty of the Lord they know : And yet
theKnowledge of himand it is fo far from driving them
from their Buſineſs in this Iftitution, that it makes
them more fedulous in perfuading Men to embrace it.
Woe to them if they preach not this Goſpel : They
are fhewn the Iffue and Exit of Falfifiers and Sedu

cers, and yet they muſt proceed. But the fearful

(they that are too timorous for Religion) and un
•
believing, and the Abominable , and Murderers and
Wharemongers, and Sorcerers and Idolaters, and all Liars
I
(of every fort ; eſpecially they that belied God, and
by their Lies made Men miferable, and indeed mur
der'd them) fhall have their Part in the Lake that burn
eth with Fire andBrimftone. Woe to him that wrote
this, if he be one of them ! But it troubles me to

make fuch a Suppofition. And again, There fhall no

wife enter into it (into the heavenly State) any Thing
2
that defileth, nor whatſoever worketh Abomination, or
:
1 maketh a Lie Nothing therefore that invents ,
preaches and promotes known Lies. If theſe Con
federates have done fo, they have drawn up their
Own
 To the DEIST. 1 281

1 own Condemnation, and muſt have an unealy Con

ſcience. But we fee here what Confiderations they.
give to terrify from all lying , deceitful Prac
tice.

3. They fet up ftricteft Sincerity and Integrity

in the Mind and Heart of Man : They would make
the Man new, and teach him to act from a new Na
ture, a fix'd Difpofition and Temper, & incoctum
generofo Pectus honefto. Truth, and Honour, and
Uprightneſs fhould be written upon the inward
Parts. All Guile, Mifchievoufnefs, Unrighteouf
nefs and Deceit ſhould be (by their good Will) caft
out of the Soul ; and all Purity, Generofity, Bene
volence and Goodnefs implanted there. That ye put
aff
, as to the farmer Converfation, the old Man (the
old Complection of Man) which is corrupt according
to the deceitful Lufts (all deceitful Luſts muſt now be
thrown afide ; ) and be ye renewed in the Spirit ofyour

7 Mind (the inmoft Receffes of the Mind, the very

# Spirit of the Soul muſt now be renewed ; Renova
tion muſt imprint a facred Rectitude and Integrity
there ; ) And put ye on the new Man (the new Nature, or
new Propenfion of Nature) which after God (accord
ing to the Image of God) is created in Righteousness
(in right Difpofition towards all) and true Holiness ;
wherefore putting away all (both practical and vocal)
Lying, Speak every one Truth with his Neighbour, for ye
are Members one of another. Here is the moſt intimate,
ingrafted Integrity indeed ! The moſt noble Truth
and Sincerity woven into the very ſprightly Powers
of the Soul. And this will be a direct Antipathy
to all Lying, Fraud and Collufion : And fuch muft
the Spirit of the Inftitution be, For the Kingdom of
God
282 LETTER III.

God (fet up in the World by this Inſtitution) is

Righteousness, and Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghoft.
And the Fruit of the Spirit (that great Spirit that or
dain'd and prefides over this Inſtitution) is Love, Joy,
Peace, Long-fuffering , Gentleness , Goodness , Faith.
Here's religious Simplicity and Integrity in all the
Life and Vigour of it ! Nothing can more rectify,
renew and refine the Spirit of Man, or purge it from
all deceitful Luft and Drofs.
4. They feverely inculcate a ftrict, univerfal
Judgment to come. Deathand Judgment are thun
dred in our Ears ; and what can more terrify from
all Impofture and Deceit ? It is appointedfor all Men
once to die, and after that the Judgment. We must all
appear before the Judgment Seat of Chrift, that we may
give an Account of what we have done in the Body, whe
ther Good or Evil. The Founder will ** himſelf be

Judge : And as he has given the moſt pure and ac

curate Laws, fo he has declar'd he will be impartial.
"
He will not fpare his own Seminaries : He will
doom and damn the Hypocrite, as well as the Un
believer, and affign them their burning Lot toge
gether. He has declar'd, that he will make all the
Churches to know, that he ſearches the Hearts, and
trieth the Reins, and will infallibly give to every
Man, as his Work fhall be.. Here are Principles of
Integrity ! Such as are not elſewhere to be found !
Here's Oppofition to all mundane Subtilty, Craft
and Fallacy !.´ .
And if it fhould be furmiz'd, that they fet Prin
ciples to others, which they follow not themſelves,
they can appeal to the Knowledge of all that were
moft acquainted with them, and with whom they
moſt
 To the DEIST. 283

moft intimately and familiarly convers'd. When

the Traytor was dead, another muſt be chofen into
his room, that had been well acquainted with the
Founder's Spirit, Doctrine and Practice, from his
firft Appearance to fet up his Inftitution in the
I World: And this was the more neceffary, in that

b the Founder's Example and Pattern was to be pre

‫ם‬ fented unto, and prefs'd upon all his Followers. Ler
that Mind be in you, which was alfo in Chrift Fefus.
For even hereunto were je called, because Christ also fuf
fered for us; leaving us an Example, that we should
follow his Steps ; who did no Sin, nor was Guile found
in his Mouth, 1 Pet. xxi. 22. This Peter had con

1 vers'd long enough with him, and was intimate e

nough with him, to underſtand any fraudulent En
terprize he had in Hand. He was one of the firſt
that were called to be with him, admitted into his
Counfels, and into his private Tranfactions ; and
yet can propofe him as an Example ; can profeſs,
that no Guile was found in his Mouth. His Ac
"
complices can call thofe that knew them moft, and,
1
it may be, were tempted to fufpect them, to wit
$
neſs their Conduct among them. And when I was
prefent with you and wanted, (fays one of them to
the Seminary at Corinth, ) I was chargeable to no Man :
For that which was lacking to me, the Brethren which
came from Macedonia fupplied. And in all Things I
have kept my felffrom being burdensome unto you, and
will keep my felf. As the Truth ofChrift is in me, no
Man fhall stop me of this boasting in the Regions of
Achaia, 2 Cor. xi . 9, 10. Again ; But be it fo, I
Va
did not burden you (as is granted ; ) nevertheless being
crafty (as perhaps is objected, ) I caught you with Guile.
But
284 LETTER III.

