nothing wherein it is harder to impose upon them and wherein there is less occasion of Dispute So that when it is demonstrated to them that Christian Religion is inseparably join'd to Deeds the truth of which cannot justly be contested they must and ought submit to what it teacheth or that they abandon all Sincerity and right Reason If Moses for Instance was and that he wrote the Book that is attributed to him then the Jewish Religion is true If the Jewish Religion be True Jesus Christ is the Messias and if Jesus Christ be the Messias all must be believed that he said The Trinity the Incarnation Resurrection Ascension and all the Rest It is by this Divine chain of Truths God conducts Men to the true Faith and that they might shew there is nothing more reasonable than the submission they give to the most incomprehensible Mysteries very far from censuring them of Weakness and Imprudence And as this great Body of Christian Religion is compos'd of a great many different Parts which all tend to the same End and that it has subsisted Six thousand years it cannot but be by a Chain of infinite Truths that every Age has added a new Accumulation of Proofs and that at what Part soever one begins at what Point soever one apply themselves one still finds such a great abundance of Light that 't is impossible not to be convinc'd But one is so much the more obliged to apply themselves exactly to the seeking these Proofs God ordering it so that they should not consist in common Principles and so plain that they should presently be discover'd and that they should be alike seen of all Men. It is rather a heap of Circumstances that every body does not put together or don 't consider after the same manner which yet nevertheless are plain to the most ordinary Capacity when they ever so little open their Eyes and when they are all together produce a certainty if not greater at least more intimate and natural than that we have by speculative and abstracted Demonstrations because the manner of it is more proportion'd to the Mind of Man and that there 's no body but finds the Principles in themselves It is in this design that to give an Essay of the way that one should consider these Deeds which by their certainty do necessarily perswade that of our Religion we will make choice of the particular History of Moses and the Truth of his Books which serve as the Foundation of the Jewish Religion as this doth of the Christian according to St. Paul. I do not think my self bound presently to prove that if there was effectively a Man who lookt on himself to be sent on Gods part and that not desiring he should be believed on his bare Word or by Actions which are known to be but little above those of the power of Man has given for greater Evidence that wonderful Succession of Prodigies which is to be seen in the Pentateuch who was seen to have dispos'd of Life and Death to have Commanded the Elements and made the whole Frame of Nature stoop to his Orders I make no question I say but all the World will confess but this Man does best desérve to be believ'd of what he has writ concerning God in whose Name it was he wrought all these Wonders and that the Religion he Establish'd should be accounted as True and Divine The most obstinate Spirits will as 't were be at a loss under the weight of these Wonders and find no other means to satisfie the Inclination they have to Unbelief but to seek vain Reasons to question the Truth of these Miracles and of the Book which contains them But if they have any remains of Honesty and Sincerity left in them they cannot possibly proceed very far in these Doubtings and they will find them so dissipated by the abundance of Proofs which attend this History that they must be forc'd either to confess it to be true or be reduc'd to the dulness of those who to avoid believing what Religion Commands do rather chuse never to think at all of it For by what Suppositions do they think to shake the certainty of what is writ in these Books and put their Mind in a State of thinking that it all amounts to nothing Let them give all the scope they can to their Imagination and let it feed them with all the Chimera's it can they will never find any thing that has the least shadow of likelihood and which a Judgment never so little solid would not be asham'd to propose Will they say Moses never was and that all that is said of him is only a Fable invented at pleasure But let them consider that it is not Jews and Christians only that have been heard speak of this Moses seeing it is also known that Prophane Historians make mention of him and if that were not so let them also look on all the Histories in the World but as Fables seeing there is not one of them can be Credited if it were permitted to doubt that there was a Man called Moses who brought the Jews out of Aegypt after a long Captivity For all the Reasons whereby Men judge the truth of other Histories do equally appear in that of Moses For Instance we do not doubt but that there was an Alexander and a Cyrus because several Authors have writ of it and that no body ever thought of making any question of it neither has ever any body seriously question'd if there was a Moses It was constantly own'd and believ'd amongst a very Numerous People and by all those that knew them and that had any dealing with them without ever having been deny'd by any body But there is moreover this difference that Moses has particular Proofs and such as are not to be found in others for never was a Book preserv'd with so much Care and Affection as that which contains his History and nevertheless Men had never greater and more powerful Reasons to destroy the Truth of any Book if they could have found any colour for doing it than the Jews had in regard of this seeing that at once they might have freed themselves from a Law that was the most troublesom the most painful terrible and Injurious that could be to be observ'd so that one can see no Motive that should incline them to bear it but the firm perswasion of the Truth of it Incredulity not being able to subsist in this Chimera it must of necessity pass to some other and that for Example one must say That it is true there was a Man call'd Moses and that he was Chief of a great People he brought out of Aegypt but that he was a great Impostor which deceiv'd that People by false Miracles and forged all the Prodigies he Relates in his Book to subject them to the Law which he gave them and by that Law to himself in making them look upon it as come from Heaven and making
taliter omni Nationi said David speaking of the Law But speaking of Jesus Christ it must be said fecit taliter omni Nationi Also it appertains to Jesus Christ to be Universal The Church offers Sacrifice but for Believers only Jesus Christ offered that of the Cross for all 13. * Let us then spread forth our Arms to our Redemer who having been promis'd Four thousand years at last came and suffer'd and dyed for us upon Earth in the time and in all the Circumstances as were foretold And waiting through Grace to dye in peace and hope of being Eternally united to him let us in the mean time live with comfort whether it be in enjoying the good things he shall be pleas'd to give us or in bearing the Evil things he is pleas'd to send on us for our good and that he has taught us to suffer by his Example §. XV. Jesus Christ prov'd by Prophesies 1. THe greatest Proofs of Jesus Christ are the Prophesies it is also what God most of all provided for the success that fulfill'd them is a Miracle that subsisting from the first begining continues to the end of the World. God raised up Prophets for the space of Sixteen hundred years and for Four hundred years after he dispersed these Prophesies with the Jews that carry'd them into all parts of the World see here the preparation of the birth of Jesus Christ whose Gospel being to be believed all the World over it was not only requisite there should be Prophesies that it might be believed but also that these Prophesies should be divulg'd through all the World that it might be believ'd by all Men. 2. * If any one Man should have writ a Book of Predictions of Jesus Christ for the time and manner and that Jesus Christ should come in the manner as was Prophesi'd it would shew a very great clearness But herein is more here is a Succession of Men for the space of Four thousand years that constantly and without any variation come one after another and foretell the same Event A whole Nation affirm it and which subsist Four thousand Years and that in a whole body give Testimony of the assurances they have of it from whence they cannot be diverted for any threats or punishments can be inflicted on them this is very considerable 3. * The time is foretold by the State of the â—ewish People by the State of the Gentiles by the State of the Temple by the number of Years 4. * The Prophets having given divers Signs that were to happen at the coming of the Messias it was requisite all these marks should be fulfill'd at the time and so it was necessary the Fourth Monarchy