that to judge by outward appearances when we see a Man dye it seems as if he dy'd like a Beast and that there was no difference between ' em And this was the Judgment which the Prophane Libertines in Salomon's time made of it But what we have said is certainly the precise sence of the words For if from the saying of Ecclesiastes Who knows whether the breath of a Beast ascends upward and the breath of a Beast descends downward We must conclude that if Salomon was ignorant of that which was to happen he would have spoken against his own knowledge seeing that in the 12th Chapter he says expresly That the Spirit returns to God We must also believe that he questions whether or no the Breath of Beasts descended downward since he makes use of the same Expression who knows whether the Breath of a Beast c. Now is this a thing that so wise a Man as Salomon could doubt of or could he be inclin'd to observe an Error which few believe that the Spirit of Beasts is immortal Thô we must confess there are some people that are of this Opinion if we may believe the Portuguese Relation of the Eastern Aethiopia It will be said perhaps that the Soul being strictly united with the Body it cannot be conceiv'd how the Body should dye and the Soul be Immortal But this Argument is absurd for were the Soul and Body of the same Nature there were some room for this Objection But in regard they are of a different Nature and that the motions of the Soul are absolutely independent from those of the Body As for example when she meditates upon God Why may we not say that it subsists without a Body like the Angels And so much for this subject Let us now examine whether we ought to believe a day of Judgment Of the Judgment to come IT is impossible to reflect upon the Nature of God without being convinc'd of a Day of Judgment The Idea which we have of God obliges him to look upon him as a Being Supreamly Wise most Just most Holy and most Perfect But we can never consider him as a Being most Wise Just and Perfect unless we understand at the same time that he is one day to call Men to Judgment and to reward or punish 'em according as they have lived upon the Earth In short How can it be conceiv'd that a God who made all things who loves Order and Holiness to the highest Degree and who always acts conformably to his Virtues can let go unpunish'd the Contempts which his Creatures put upon his Laws and that he can look with the same Glances of his favour upon those that employ themselves in his Praises and they that Vomit forth Blasphemies against him those that confess his Holy Name and those that abjure it upon Virtuous Men and the most Infamous Debauchees upon St. Peter and a Herod upon St. Paul and a Nero a St. John and a Domitian and yet this is that which we must say of God were it true that there would be no Day of Judgment For that Person must be very Ignorant of the Affairs and Transactions of this World who understands not that Punishment does not always attend the Transgression and that the Wicked are not always Chastiz'd but that the Innocent are sometimes oppress'd and the Guilty justify'd Now can we believe that the Sanctity and Wisdom of God would suffer Virtue to remain without Reward or Vice without Punishment had he not decreed a Day wherein to render unto every Man according to his Works No doubtless God has not suffer'd the Wicked all to go Unpunish'd that Men might not believe there was no Providence nor does he punish all that Men might thence infer there will be a time of Judgment The Invisible Hand of God collects together whatever Man does whatever he thinks and whatever he says all is hoarded up in the Treasure of his Justice But after God has gather'd all his Magazine he will return all back again and cause to Re-descend on Men whatever Men sent up to Heaven To this first Argument in my Opinion another may be added which is taken from the Remorse the Troubles and the Agitations of Conscience when a Man has committed any Crimes tho' secret Transgressions and such are not to be discover'd For from whence proceed those Terrors I beseech ye if it be not from an Apprehension of a Judgment which there is no possibility of avoiding It may be objected perhaps that there are none but the weaker sort that labour under these Disquiets these Turmoils and stings of Conscience little Children poor Ideots and silly Women But where is that Man who having sworn a false Oath committed a Murder or any other Crying Act of Injustice is not sensible of the sharpe Rebukes and Upbraidings of his Conscience 'T is not what Women only or Children do this is a question reaches all that have offended against Heaven It may be also farther said that 't is the Apprehension of the Rigour of Human Laws which causes all those Terrors not the Dread of any Caelestial Tribunal But whence then comes it to pass that those Monarchs who set themselves above the Reach of all Terrestial Justice and boasted of their Abominations were not exempted from these Affrights and Convulsions of self-Conviction such as Nero Tiberius Caligula Caracalla who were flattered every day that they might do what they pleas'd and who never heard a word of the Law of God of the Severity of his Justice or of a Judgment to come Others will alledge that these Commotions are the Effect of our Education But how comes it that we neglect and contemn so many other things infus'd into us by our Education but never can deface these deep Impressions Whence proceeds it that all Mankind with their conjoyn'd Efforts could never calm these Tempestuous Agitations nor dissipate these Fears Whence comes it to pass that upon th' approach of Death the Greatest Libertines and most Prophane tremble at the remembrance of their Impiety and their Horrors still augment the nearer they draw toward their end For if nothing were to follow but Annihilation whence so much Agony Lastly it will be said that there are many People who feel none of these Inward Stings But besides that it would be a difficult thing to name any of those Persons whose Consciences are altogether dead and Insensible and that others might be thought to be void of all Fear because they knew how to conceal it their Inconsiderable Number can by no means weak'n our Argument as it does not follow that the Existence of God is not a Truth beyond Controul because there are some perhaps that do not believe it The Universal Consent in reference to this Point of all Nations that have acknowledg'd a Deity is a sufficiently convincing Proof of the Truth of what we positively assert For how comes it that so many Men agree in this particular altho' they differ
Idea of Infinity It is also as absurd to say that a Body knows as to say that a thought is Red or Green that the Act of arguing is Hot or Cold or that a Metaphisical Speculation is round or square 'T is clear then that the Soul is not Material and that by Consequence it has no parts and therefore it cannot dye No Sickness can destroy it because it has no blood nor humour that can feed it Neither Sword nor Fire can kill it because it has no parts that Iron can divide or Fire consume 2. Neither can the Soul be said to destroy it self for Right Reason teaches us that nothing tends of it self to its own Destruction and Ruin that every Being is desirous of it self to remain in the same Condition wherein it is and that every Change that happens to any subject proceeds from an Exterior Cause besides that it can never be conceiv'd how a Soul should destroy it self 3. It cannot be said that the Soul can be deâ—troy'd by other Created Substances because we ought not to assure our selves of what we â—annot conceive unless God reveals it to us Now it is impossible to comprehend that a Creaâ—ed and finite Substance can destroy a Spiritual Nature nor do we know it to be otherwise by Revelation 4. It cannot be said that God destroys and annihilates our Souls For besides that the Annihilation of a Being is one of those things of which there is not any example in Nature we have no Revelation that God designs the Annihilation of Souls On the contrary if they with whom we contend would acknowledge the Divinity of Scripture it would be easie for me to produce 'em proofs which invincibly make out this immortality which we assert This First Argument may be supported by a Second which is this That if the Soul be not immortal and that there be no other Life after this we must then conclude that it was only given to Man to render him more miserable then the Beasts and to be a torment to him For if Man had not a Rational Soul the Remembrance of what is pass'd the Consideration of the Present and the Apprehension of Futurity would never afflict his Mind but he would be like the Beasts which if we may believe the new Philosophers feel no pain or if they do feel any 't is only a present pain If then the Soul be not immortal it would have been better that God had made us walking Machines then to give us a Soul only to make us Suffer 'T is said that Man being so like to Beasts all dies