But (it is replied) Did I make a Gain ofyou by any of

them whom Ifent unto you ? I defired Titus, and with
him Ifent a Brother : Did Titus make a Gain ofyou ?
Walked we not in the fame Spirit ? in thefame Steps ?
Ch. xii. 16, 17, 18. And again to the Profelytes at
Theffalonica; For our Exhortation was not of Deceit,
(no Fraud in the Foundation, nor in1 the Superftruc
ture) nor of Uncleanness, nor in Guile; but as we were
allowed of God to be put in trust with the Gospel, even
fowe (even Paul, and Sylvanus, and Timotheus, in
whofe Names the Epiftle is written ; fo we) Speak;
not as pleafing Men, but God who trieth the Hearts ;
(they have Regard to the Heart-fearching God)
For neither at any Time ufed we flattering Words, as ye
know ; nor a Cloak (or any Cover) of Covetousness,
God (who fearcheth the Hearts, ) is Witness (which
is appealing to God ; ) Nor of Men fought we Glory,.
neither ofyou, nor yet ofothers, when we might have been
burdenfome, as the Apostles of Chrift. (For what had
we elfe to live upon ? But we would either receive
from others, or Work hard, or almoft ftarve, rather
than be injurious to the high Ends of our Inftitu
tion) For ye remember, Brethren, our Labour and Tra
vel; for labouring Night and Day, because we would
not be chargeable to any of you, we preached unto you
the Gospel of God. (It is God's Goſpel, and we had no
more to do, than preach it unto you. ) Te are Wit
neffes and God also, how holily, and justly, andunblame-'
ably we behaved our felves among you that believe ; as
you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged
every one ofyou, as aFather doth his Children. Here's
Integrity and difintereſted Labour. Here is Appeal
to God and Man, as the Witneffes thereof. Sim

plicity,
 To the DEIS T. 285

plicity, Honefty, and Integrity cannot be built up

#! on more noble, impregnable Principles.
§. 24. Theſe original Accomplices entirely cut
at off, or dry up all the Springs of Impoſture, Fallacy
est and Deceit. It is the Defign of the whole Inftitu
DC tion to do fo. To eradicate and mortify all the
Principles, upon which Frauds and Fallacies muft
be founded, and by which they muſt be ſuggeſted,
H9

and in purſuance of which they must be executed.

Thefe Principles muſt be Appetites or Paffions :
They muſt ſeek and crave fome earthly Good or
Ĉ
Gratification to felf, or fome Evil to others, or both
in Conjunction. The Good or Gratification that
Self requires, willbe fuch as is fuitable to an inordi
nate Body or a corrupted Mind. ( Now all Pollu
tion of Fleſh or Spirit is here to be renounc'd : The
Body is to be fubjugated to the Soul : The Soul
is to be ſubjected to Reafon and Religion : The Bo
dy and the Members of it are to be made (according
to their feveral Capacities) Inftruments of Righte
1 oufnefs and Holiness ; and the Soul is to be under
THE
the Conduct of the Inftitution . The Soul is to be
inhabited by the Spirit of God, and the Body to be
made the Temple of the Holy Ghoft : All ill, un
ruly Affections and Paffions are to be rooted up : All
the Baits, Fuel and Incentives of them are to be ftu

dioufly avoided and removed : All the Lufts of the

Fleſh, the Lufts of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life
t;}
muſt be carefully abandoned. The Body and Fleſh
craves its Pleaſures and Enjoyments : But that muft
be wifely watch'd over and fubdu'd. Ifye live af
กะ
Star ter the Flesh, ye shall die ; but ifye through the Spirit, do
mortify the Deeds of the Body, ye fhall live : And this
 286 LETTER III.

is the true Chriftian's Attainment. They that are

Chrift's, have crucified the Flesh with its Affections and
Lufts. The World will intice us with its Honours,
Treaſures and Preferments : But againſt that and
thoſe muſt we be guarded, that we be not feduc'd
by them. We are to be prejudic'd againſt theſe ·
Things, as thofe that are Enemies to our Souls. The
Love of Money is the Root of all Evil ; which while
Some coveted after , they have erred from the Faith
(which fhews a Treafure in Heaven) and pierced
themselves through with many Sorrows. No Wonder
then, that they that will be rich (are refolv'd to be fo)
fall into Temptation and a Snare, and into many foolish
and hurtful Lufts, which drown Men in Destruction and
Perdition. Inftead of haftning after the World, we
muft learn to be fatisfied with a low Condition, to
be content with Food and Raiment, to work hard,
that we may have to give to others. In Reference
to others, we muſt bear them no Malice, Hatred or
Ill-will. We muſt grudge them none of their

good Things, nor envy their Advantages, nor re

venge our felves upon them, nor covet any Thing
that is theirs. What Room or Reafon then can

here be for Impofture and Deceit ? To what End

hould Wiles, Frauds and Fallacies be invented or
purfued ? In Contentation, Tranquility and Pati
ence within our felves, in Peace, Kindneſs and Cha

rity towards others, are 1 we taught to poffefs our

Souls And of all this, were the Founder and his
Confederates incomparable Examples .
§. 25. They will allow no ill Means or Methods
for the promoting and propagating of this Inftitu
tion. That would be the Way to stop its Pro
grefs,
 To the DE IST. 287

grefs, and blaft its Reputation : And they that have

invented Fables and Stories for the Support of it,
have been its greateſt Enemies, and done it moſt
Miſchief. Woe to the Contrivers of falfe Mira

22 cles, feign'd Apparitions and legendary Tales ! They

will be forely condemn'd by the Founder and all his
Accomplices. What, will they lie for God, and
16 cheat for the Truth ? It is the Rule of this Infti
-29

tution, that we must not do Evil, that Good may come.

They who fay the contrary, and impute the fame
to theſe Accomplices, will find that their Damnation.
is juft, Rom. iii. 8. The Doctrine of the Inftitution
is pure, and muſt not be mixt with other Doctrine ;
either with the Traditions of the Jews, or the Phi
lofophy of the Gentiles. Too much Injury has
been done thereto by both. The diffufing of the
Inftitution must be pure : It will not ftoop to
ill, foolish, deceitful Methods : It is all grave,
weighty, fober, folemn : It muſt be treated, mana
19

1 ged and deliver'd, as that that has God for its Au

thor and Patron, and Heaven for its End and Upfhot.
TR
For we are not as many that corrupt the Word of God ;
but as of Sincerity, but as of God, in the Sight of God,
CLIC
Tpeakwe in Chrift, 2 Cor. ii. 17. Neither give heed
Ex
to Fables and endlefs Genealogies, which minifter Quefti
ons, rather than godly Edifying, which is in the Faith,
1 Tim. i. 4. If any Man teach otherwife, and con
fent not to the wholfome Words, even the Words of our
Lord Jefus Chrift, and to the Doctrine which is accord
ing to Godliness, (This Doctrine is according to the
very Mind and Spirit of Godlinefs it felf. ) He is
bod
proud, knowing nothing, but doting about Oneftions and
Zita
Strifes of Words, whereof cometh Envy, Strife, Rail
Pro ings,
Telin
 288 LETTER III.