should succeed when Daniels seventy Weeks were accomplish'd that the Scepter should then depart from Judah and that the Messias should come And then did Jesus Christ appear who called himself the Messias 5. * It is foretold that in the Fourth Monarchy before the destruction of the second Temple before the power of the Jews was taken away and in Daniel's Seventieth Week the Gentiles should be instructed and brought to the knowledg of the same God ador'd by the Jews that those that lov'd him should be deliver'd from their Enemies and fill'd with his Fear and Love. And it hapned that in the Fourth Monarchy before the destruction of the Temple c. the Gentiles in great multitudes Worshipped the true God and lived Angelical Lives Virgins consecrated their Lives to God renouncing their Pleasures What Plato could not perswade a few chosen Men to do a secret Virtue perswades a Hundred thousand ignorant Persons to do by the help of very few words What 's the meaning of all this It is what was Prophesi'd so long time before hand Effundam spiritum meum super omnem carnem All Men wallowed in Lust and Infidelity all the World became warm with Charity Princes renounce their greatness the Rich forsake their Riches Virgins suffer Martyrdom Children quit their Fathers Houses to live in Deserts Whence proceeds this Courage It is because the Messias is come these are the effects and marks of his coming For the space of Two thousand Years the God of the Jews was unknown to the infinite numbers of Gentiles and in the time foretold infinite numbers of Gentiles Adore this only true God. Idol Temples are destroy'd whole Kingdoms submit to the Cross What 's all this It is the Spirit of God that is powr'd forth on the whole Earth 6. * It is foretold the Messias should come and Establish a new Covenant that should make that of Egypt be forgotten that he would write his Law not on outward Tables but in the Heart that he would put his Fear which was but exteriour in the inward part of the Heart That the Jews should refuse Jesus Christ and that they should be forsaken of God because the chosen Vine yielded nothing but sower Grapes That the chosen People should be unbelieving ingrateful populum non credentem contradicâ—â—tem That God would strike them with blindness and that they should grope at Noon Day like the Blind That the Church should be little in the beginning but should increase afterwards It is Prophesi'd that in those days Idolatry should be destroy'd that the Messias should cause the Idols to fall and should bring Men to the true Worship of God. That the Temples of Idols should be destroy'd and that throughout the World they should offer him a pure Service and not Beasts That he should teach Men the perfect way That he should be King of Jews and Gentiles And there never came any Man before nor since that taught near so much as this 7. * So many Persons having foretold this coming Jesus Christ came saying Behold me this is the time He came telling Men they had no greater Enemies then themselves that 't is their Lusts that keep them from God that he came to deliver them and to give them his Grace to chuse to himself out of all Mankind a Holy Church that he came to bring into this Church Jews and Gentiles that he came to destroy the Idols of the one and the Superstition of the others What the Prophets foretold should come to pass I tell you my Apostles shall accomplish The Jews are on the point of being forsaken Jerusalem shall soon be destroy'd the Gentiles shall know the true God and my Apostles shall instruct them in the Worship of God when ye have slain the Heir of the Vineyard Afterwards his Apostles said to the Jews You are forsaken and to the Gentiles You shall enter into the knowledge of God. Unto this all Men have aversion by the Natural opposition of their Concupiscence This King of Jews and Gentiles is supressed by the one and the other and both conspire his Death All the Powers of the World conspire together against this Religion in its Infancy the Wise the Learned the Kings of the Earth some write others
better to give true Comfort than all other Men whatsoever But what is most considerable is they teach those Remedies are not in our power All the rest taught some that there was none at all others that they were in our own Power and thereby have deceiv'd all those that trusted therein whereas these with a sincerity that no Deceiver ever durst pretend to assure us that we can do nothing of what we are commanded that we are born unclean and unable to resist Corruption and whilst we act only by our own Strength we shall undoubtedly stoop to the same Passions they command us to surmount But at the same time they tell us that we must implore this strength of God which we stand in need of that he will not refuse it to us and that he will also send a Redeemer unto Man who satisfying Gods Justice for them will repair this Weakness and will inable them to do all things he requires of them How excellent a Design is hear and how agreeable to Truth and Reason it self as far as Reason can share in it Let us consider and view it all at once in its full extent the better to comprehend its Greatness and Majesty All things are Created by God to whom nothing is impossible Man came out of his hands in a State worthy the Wisdom of his Maker He Rebels against him and forfeits all the Privileges of his Creation Sin and Punishment is transmitted to all Men and thereby they are born Perverse and Corrupt as is too evidently seen they retain some glimmering of their first Greatness and they are told they may be restor'd to it They find no ability in themselves to do it and they are taught that they have none but that they ought to seek it of God they find themselves at so great a distance from God that they can see no manner of way how they can draw near to him and they are promis'd a Mediator that will effect this great Reconciliation What can a Man of Reason and good Sense do herein but acknowledge that never any thing was better conceiv'd and those that spake so how little Proof soever they have they deserve to be believ'd There are several to whom the very mentioning of it will sufficiently convince for indeed this matter does not appear easie to be invented whoever will but narrowly examine it One only needs see what the ablest Men have said on this Subject either of themselves or after seeing the Books of Moses to judge that this is not of the Stamp and Invention of Men. In truth this is not their Voice and 't is strange they don't see it and that they don't use herein the same exactness of judging as they are wont to do in all other things for there 's no body but agrees that as for things which fall within our Sphere we have in us a Sentiment that makes us judge at first sight if what presents it self to us be the Work of Nature or of Men whether we receive it by Nature or by Custom no matter it never deceives us for Instance If in a Mountain in some remote Island we should find Steps regularly cut in a Rock or some strange Characters ingraven we should not fear to say there had been Men there before us and that those things could not be done by Nature Nevertheless have we examin'd the two infinite differences there is betwixt Nature and Art that they have nothing in common and if we judge so wel without Art why don't we extend farther the Principle that leads us thereunto and discern by what we feel in us and by the experience we have that these great Ideas are of a very different kind from what the Spirit of Man is able to produce But because Men are of that Nature that when they are but a little accustom'd to things they can scarce tell whether they were able to imagin them or not yet 't is not therefore expected they shall presently submit they shall be sufferr'd to count for nothing that 't is not Natural that with a design to impose on Men all things most contrary to Reason and Nature should be imploy'd Let them believe if they can that 't was not impossible Moses and those that follow'd him that Men so Wise and withal so Learned should of their own Head go about to invent a thing so incomprehensible as Original Sin and which appears so contrary to the Justice of God whereof they relate so many Wonders and besides that they should presume to Attribute to God an Expedient so strange for the Purifying of Men as that of sending his only Son into the World that he should die the Death At least let them do themseves right and for the little certainty they have in themselves of judging the least things they should judge themselves uncapable by their own Strength to determine whether Transmission of Sin wherein all doth consist be unjust or impossible And to conclude That they esteem and should judge themselves Happy that in a thing which so nearly concerns them instead of lying at the Mercy of their poor Reason which so easily is impos'd upon they need only Examin Matters of Faith and History for convincing Proofs that is to say things for which they have good Ground For once granting as 't is plainly evident that