with him as it is with other Creatures But this Objection is unworthy a Rational Man 'T is true that there is some Conformity between a Man and a Beast A Man is Born and is subject to Death he preserves his Life by nourishment and his Kind by Generation and he is subject to the irregularities of Humors All this is common with the Beasts I confess likewise that there is a Conformity which is disgraceful to Man and this is that which consists in the disorders of the Body and Sences and the Predominancy of the Passions 'T is a shame to Man that his Passions over-rule him where Reason ought to Command and that he is not the Master of his own Body nor of all the Motions of it Nevertheless all that can be concluded from hence is that Man is Mortal so far as he has any thing of Conformity with Beasts But we must renounce our Reason if we deny that Man has not an infinite number of things that exalt him above Brutes and in that respect it is that Man is Immortal Althô they who believe the Soul to be Mortal laugh at the Revelation yet there are some who make use of a Passage in Ecclesiastes to confirm their Opinion 'T is in the Chap. 13.19 20 21. The same thing befalls both Man and Beasts the death of the One is like the death of the other both the one and the other breathe the same Breath and Man has no advantage above a Beast for all is vanity All goes the same way All was dust and to dust they shall return Who knows whether the breath of Man mounts upward or whether the breath of a Beast descends downward But if these People who borrow the Authority of Salomon to support their Error had read the Book from which they-fetcht their Argument they would have seen that that same Great and Wise Prince was far from believing the Soul to be Mortal His aim is there only to withdraw the hearts of Men from the Love of the World from their extraordinary Propensity to the Creatures and all things that fall under the Senses On purpose to incline and persuade 'em to Love to Fear and Serve the Lord only And this is the conclusion which he draws at the end of his Book from all the Arguments which he produc'd before The scope of the whole Discourse is Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole Duty of Man Now I leave it to Judgment Whether if Salomon had thought that the Soul did not subsist after death he would have taken so much pains to excite Men to the exercises of Piety for which there was no reward to be expected since the Belief of the Immortality of the Soul is the Foundation of Piety and Religion But for an absolute Conviction that this Great King did not believe the Soul to be mortal there needs no more then to read his Tenth Chapter From the very beginning he threatens Men with a Judgment to come and exhorts 'em to remember God in the days of their youth and not to delay their Turning to God till the last years of their Lives A needless Exhortation if the Soul were to dye For what reason is there that Man should fear any thing after death if All were to dye with him Afterwards in the 9th Verse he tells us in express terms That the dust returns to the earth from whence it was taken but that the Spirit returns to God that gave it Is not this an invincible Proof that he believed the Immortality of our Souls For how could it be said that our Spirit should return to God that gave it if it subsisted no longer after it was departed from the Body which it enlivened Is it possible that a nothing of Soul and Spirit should return to the Bosom of God The wise Salomon so little believ'd our Soul to be Mortal that in the same Chapter ver 17. he says God shall judge the Just and the Vnjust and then shall be the time for all things and over all his Works which he would never have said had he had the least Thought that our Soul died with the Body So that by the Passage which they alledge he meant no other thing but that in respect of the Body the condition of the Beasts was equal to that of Men that the same thing befals him and
Sisters yea and his own Life also he cannot be my Disciple And v. 33. So likewise whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all he hath he cannot be my Disciple VI. Wherefore St. Paul calls those Idolaters who committed any one of those Acts which the Pagans practis'd 1. Corinth 10. VII If it be sufficient for a Man to believe in his Heart without making open Profession of the Truth how comes it that the same Apostle Commands us to believe in our Hearts and make Confession with our Mouths unto Salvation Rom. 10.9 10. And that St. Peter would have us Be ready always to give an Answer to every Man that asks ye a Reason of the Hope that is in you 1. Pet. 3.15 VIII If it be true that Man may be faithful and practise a False worship and observe the Ceremonies of a Corrupt Religion then might He Drink the Cup of the Lord and the Cup of Devills contrary to the saying of St. Paul 1. Cor. 10. and have Communion with God yet walk in Darkness contrary to the Precepts of St. John 1 Epist C. 1. v. 6. And a Man may have received the Good Seed of God into his Heart and withdraw himself in time of Persecution contrary to the Doctrine of Christ Mat. 13. IX A Man might be an Idolater and yet be Saved contrary to what the Apostle determins 1 Cor. 6. that Idolaters shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven X. He may be register'd in the Book of Life of the Lamb and adore the Beast contrary to what is written by St. John Apoc. 13.8 And all that shall Worship the Beast whose Names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb. XI If the Opinion of those against whom we Combat were true would St. John threaten Eternal Torments to the Adorers of the Beast Apoc. 14. v. 9 10 11. If any Man worship the Beast and his Image and receive his mark in his Forehead or in his hand the same shall drink the Wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the Cup of his indignation and be shall be tormented with Fire and Brimstone in the Presence of the Holy Angels and in the Presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever c. XII The same beloved Disciple would have placed the Fearful at the head of those for whom the Lake of Fire and Brimstone is reserved Apoc. 21.8 Would Jesus Christ threaten to spue the Lukewarm out of his Mouth Apoc. 3.16 For who are the Fearful and Lukewarm but they who understand the Truth yet fearing the Hatred and Cruelty of the World compose their outward Behaviour in such a manner that they make a shew of approving a Religion of which they acknowledge the Falshood Such as have an Orthodox Soul and Lips of Infidels who will neither be altogether for Jesus Christ not altogether for the World who divide themselves between the One and the Other and would fain be reconcil'd to Both In a word who do that which our Indifferent Men believe may be done without a Crime XIII Whence comes it to pass that the Holy Ghost condemns those that halt on both sides 1 Kings 18.21 Zephan 1.5 and those that worship and swear by the Lord yet swear by Maloham also XIV Wherefore is it that the Two Apostles St. Paul and St. John of which the one had been taken up into Heaven the Other had seen in the Spirit the Heavenly Jerusalem Commands us to come out from among the Unfaithful and from Babylon Apoc. 18.4 Long out of her my People says the Lord by St. John that ye be not partakers of her sins and that we receive not of her Plagues and 2 Cor. 6.14 15 16 17. Be ye not unequally yoak'd with Vnbelievers for what fellowship hath Righteousness with Vnrighteousness and what Communion hath Light with Darkness What Concord hath Christ with Behal or what part hath he that believes with an Infidel What Agreement has the Temple of God with Idols For ye are the Temple of the Living God c. Wherefore come out from among 'em and be ye separate says the Lord and touch not the Vnclean thing and I will receive ye XV. Lastly Wherefore is it that we are commanded to suffer for Righteousness sake and that the Spirit of God makes such large Promises to those that suffer Persecution Matth. 5.10 Heb. 12. James 5.10.11 Phil. 1.29 2 Tim. 2.11 12. I add to all these Proofs those Passages of Scripture where the Apostles command us to offer to God not only our Souls but our Bodies also and to Glorifie him in our Bodies and our Spirit Rom. 12.1 I beseech you therefore Brethren that ye present your Bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service and 1 Cor. 6.20 For ye are bought with price therefore Glorifis God in your Body and in your Spirit which are Gods Is it not a great piece of Sacriledge to refuse the giving of that to God which belongs to him He created both our Bodies and Souls he has redeem'd 'em both the one in the other Is it not then just that we should consecrate both to him Wherefore should we separate what God has joyn'd and what he has given us to the end we should employ it to his Glory How great a sin it is how great a piece of Impiety to divide our selves between God to whom we owe all things and the World to which we owe nothing To deny our Tongues to God to whom we owe our Lives and to be asham'd of calling our selves the Servants and Disciples of Christ who was not asham'd to call us his Brethren and who for our sakes has suffer'd a most cruel and ignominious death To demonstrate yet more clearly the Falshood of this Opinion which I labour to destroy I think it convenient to make these few Reflexions The First is That it is a strange thing that there should be so many People that make no scruple of Lying in Religion which is a thing of the greatest Importance and the most Sacred in the World in regard that Lying is a Vice unworthy a Man of Honour The greatest Debauchees become sensible of the things of Conscience if they happen to swear a Falshood before a Judge So true it is that we have a natural Aversion against telling a Lye Who would not wonder then that Men who are desirous of Reputation should not be asham'd to lye in a thing that is most grave and serious in the World the Concern of God himself of Truth and our own Salvation If a Subject who gives but the least suspition of an Intention to Revolt from his Prince and who only lets fall some words that will admit of a bad Construction is handl'd with so much severity in regard that Royal Majesty is so Sacred that it is not to be injur'd in any manner whatever without incurring the guilt of