ings, evil Surmifings, perverſe Diſputings of Men of

corrupt Minds, and deftitute of the Truth, fuppofing
that Gain is Godliness ; from fuch withdraw thy felf,
1 Tim. vi. 3 , &c. This facred Doctrine will be
but ill propagated by thoſe that take Gain for God
linefs. From fuch the true Propagator is to with
draw himſelf : The wife and holy, the pure and
heavenly are here to be employ'd : The true Me
thods of Propagation are fum'd up, by one of the
genuine Emiffaries, in few Words ; Giving no Of
fence in any Thing, that the Miniftry be not blamed (it
is a tender, delicate Office, foon ftain'd ; ) But in all
Things approving our felves as the Ministers of God (the
holy, bleſſed God) in much Patience, in Afflictions,
(Strange, that in fuch Circumftances muſt be the
Minifters of God ! ) - By Pureness, (Purity of
Heart, and Hand, and Conduct) by Knowledge (Un
derſtanding our Work, and Skill in the Manage
ment of it) by Long-Suffering (towards reluctant Mor
tals, who are loth to be gain'd to God, and to
wards our Oppofers. ) By Kindness (towards all we are
to deal with) by the Holy Ghoft (and his Operations,
who patronizes the Inftitution) by Love unfeigned
(towards all Men, which will allow no ill Arts or
Stratagems to delude them, and draw them to De
ftruction.) By the Word of Truth ( the Word that
came from Heaven, and cannot be confuted. ) By the
Power of God (which fupports the Word of Truth,
and us in the Publication of it. ) By the Armour of
Righteousness on the Right Hand, and on the Left, (by
the fpiritual Weapons of Religion, Juſtice and In
tegrity round about us.) 2 Cor. vi. 3--7. Such muſt be
the Methods of diffuſing an heavenly Inſtitution in
and
3
 To the DEIST. ·2·89
德福

and about the World ; fuch are they, by which this

鱸

is recommended ; by which it was diffeminated at

firft, and ought to be fo ftill.
§. 26. The original Confederates in this Inftitu
tion appeal to an higher Teſtimony than their own,
even the Teftimony of Heaven : If they had not
15

that they had nothing to depend on. They pre

M tended not to Arms or Arts ; to foreign Allian
ces or Confederacies, to fecular Learning, Wealth,
or any earthly Encouragements. The Treaſures of
Heaven, and the Powers thereof, or nothing, muft
be their Support ; and with theſe they ſet forth, and
to theſe they appeal. It has been already obferv'd,
that Appeals to Hiftory, or fo fuppofed, open Mat
ters of Fact, are the worft Way to found a new
Religion upon ; efpecially one, that carries in it an
Oppofition to the ordinary Dictates of Fleſh and
Blood : But fuch Appeals do thefe Accomplices u
fually make. The Founder ufually diſcourſes with
the Jews upon the Foot of undeniable, miraculous
Works, perform'd among them. But I have greater
Witness than that of John ; for the Works that the Fa
ther hath given me to finish, (or to accompliſh) the
fame Works that I do, bear Witness of me, that the Fa
ther bath fent me, Joh. v. 36. If I do not the Works
of my Father, believe me not ; but if I do, though ye
believe not me, believe the Works ; that ye may know and
believe, that the Father (even God) is in me, and I in
him, Joh. x. 37, 38. The Apoſtle reminds the
Profelytes at Corinth, That in every Thing ye are en
riched by him (byJeſus Chriſt) in all Utterance, and in
all Knowledge, even as the Teftimony of Christ was con
firm'd in you (and among you.) And in the other
U Let:er,
290 LETTER III.

Letter, Truly the Signs of an Apostle were wrought a

mongyou in all Patience (as if Patience were the Sign
of an Apoftle) in Signs, and Wonders, and mighty Deeds.
He expoftulates with the Galatians (as enclined as
they were to a Revolt, ) this only would Ilearn of you;
received ye
the Spirit (the fignal Fruits of the Spirit)
by the Works of the Law, or by the Hearing of Faith?
(by the Hearing of, and Attention to that Faith,
that pertains to this Inftitution ? ) But I need not
profecute this Confideration any further ; but would
refer you to a Difcourfe of the learned Dr.
Whitby's.
As thefe Confederates appeal to open Miracle ; fo
we may obferve, that if they produc'd the Miracles
they appeal'd to, their Commiffion was publickly
fign'd and feal'd by Heaven . If they did not pro
duce them, it muſt be a furprizing Miracle, that they
fhould fo fuddenly fucceed, and their Inftitution be
fo quickly planted in the moſt famous Cities of the
Gentiles.
§. 27. Theſe primitive Confederates neither could,
nor did propofe to themſelves fecular Advantages ;
but on the contrary, expofed themſelves to all man
ner of Sorrows and Sufferings wherever they came :
They got nothing by their Device ( if it was theirs)
that was worth getting : Nor did they at all expect
it. And would Men of Senfe (of intellectual Senfe,
and animal Senfe) cut out a fruitleſs Life of Pain
and Perfecution for themſelves, or lay a folid De
fign for their own lingring Ruin and Deſtruction ?
Theſe Perfons do not only apparently baniſh all the
innocent Pleaſures and Accommodations of a quiet,

compoſed Life, but defignedly run the ready Road

to
 To the DEIST. 4. 291

to multiplied Miſeries and violent Deaths. They

know very well what their Enterprize A muft coft
them ; and they are willing to ftand to the Coft.
The Founder was content to, be all his Days, a Man
'
of Sorrows, and acquainted with Grief : He fore
fees his Trials and Conflicts : He is fatisfied to en

dure the Croſs, and can defpife the Shame of it, in

the View of what is before him. It has been already
24

obſerved, what Propofals he makes to his Servants,

OC
when + he called them to him, or fent them " out!
B
Pains and Woes must be their Portion, and a Con

formity to him in manifold Sufferings : They muft

not expect better Treatment than he found, or pro
T miſe themſelves a more favourable, fmiling World:
Never did Leader gather a Retinue upon fuch Af
farances and Profpects : They must remember, that
if the World hate them, it hated him before it hated
them ; and indeed hated him as the Principal in that
Hatred. How ftrangely does he fay to them, Thefe
Things have I spoken to you, that ye should not be offend
ed; they fhall put you out of the Synagogues ; yea, the
Time cometh, that whofoever killeth you, will think that
he doeth God Service ? Alas ! Are thefe Things fpoken
to prevent their Offence ? One would think they
fhould kindle and encreaſe it. Muft they be excom
municated and murder'd to gratify other Folks's
Confcience ? What Service, and what Mafter are
they here attached to ? This was enough to make
them betake themſelves to their Heels (as fometime
after they did) and run away. But I have already
fpoken of their Mafter's Plain-dealing with them be
forehand. I am now principally to confider what
they could propofe, and what they bore, after he
U 2 £ left
 LETTER III.
292