there is a God there needs not many Words be used to affirm that he cannot do any Injustice because his Will is the sole Rule of Good and Evil The Question is not to Examin what the thing is in him but only if those who insure us on Gods behalf that it is have sufficient Reason to be believ'd And it would be in vain to answer that one has Proof those things are unjust and impossible to shew they cannot be as 't is said there is that they are real to shew they are neither unjust nor impossible It cannot be there should be Reason on both sides and it must needs be that either the one or the other must be deceived and what indeed deceives them is That the Notions we have of what is Just and Unjust are strangely Limited seeing there is no farther Dispute amongst us but of Justice betwixt Man and Man that is to say amongst Brethren where all Duties are equal and reciprocal and that here is meant a Justice of the Creator towards the Creature where the Rules and Rights are infinitely disproportion'd But when all is done as they dare not boast fully to know how far the Power of God does extend and what his Justice is their Proofs instead of being Demonstrative they are only at best nothing but Reasoning of a Metaphysical Nature Grounded on Principles invented by Men and therefore uncertain whereas what is offerr'd them for Proof being of the Nature of things which are capable of certainty and intire Evidence Reason and good Sense obliges them to begin by these And to conclude if they find themselves convinc'd that they
should imagine such a thing can be but because they desire that it was and that 't is not in the power of Man to change the Heart it were to no purpose to trouble them with Arguments which yet might easily be done We shall rest satisfi'd in warning them of their Duty and what care they must take of giving any likelihood of colour to such Conjectures Let them in the first place tell us by what good fortune it was Moses lighted on so happy and ancient Foundations for his Enterprise because in all likelihood he would never have said to this People That he was sent to them by the God of their Fathers if he had not some Tradition that they came from Abraham and Jacob and that God had appear'd to them And where was it he found this Tradition How came this Opinion so Universal That there should one day be born a great King of the Tribe of Judah that he should Reign and also the care of so strictly obliging them in keeping their Genealogies for to know him How could this Moses or any one else imprint so strongly in the Mind of all the Jews such a firm expectation of the Messias that for these Sixteen hunder'd Years that they have been dispers'd and that they see no Effect of these Promises yet nevertheless they wait for it and expect the accomplishing it with an unparallell'd Patience and Fidelity How was it that so long a Succession of Kings and Great Men How did David and Solomon those People so Wise and Learned come to be so fully of this Judgment and from thence left us those Writings which appear so lofty and Divine and which yet otherwise would be but Dreams and Delusions How comes it to pass that all that is esteem'd abstracted Wisdom and Knowledge in the whole World should be grounded on so Eminent an Imposture And how comes it to pass that this suppos'd Fabrick of Lyes and Chimeras never yet contradicted it self Let any body shew us by what chance this Law invented by a private Man should at the same time be the only Law pleasing to God the only Law contrary to Mans Nature and the only Law that has ever subsisted How came it about that it was made with so much Skill that it subsists and was abolished and that as if there had been an Understanding betwixt Moses and Jesus Christ the latter were to annul the Religion of the former and that yet they grounded all they said on what it contains and thence draw their chiefest Proofs so that the Law seems to be only a Figure of the Doctrine of Jesus Christ and that there need only be drawn a Curtain to find it How comes it to pass that since it is said The Clouds are scatter'd and the Husk which was nothing has left the inside and substance to be seen It happens that the Blessings promis'd to them which truly kept this Law seems to be wholly bestow'd on Christians which have imbrac'd this interiour part and who still continue as earnest as ever in their Profession By what Fate by what influence of the Stars does the Religion of this Man so unworthily Treated of the Jews which is prov'd so effectually to be nothing but their own How comes it to be so obstinately rejected by them to be received almost by all other Nations and spread over the face of the whole Universe And what should this invisible force mean that for these Sixteen hundered years keeping this People without a Leader without Arms Residence or Support that yet nevertheless they with so much exactness keep the Books that declare them Rebels and Enemies to God and that are undeniable Proofs for Christians whom they look on as their greatest Enemies Verily the Thoughts of going about to adjust so many Difficulties were enough to crack any Mans Brain that should attempt it and to spare the Pains of any one that should go about to try it they are freely warn'd that when they had accomplish'd the design of reconciling such an Abiss of Difficulties it were to do nothing at all and the Proofs of our Religion would not in the least be shaken For they must besides all this shew us that all these things was easie to be fore-shewn and that 't was very easie to Moses and the Prophets that follow'd these steps to foretel so long before-hand so many things both General and Particular the Coming of Jesus Christ the Conversion of the Gentiles the Destruction of the Jewish Nation and the State it is in and that also os marking the very Time and Circumstances of it It is here indeed all Suppositions fall short and that 't is to no purpose to torment ones self to make any Conjectures Men are not Prophets by Natural ways and as Nature is not subject to them to Work Miracles so neither is the Time to come known to them to make a History of it before-hand as may be seen in Daniel from Nebuchadnezzar's time that of the change of Monarchies that of Alexander's Successors and the time that was to the Birth of the Messias Neither is it by chance nor human Art that several Prophets and Esay in particular have spoke of Jesus Christ so clearly and describ'd so plainly so many Circumstances of his Birth Life and Death that they are no less his Historians than the very Evangelists themselves and that he should have this advantage above all Mankind that though his History was not writ till after his Death but by his Disciples only yet it was found done and spread abroad in the World several Ages before he appear'd that so there should not remain the least scruple of the Truth of it Who was it dictated to Moses what he said to the Jews when he was leaving them of what should befal them and of their Infidelities of the Captivity of Babylon and their return thence of the last Siege of Jerusalem wherein they should see themselves reduced to eat their Children and of their being scatter'd into all Nations when the time should be come and that they should Fall but that nevertheless God would still make them subsist least their Enemies should despise them and say They had ruin'd them To conclude that number of Men who succeeded one another for near Two thousand years to warn the Jewish Nation that the coming of him they expected was at hand that directly shews them the State the World shall then be in that foretels they shall not obey him and put him to Death and that for this Cause they shall fall into Miseries never to be repair'd Which tells them that the Gentiles to whom he was promis'd as well as to them should upon their refusal receive him Who is it said so precisely That from all parts of the World the People should come and submit themselves to his Law and in all this said nothing that was not punctually fulfill'd Where did they learn all this And how could they foresee it If what has