they study Human Sciences Let 'em consider 1. That the dispute is not here about a Thing of little Importance since it concerns their being Eternally Miserable if they are deceiv'd as we shall make appear in this Treatise 2. Let 'em not reject what we shall say under pretence of meeting with Reasons that are not fully convincing For thô there were but one good Reason in a Chapter 't were enough to oblige 'em to return from their Wandrings 3. That they ought not to despise the Arguments under pretence that they have heard 'em several times but let 'em carefully examine 'em and lay aside their Prejudices 4. Lastly That it is not enough to find some petty fault to reject the Reasons which are produced for that there is nothing so easie as to oppose some little Sophisms to good Arguments But let 'em consult their own Consciences I most Heartily beseech Almighty God to give a Blessing to my weak Endeavours ERRATA PAge 18. Line 18. for Sees read Seems page 30. l. 32. dele All. p. 31. l. ult for in r. with p. 34. l. 12. for no Confusion r. nothing but Confusion pa. 42. l. 33. for King r. Kind pa. 46. l. 22. for the first him r. us pa. 56. l. 31. for Proportions r. Propositions pa. 66. l. 19. for subscribe r. prescribe pa. 69. l. 12. for wearing r. drawing for upon r. from pa. 71. l. 2. for of her r. other pa. 74. l. 6. for has r. is pa. 77. l. 8. Insert Not. pa. 79. l. 18. for Animosity r. Animality pa. 89. Chap. XV. for they make r. they may make pa. 90. l. 8. after strong insert they pa. 93. l. 4. for long r. come pa. 94. l. 26. for the things of Consistence r. Remorce of Conscience pa. 130. l. 32. for assert r. asserts A TREATISE Against those that believe that all Religions are Indifferent CHAP. I. Wherein after we have suppos'd that there is a God we shew that God is most perfect That he is the Author of all the Good which is in the Creatures and that we ought to Fear and Honour him THE Being of a God is a Truth so Evident that no Man can deny it without combating his own Reason There 's no necessity of straining our Endeavours to believe it for that Man must put a Violence upon himself who dares to contradict it For proof of it there is no need of rommaging for Metaphysical high-flown far fetch'd Arguments scarcely within the Reach of most Men's Understanding The Consideration of this same spacious Universe expos'd to our Eyes and all the Creatures we behold within it together with the Correspondency the Symmetry and Relation of the several Innumerable parts to the Whole is sufficient to convince all people that will listen to their Reason For as for those that are not struck with the sensible Marks which the Author of Nature has imprinted on his Works they will never submit to the Force of Dispute The most Eloquent and most Learned of the * Cicero l. 2. Nat. Deorum Romans was so over-rul'd by this particular Proof that he makes no scruple to maintain after a great Philosopher that if Men should of a sudden start up from under the Earth where they had remain'd in Darkness from the Time of their Birth and all at once behold the Land the Sea and Heavens the Beauty the vast Body and wonderful Effects of the Sun they would not fail to acknowledge a Deity and to confess that the whole which they contemplated was the Workmanship of a God In short either we must believe that the Matter is Eternal or that the World is the Effect of Chance or else we must acknowledge that there is an All-powerful Being which made both the one and the other Now it cannot be said that a Dead and Insensible Mass such as was the Matter is an Eternal Being and without any Beginning because it would be the Greatest of all Absurdities to ascribe to the Vilest of all Beings the Chiefest of all Perfections which is to exist of it self Besides in regard that Motion is not Essential to the Matter tho' it should be suppos'd to be Eternal we should be still putting the Question when it began to have Motion Who it was that gave it the first Impressions Who it was that shap'd it into so many various Figures Who made this Motion so just and Regular and who it was that produc'd such an Infinite variety of Creatures out of one and the same Matter So that when all is done we must come to one Sovereign Being which we call GOD. It cannot be said that this Vast Universe is the Effect of Chance or that it was the Accidental Meeting of Certain little Bodies which produc'd it The Pagan Philosopher who maintain'd this Opinion that Nature muster'd together all the Atomes of her Wisdom to compose it seems to me no less Extravagant in this particular then He who beholding several Pictures wherein were to be observ'd all the Rules of Exact and Elaborate Painting and a great Number of Figures curiously drawn should say that it was the Workmanship of Chance or that the Colours mix'd so Artfully together of themselves What Man of sound Judgment can be so vain to think that it was Chance that made the Whole which we Contemplate the Heavens the Earth the Sun the Stars the Plants and Animals That it was Chance that in the Wombs of our Mothers form'd a Piece of Workmanship so perfect as that of our Bodies whose Structure Figure Organs Members their wonderful Symmetry and just Proportion is still the Admiration of Human Wisdom that it was Chance which produc'd our Souls that Soul which thinks which raises it self above our Sences and which corrects and govern 'em that searches after invents and finds out those things that seem'd impossible for Human Reach Lastly that it was Chance which united this Soul so perfectly with the Body that such and such motions of the Body stir up Thoughts in the Soul and such and such Thoughts of the Soul which produce variety of Motions in the Body Certainly we must no longer pretend to make use of our Reason if we once deny these to be the Works of an All-powerful most Wise All-understanding and most Perfect Being So that I shall not undertake to refute those who in defence of Epicurus adventure to bring some Examples of what Chance is able to perform For there is so little proportion between what they alledge and the Creatures which we speak of that 't is a wonder that People who pretend to Wit should employ it in such feeble Proofs I might as easily prove that because it so happens that three or four Letters may be so thrown together by chance as to form a word a Man might as easily make a Poem as accomplish'd as Virgil's Aeneads Nay thô I should grant that Chance might form some one of those Creatures which we every day admire Shall we from thence