left them and was gone out of the World. After

their Flight, they rally again, and are refolv'd to
face and outface all Difficulties and Diftreffes . They
do not only labour hard, and travel far, (as has been
obferv'd) but they fuffer extremely in all Places.
Malignant Jews every where purfue them with Spite
and Malice : Idolatrous Gentiles oppoſe them with
Rage and Hatred. O what a dolorous, dying Life
do they prepare for themſelves, and prepare them
felves to run through ? Not long after their Leader's
Departure, they are all threaten'd, impriſon'd and
beaten. In a little while one of their Profelytes is
ftoned to death. Some Time after one of their
College is beheaded, and another clapt in Priſon, in
order to be fo ferv'd too. At Lyftra, the new Ac
ceffary (that was himſelf lately as good a Perfecutor
as any of them all) is ftoned and left for dead ; but
revives for repeated Sufferings . At Philippi, Paul
and Silas (what brought them into the Confederacy ?)
are fent to the Prifon and the Stocks. At Theffalo
nica, the Houſe is affaulted, where they were fuppo
fed to be, and they were fain to fly to Berea. From
thence Paul is fain to march to Athens, where he is
ridiculed and fcorned by the learned Academies. In
furrection is made against him at Corinth : At Ephefus,
he and his Companions had like to have been pull'd
in pieces, by the Mob : At Jerufalem, he was vio
lently beaten, and like to be murder'd , but was ref
cued and impriſoned in the Caftle. Then he is tranf
fer'd from one Tribunal to another, till he is brought
Prifoner to Rome. What fhould ail thefe Men, that

for the Sake of a Fable ( if it were one) they muſt

abandon Eafe, and Liberty, and Life itself ? Were
I they
 To the DEIS T. 293

they not Fleſh and Blood, as well as others ? Could

not they relish the Sweets of Life, as well as o
vda
thers ? If they were weary of Life, and of the
Tr
World, better they diſpatch'd themſelves immedi

Pha ately, than thus lie daily under the Fear, and Ha
zards, and Preludes of Death, in the Defence of a
Lie. O the Pain, Woes and Sufferings of an A
M
poftolical Life ! For I think, that God hath fet forth us
the Apostles laft, as it were appointed (and deſtinated)
unto Death. For we are made a Spectacle (a publick
Let
Shew in our Conflicts) unto the World (the higher.
:
and the lower) even to Angels and to Men. - Even
unto this prefent Hour, we both hunger and thirst, and
are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwel
ling Place.Poor Men ! Why did they venture up
new
on fuch a Service and fuch a Life, without fome
thing to bear them out ? If they were diſappointed,
why did they not fay fo, and forfake it ? What In
fatuation muſt be here, to follow a Man at this Rate,
that had left them, and was unable to do them any
Good ? But how affecting and moving are the Words
of this undaunted, unwearied Miffionary to his im
portunate, diffuading Friends at Cefarea, What mean
ye to weep and break mine Heart ? I am ready, not to be
bound only, but to die at Jerufalem, for the Name of
the Lord Jesus ? Alas ! Had he Compaffion for his
ad
Friends, and none for himſelf? Would he refolvedly
WAT be bound, and die for a Name, that he knew could
Wa ftand him in no ftead, and could not recompenfe his
Bonds and Death ? And would he lead others (his
ro beloved Friends) into the fame Sufferings too ? What
Enmity and Cruelty is here ? He reminds his dear

YE Pupil and Fellow-Servant of what he had formerly

b known
U 3
294 LETTER III.

known concerning him. Thou hast fully known my

Doctrine, manner of Life, Purpofe, Faith, Long-fuffer
ing, Charity, Patience, Perfecutions, Afflictions, which
came upon me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lyftra,
what Perfecutions I endured. Enough to affright a
young Man from the Warfare ! Muft he be call'd
and encourag'd to them too ? But watch than in all
Things ; endure Aflictions ! Alas ! Muft young Life
and Vigour be fpent in paffive Perfecutions and Af
flictions ! Muft the Pleafures of Youth be abandon

ed for the Toils of an oppofed, perfecuted Service?

What Pity is that ? Spend the fhort Remnant of
Time, old Man, (being fuch a one as Paul the Aged)
in the Conflicts thou haft begun, and art inured to !
But let pleaſant, flourishing Youth be fpared ! But
it muft not be. Endure Afflictions ; do the Work of an
Evangelift (which will call thee to diverfe Trials in
diverfe Places) fulfill thy Ministry. Thou therefore en
dure Hardness (or Hardship) as a good Soldier of Fe
fus Chrift . Fight hard, and fare hard, as is the Lot
of the Camp where we are. What Summons to
Sufferings were here ? Is this the Way of the
World ? This the Mode of Deceivers ? What Long

fuffering and Patience is here ?

Really, while we confider the Trials and Suffer
ings of thefe Miffionaries, we muſt wonder at their
Unweariednefs and Patience. A good Caufe will
not always carry the Abettors of it through ſuch
heavy Oppofitions and Calamities as
and lafting
thefe . Few Spirits in the World are able to ſuſtain
them. Here muſt be extraordinary Fortitude, Re
folution and Patience, and A that in many that were
timorous and cowardly before. No wonder fuch
Patience
 To the DEIST. 295

Patience is made the Sign of an Apofile. Apoftolical

-17 Patience muſt be invincible Patience : They are fitted
24

for their Work and Suffering : Their Patience and

Support feems to be (as well as their Doctrine) from
Heaven ; and the Hand of the Lord feems to be

with them, in their patient enduring of Afflictions,

even unto Death itſelf, as well as in their mighty
Works.
But can any Reafon fuppofe, that Men, and fuch
Men, would run themſelves into fuch conftant, ca
pital Dangers for a foolish Device and Fable of
their own? and thus knowingly expoſe themſelves
to Miferies and Death, for that that they know could
do them no Good ?

§. 28., Good Men may fall into Calamities una

wares ; or for a good, worthy Caufe, may refolve
to charge through all Difficulties that lie in their
.
Way; and then the Peace of their Confcience is
their great Support. But thefe Confederates (in cafe
they propagate a Lie) quite cut themfelves off from
all fuch Support and Relief under their Afflictions.
In the Cafe of Innocence, Confcience is as bold as a
Lion, and is as a thouſand Witneſſes : But in caſe of
LI
Perfidioufnefs and Fraud, it muſt have inward Fear,
Reproach and Torment. How could an evil Con
fcience poffibly carry Men through all theſe Miſe
23

ries and Afflictions ? They muſt know that they

are fathering Lies (if their Doctrine be ſo) upon
God : That they are deluding the World, drawing
Men to Ruin and Perdition ; acting fouleft Hypo
crify, and venturing their Lives in Proſecution of
$
a Cheat. " Here Confcience muft fly in their Face,
Ứ4 . muft
↓!
 R
296 LETTE III.