pleas'd every Day whereas formerly they were oft times forc'd to spread their Tarry Sails and with avidity catch the Drops of Rain any kind Cloud did spare them or were forc'd to drink putrid Waters that caus'd the Miscarriage of many Rich Ships and the Death and loss of many brave Seamen Some boast of their Atchievements in Wars by Land others of their Successes by Sea it is only the Vertuous Man that feels true Content and Pleasure in controlling his own unruly Passions by bringing them in Subjection to the Rules of Right Reason and of the Will of God. It is said of Alexander the Great that he wept when he heard there was no more Worlds to conquer Time has now disprov'd that great Philosopher Hipocrates and Physicians Maxim Ars longa vita brevis What part of the World which of the Elements has not your Stupendious Wit penetrated and still are ready with a more than Herculean Force to Attempt and surmount those things that to others seem impossible to be effected But Words are too weak to display the least of your Merits your own Works will better transmit your Memory to Posterity therefore knowing too much Commendation though never so well deserv'd is a burden to Modest Ears I shall restrain my Pen from so Pleasant a Theme and subscribe my self Honoured Sir Your Faithful Servant ever to be Comanded JOS. WALKER THE PREFACE Done from the French. Wherein is shew'd in what manner these Thoughts were Written and Collected what deferr'd the Publishing of them what the Authors Design was in this Work and how it was that he spent the last Years of his Life MOnsieur Pascall did not long persist in Reading the Mathematicks Physick and other Prophane Studies although he therein for the time made as great Progress as any that handled those Matters About the Thirtieth year of his Age he apply'd himself to weighter and more serious things and to addict himself wholly as much as his Health would permit to the Study of the Holy Scriptures the Fathers and Christian Morality And though he no less excell'd in these Sciences than he did in others as has appear'd by Treatises made by him which are esteem'd perfect enough in their Kind yet it may be truly said that if God had given him space to have labour'd some longer time on that he had a Design to do concerning Religion and about which he intended to spend the residue of his Life this Work had very far surpassed all the rest of his Writings because that his Knowledge and Light on this Subject was infinitely greater than that he had of other things I suppose there is no body but will easily believe so by seeing the little now expos'd to view how imperfect soever it seems to be especially knowing the manner he did it in and the whole History of the Collecting and disposing of it Monsieur Pascall contriv'd the design of this Work several years before his Death yet it is not to be thought strange that it was so long before he committed it to Writing for he was wont to Ruminate a good while of things and to digest them in his Mind before he made any shew of them fully to consider and weigh which part to set foremost and which should follow and the best way of Marshalling them that so they may produce the Effect he desir'd And being endow'd with an Excellent and as may be said a Prodigious Memory he often said he never forgot any thing he had once imprinted in his Mind so that when he once apply'd himself to a Subject he never fear'd that the Thoughts he conceiv'd should pass out of his Memory therefore he often deferr'd Writing them either for want of leisure or that his Health would not suffer him to apply himself closely and effectually to it being almost always very languishing and sickly This was the Reason that at his Death the greatest part of what he had already conceiv'd touching his Design was lost for he had not scarce noted any of the principal Reasons that he intended to use as grounds whereon to raise his Building and the Order he intended to observe which doubtless was very considerable All this was so deeply rooted in his Mind and Memory that having neglected to write it when it may be he was able it happen'd that he could not at all do it when probably he would have done it However about Ten oâ— Twelve years ago there fell out an occasion wherein he was oblig'd not to write what was in his Mind touching this Subject but to declare something concerning it by Word of Mouth he did it in Presence and at the request of several very considerable Persons of his Acquaintance In few Words he discover'd to them the whole design of his Work he represented to them the Subject and Matter of it he related to them succinctly the Reasons and Grounds of it and he explain'd to them the Order and Method of things he intended to Treat of These Persons being as capable as may be to judge of things of this Nature freely confessed that they never heard any thing finer weightier nor more Pathetical and Convincing that they were charm'd at it and that what they saw of this Project and Design in a Discourse of Two or Three hours long made Extempore without any notice or time of Preparation made them conjecture what it might be one day if it ever came to be executed and brought to Perfection by a Person whose Capacity and Parts they had such Knowledge of for he was wont so to revise his Works that he scarce ever was satisfy'd with his first Thoughts how good soever they appear'd to others and has sometimes done a thing Eight or Ten times over which others would have judg'd to have been extraordinary well at first Having represented to them what were the Evidences that make the greatest impression on the Minds of Men and the fittest to perswade them he undertook to shew that Christian Religion had as many Marks of Certainty and Evidence as those things which are believed most undoubtedly in the World. To this effect he first of all begins with a Description of Man wherein he omits nothing that might make him known both Internally and Externally even to the most secret Thoughts of his Heart Then he imagins a Man that having always liv'd in a general ignorance and indifference of all things and especially of himself at length comes to consider his own Portraicture and to Examin what he is he is surpris'd therein to see several things that he never dreamt of and he cannot without Wonder and Admiration believe what Monsieur Pascall mentions of his Greatness and of his Misery of his Privileges and of his Infirmities of the little Knowledge and Light he has left and of the great Ignorance wherewith he is encompass'd And to conclude of the many strange Contrarieties that are in his Nature he cannot after all this remain in a State of
Conversation in the World whereunto all Religion does tend and this Love inclin'd him incessantly to remove all that should oppose these Truths He was endu'd with a Natural Eloquence which gave him a wonderful facility in saying what he pleas'd but thereunto he added Rules not before thought of and the which he imployed to so great advantage that he was Master of his Style so that he not only said what he would but he said it in the manner that he pleas'd and his Discourse wrought the Effect he desir'd And this way of writing naturally clear and strong was so proper and peculiar to him that as soon as his Letters did but appear at the Provincials they were known to be his what care soever he took to conceal them It was about this time God was pleas'd to heal my Daughter of a Running Fistula It had made so great progress in three years time and a half that the Filth Issued out not only by the Eyes but also the Nose and Mouth And this Fistula was of so malignant a Quality that the ablest Chirurgeons of Paris judg'd it incurable Nevertheless she was cured of it in a moment by touching a holy Thorn and this Miracle was so certain that it was owned by every body being attested by the ablest Physicians and Chirurgeons of France and authoriz'd by the Solemn Judgment of the Church My Brother was sensibly touched with this Favour which he lookt upon as done to himself because 't was done to a Person that besides the nearness of Relation was also his Spiritual Daughter in Baptism and his Joy was the greater to see God manifested himself so suddenly in a time when Religion seem'd to be wholly extinct in the Hearts of most Men his Joy was so great that he was transported with it so that having his Mind taken up with this Blessing God inspired him with several fine Notions touching Miracles which giving him farther Lights in matters of Religion increased the Love and Respect he always had for it It was on this occasion that he shew'd the extream desire he had to undertake to refute the chief and greatest Arguments of Atheists he had considered them with great diligence and employ'd his Wits to find out the means of refuting them He employ'd himself wholly about this Business he spent the last Year of his Life wholly in gathering sundry Thoughts on this Subject but God that had put this as well as all other Thoughts in his Mind was not pleas'd to permit him to finish them for Reasons unknown to us Nevertheless the retirement from the World which he so carefully practis'd hinder'd not but that he often saw Persons of great Quality and Parts who having Thoughts of forsaking the World desired his advice and follow'd it exactly others that were unsatisfy'd in their Minds touching Matters of Faith knowing that he was of great Judgment came to advise with him and always return'd well satisfi'd so that all these Persons that live at present very comfortable Lives do confess that 't was by his Advice and Council under God and the directions he gave them that they owe all the Good and Happiness they enjoy The Company wherein he was often ingaged although 't was all on Charitable Accounts nevertheless gave him some apprehension least there might be some danger in it but as he could not in point of Conscience refuse the help People desir'd of him he found an expedient for it At some certain times