God knows who believe that all Religions are Indifferent that the Chief Religion is to be Obedient to the Magistrates that Govern us that God is in truth the Center to which all our Devotion ought to tend but that it is of little Importance which way Men arrive at that Center provided they get thither and that there are several ways to be happy Vno itinere non posse perveniri ad tam grande Secretum according to Symmachus That we ought to be of the Religion of the People among whom we live and not to tye our selves to any one particular manner of serving God but to be initiated into all sorts of Religions Esse totius Mundi Sacrorum Antistitem as a Pagan said They who have given us Relations of the Belief of the Siamois or People of Siam report that they believe That God does not preserve the World but only for the sake of that Divertisement and pleasure which he takes in the Variety of Languages Creatures Habits and Religions that this same Medley produces the same Effect as the Diversity of Flowers in a Garden the difference of Meats at a Banquet or the Distinction of Offices in a Princes Palace for that in like manner God delights himself with inspiring into Mortals several manners of Adoring and Serving him and that we ought to believe 'em all to be good since they have all the same Object and bring Man home to his last End 'T is also said That the King of Siam made Answer to the Person who propos'd to him in the Name of an Ambassador from a Great Prince his turning Christian That he wonder'd the Prince should so much trouble himself in a business relating to God for which it did not appear that God did any way concern himself as having left it wholly to our Discretion For added he the True God who Created Heav'n and Earth and all the Creatures therein contain'd and who has given 'em Natures and Inclinations so different had he so pleas'd at the same time that he gave Men Bodies and Souls alike could have infus'd into 'em the same sentiments of the Religion which they were to profess and have Vnited all Nations under one Law But continued he 't is obvious that Providence permits diversity of Sects and Opinions because that God takes as much delight to be ador'd with different Forms of Worship and Ceremonies as to be glorifi'd by the Prodigious Variety of Creatures whose sundry Beauties publish his Infinite Power Now in regard there are too too many among those who call themselves Christians who with Banners display'd appear in defence of this Opinion concerning the Indifferency of Religion Our design is to Combat 'em in the following Chapters But first of all it behoves us to observe that they who are of this Opinion do not all uphold it after one and the same manner There are some who deny Providence others who will not have it to be concern'd in Matters of Religion There are some who assert the Mortality of our Soul Others aver that to speak properly there is no such thing as True or False Just or Vnjust but that every thing depends upon the Will of Man There are some who believe that Truth lies still in Darkness and that God has not reveal'd it Others that he has reveal'd it but so obscurely that there is no Heresie which may not be prov'd by the Word of God Others maintain that Peace is to be preferr'd before Truth and altogether cry up the great Good which would redound to the World from the Opinion of Indifferency in Religion Were but this Opinion every where receiv'd they say there would be no more Wars about Religion nor any more Contentions about Mysteries of Faith All Men would live together in perfect Unity and this Lower World would be a Little Heaven They extol the first Author of this Opinion as one that never can be too Highly applauded and erect Monuments and Statues to honour his Memory All Men they Cry ought to give God continual Thanks for sending such a Man into the World and at the same time are strangely troubl'd because he was not Immortal Let us now see whether this Opinion merits so many Elogies or rather whether it deserve not publick Execration And to the end that none may have reason to complain let us take all our Indifferents for I beg the favour that I may have leave to call 'em so one after another and let us impartially examine what they hold forth CHAP. IV. Against those who deny a Providence I Shall begin with those who not daring to maintain that there is no God yet presume to deny his Providence and assent with Epicurus that the Supream Deity never concerns himself with what is acted upon Earth That 't is a thing beneath the Grandeur of a Sovereign Being to take cognizance of the Petty Affairs of Mortals here below and so 't is very indifferent to Him of what Religion they are True it is that altho' the Love which it behoves us to have for Truth should always oblige us to tyâ— our selves up to the Belief of that Opinion which is most conformable to our receiv'd Idea's of God nevertheless it must be acknowledg'd that if there were no Providence we might conclude it needless for Man to torment himself about Religion and deem it lawful enough to make choice of that which best agrees with our Interests or with the Society with which we converse But 't is no difficult thing to refute this Opinion which with as good Reason might be call'd The Sponge of all Religions as a Persian Author once said the same thing of the Fatality of the Stoicks Nor shall I make use of any more then two or three Arguments to overthrow it without alledging any passages out of Scripture because I dispute with People that will not acknowledge it to be Divinely inspir'd First it must be acknowledg'd that they who deny a Providence never seriously consider'd what God is The Idea which we naturally have of God instructs us that he is the most perfect of all Beings that exist or may exist as already has been said Now can we believe that a God who should neglect his own Works and should shut himself up in Heaven without taking any care of what he has created can be a perfect Being seeing that among Men themselves those persons have been always look'd upon with the Highest contempt who neglect their own Affairs Fathers for example who never mind their own Children and those slothful Princes who like Sardanapalus abandon the care of their Dominions and leave their Subjects at liberty to do whatever sees good in their own Eyes How can such a sluggish Remissness a Negligence so unbecoming an imperfect Creature be thought to beseem the most perfect of all Beings At least it cannot be deny'd but that if God takes no care of his Creatures there must be a Being more perfect then he But this
a Providence how is it possible that the World should subsist in the midst of such violent Concussions or that it should have held out so long time A Ship abandon'd to the Mercy of the Winds without either Helm or Pilot can never run a steady course without dashing against the Rocks or being swallow'd up by the Waves Whence comes it then that these subterraneal Fires these Earthquakes and these Inundations cause not that universal Havock which they might do By what unexpected Power are the Effects of these dreadful Accidents suspended or limited Who is it that corrects the distempers of a corrupted Air What Virtue purifies whole Cities and Regions infected with the Pestilence Certainly he must be very blind who sees not that 't is the same hand which made the Universe that preserves it and that after God has made use of these Unundations these Fires and Earthquakes for those ends which to us are for the most part unknown he stops 'em from going any farther and destroying the vast Machine of the World Lastly they are astonish'd that Good Men should be so often opprest and that the wicked should Triumph That Impiety and Vice should Reign predominant and that Innocence and Virtue should be overwhelmed This is one of their great Objections that has so much perplex'd the Wise in all Ages Claudian confesses ingenuously That he questions whether the World be Governed by a Wise Intelligent Providence or by Blind Fortune beholding Virtue under Oppression and Rufinus the most famous Criminal of his Age flourishing in High Advancement And it is reported of a certain Philosopher that he became an Atheist because he observ'd that God did not inflict immediate Punishment upon a perjur'd Person And the Wise Cato unfortunate in fighting for the Liberty of his Country could not forbear saying That there was a great Incertainty in the Government of the Gods To which I may add what is related of Domocritus That he put out his Iâ—yes with the Reverberation of a Glittering Buckler because he would not behold the Prosperity of the Wicked Thô I must confess that this last Story seems to me very improbable For what likely hood is there that Domocritus who only made it his Business to ridicule all the World should be troubl'd at the Prosperity of the Ungodly Now tho' this Objection seems very plausible nevertheless it is very easily answered First it is not always true that Virtue is oppress'd and Vice recompenc'd Good Men are not alwas Afflicted and the Wicked are frequently punish'd No Man will presume to deny it Nor are there any Ages or Years that do not furnish us with Examples Thus the same Clandian who was offended at the Prosperity of Rufinus says That the Punishment which he receiv'd absolv'd the Gods Abstulit hunc tandem Rufini Paena Tumultum Absolvitque Deos. In the Second Place People who are not so are many times thought to be Virtuous and Good People because they carry a fair Outside of Probity and Piety 'T is needless to produce any Proofs of it 't is agreed upon by all the World there is no Person that has not been frequently deceiv'd and there are an Infinite number who deceive themselves But to unfold this difficulty more clearly I assert that they most grosly deceive themselves when they imagine the Wicked to be happy because they appear to be so because they are Rich because they are advanced to vast preferments and wallow in pleasure and delights How many are there that seem to enjoy a Perfect Felicity who are really most unfortunate and tormented with bitter Pangs of an accusing Conscience How many