muft rebuke them for their Villany, teſtify againſt

them, and threaten them with the Tribunal and
Judgments of God : They muſt be in continual
Fear and Danger, left their Plot fhould be difco
ver'd, their Frauds detected and fham'd, and them
felves difpatch'd, as Impoftors, out of the World.
They muſt be in continual Pain, left fome or o
ther of the Confederates fhould be difcourag'd, and
wearied out with long Sufferings, and ſhould reveal
the whole Defign, to their Shame, and its own De
feat. They cannot look to God, or hope for his
Help in their Iniquity : Prayer to him for Suc
cefs in their Enterprize, would be to confecrate a
Villany. Truft in their Mafter Jefus, whom they
knew (upon the forefaid Suppofition) to be dead
and cold in his Grave, would be Folly and Non
fenſe. Whither fhould they go ? What ſhouldthey
do? Without, are Fightings and Oppofitions ; with
in, muſt be Fears, (for themſelves, more than for
others ) Perplexity of Mind, and Horror of Con
fcience. Would fenfible Men cut out fuch a defpe
rate State for 2 themſelves ? If in this Life, this be

their Condition in Jefus, they are of all Men (as .

to Soul and Body) moft miferable. Nay,
§. 29. They effectually cut themſelves off from
all rational Hope and Expectation of Compenfation
and Blifs in a better World. They take the Way,
knowingly and refolutely to make themfelves moit
dreadfully miſerable for ever. They know that Ly
ing and Deceit is not the Way to Heaven. They
know that belying God, and bearing falſe Witneſs
of him, is not the Way to pleaſe him, or to be hap
PY

1
 To the DEIST. 297

py in him. They know that Error, Deceit and

1
Darkneſs is the Way to endleſs Darkneſs and Con
fufion. Their feducing Men to their Deſtruction is the
Devil's Work, and the Way to provoke God, and
procure their own Damnation . Thou therefore that

preacheſt againſt Hypocrify, doft thou moſt egregi

p oufly play the Hypocrite ? Thou that preacheſt, a
Man fhould not go beyond his Brother, or defraud
him in any Matter, doft thou the moſt notoriouſly
fupplant and defraud him ? Thou that teſtifieſt, that
God is the Avenger of all fuch, doft not thou re
gard thy own Teftimony, nor ftand in Awe of the
Vengeance of God ? Thou that preacheſt, a Man
" fhould not fteal, doft thou rob God of the Souls
that he ſhould have, and rob Men of their Inno
cence and Peace, their Hope and + Salvation ? How
muft fuch Men be convicted by their own Light,
condemn'd by their own Confciences and Miniſtry,
and terrified by the Thoughts of Death, and the
Profpect of the other World ? What can remain for
them, but the Horror of Defpair, and the certain,
fearful Expectation of Judgment, and fiery Indig
nation, to confume them as Adverfaries to God and
Man ? And yet (which is to be obſerv'd, and let the
whole World obferve it)
§. 30. Theſe are the Men that can moſt folemnly
aver the Teſtimony of their own Confciences ; moft

C confidently appeal to God, rejoice in him, and tri

umph over Death in all the Pomp and Terror of
it: They continue in their Doctrine and Atteftation
T
of it to the End ; are ready to feal it with their
Blood ; and yet can moſt folemnly aver the Teſti
mony and Integrity of their own Confciences, and
appeal
298 LETTER III.

appeal to, and rely upon God, as their Father and

Hope, to their lateſt Breath.
The Founder himſelf continually calls God (whom
he ufually ftiles the Father, and his Father) to teſtify
on his Behalf: He ſpeaks his Words, and does his
Works, and feeks his Glory : He challenges his Ad
verfaries to convince him of any Sin or Evil ;
would not ſtep a Jot out of his Way to eſcape
Death in all its Formality : He rather rides to meet
it. He rode in Triumph but once, and that was in
his Way to the Grave : For he knew very well, and
foretold to his Difciples, that he was going to die
(the difmal Death of the Crofs) at Jerufalem. He
excellently and nobly difcourfes with, and to his
Difciples before his Departure : Comforts them up
on the forrowful Profpect of his Deceaſe : Affures
them he was going to Happinefs with God, and
tells them, they had more Reafon to rejoice, fince
he was going to the Father. He prays for himſelf
and for them, as one that favour'd of Heaven, and
was just upon the Confines of the bleſſed World,
And though there is a black Scene intervenes be
tween that and his Exit, (which his Inftitution
gives a noble, furprizing Account of it ; he muft
bear the Sins of the World in his own Body) yet
he fees through it ; and cheers himſelf and them, in
the Affurance of a ſpeedy, joyful Refurrection.
While he is in his deepeſt Dolour and Defertion
(for our Sake) he recognizes God as his God ; and
in a little while, affures his Companion and Con
feffor, that that Day he fhould be with him in Pa
radife : And a little after that refigns his Spirit into
his Father's Hands. Thus dies the forrowful Foun
der
 POSTUP

xe
To the DETS T. 299
豆

der of this Inftitution, affur'd of Admiffion înta

Heaven, and Reception into his Father's Glory ! . i
.. The travelling Accomplices can boaft the Inte
grity and Tranquility of their Confciences ; the Sa
tisfaction of their Minds in all they do .. For our

Rejoicing is this, the Teſtimony of our Conscience, that

in Simplicity and godly Sincerity (Sincerity towards
God) not with flefbly Wisdom (no furely, there ap
peats no fuch Wiſdom in the whole Scheme) but by
the Grace of God, we have had our Converfation in the
2 World, and more abundantly to you-wards. And one
04 of them publickly avouches, that herein does he al
ways exercise himself, to keep a Confcience void of Of
dk. fence, both towards God, and towards Man. If he
did not do fo as he then profefs'd, he then made an
offenfive Confcience towards God ; and Conſcience
1.9

would tell him fo, one Day. And we (fpeaking for

his Brethren as well as for himſelf) have renounced
the hidden Things of Dishonesty, not walking in Crafti
.1 handling the Word of God deceitfully, but by
nefs, not
Manifestation of the Truth, commending our ſelves to
every Man's Confcience in the Sight of God. And Peter
declares to his Brethren, We have not followed cun

ningly devifed (or fophifticated) Fables, when we made

known to you the Power and Coming of our Lord Jefus
B

Christ, but were Eye-Witneſſes of his Majesty, 2 Pet. i.