he would take an Iron girdle full of sharp Iron Pricks which he would wear next his bare Skin and when any vain Thought came in his Mind or that he took any delight where he was or the like he would strike it with his Elbow to redouble the Pain and so by this means would put himself in mind of his Duty This Custom appear'd so useful to him that he continu'd it till his Death and even in his latter Days wherein he was in continual sorrow Because he could neither Read nor Write he was constrain'd to be as 't were Idle and only to walk about He was under a great apprehension least this want of business should hinder him from his Aym we did not know these things till after his Death and then by a Person of great Merit that much confided in him to whom he was obliged to relate them for Reasons that concern'd himself This severity he used upon himself was drawn from this great Maxim of forsaking all Pleasure whereon he had regulated the whole remainder of his Life from the beginning of his retirement he failed not also to practice this other of cutting off all superfluity for he had cut off with so much exactness all excess that by little and little he reduc'd himself not to have any Hangings in his Room thinking it was not necessary and besides was not oblig'd to it out of Decency because there came none there but his Servants whom he constantly exhorted to Moderation so that they were nothing surpriz'd at it seeing their Master live after the manner he advis'd them to do This is the manner he spent Five years of his Life from Thirty to Thirty five labouring incessantly for God for his Neighbour and for himself striving to perfect himself more and more and it may be said this was all the time he lived for the last Four years of his Life was nothing but a continual languishing It could not be said to be a sickness that had newly seized him but a redoubling of sicknesses he had been subject unto from his Childhood But he was now seized with so great violence and pain that he was forc'd to stoop to it and during all this he could not spend any time at the great work he had designed touching Religion nor assist those Persons that apply'd themselves to him for advice neither by word nor by writing his pains were so violent he could not satisfie them though he was very willing to do it This renewing of his sickness began by a violent pain of his Teeth that wholly deprived him of his sleep In his continual watching one night unawars there came into his Thoughts something about the Proposition of the Roulette this Thought was followed by another that by another to conclude a multitude of Thoughts succeeded one another that at length whether he would or no he discover'd the demonstration of all those things whereat he himself was not a little surpriz'd But having a good while before given over thinking of these Sciences he did not so much as vouchsafe to note them down nevertheless having spoke of it to a Person for whom he had a great kindness and honour this Person being considerable as well for Birth as for his great Learning and Piety having thereupon formed a design which tended only to the Glory of God thought fit he might use them which he did and afterwards had them printed It was at that time he wrote it but in great haste in Eight
from him and that for that cause he multiply'd them and separated them from all other Nations not suffering them to make Alliance with them that he brought them out of the Land of Aegypt with those mighty Signs he wrought for them that he fed them with Manna in the Wilderness that he led them into a flourishing and plentiful Land that he gave them Kings and a Magnificent Temple therein to offer Sacrifices to be cleansed by shedding their Blood and that he might at last send them the Messias to make them Masters of all the World. 4. * The Jews were accustom'd to see great and wonderful Miracles and looking upon the great wonder of dividing the Red-Sea and the Promis'd Land but as an Epitome of the great things to be perform'd by the Messias they expected he would do far greater Wonders and that all Moses had done was only a Pattern 5. * Having therefore persisted in these Carnal Errors Jesus Christ came in the fulness of time but not in the outward Splendor as was expected and therefore they did not believe it was him After his Death St. Paul came teaching Men all these things were but Figures that the Kingdom of God was not in the Flesh but in the Spirit that the Babylonians were not Mens Enemies but their Passions that God dwelt not in Temples built with hands but in an humble and contrite Heart that the Circumcising the Body was nothing but that of the Heart 6. * God not being willing to discover these things to this unworthy People and being pleas'd nevertheless to foretel them that they might be believ'd plainly foretold the time and sometimes spake of them plainly but for the most part in Types to the end that those who liked things Mystical should be satisfi'd and those who liked things prefigur'd might see them therein Upon this account it was that when the Messias appear'd the People were divided those that were spiritual believed in him those that were Carnal rejected him and remain'd to be his Witnesses 7. * The Carnal Jews understood not the greatness nor the humiliation of the Messias foretold in their Prophesies They did not know him in his Greatness as when 't is said The Messias shall be Davids Lord although he be his Son that he was before Abraham and had seen him they did not think him so great as he was from all Eternity neither did they know him in his humiliation and in his Death The Messias say they abides Eternally and this Man says he shall dye they did not believe in him Mortal nor Eternal they only sought in him a Worldly greatness 8. * They so much loved the things figuring and so intirely expected them that when the Substance came in the time and manner foretold they were wholly ignorant of him 9. * Those that have pain to believe seeking a Cause wherefore the Jews believed not If it were so evident say some why did they not believe But 't is their refusal is the very ground of our Faith We should not be near so forward to believe had they believ'd we should then have had a far greater pretext not to believe and to doubt It is admirable to see the Jews to be such great lovers of Predictions and yet Enemies to the accomplishment thereof and that this aversion it self was foretold 10. * To give credit to the Messias it was requisite that there should be preceding Prophesies that they should be made by Persons unsuspected and of great dilligence and fidelity and of extraordinary Zeal known to all the World. To bring all this to pass God chose this Carnal People to whose keeping he commited the Prophesies which foretold the Messias as the Redeemer and dispenser of Carnal things which they so much doted upon so that they had an extraordinary Zeal for these Prophets and published to all the World the Books wherein the Messias was promis'd assuring all Nations that he was to come and in the very manner foretold in their Books which they expos'd freely to every Bodies sight But beâ—ng deceiv'd by the Messias his coming in a mean and poor Condition they became his greatest Enemies so that it is come to pass that the People that were the most unlikely of any in the World to favour us do appear for us and by the Zeal they have for their Law and Prophets do bear and keep with the greatest exactness imaginable our Evidences and their own Condemnation 11. * Those who rejected and crucified Jesus Christ and to whom he was a scandal are the very Persons that preserve the Books that Witness of him and that mention that he shall be an offence and scandal therefore in denying him they plainly shew it was him and he was equally prov'd to be the Messias not only by the righteous Jews that believed in him but also by the wicked Jews who rejected him both being foretold by the Prophets 12. * Therefore it is the Prophesies were hid those that were Spiritual which this People hated under the Temporal which they loved had the Spiritual Sense been discover'd then they would not have liked it and not being able to support it they would not have been so Zealous in preserving their Books and Ceremonies And if they had loved these Spiritual promises and that they had preserv'd them uncorrupt till the coming of the Messias thâ—â— Testimony had not been so strong because of their favouring them therefore it was convenient the Spiritual Sense should be hid But on the other hand had the Spiritual Sense been so hid that it had not been discern'd it would not have serv'd to prove the Messias What then was done This Mystery was hid in a number of passages under Temporal things and yet was plainly shew'd in some besides the Time and State of the World were foretold as cleaâ— as the Sun at Noon day and this Spiritual Sense is so plainly manifested in some places that not to know and discern it requires as much blindness as the Flesh imposes on the Spirit when 't is subject to it See here the way of Gods governing things This Spiritual Sense is vail'd with another Sense in a great many places and shew'd plainly in some but very seldom indeed yet in such a way that in those places where 't is hid it may be understood both ways whereas in the places where it is manifested it can be taken but in one sense and can only agree to the Spiritual So that this could not lead into Error and there could none but so Carnal a People as they were be therein mistaken For when good things were promis'd abundantly what hinder'd them from understanding true Spiritual Riches but only their Covetousness that understood it of Worldly Riches But those whose hope and trust was in God referr'd these things to God only for there are two things that divide the Will of Men Covetousness and Charity not but that Desire may subsist with Faith and Charity with the
