Mr. Vander Waeyen commends and is really a very Learned Work tho' it contains a Doctrin very different from his This being so Mr. L. C. says That by reason of that Ambiguity of Words it may be as Grotius thought that those who seem'd to agree were not of the same Opinion and that by degrees tho' they used the same Words they put another Signification upon them He adds That this might so much the more easily happen as to the Question concerning the Vnity of God because the Christians of the latter Times believed that the Fathers of the Church were of the same Opinion with the Jews who acknowledged a Numerical Vnity of the Divine Essence But as the Consubstantialists entertained a different Opinion under the cover of the same Words which the Jews used and they durst not part with So now our Divines make use of the Terms consecrated by the Fathers but they seem to put another Signification upon ' em Verùm uti Homoousiani sub iisdem verbis quibus Hebraei utebantur aliam abscondebant sententiam cùm non auderent ab iis discedere Ita nostri hodie Theologi à Patribus verba quidem consecrata retinent sed alias iis subjicere potestates videntur How does it appear now That Mr. L. C. grants that the ancient Jews meant by the Word the same thing that St. John did Nevertheless Mr. Vander Waeyen says so positively as if no Body but himself could read a Book whereof above Two thousand Copies have already been Sold. Who will believe him when he cites Books less known and accuses others of Disingenuity Our Cocceian Divine continues to find fault with Mr. L. C. in several places of his Rapsodies but there is no need I should lose my time in confuting him Let him read a Book of Episcopius which he wrote if I mistake not against a Professor of a neighbouring University and intituled Vedelius Rapsodus It contains very good Advice which Mr. Vander Waeyen should follow By what has been said one may judge of the remaining part of his Book and be satisfied that no Body can rely on what he says and believe him upon his word If any one will take the pains to read his Dissertation let him look for the Passages which he writes against and compare them with his Answers and then give his Judgment about it I should tire the Reader 's Patience and have an ill Opinion of him should I shew at large how many ill Reasonings and impertinent Quotations and how much Disingenuity there is in those Dissertations This has has been clearly made out in respect of several Points and those who know the long Disputes he has had with other Reformed Divines are well enough acquainted with his Genius and manner of Writing However I must say something still about the conclusion of his Dissertation concerning the Logos He says That he has done nothing out of Hatred or thro' any ill Passion But I cannot apprehend what might be the cause of so many passionate and angry Expressions Lies and Calumnies unless it were Hatred and some other like Passion Certainly these are not the Fruits of Christian Charity nor the Effects of any Zeal for Truth since Zeal for Truth has nothing to do with Lies and Calumnies He adds That he did not propose to himself as his chief Aim to reclaim Mr. L. C. I believe it for 't is manifest that his chief Aim is to Quarrel and give himself up to his prevailing Passion and then to prejudice Mr. L. C.'s Reputation by all the means he can think of 'T is in vain for him to deny it since God and Men judge of our Words by our Actions and not of our Actions by our Words However he says That he very much wishes he might reclaim Mr. L. C. and that he heartily prays that God would do it But what would he reclaim Mr. L. C. from Would he bring him to the State that he himself is in and of which he should make haste to get out by begging God's Pardon for having had so many Quarrels with so many honest Men without any reason for it and for having endeavoured to blemish their Reputation by his Calumnies He upbraids Mr. L. C. with His Prejudices his manner of Philosophizing and rejecting the true Key of Knowledge the Mystery of the Father and Son Let the Publick judge who of them two is more blinded with Prejudices and whose Method of Philosophizing is more agreeable to Piety and Reason I don't know what he means by the Mystery of the Father and Son but I guess he understands by it Cocceius's new Method of explaining the Covenant of Grace which Mr. L. C. does not believe no more than the other Reformed Divines He is very willing to leave that Key of Knowledge to Mr. Vander Waeyen and those who like it Other Christians believe that it