16. That which we have feen and heard (have had all
the Evidence of that can be, fays the beloved Difci
ple) That declare we unto you, that ye may have Fel
lowship with us, (and be as happy as we) and truly
•
our Fellowſhip is with the Father, and his Son Fefus
Christ, 1 Ep. I. 3. and Ep. ii. I rejoiced greatly (fays
he to the elect Lady) that I found of thy Children
ualking
 LETTER III.
300

walking in the Truth (in the Truth of our Chriftian

Inſtitution) as we have received Commandment from
the Father. (This came down from the Great God,
who is our Father :) Their Minds and Confciences
are quiet, eafy and fatisfied in all they have faid
and done in the Affair of their Inftitution.
As they moſt eminently and wonderfully (above
all the Sages of the Gentiles) addreſs themſelves to
God in Prayer, Praiſes and Thankſgivings, fo, they
can appeal to him, rely upon him, and reft in his
Love. They can confidently appeal to him : God
is my Witness, whom I ferve with my Spirit, in the

Gofpel of his Son--But as of God, in the Sight of God,

Speak we in Chrift (in the Affairs and Inftitution of
Chrift.) We look not at Things that are feen, but at
Things that are not ſeen, (fo it appears indeed ; ) For
Things that are feen are temporal, but Things that are
not feen are eternal. Now the Things that I write unto
jon, behold, before God I lie not. They can rely up
on his Power and Goodneſs. We had the Sentence of
Death in our felves, that we might not trust in ourfelves,
but in God, that raifeth the Dead.--For which Caufe we
faint not, but though our outward Man perish, yet the
imward Man is renewed Day by Day. And I was de
Liver'd out of the Mouth of the Lion ; and the Lord
hall deliver me from every evil Work, and will preferve
me to his heavenly Kingdom.-- They can reft and re
joice in the Love of God, above all Mortals befides.
Bleffed be the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift,
who hath bleſſed us with all ſpiritual Bleſſings, in hea
venly Places in Chrift Jefus, according as he hath chofen
us in him before the Foundation ofthe World.--But when
it pleafed God, who i feparated me from my Mother's
Womba
 To the DEIST.
301

Womb, and called me by his Grace to reveal his Son in

me, that I might preach him among the Heathen.-- We

rejoice in hope ofthe Glory of God, and not onlyſo, but

we glory in Tribulations alſo, knowing that Tribulation
worketh Patience, and Patience, Experience (Experience
of Divine Favour and Affiftance, ) and Experience,

Hope ; and Hope maketh not aſham'd, because the Love

of God is fed abroad upon our Hearts by the Holy Ghoft,
which is given to us.--Now our Lord Jefus Chrift him
felf, and God, even our Father, who hath loved us, and
given us everlasting Confolation and good Hope through
Grace-- Bleffed be the God and Father of our Lord Jefus
Chriſt, who, according to his abundant Mercy, hath be
gotten us again unto a lively Hope, by the Refurrection of
Jefus Chrift from the Dead, to an Inheritance incorrup
7
rible, undefiled, andthat fadeth not away, & c.— Here
T
is Hope, Affurance and Joy, more valuable than all
C
theWorld !
But the Trial of Skill is, how to look Death in
the Face ; and here they perfectly triumph. Their
2
Hope, Affurance and Joy was often tried : They
S
were in Deaths often ; and they can look the King
of Terrors out of Countenance, and defy all his Arms,
and Forms, and Shapes. He falls at their Feet (low,
as he would lay them, ) drops his Darts, and confef
fes their Victory. He is loth to ftrike, as loth to
& fend them from thofe Deaths they die daily, more
terrible than his fharpeft Stroke. He is furpriz'd
and aſham'd to fee his Sting and poiſon'd Darts are
all extinguiſh'd, and his Arrows turn'd to Wings,
to waft unwounded Spirits to Life and Immorta
lity. Who of all the Ship's Crew, in the long
135

Tempeft and Shipwrack, is fo undaunted and cheer

14 ful,
 302 LETTER III.

ful, as the fetter'd Miffionary ? He cheers them all

and fecures their Lives. If he foretold their Safety
when all Hope was gone, it is à Sign there was the
Spirit of Prophefy (a Token of Heaven) among the
Millionaries... Wea
It is remarkable, that the other Miffionary, Peter,
has Death in view, while he afferts his own and

his Brethren's Integrity in delivering the Affairs of

their Mafter ; Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in
this Tabernacle, to ſtir you up, by putting you in Re
membrance ; knowing that shortly I must put off my
Tabernacle, even as our Lord Jefus Chrift hath shew
ed me. (The Lord Chrift had told him, that when
he was old, another ſhould gird him, and carry him
whither he would not ; this he is now in Expecta
tion of; ) Moreover I will endeavour, that you may be

able after my Deceaſes to have thefe Things always in

Remembrance ; (living or dying he would take Care
that thefe Things ſhould be reported and remem
bred, among them, as being facredly true.) For we
have not followed cunningly deviſed Fables (as being a
bove the Capacities of poor Fiſhermen) when we
made known unto you, the Power and Coming of our
Lord Jefus Chrift, but were Eye-Witneſſes of his Ma
jefty. He was one of thofe that was with him inthe
Mount, and beheld his Glory there. This he is
willing to atteft to the Death, and to have remem
bred when he is dead : And die he muft fhortly :
And Death is a light Thing. It is but putting off
his Tabernacle, and the Load with which he is now
encumbred. Paul is affur'd of Heaven ; We know
(and are fully fatisfied) that if our earthly Houſe of
this Tabernacle were diffolved, we have a Building of
God,
 To the DEIST. 303

God, an Houfe not made with Hands, eternal in the

Heavens : And yet as fure as he is of this eternal

H Habitation, fuch Defire he has to promote the facred

Inftitution on Earth, that he is content to adjourn
his Heaven a little longer, that he may thereby affift
others to come thither. Nevertheless, to abide in the
Flesh is more needful for you ; and fo having this Con
33

fidence (or Affurance of your Good) I know that I

IS 3 fhall abide and continue with you all, for your Further

ance and Joy of Faith (for the Furtherance of your

Faith and the Joy that accrues thereby.) But in
one of his laft Letters, he can comfortably review
all that he has done in the Bufinefs of this Inſtituti
on, and fing in the Profpect of the Glory that enfues.
I am readyto be offered, (to be prefented unto God).
et
and the Time of my Departure is at Hand ; I have
fought a good Fight, (as long and Hazardous as it has
3
been) I have kept the Faith (the Doctrine and the
Ca
Difcipline of it ;) Henceforth there is laid up (or laid
mor.
AL
by) for me a Crown of Righteousness, (the Prize of
72
Religion) which the Lord, the righteous Fudge, fhall
give me at that Day, and not to me only, but to all them
alfo that love his appearing.
And before this, when he was proclaiming Death's
Doom, prognofticating his Fate and Deſtiny, or
the
reading a victorious Lecture concerning the Refur
e is rection of the Chriftian Dead, he could not but
em break forth into Exultation and Triumph ; O Death,
ly where is thy Sting! O Grave, where is thy Victory?
of
The Sting of Death is Sin ; the Strength of Sin is the
TOW Law : But Thanks be to God, who giveth us the Victory,
HOW through our Lord Jesus Chrift ! (The Victory over all
thefe Things ! over Death, the Grave, Sin and the
+ Law !)
30%
 LETTER III.
304

Law ! ) Supernaturel Epinicion ! too great to be fung

on this fide Heaven ! Here is the Joy of Faith !
The Valour and Victory of the Chriftian Inftituti
on ! Cedite Romani Scriptores ( Victores, ) Cedite
Graii!