wealthy People are there whose Condition is much more sad then that of the most Miserable Wretches How many great Men are there who in their Elevated Stations enjoy no rest or quiet Day or Night I need no other Testimony then Tiberius who could not forbear declaring to the Roman Senate that every Day he dy'd a Cruel Death Could you but look into the Insides of those that you esteem Happy and Rich said Seneca you would find 'em to be Miserable to be Poor to be Infamous and that they resemble those Walls which are only Painted without side Such a Felicity is no solid and true Felicity 't is only an Image and slight Appearance of it For which reason it is that while they can stand upon their Legs and make a vain Bravado of Grandeur they appear what they are not and make People believe 'em happy But if any accident befals 'em that puts 'em out of Order and discovers 'em then you come to see the Filth and Infamy that borrow'd Splendour conceals And the Famous Historian Tacitus speaking of Tyrants could we but see their Souls laid open says He we should behold 'em torn and mangl'd by their own Crimes like the Bodies of Criminals cut with the Lashes of the Whip We must not wonder then to see the Wicked Potent and Rich in Grandeur and Reputation so far from thence concluding that there is no Providence that we have no reason to envy their Felicity I confess however that there would be some reason to be astonish'd at their appearing Prosperity were there no other Life but this and that we were not then to come to Judgment But before we blame the Conduct of the Almighty or before we deny a Providence we ought to be assur'd there is no other Life to be expected after this and that God will never punish those whom he now supports Now I know not whether there be any one to be met with who will presume to assert that he is clearly convinced that there is nothing to be thought of after this Life that there is nothing to be hop'd or fear'd after Death tho' there are several who endeavour to persuade themselves that it is certainly true with whom we shall enter the Lists in the sequel of our Discourse The Second Reflection is That 't is an Error to believe good Men Unhappy because they are afflicted seeing that Afflictions are so useful to those that are expos'd to 'em whereby to make 'em sensible of the Emptiness of this World and the Vanities of it to wean 'em from this Earth and make 'em think of a better Life to tame their Pride to reduce 'em from their Deviations and Wandrings and bring 'em back to their Duty These are the Benefits of Misfor-fortune of which it would be easie to convince the most obstinate Now for a Man to be convinc'd that Afflictions do not render the Sufferers unhappy he needs no more but to consider the Tranquility of mind which Good Men enjoy when they are most Afflicted One would think sometimes that he suffers in the Body of another person or that he is Insensible or if it happen that through the Violence of his Pain he discovers some Motions of Impatience and le ts fall some Murmurings he recovers himself presently again You shall see Sereneness and Joy reseated in
Question must not they be willingly blind who dare presume to number what concerns the Worship which is due to the Deity among things of little Importance Is there any one which is of greater Moment then that which has a regard to the Sovereign Being which all Men ought to adore And is it likely that God should Rule and Govern Monarchies and Republicks and leave Men at their Liberty to serve him according to their Fancies As if it were a thing Indifferent to Him to be ador'd for Example under the shape of the most Vile and worthless Animals as the Pagans painted some of their Gods Is it possible that Men can have such extravagant thoughts of the most perfect of all Beings Where is that King so Negligent as to permit his Subjects the Liberty to act according to their own humours in his Affairs in his Armies in his Exchequer and leaves it to their Discretion to Obey and Serve him as their Capricio's lead ' em How then can they who boast their Wit presume to say of God the Wisest of all Beings what no Man would adventure to say of a Person meerly Mortal Besides were it true that God took no care of things that concern Religion whence comes it to pass that they who are of this Opinion pay some certain Homage to the Deity Wherefore do they sometimes pray to him since God takes no notice of what they do and consequently never troubles himself about their neglect of his Worship Their Actions ill agree with their Belief and cause those that see 'em to believe that they are of another Opinion Therefore it was a good saying of one Diocles who espying Epicurus in the Temple cry'd out What a Feast what a Spectacle is this for me to see Epicurus in the Temple All my Suspicions are Vanish'd Piety reassumes her Seat and I never more clearly beheld the Grandeur of Jupiter then now that I see Epicurus upon his Knees Certainly if this Opinion which we have refuted were true there would be never any more need of paying Worship to a Deity 'T was true that Epicurus confess'd that the Excellency of Divine Nature deserv'd of it self that some Honour should be given to Her tho' she concern'd her self no more with the World then if there were no share of her in it and tho' there were nothing to be expected by it from Her But he only spoke thus in conformity to the Common Sentiments For in short the God of that Phylosopher according to his System was a Piece apart from the Workmanship which a Man might well suppose not to belong to it and yet no change befall it Otherwise it is certain that if he had acted and spoken conformably to his Real Opinions he would have said in plain Terms that Piety was a fruitless thing and he would never have perform'd any act of Religion Cicero therefore rightly understood him l. 1. de Nat. Deor. There are some People says he and have been before now who believe that the Gods never meddle with human Affairs But if that Opinion be true what will become of Piety CHAP. VI. Of the Immortality of the Soul I Come to those who never much torment themselves whither there be any Providence or no because they hold the Soul to be Mortal that it perishes with the Body or at least that there is no farther fear of any thing after this Life that there will be no Judgment that all that has been said of Paradise and Hell are meer Fables such as the Pagan feign'd of their Elisian Fields c. And therefore that all Religions ought to be indifferent to Us since we shall be never the more Happy nor the more Unfortunate whatever Religion we Embrace 'T is a wonderful thing that there should be found among Christians Men that dare deny what the Heathens have acknowledg'd and what the most Barbarous of Nations acknowledge to this Day as we are given to understand by many Relations And this to such a degree that far from believing that the Soul perishes they have rather chosen to hold some of 'em that the Soul was from all Eternity Others that when the Soul took leave of one Body it transmigrated into another or else was re-united to God or that it was transform'd into some Angel or Devil or that it intermix'd it self with the Elements And this Opinion of the Soul 's being Immortal infused that Courage and Undauntedness into 'em which they made appear in Fight as Bartholinus observes of the Danes in his Book of the Antiquity of Denmark 'T is a thing so much the more surprizing because there are an Infinite Number of Reasons that convince us of the Immortality of the Soul I might prove it by the ardent Desires of Immortality and by that Idea which we naturally have of a future Life an Idea which nothing can Eradicate So that there is no person who indepently from all Consideration and from all Education but either fears or hopes something according as he has either led a Virtuous or Vicious Life when he ponders upon that same darksom and gloomy Futurity wherein the Present Life sets from our Eyes But to make out this Truth as clear as day I argue thus If the Soul dy'd such a Death would happen either because the parts of it would come to separate or because it would destroy it self or because some other created Substance would destroy it or because that God himself would annihilate it There can be conceiv'd no other Causes of the Soul 's dying But it is certain that there can nothing like this be said of our Soul 1. It cannot be said that the Parts of the Soul separate from one another because the Soul has no parts It is a Spirit And he must be blind that dares deny it and assert that the Soul is no more then Matter then Wind or a Vapour then a Certain Agitation of subtil Spirits intermix'd with the Blood It is impossible to conceive that a Soul which knows it self and all other Beings that surround it that reaches sublime Truths that knows an Invisible God that reflects with it self upon its own thoughts that measures the Stars the Earlh and Seas that corrects our Senses and Imagination that penetrates into Futurity and discovers the deepest Secrets should be nothing but anagitated Matter because that nothing is more incomprehensible then a Body that thinks that reasons that deliberates and reflects upon it self Which way soever the Parts of a Body are chang'd it can never be brought to that pass by those various Changes or Rangings that if it knew not it self before it should ever come to know it self nor could it ever be made capable of having one single thought With all the Efforts of our Wit we can never comprehend what Epicurus said That our Reasonings and our Idea's are no more then the Agitation of certain Little Bodies and that the Circular Motion of an Atome may be the Vast and Immense