that are in a Ship think those that stand on the Shore do stir away Speech is the same every where there should be a fixt Point to judge The Port directs those that are a Ship-board But where shall we find this Point in Mens Morals 43. * To pity the unfortunate is not against Concupiscence on the contrary one is glad to be able to give ones self this Testimony of Humanity and to get the Reputation of Tenderness at so cheap a rate so far it 's no great Matter 44. * Whosoever had the Friendship of the King of England the King of Poland and the Queen of Sweden could he have thought he should have wanted a retirement in the World 45. * Things have divers Qualities and the Soul divers Inclinations for nothing is alone that offers it self to the Soul and the Soul never offers it self single to any Subject 46. * We are so Unfortunate we cannot take pleasure in any thing but on condition of being angry if it succeeds ill which a thousand things may do and do so every Hour Whoever could find the way of rejoicing at the good without being concern'd at the contrary has found the right expedient 47. * There are several orders of Strong Good Pious Brave Spirits each of which should rule in its own Sphere and not elsewhere Sometimes they interfere and the strong and good do foolishly quarrel which shall be greatest their Precedency is of a different Nature they are not of a right understanding and their failure is that they would reign in all places Nothing can do so no not Strength it self it availeth nothing in the Common-wealth of Learning it is only chief in exteriour Actions 48. * Ferox gens nullam esse vitam sine armis putat They love Death rather than Peace others love Death rather than War. Every Opinion may be prefer'd before Life the love whereof appears so strong and so Natural 49. * How hard it is to propose any thing to anothers Judgment without byassing him by the manner one proposes it if one says I find it clear I find it obscure one inclines the Judgment to this Belief or one stirs it up to the contrary It were better say nothing for then he judges according to what it is that is to say according to what 't is then and according to the other Circumstances whereof one is not the Author that has dispos'd it if it don't chance that this silence don 't also work its effect according to the interpretation that he shall think fit to give it or as he shall conjecture by the Looks and by the Voice so easie a thing it is to take off a Judgment from its bottom or rather that there are but very few that are firm 50. * The Platonists and even Epictetus himself and his Followers thought God is alone worthy to be loved and admired and nevertheless they themselves desired to be loved and admired of Men they did not know their Corruption If they found themselves inclin'd to love and adore him and that they therein found their chiefest Happiness let them a Gods name think themselves good Men but if they find any aversion if they have no other aim but to setle themselves in the esteem of Men and that in their greatest perfection they do only incline Men to think it their Happiness to love them I say this perfection is horrible What they knew God and desired not that Men should love him only they would that Men should stop at them they would be the Object of the voluntary Happiness of Men. 51. * Montaigne was in the right Custom ought to be observ'd as soon as ever it is Custom and that one finds it setled without examining if it be reasonable or not that is to be understood If it be not contrary to any Law Natural or Divine It 's true the People follow it for no other cause but for that they believe it to be Just without which they would not follow it because one would not be subject to any thing but Reason or Justice Custom without this would be accounted Tyranny whereas the Rule of Reason and Justice is no more Tyranny than that of Love. But it were good if Obedience were given to Laws and Customs because they are Laws and that People conceive that 't is that that makes them Just by this means one would never forsake them whereas when one makes their Justice depend on something else it is easie to make it doubtful and this is it that makes People subject to Rebel 52. * It was well done to distinguish Men by exteriour rather than by interiour Qualities Which of us two shall go first Who shall give the way to the other the weakest but I am as good as him there must be a quarrel hereupon He has Four Foot-men and I have but one it is visible count them I must give place and I 'm a Fool if I dispute it By this means we are at Peace which is the greatest Happiness can be 53. * Time puts an end to Troubles and to Contests because one changes and becomes as 't were another Man Neither the Offender nor the Offended are the same they were It is likely a People may be provok'd and that one should see them after two Generations they are yet French Men but not the same 54. * It is undeniable that the Soul is Mortal or Immortal This should set a great watch over Men how they live Nevertheless Philosophers have order'd their Morals so as if there were no such thing What a strange blindness 55. * The last Act is always Tragical how pleasant soever the rest of the Comedy has been At last Earth is thrown upon the Head and there 's an end of it for ever §. XXX Meditations of Death abstracted out of a Letter writ by Monsieur Pascall upon the Death of his Father 1. VVHen we are in Affliction by reason of the Death of some Person that we loved or for any other Misfortune that befals us we should not seek for Comfort in our selves nor in Men nor in any Worldly thing but in God only the Reason is because the Creatures are not the Original Cause of those Accidents we call Evil but the Providence of God being the only true Cause the chief and absolute Disposer there is no question to be made but we should have recourse directly to the Fountain and look up to the first Author to find true and solid Comfort If we follow this Precept and that we consider this Death that afflicts us not as the effect of Chance nor as a fatal Necessity of Nature nor the dissolution of Elements and Parts whereof Man is compos'd for God has not abandon'd his Elect to Fortune or Chance but as the consequence of an Indispensible Inevitable Just and Holy Decree of the Providence of God to be executed in his good time if I say by a Transport of Grace we consider this Accident
as that they subsist no longer unless it be amongst some ignorant People who only taking things on the first Credit of them never trouble themselves in throughly searching into the Truth of Matters But there is nothing clear in the World if it be not that no such thing can happen for the Book we now speak of and describe I could as well say that it would be no hard matter now to Insert in the New Testament as long and considerable a History as that and how idle soever this Supposition seems I cannot tell but that 't was harder to do it in the Books of Moses seeing the Jews respected it as much every jot as we do our New Testament and that there was not one amongst them that had not a very particular Intrest to know what was contain'd in it were it only to preserve themselves from the Sentence of Death which without Remission they were to suffer if they omitted certain Rites they were to perform But what does absolutely prove the Vanity of this Supposition is that there is as it were two Histories of Moses one that was written in the Book that bears his Name the other which is as it were engrav'd in the Ceremonies and Laws observ'd by the Jews the Practice whereof is a pregnant Proof of the Book that enjoin'd them and also of what it contain'd of greatest importance For the greatest part of the most Wonderful Miracles were shewn by the Ceremonies and other things that served in the Worship of the Jewish Religion The Pot of Manna kept in the Ark was a Monument of Gods Miraculous feeding that People in the Wilderness Aaron's Rod that blossom'd was a Sign of the manner how God confirm'd the Priesthood to him and the Two Tables shew'd what 's related in Exodus touching the Establishing the Law. The Sacrifice of the Pascal Lamb the Ceremony