But (to add no more) it is one of theſe Miffi

onaries that concludes our holy Book, with the
moſt ſtately Defcription of the heavenly City and
Blifs ; and with an ardent Sigh or Vote for the Ap
proach of it, and him that hath the Keys of it, and
will be fure to admit all his Followers ; He which
teftifieth thefe Things, faith, furely, I J come quickly,
(come to wind up the World, and diſtinguiſh the
Inhabitants for ever) Amen. Even fo , come Lord
Jesus ! All thy Servants look, wait and long for thy
coming !
Thus we fee, what a Syftem of Purity, Simpli
city and Divine Sincerity our Chriftian Code is.
Thus it appears, what excellent, upright, fingle
hearted, difintereſted Perfons the original Confede
rates in and about this Inftitution were ; and how

improbable, irrational (or even impoffible) it is, that

here ſhould be any finifter Craft, Impoſture, or Col
lufion .
The Confiderations are (moſtly ) taken from the
View of the Perfons employ'd therein. I thought
to have added fome, taken from the Nature and
Complection of the Inftitution itself; and thereby
it may indeed appear to be a Defign and a Contriv
ance ; but a moft noble Deſign and divine Con
trivance ; one " worthy of Heaven, and the Powers
above. A Deſign to rectify, renew and refine the
Spirit of Man, from all natural or contracted Impu
rities,
 To the DEIST.
305

rities, Pollutions, and vitious Diſpoſitions : A De

fign to fet up natural Religion in all its Parts, and
Power, and Glory : A Defign to pull down the
A
=

Hebrew Ritual Religion, and yet to build thereon,

that which illuftrates, perfects and compleats it : A
15 Defign to commend to us the bleffed God, in the
:: unfearchable Treaſures of his Love and Grace : A
TE Defign to lead the World to the greateſt Peace,
‫ر‬ Tranquility, and Perfection it is capable of in the
State of Mortality ; and to the nobleft and moſt
tranfcendent Bleffednefs it is capable of in the Land
of Perfection. But paft Prolixity deters me from
faying more of thefe Things, and commands me to
leave the Confideration of them to more judicious

AP Managers.
It is Time now to conclude this Letter, and
fhould have fo done much fooner, but that I was
ཏི།-

loth to be too injurious to a Subject, to which I

BB

1.900 am not able to do Juftice. In Difcourfes of this

2193

Nature, it is fcarce poffible to avoid offending fuch

as you : If we are Brief, then it is faid the Theme
will not bear much ; if we are large, we are then
prolix and tedious. I muft fubmit to your Candor
and the Importance of the Cafe.
I am loth to fubjoin any Thing by Way of Co
05
rollary from what has thus been reprefented ; but
fuch Things as theſe may now appear, and be rati
pr onally admitted.
W•apWW
1. Neither wife Men nor Fools, could be Au
thors of fuch an Inftitution as this. Not Fools, or
C fuch as are deftitute of common Senfe, or the com
love
mon Reaſon of Mankind. It is too fublime, too
neta
X judicious

Takk
306 LETTER III.

judicious, too noble and excellent in all the Parts of

it for fuch as they. The fpeculative Doctrine, the
practical Scheme, the Promifes and Threats, the En
couragements and Motives, are as pure and rich, ra
tional and obliging, as human Wit can imagine. If
it were not for protracting this culpable Prolixity,
it might eafily be fhewn, that the Penmen of this
Inftitution, 1. Underſtand more Languages than
one. 2. Have great Knowledge of the State of the
World, and the Cafe of Mankind. 3. Well under
ftand the Nature and Perfection of God, and what
is congruous thereto. 4. Are well acquainted with
Ethics, and the moſt noble Morality . And 5. Do
well difcern the Nature of Man, and what is condu
cive to his Perfection and Happineſs . The wifeſt
Students of this Inftitution admire its Purity and
Prudence, its Harmony within itſelf and its accurate
Congruity to Heaven and Earth.
Wife Men would not be the Authors and Contri
vers of it. Worldly-wife Men (whofe End is fecu
lar-felf) would not devife and purſue a Project, that
they know will ruin them to all Intents and Pur
poſes in the World. Spiritually-wife Men would
not, durft not, devife and purfue a Project, that
muſt expoſe them to the Diſpleaſure of God, the
Hatred of good Men (when difcovered) the Fears
and Reproaches of their own Conſcience at preſent,
and at laft, the Damnation of Hell.
2. Neither good Men, nor bad ones, could or
would devife and purfue fuch an Inftitution as this :
Neither honeft Men or Knaves would do it . Bad
Men and Knaves would not fet themfelves to pro
I mote
 To the DEIST.
2.8

307
2

mote Holiness and Religion, the Fear and Love of

God, Righteoufnefs, Honefty and Love to Men,
with all their Care and Might, to the Lofs of all
that is dear and valuable in the World.
Good and honeft Men would not, durft not de
vife, and at this Rate advance it. They durft not
Father a Lie upon God, and go about the World
bearing falfe Witnefs of him, and draw Mankind
2
#

1 after them into Poverty and Reproach, Perfecutions

and Death, and after all, into a cruel, curfed De
‫فرق‬
3 feat of all their Hopes and Expectations ; fo that
L

this Inftitution, and the Method by which it was

raiſed, and diſſeminated in the World, could by no
Means be an human Appointment .

3. We may now poffibly fee fome Reaſon , why our

TE
facred Code (the Book of our Religion ) is written
in the Form in which it is. It may be you, as well

as I, have oft thought it ftrange, that the Chriftian

ocar
Bible (the Charter of the Inftitution ) fhould ap
pear in the Form and Model in which it does : That.
8.5
3

it ſhould thus be made up of Hiſtory and Letter.