Extravagance to make choice of an Opinion whereby a Man runs the risk of being Eternally Miserable and hopes for nothing but Annihilation And whether thô there were no certain proofs of a Judgment to come it were not better for 'em always to demean themselves as if they were to be judg'd I say no more for this is sufficient to shew that since our Indifferent Men are not assur'd that thare is no Judgment they ought not to build upon this Opinion the Indifferency of Religions CHAP. IX Wherein is examin'd whether there be any thing True or False Just or Vnjust AMong those whom I call Indifferent Men there are some who believe that there is nothing True or False Just or Unjust so that it is lawful to do whatever a Man pleases and to embrace that Religion that agrees most with their Interests Who could ever believe that in our Age there should be People that should go about to introduce such Scepticism into Religion There is nothing True say they Yet at least according to their Sentiments it must be true that there is nothing True Moreover is it not True that they who maintain this Argument have a Being that they are Thinking Souls and extended Bodies That it is impossible a Thing should be and not be at the same time that Two and Two make Four and that the Whole is bigger then the Part Certainly there is no body so extravagant as to deny it We do not dispure of this matter will the Indifferent Men say but of things that concern Religion I grant it 'T is already very much that they will confess that there is something True but still it is not true that there is a God that this God is most Perfect most Just Omnipotent c. At least it is no more True then to say there is no God or that this God is an imperfect Being and Unjust I do not believe that these Skepticks dare deny it unless they will speak against their own Consciences For then there is nothing so easie as to deny every thing and to maintain at Noon-day that the Sun is not risen or that a Circle is a Square I am well assur'd that if our Pyrrhonians would speak sincerely they would acknowledge that it is also true that God ought to be serv'd and that in such a manner as is agreeable to his Nature They are therefore most grosly mistaken who assert that there is nothing of Truth In short every Proposition ought to be True or False It is True when it affirms or denies nothing of a subject but what we ought to affirm or deny It is False when it affirms or denies what ought not to be affirm'd or deny'd But is it not certain will our Skepticks say that upon every Subject we may find out Reasons pro and con equally strong and convincing I grant there are several Subjects upon which Men may argue variously insomuch that they shall be at a great loss which side to take before they have carefully weigh'd and consider'd the Arguments on both sides I confess also that there are some very evident Truths that have been disputed among Philosophers among others some have deny'd Motion Wit loves to sport sometimes and endeavours to obscure by Sophisms Things the most plain and perspicuous but I deny that what is said on both sides is equally solid and that it is fit to compare Sophisms with good Arguments There are some propoâ—â—tions to which we cannot refuse our assent and some that we cannot deny without acting against the Light of our Understanding There are some that are not so apparent and others that openly oppose Reason All that our Skepticks say does but teach us that we ought to stand upon our Guards and not to hasten our Judgment with too much precepitancy but to suspend it till Conviction and our Understanding force us from that Hesitation So that I extremely approve the Rules set down by a Philosopher of our Age who would have us when we propose any thing not only carefully to examin the Thing and to determin nothing till after we have well thought upon it but also to see 1. Whether it be not true that we believe the thing in dispute for no other Reason but because our Masters have so taught us 2. Whether it be not True that we believe the thing upon no other account but only because it was approved by a great number of Persons that have gain'd a Repute in the World 3. Whether it be not True that we believe the thing by reason of long Use and Custom that is to say Because we have such an Idea in our heads from our Education and our Infancy and for that we judge that several things were True because they were conformable to that Idea 4. Whether it be not True that we conclude the Truth in Dispute from a supposed Principle and such a one which we never examin'd 5. Whether it be not True that we believe the Thing only because it is a Novelty These are the Precautions which we ought to take but 't is an extravagancy to maintain that there is nothing True We haturally all of us love Truth and we desire to find it out Is it then to be thought that this Desire should be Engrafted in all Men if there were nothing True or False What I assert of Truth I also speak of Justice or Injustice that is to say that there is something of Just or Unjust and that there is a necessary distinction between Good and Evil between that which is Honest and that which is not so In short were there no reason for this distinction it must be said that Paracides and Blasphemers to speak Properly Commit no Crime that 't is the same thing whether we Hate or Love God whether we Honour our Parents or Cut their Throats Now I beseech ye Can such Sentiments enter our Thoughts without Horror They will say perhaps that this Horror proceeds from the Prejudices of Education But if it be so How comes it to pass that the same Horror is Universal among all People thô their Education be very different They will likewise object that Legislators and Governors of States and Kingdoms have taken great Care to infuse into the People that there is somthing of Just and Unjust But is it probable that those Legislators could have agreed so exactly without consulting together to impose the same things upon so many different People That they were so sufficiently powerful as to engrave their Precepts in the bottom of the Peoples Hearts or so politick and cunning as to inspire into 'em that niceness as to make it a scruple of Conscience to disobey ' em Or how is it to be imagin'd that so vast a number of People would entertain and uphold Laws that recompence Virtue and punish Vice but which are otherwise so very severe and irksom unless there were a Natural Light which makes all Men agree in the point of their Justice
and this is that Revelation which we meet with in the Old and New Testament CHAP. XI Of the Divinity of the Scripture IN regard there are several Persons that will not acknowledge the Books of the Old and New Testament to be Divinely inspir'd 't is necessary to settle the Confirmation of this Truth before we go any farther and this is that which we shall succinctly undertake in this Chapter until we shall have accomplish'd it more at large with God's permission in another Treatise Nor do I believe it to be a thing so difficult to demonstrate the Divinity of the Scriptures as at first it seems to be For either they must say that God has not made himself known or that he has reveal'd himself but that we know not where this Revelation is or else they must confess that it is to be found in the Scriptures They cannot say that God has not made himself known for we have prov'd in the foregoing Chapter that they cannot maintain it without having a very unworthy Idea of God They cannot say that God has reveal'd himself but that they know not where this Revelation is For wherefore should God have reveal'd himself if the Book be not known wherein he has declar'd his Will to Men Therefore they must confess that God has made himself known in the Books of the Old and New Testament For they cannot tell us of any other because there is no other which has more the Characters of Divinity and those Characters are so visible that he must willingly hoodwink his own Eyes that cannot see ' em In short what could be desir'd in a Book of which God was the Author then what is found in the Sacred Writings Who is there that would not look upon it as a Divine Work A Book that teaches us Truths so Extraordinary so Sublime that Men could never otherwise have been able to have invented Yet such as have