of the Azymes and the appointing the Tribe of Levi for the Service of the Temple shew'd the Passage of the Angel the Death of the First born of the Aegyptians and the deliverance of the Children of Israel The Plates of Gold nail'd to the Altar was a Memorial of the Death of those unadvis'd Levites that disputed the Priest-hood with Aaron To conclude The Ark the Tabernacle the sundry Orders of Priests and Levites all the Ceremonies of Sacrifices and Washings all the Laws the appointing the Countries beyond Jordan to the Tribes of Reuben Gad and the half Tribe of Manasses The Cities of Refuge for Man slaiers I say all these things which it were no less absurd to deny than it were to say there were never any Jews have a necessary reference and dependance on the Books of Moses and do invincibly prove that they could not be writ since his Time. For to this purpose it must be either that all we have said has not also been settled but since Moses's time and after publishing the Books attributed to him or that being Established by Moses his Word and without any Book some should add these Books to the Ceremonies and Laws that were in use and added these Miracles the more to enjoin this People to the observation of this Law. But all this is so unlikely that there was never any Person known that durst seriously maintain any such thing How can it be said for Example that the Pentateuch was made and published a long time after Moses his Death and that it was the Cause of Establishing the Law and Worship of the Jewish Religion contain'd in it It may as well be said the Ark and the Tabernacle which are the Foundations of this Religion were not made neither but a long while after Moses and after the publishing of this Book Now this cannot possible be for all the Jews were perswaded their Ark and Tabernacle were made by Moses as this Book does mention and it cannot be conceiv'd by what Fancy they could be of this Opinion if they themselves had made them after they had seen and receiv'd this Book which had not been known till a long time after Moses his Death doubtless this would have been one of the Pleasantest things in the World and the most unparallel'd either that this Book being made of a sudden and in a readiness with this great number of Laws and Ceremonies as being already in use they afterwards came to be Establish'd or that being made by little and little and just as all those things were settled it had always as is said at the Palace Retroactive Effect to make each of these Establishments be attributed to Moses How also could this People who beginning to receive this Law had they at least known it had been untrue that it had been practis'd since Moses and that it had a constant Succession of Priests since Aaron could they have Universally perswaded themselves that what this Book Commanded had been always practis'd and that the Priests it Established had received their Ministry from Aaron by an uninterrupted Succession And how also upon this same Foundation could all the other Tribes and Families have sufferr'd the Tribe of Levi and the Sons of Aaron to usurp to themselves the Prerogatives belonging to the Priest-hood and to the Office of the High-Priest There is no less absurdity in the other Supposition which is That the Law being given by Moses his bare Word was preserv'd by the Jews for some time only by meer Tradition and that afterwards those that wrote it added thereunto all these Miracles for besides that it were already a kind of Miracle and hard to believe that this People should receive so severe and troublesom a Law as that was from a Man that had done nothing extraordinary How could it be that Moses who doubtless had the use of writing should have omitted so Essential a thing and should not leave in Writing a Law that contain'd so many Rights and Ceremonies and so many Directions that it was necessary to have it always in readiness not to fail in some part or other of it Also we are inform'd by this Book it self that Moses fail'd not herein Moses it is said wrote this Law and gave it to the Priests the Sons of Levy and command it should be Read every seventh year at the Feast of Tabernacles And it is there said in several places That God commanded Moses to Write what he commanded him on the Mountain If the Jews then had receiv'd this Law from him only by Word how then could they receive a Book that contain'd so gross and manifest a Lye and that had in it an Express Command from God wherein their Legislator had fail'd This same Command of Reading the Law every Seventh year at the Feast of Tabernacles as being given by Moses does shew also that it could not be chang'd nor alter'd for it was impossible but those alterations would have been discover'd and being so that they should be sufferr'd by a People so wedded to this Law and whose Love for it was grounded on the
he shewed the Sense and Meaning of them with wonderful Skill and set them in their full Beauty and Lustre To conclude Having run over the Books of the Old Testament and laid down several Convincing Observations to serve as Proofs and a Ground for Religion he also undertook to speak of the New Testament and also to draw Proofs of it from the New Testament it self He began by Jesus Christ and though he had already undeniably prov'd it by Prophecies and by the Types of the Law wherein the perfect Accomplishment was found in him he produced also several other Proofs drawn from his very Person from his Miracles his Doctrine and all the Circumstances of his Life Then he Insisted on the Apostles and to shew the Truth of the Faith they every where Preached having shewn they could not be charg'd of Imposture but in supposing that they were Cheats or that they were cozen'd themselves he manifestly shew'd that both these Surmises were alike impossible To conclude He omitted nothing of what might contribute to the Truth of the History of the Gospel making fine Observations on the Gospel it self on the Stile of the Evangelists and on their Persons particularly on the Apostles and on their Writings on their many Miracles on the Saints and Martyrs and in a Word on all the Degrees whereby Christian Religion came to be Establish'd in the World. And though in one Discourse he had not time at large to Treat of so Ample a Subject as he intended to do in his Work yet he said enough to shew that all this could not be the Work of Men and that it was God only that could conduct the Success of so many different Effects that do all concenter equally and invincibly to prove the Religion he himself came to Establish amongst Men. These in Substance are the principal things he intended to Treat of in this Discourse which he propos'd to those that heard him only as 〈◊〉 Epitome of the Body of the Work he designed and it is by means of one of those then present that what I have Recited came to be understood In the Fragments now published some part of Monsieur Pascall's great Design may be seen and these very things therein to be seen are so imperfect so succinct and so ill dispos'd that they can give but a very imperfect view of the Manner how he intended to handle them Moreover it must not be thought strange if in the little that is publish'd the Order and Method he intended is not kept in publishing them having scarce any one thing that depended upon another it was not necessary to be ty'd up to that Rule and it was thought sufficient to dispose them in the way and manner as might be judg'd most proper and convenient for what was found of his And it is hoped that there are but few Persons that having reflected on Monsieur Pascall's Design but will of themselves supply this want of Method and that seriously considering the divers Subjects contain'd in these Fragments will easily judge whereunto they referr according to the Idea of him who wrote them If this Discourse had been preserv'd at large and in the manner it was pronounc'd one might have some cause of being Comforted for the Defect of this Work and it may be said that one had at least a little imperfect Pattern of it But God was not pleas'd that he should leave us either the one or the other For a little while after he fell sick of a lingering Disease which continu'd the last Four Years of his Life which though it appear'd not outwardly to be much nor oblig'd him to keep his Bed or Chamber yet it was very troublesom and hinder'd him from doing almost any thing so that the chief Care and Business of those that attended him was to hinder him from Writing and even from speaking of any thing that savour'd of any difficulty and to Entertain him only of things indifferent and that might least disturb him Nevertheless it was during these Four years of Sickness and Pain that he fram'd and wrote all that he left and meditated of this Work and which is now publish'd in this Treatise for though he deferr'd setting in good earnest about this Work till he recover'd his Health and to have Writ and reduc'd in Order the things he had before digested and disposed in his Mind nevertheless when there came any new