A fair Scheme of Doctrine, or methodical Syftem
WOS
of Law, one would be apt to think, would be more
B
fuitable to the Work and the Defign. But there,
perhaps, would be too much Room for the Sufpici
Fa
on of human Sagacity and Invention : Nor might
refent
the Aim and Defign of the Author or Contriver
fufficiently appear. It feems we muſt have a Bible
ulde
of quite another Frame and Contexture : It muſt
sthis
be wrote by many : It must confift of Hiſtory and 1
Bai
Letters, that the Spirit and Diſpoſition, the Ends
Top and Aims, the Life and Conduct of the Men may
LOC
N

X 2 be
 LETTER III.
308

be ſeen, and read, and felt : That, particularly, the

Heart and Pulfe, the vital Heat and Motion of this

great Founder and his Accomplices, may moſt ſen

fibly and palpably appear to the World. We muſt
have a Book, that has all the Notes and Characters
of higheft Purity and Integrity. The Evidences of
fuch Purity and Integrity that have already been al
ledged, are fetched, all of them (I think) from the
Contents of that Book ; fo that, poffibly, we may
1
fay, that there is not a Book in the World (or can
be deviſed, of fuch a Bulk or Volume) that has fo
many intrinſic Marks and Signatures of facred Sim
plicity and godly Sincerity, and that is fo remote from
Flefbly Wisdom, and (as the Penmen of it ) fo full of
the Grace of God, as the Chriftian Bible, or the New
Teftament has and is.
4. We fhall fee, that the beſt Way ftill to diffuſe
this facred Inftitution, is the fame as that by which
it was at firſt raiſed, and propagated in the World,
viz. The Way of Humility, Self-denial and Separa
tion from the World, and from the Spirit of it.
Since the World has crept into the Church, the Of
fice of Diffeminating this Inftitution, has been rec
koned little elfe then fecular Cunning and Craft ;
and the by it is apparently enervated, and has loſt
its Hono ir and Efficacy. Was it not justly faid,
Hodie vene um funditur in Ecclefiam ? Emulation with
the World, Affectation of the Finery and Gaieties
of the World, Ambition of its Pomp and Luftre,
will never gain the World to a crucified Religion,
and to the crucified Son of God. The reverend,
the honoured, the learned Partners in that facred

Function,
 To the DEIST. 309

Function, will then at last be pleaſed to confider,

་
that the declining of all thofe Things that are con
trary to a plain, humble, fpiritual Purſuit of the

great Ends of this Inftitution, that a plain, hum

ble, fpiritual Communication of it to, and Diffufi
30 on of it among the Sheep and Lambs of the Great
1 and Good Shepherd, will be moſt acceptable to
him, moſt falutary and beneficial to them, and will
be their own Joy and Crown of Rejoicing in the
Day of the Lord Jefus.
5. We may a little bethink our felves, how in
debted we in theſe remote Lands and Ages are, to

ft the indefatigable Labours and Travels of the bleſſed

Apoftles. And bleffed be they of the Lord (as in

V deed they are) that they fpared no Pains, no Trou

ble, no Sufferings, to fpread this Inftitution about
the Earth ! Almoft incredible are their Journies and
Wil w
Travels ; incredible their Fortitude and Patience.
F
They fet up Seminaries of this Inftitution in moft
Mas
of the famous Cities of the known World. One
of them, quickly after his miraculous Converfion
went into Arabia, and ſpread it there ; afterward
heCr
286 from Jerufalem, and round about unto Illyricum, he
fpread it : Then he meant to travel to Spain, and af
Craft
terward to Rome ; and whether he came into theſe
Northern Parts, the Antiquaries are not very well
affured. But if they had not been fo fedulous and
onvi
induſtrious, what muſt remote Lands and Ages have” ›
Galer
done ? There feems not to be that Zeal, that Con
Luft
cern for the uninlightned World after their Depar
Celigies ture. If the Bishops and Elders must be confined
to their ſtated Societies, who must convey the In
Sacre ftitution
g
undin
310 LETTER III.
ftitution to the uncalled World ? Muft that World
be obliged to Perfecution only for their Light and
Call ? Perfecution difperfed the Church of Jerufa
lem, and fent the Members thereof to enlighten o
ther Places. And if Jofeph of Arimathea came hi
ther, it might be Perfecution that drove him from
Jerufalem, as it made many of our English fly to
the Deferts of America. How far any thought it
Duty, or Meet, to take upon them the proper Of
fice of the Apoſtles after their Deceafe, I cannot well
fay ; but they ſhed abroad the Odour of the Gofpel
in Europe ; and to their Labours and Toils are wel
highly obliged.
6. It is pity now, that the World is fo little ac
quainted with this facred Inftitution ; that it is no
more, according to the firft fuitable Method, dif
fufed among the Nations ! O the Offences that are
raiſed against it ! The Incongruity of thofe that
profefs it, and the Judgments of God upon the Na
tions !
:
-O Mother dear and kind,
Where fhall I get me Eyes enough to weep,
As many Eyes as Stars ? Since it is Night,
And much of Afia and Europe faſt aſleep,
And even all Africk would, at leaſt, I might
With theſe two poor ones, lick up all the Dew,

Which falls by Night, and pour it out for you !

Herb.

Alas, that fo many among us fhould be fo pre

judiced againſt this Celeſtial Inftitution ! That fo
many
 To the DEIS T. 311

many are a weary of it, and are ready to turn aſide

to any Thing elſe ! Natural Religion they would
feem to cry up, which yet is as little practiſed by
them, as they complain the inftituted Religion is by
its Profeffors. But may I, Sir, prevail for a more
fedate, unprejudiced Perufal of this facred Volume,
and a more mature Confideration of the genuine In
ftitution comprized therein, I ſhould ſuppoſe, that
fuch Light would thereby glare into your Eyes (the
Eyes of your Mind) as would fway you into the
cordial Reception of it, and thereby into Joy and
Peace in believing, and an affured Hope of that
Glory that is afcertained thereby, which is the great
End of thefe Letters thus prefented to you, by

Honoured Sir,

Your most affectionate, humble Servant,

FINIS

The Reader is defired to take Notice of thefe Errata.

PRef. p. 9. 1. 17. r. Facili. In the Letters , p. 12.1. 19. after the Word,
one, add the Note of Interrogation. p. 19. 1. 23. add fuch another Note . p.
21.1. 5. for Means r . Mun's. p. 30. 1. 24. r. oipar. p. 37. 1. 13. r. Immu
tability. p.52. 1. 8. dele zot. p. 54. in the fecond Ver.r. Corpora. p . 55. I. 20.
for what 1. that. p. 61.1. 3. for fenfible r . fenfitive. p. 73. for unfashionable r. 1
unfathomable. p.75 . 1. 25. r. ĥμap. p. 77. 1. 15. r. Zŵa. p. 8o. 1. penult. r,
A naridage. p. 154. 1. 8. r. irradiate. p. 197. l. 13. after the Word, he, add
the Word, no. p. 236. 1. 6. r. turns. p. 244. 1. 19. put a Comma after the
Word, Money. p. 256. 1. penult. for wifely r. wiftly. p. 262. 1. 22. for no, r.
54 on. p. 271.1. 14. for far, r. for. p. 273. 1. 19. to the Word Piety, add the
Word fhine. p. 247. 1. 2. for there, r . their. p. 275. 1. 22. for Carts, r.
J Coafts. p. 278. 1. 9. for impoffible, r. poffible. p. 279. 1. 28, for Wrath, r.
Wealth. p. 289. 1. 14. for fe, r. to. p.298. 1. 24. dele it.
 MVSEYM
Published by the fameA
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and beconomy
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V. Zeal a Vertue : or a Difcourfe concerning fa

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