a strict Coherence and Tye however with the Common Notions which Nature or rather the God of Nature has imprinted in our Minds and which teaches 'em in a manner so lofty and so plain at the same time that tho' there seem not to appear in it any Ornaments of Vulgar Eloquence yet there is all that human Art can afford Us a Sovereign Authority which Imprints respect in the Soul of him that reads it and a winning Facility which attracts and captivates their Attention A Book that gives us a greater Idea of God then can be conceiv'd that describes him to us as a Spirit that has no Communication with matter an Infinite Spirit that is every where an Almighty Being that does all things that Created the World and sustains it by his Providence who is the Ruler of all Events the absolute Master of all things the Judge of Men and Angels A Book which clearly Unfolds to us what Human Reason would never have discover'd but very imperfectly which never pronounces any Censures nor gives any Censures but what the Conscience finds to be most just that promises nothing but what the Conscience desires that threatens nothing but what the Conscience dreads and does it not thence appear that the Author of the Conscience is the Author of this Book A Book that Humbles Man before God by giving him to understand his emptiness his profound wretchedness his natural Corruption and Sin that romages the very Secrets and Entrenchments of our Souls to shew us our conceal'd Vices our Vanity our Pride our Self-Love our Love of the World our Love of Revenge the Seeds of Incredulity and Prophaneness A Book that combats all sorts of Sins not one excepted not so much as the slightest and several that were unknown to the most austere Sects of Philosophers not so much as a Glance or a Thought escapes it it assails all the Motions of Concupiscence and all Appearances of Evil. A Book that is not contented to sâ—bscribe us an exterior Holiness but which reqûires that our Souls should be as pure as our Bodies and that we should exalt our Virtue to an Heroick Degree and be like God A Book that requires that we should have no other Rule but the Law and Will of God and no other end but his Glory and which exacts from us that we should principally and above all things in the World love the Author of our Being and that we should love our Neighbor as our Selves A Book that has nothing of Contradiction in all the Parts of it and which presents to our Eyes the Idea of a Wisdom like to that which is observ'd in this vast Universe thô they who wrote it never had any communÌ„ication one with another but were separated by long Intervals of Ages which shews that they were all inspir'd with the same Spirit and that they had a Sovereign Master over 'em who precided over the whole work A Book which has foretold extraordinary Events before they happen'd and with so much certainty that you would rather take it to be a recital of things past then a prediction of things to come which shews us that it springs from a Spirit before which all things are present which sees all things and which clearly shines in the darkness of Futurity in regard that nothing happens which it has not ordain'd A Book which having discover'd to Man that he is Criminal and Guilty before an Infinite Majesty which must be atton'd teaches him afterwards the true means by which he was reconcil'd to his Judge and shews him a Divine Person that descends from Heaven to take upon him Human Nature like his own who under that Nature suffers a cruel Death who by that Death satisfies the Justice of God extinguishes the Heat of his Wrath and makes an Attonement for our sins which the Blood of Bulls and Goats nor all the Purifications of the Law were never able to expiate A Book that appeases all the troubles of the Soul which all the Books in the World were never able to do which secures us against all our Terrors caused by the Confideration of our Sins the thoughts of Death and of a Judgment to come and fills us with that Peace and Comfort which neither can be express'd nor conceiv'd A Book wherein the Doctrine contain'd supplies all the necessities of the Soul and satisfies all her desires for there is no question to be made but that a Book where our Soul whose Desires are Infinite finds plenary satisfaction must be the Production of a Deity who being only able to know what we would desire is only able himself alone to content us A Book the Doctrine of which produces such extraordinary Effects that when it is once receiv'd into our Hearts there is nothing able to shake our Constancy and our Faith no not the most cruel of Torments A Book whose Doctrine has been receiv'd into the World maugre all the Efforts of the Devil thoô it were only divulg'd by Fishermen and Toll-gatherers and for Enemies met with the most Eloquent
things that concern Philosophy and which are of no use in Reference to Salvation How much more ought we to lave Truth in matters of Religion where our Sovereign Good lies at Stake More especially since God has taught us what is true what is false what pleases and what offends him The Love of Truth seems to be born with us so that even Children love it 'T was so highly esteemed among the Pagans that their Authors make no Scruple to assert that 't is the Richest Present that God ever made Mankind that it renders Mortals equal to God and that if a Soul and Body were to be attributed to the Deity Truth must be allowed him for the Soul and Light for the Body They also deemed themselves so Happy when they found it out that they offer'd Hecatombs to their Gods to return 'em Thanks for the Discovery of so precious a Treasure Who would not be astonished then that in the Christian World there should be persons so daring as to maintain that in Religion Falshood might be sometimes preferr'd before Truth though upon all other occasions of Life they prefer Truth before Falshood and take no delight in being deceiv'd Their Crime is also so much the Greater for that God is the Author of Truth and the Devil the Father of Lyes so that no Man can prefer Falshood before Truth but he must prefer the Devil before God which is not a thing to be thought of without Horror Our Indifferent Men that very well perceive the force of this Argument make use of all their Wit to answer it I. They say in the First place that there is no Religion which has not some Truths and therefore They who upon some occasions and as their Interests require embrace new Religions cannot be said to embrace Falshood before Truth because they always meet with the Choicest and most Essential Truths in all sorts of Religious Societies This first Answer or rather Evasion is very absurd for the preferring Religions where there are some Truths but withal very great and gross Errors before a Religion which is pure and which teaches us all the most necessary Truths is a manifest preferring of a Lye before Truth and this is that which our Indifferent Men do Now that they may see how much they are deceiv'd I beseech 'em to consider 1. That those Truths which are observ'd in all Religions are stifl'd in certain Sects with an innumerable company of Errors which are difficult to be discover'd 2. That those General Truths to speak properly constitute no particular Religion Every Religion if I may be permitted to say so has a Genus and a Difference The Genus of all Religions are those principal Truths which are known to all Men but that which makes the distinction is either the Teaching of other Truths or Errors So that the Principal Truths are not the Reason that a Religion is such a Religion but either Errors and then the Religion is false or other Truths which are not joyn'd to the former and then the Religion is True As that which makes a Man to be a Man is not his Animosity or his being a Creature that 's his Genus but it is his Reason which makes him a Rational Creature So they who prefer a false Religion before a True one cannot excuse themselves by saying That that same very Religion has some Truths because those Truths as I have said already to speak properly constitute no Religion But our Indifferent Men will say that if we ought always to prefer Truth before a Lye we ought then to quit a Religion wherein we find some Errors I answer First That if there be any Religion purer then that which we profess we ought not to be asham'd of quitting our Religion to embrace another But in the second place I say we ought to distinguish between the Errors There are some which are Capital and Mortal which creep into our Worship and our Manners which discompose and overturn the very foundations of Christianity but there are others which are not altogether incompatible with Piety as there are likewise two sorts of Truths the one which are of highest importance of which we cannot be ignorant and yet be Sav'd others which are not so necessary so that without the knowledge thereof we may one day obtain Salvation T is certain that we ought to abandon a Communion which destroys Essentially the Service of God and which continues