Thoughts any Notions new Idea's or even any Turn or Expression that he saw might serve his Design being not then in a Condition to apply himself as diligently about it as he did in his Health nor imprint them so firmly in his Mind and Memory as he was wont he thought better to Note them down than to forget them and to that End he took the first piece of Paper he could find whereon he would write down his Thoughts in few Words and many times only at halves for he did it only for himself therefore he thought it sufficient only to do it very briefly not to weary himself and only to Note down what was sufficient to make him remember what was in his Mind It was in this manner he Wrote most of the Fragments contain'd in this Collection so that it is nothing to be wonder'd at if some are to be found which seem to be imperfect too short and too intricate and wherein also may be found Terms and Expressions not so Proper and Elegant as might be Nevertheless it some times hapned that having his Pen in his Hand he could not forbear being led by his Fancy but that he advanc'd his Thoughts and extended them farther although it was never with the strength and industry of Mind as he might have done in his perfect Health therefore it is that some will be seen to be more Copious and better Writ than others and some Chapters more Uniform and Perfect than others This is the manner in which these Thoughts were Written and I believe there is no body but will easily judge by these slight beginnings and Essays of a Sick Person which he wrote only for his private use and but to bring to Mind some Thoughts he fear'd to forget which he never review'd nor alter'd what the intire Work would have been if Monsieur Pascall had recover'd his perfect Health and put the last hand to it he who knew so well to dispose things in so clear a Lustre and good Order that gave so Noble Fine and Elevated a Grace to all that he said and intended to have taken more Pains and Care about this Treatise than on all those that he had ever Writ before and also would employ all the Skill and Industry of Mind and Talents God had bestow'd on him the which he often said would require Ten years time to compleat and finish It being known that Monsieur Pascall intended to Write concerning Religion there was very great care taken to preserve all his Papers on this Subject After his Death they were found
all together ty'd up in Bundles without any Order or Method because as I before mention'd they were only the first Expressions of his Thoughts which he wrote down on little bits of Paper as they came in his Mind and that also was so imperfect and ill written that it prov'd the hardest matter in the World to unriddle them The first thing that was done was to cause them to be Copy'd out fair just as they were and in the same confus'd manner as they were found being seen in this Condition and easier to be Read and Examin'd than before at the first view they appear'd so confus'd so abrupt and the most of them so intricate that it was resolv'd a good while not to Publish them at all although there were several Persons of great Quality that often and earnestly desir'd to see them Printed for it was judg'd that Mens Minds and Expectations touching this Work the noise whereof had formerly been spread abroad could not be satisfi'd in the Condition they were in But at length there was a Necessity to comply with the Importunity and great desire every body shew'd in having the Papers Printed and it was the readilier granted hoping those that should Read them would be so Candid to make a distinction betwixt the first Draught or Essay and a Peice compleatly finish'd and to judge of the Peice by the Pattern how imperfect soever it were And so it was resolv'd to make them Publick but there being divers ways of Effecting it there was a good time spent in advising which to take The first that was thought of was doubtless the easiest and that was to have them Printed along in order in the same manner as they were found but it was soon discern'd that to do so was to lose all the Benefit that was expected by them because the perfectest the clearest the most compact and intirest Thoughts being mingl'd and as it were quite hid and cover'd up in heaps of other imperfect obscure and to any but him that writ them unintelligible Thoughts there was too much cause to fear that the one would make the others to be slighted and that the Book swell'd to little or no purpose with imperfect Notions would appear to be but a heap of Confusion and Nonsense and good for nothing There was another Expedient found of Publishing these Papers which was first to review them to clear those Thoughts that were obscure to compleat those that were imperfect and by having regard to Monsieur Pascall's Design in these Fragments in some sort to finish the Work he design'd This doubtless had been the best way but it was a very difficult Matter to effect There was a long time spent in deliberating about it and some Progress was made in it but afterwards it was thought fit to lay this Course aside as well as the former it being consider'd that it was almost impossible rightly to judge the Thoughts and Design of an Author and especially of one Deceas'd and that this would not have been to have Publish'd Monsieur Pascall's Works but others quite different from his So that to avoid the Inconveniencies that might arise by either of these Methods in Publishing his Writings a Medium was chosen which is that observ'd in this Collection There has been chosen out of the many Thoughts he left those which appear the clearest and most perfect and they are Publish'd just as they were found without changing or adding ought unto them only that as they were without any Order and confusedly scatter'd here and there they are reduc'd into some kind of Order and those which Treated of the same Subject are reduc'd under the same Title those which appear'd either too obscure or imperfect are omitted Not but that many of them also were very weighty and might have been of great use to those that would have rightly understood them but being loath to spend the time and labour of clearing and perfecting them they were not judg'd useful in the State they were in And that one may have an Instance of it I will here Relate one Passage whereby one may judge of the rest that are omitted See here the Thought and the manner it was found amongst his Fragments A Tradseman that speaks of Riches a Lawyer that speaks of War of Majesty c. But the Rich speak of Riches Kings speak coldly of great Donatives they made and God speaks of God. There is a very deep Notion in this Thought but it will be understood but by very few because it is but imperfectly explain'd and very briefly and obscurely set down so that had not one often heard him by Word of Mouth deliver the same thing it would have been very hard to have known its meaning in so intricate Terms this is near hand the Scope of it He had made several particular Remarks on the Stile of the Holy Scriptures and especially on the New Testament and he therein discover'd Excellencies that it may be none had done before him Amongst other things the clearness the simplicity and as it may be said the freeness that Jesus Christ uses in speaking of the highest and weightiest things as for Example of the Kingdom of God the Happiness the Saints shall possess in Heaven the Torments of Hell without enlarging thereon as many of the Fathers did and most others that have Writ on these Subjects and he said that the cause thereof was that these things which indeed are very weighty and sublime as to us are not so in regard of Jesus Christ and therefore it is not to be wonder'd at that he speaks so Familiarly of them and without any Admiration as is seen for Instance That a General of an Army speaks coldly of besieging a strong Place or of winning a great Battel and a King speaks indifferently of Fifteen or Twenty Millions whereas a Tradseman or a private Person would be much concern'd and mov'd at such things This is the meaning of the Thought hid and contain'd in those few Words which make up this Fragment and this Consideration together with several others of the same Nature were sufficient to convince any Reasonable Person that acted Sincerely of being an Evidence of the Divinity of Jesus Christ This only Example may suffice to shew what were the other Fragments that were omitted as also the little heed or rather negligence as one may say wherewith they were almost all Written which may fully evince what I said That Monsieur Pascall writ them only for his own Memory never intending they should appear in this Condition and therefore it is hoped that the Defects therein found will the easier be excus'd If in this Collection there be some Thoughts found that are obscure nevertheless I suppose that by making a little serious Reflection thereon they may be found intelligible and are not of the least Moment and it was thought better to Publish them as they are than by a great many Words to go about to explain them which