obstinare in Errors directly opposite to the Salvation of Mankind But we may be stedfast to a Religion wherein are only some scatter'd Errors of small Importance contenting our selves with not approving those Errors as in civil Society we refrain from Familiarity with those persons whom we find to be notoriously vicious because that a Correspondency with such persons would be a â—ain to those that make Profession of Honour and Virtue But with all mildness we bear with the defects of those persons who not being perversly wicked retain the Tinctures only of Human frailty 2. In the second place they say that we ought to prefer Truth before a Lye but that we ought to perfer Peace before Truth This is an Evasion that meets with no better luck then the former 'T is true that God loves Peace but such a Peace as is conjoyn'd with Truth because he is no less the God of Truth then the God of Peace and for that Peace without Truth is a conspiracy against God so that War is to be preferr'd before a Peace that separates us from God This is no more then what the Pagans themselves acknowledg'd and if they have said that Peace is the most excellent Thing in the World they have likewise asserted that we ought never to commit an unjust or base Act for the enjoyment of it The love of Peace ought only to encline us to tolerate those Correspondences that are not guilty of Capital Errors and such as are incompatible with our Salvation And therefore we cannot consent with those ancient Authors who made such a noise about Innocent Opinions as if they had overturn'd all Christianity As Philastius who lookt upon those as very great Hereticks who attributed the Epistle to the Hebrews to St. Clement and St. Barnahas and not to St. Paul and those who did not believe that David compos'd the 150 Psalms We cannot approve Pope Victor who for a Petty Question excommunicated the Churches of Asia by that means dismembring the Great and Glorious Body of Jesus Christ which was very well represented to him by Ireneus and we believe as that Bishop did that for the sake of Peace it is much better to bear with the petty defects of the Church then to violate the Peace of it by correcting the Church in regard the Mischief of the Rupture is incomparably much greator then the Fruit which is to be reap'd from the Censure of such an Error But the love of Peace ought never to oblige us to prefer Communions full of Errors
is very true nor does any Body deny it We also farther believe that we ought to be obedient to higher Powers thô they make profession of a Contrary Religion to ours according to the Example not only of the Apostles but also of the Fathers of the Church and particularly of St. Cyprian who being accus'd for having conspir'd against Caesar because he was a Christian and the Emperor was a Pagan made Answer We Christians are so far from Conspiring against our Emperors that we put up our Supplications every day for Caesar because he is our Prince althô he Worship other Deities then we do But if we believe that it behoves us to obey Magistrates we add withal that we are not bound to pay our Obedience to 'em but in things which are not contrary to the word of God We believe that we ought to give to Caesar that which is Caesars but withal that we ought to give to God that which is God's as Jesus Christ instructs us When the Law of the Prince agrees with the Law of God then we obey him without Scruple but when the Princes Law does not correspond with the Law of God we make no difficulty to assert that it is a piece of Impiety to obey that Law because it is better to obey God then Man as the Apostle enjoyns us What greater Affront can be put upon God then to obey Men rather then Him to observe Human Laws and violate Divine Commands He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords When he opens his Mouth he alone ought to be hearkned to and we ought not then to heed what Men ordain when it is contrary to the Command of our Great Master The Companions of Daniel were highly commended for refusing to prostrate themselves before the Statue of Nebuchadnezzar though that haughty Prince had ordained it under severe Penalties but the Israelites are blamed for having followed Jeroboam and for having abandoned the Temple of the True God This Doctrine has been almost Universally received by all Christians and I could cite upon this Subject Tertullian St. Ambrose St. Chrysostome St. Austin c. The Popes Decretals are in Express Terms If the Lord Commands Things which are not Contrary to the Scripture let the Servant be subject to his Lord but if he Commands things contrary let him obey the Lord of the Soul not the Lord of the Body If the Emperor commands what is good execute the Command if it be Evil Answer God is to be obey'd before Man This is that which was practised by the Thebean Legion if it be true at least what some Authors have written all the Soldiers of that Legion were Christians Now after they had pass'd the Alps and were approaching near Maximian's Army they Understood that the Emperor according to Custom was resolved to make all his Soldiers swear Allegiance to him upon an Altar Consecrated to a Counterfeit Deity and that they were to take an Oath contrary to the Impulses of their Conscience which having obliged 'em to draw off in a Body from the rest of the Camp Maximian sent his Commands to 'em to come away and sacrifice to the Gods to which Mauricius Chief of the Legion Exuperus and Candidus answered in the name of all the rest That they were all ready to fight against the Enemies of the Empire but that they would never sacrifice to false Gods nor act against their Brethren Maximian incens'd at this Answer caus'd the whole Legion to be twice decimated and every Tenth Man to be put to death but seeing that would do no good but that the Soldiers still continued stedfast in their Profession of the Truth he sent the whole Army against that single Legion which surrounding 'em on every side put 'em all to the Sword And thus with their Blood they seal'd to that Truth That loss of Life is to be preferr'd a thousand times before acting contrary to the Light of a Man's Conscience But in regard the Truth of this History is call'd in question I shall produce another which is beyond all contradiction which is the Story of Julian's Soldiers That Emperor had surpriz'd 'em by ordaining that they should strow some grains of Incense before they received the Largesse which he was about to bestow upon ' em Some of 'em being inform'd of the Fraud the rest did innocently what was requir'd from 'em but being told of the fault which they had committed they were not contented to come and cry out in the publick Market-place We are Christians Jesus Christ our Lord we have not renounced thee If our Hand has committed a Crime our Will has not consented But they came to the Emperor and with exalted Voices Reserve said they our Gifts for the Soldiers Sacrifice us to Jesus Christ who is our Monarch Burn us in the Place where we have strew'd the Incense Cut off our hands that have committed so great a Crime as to stretch themselves out upon your Altars Distribute your Gold to those who are not sorry for having received it Jesus Christ is sufficient for us and supplies all our wants After this they patiently and joyfully suffered death every one of them except one who was pardon'd by the Emperor but who was very sorry that he had not the Honour to abrogate his Crime by the same Martyrdom which his Companions had undergone But say they Does not St. Paul Teach us that we ought to submit our selves to Princes not only for Wrath but also for Conscience sake 'T is very true but it does not follow from thence that Princes or Magistrates have any right over the Conscience or that they have any Power to make us believe what they please No Body has any Right over the Conscience but only he that infused it into Men. This is that which has been acknowledg'd in all Ages I could easily prove it would I but collect together what has been written upon this Subject I could cite the Fathers of the Church Tertullian Lactantius St Hilarie and St. Athanasius I could also cite several Councils as the Fourth Council of Toledo in the year 633. wherein there past a Decree in these words As for the Jews The Synod has ordain'd that from henceforth that no body shall be forc'd to believe For God has compassion upon whom he will have mercy and hardens whom he pleases and People are not to be sav'd by force but willingly for the better observance of the outward form of Justice For as Man lost himself by obeying the Serpent willingly so is he also Sav'd by believing and turning to God when he calls him by his Grace Let Persuasion therefore be made use of and not violence to incline 'em to turn freely and without any constraint And the Arch-Bishop of Seville loudly condemns that Prince who had constrain'd by his Power those that ought to have been converted by Reason To which may be added that same Law of which mention is made in the African Codex