is a proper Instrument to barr Men from the true Knowledge of Holy Scripture and Mr. L. C. is of that Opinion But if they mean by it the Divinity of the Son his Distinction from the Father and the Redemption of Mankind Mr. L. C. is better convinced of 'em than the most zealous Cocceians but he can't abide that any one should add to those Doctrines any thing that is not contained in Scripture Our Professor of Franeker seems to be angry because Mr. L. C.'s Writings are esteem'd and he says that the reason why they are valued is Because they favour Prophane Men that is to say those who laugh at Cocceianism for whoever despises it can expect no Quarter from Mr. Vander Waeyen as being a prophane and an impious Man c. Such is the Language of those godly conceited Divines who place Religion in Chimerical Speculations which they endeavour to confound with the Doctrines revealed in the Holy Scriptures as 't is practis'd by Mr. Vander Waeyen and Mr. Poiret who are good Friends when they are concern'd to defend Fanaticism in general for as soon as a Man abandons Reason he must necessarily fall into Fanaticism but will prove cruel Enemies when the Question shall be Whether John Cocceius's Fanaticism is to be preferr'd to that of Antoinette Bourignon or vice versâ 'T would be a good sport to hear 'em discourse together with their usual Moderation of their Explications of the Revelations Purgatory Predestination c Mr. Poiret would then cease to be clarissimus and would be obscurissimus Tenebrio to say no worse and God knows what noble Epithets he would in his turn bestow on the Doctor of Franeker The latter says That Mr. L. C. is one of those Men who reduce Religion to a few Heads concerning the Knowledge of God and some practical Moral Duties in order to live quietly in this World But Mr. L. C. neither lessens nor encreases the Articles of Faith he takes 'em out of Holy Scripture such as they are without making any alteration in them As for Morality he approves of no Remisness
soon as he has read the beginning and that pity which the Misfortunes of the Trojans raise in him and which Virgil at first sets forth with so much Art makes him extremely desirous to know how they shall be delivered out of them Altho' he knows well enough that 't is a pure Fiction of the Poet yet the Matter is so touching and so well disposed that he forgets that 't is a Romance and is not only as much affected by it as if it were a real Truth but what is more as if he were mightily interessed in it From that very moment as I have already observ'd every thing pleases and of Critics or severe Readers we become zealous Admirers of him after which we are concern'd for the Reputation of the Man whom we have admired We cannot endure that any one whoever he be should find any Defects in him altho' they are never so palpable This is the Reason why Zoilus surnam'd the Scourge of Homer made himself a thousand times more detested for having had the presumption to censure his Faults than if he had blasphem'd all the Gods His very Memory was held in Horrour and Detestation among the Grammarians the sworn Partisans of Homer who fail'd not to possess their Disciples with the same Hatred of him that is to say The World for all that learnt any thing pass'd at first under their Hands These Impressions that are made on us in our Childhood are not to be effaced without some trouble so that we are not to wonder if the World has been so long prejudic'd in favour of Homer even so far as to copy his very Faults Adrian de Valois who was a very learned Man has †Valesiana p. 63. remark'd that Virgil has committed a great fault in the Description he makes of Ascanius He cou'd not well be less than seven Years old when Troy was taken because he was able to march along with his Father who held him by the hand when he fled out of that City Scquitúrque patrem non passibus aequis says Virgil in the second Book of his Aeneis Consequently then when Aeneas was at Carthage seven Years after he was at least fourteen Years old Dido speaks thus to Aeneas towards the end of the first Book Nam te jam septima portat Omnibus errantem terris fluxibus aestas In effect Ascanius was able at this time to sit his Horse and ride out a Hunting Nay this was not all for no less Game wou'd content our young Spark but a Boar or a Lion thundering down the Mountains By which it appears that he was not only a good Horseman but that he was already Master of some Force and Courage At puer Ascanius †Aeneid Lib. IV. v. 156. mediis in vallibus acri Gaudet equo jámque hos cursu jam praeterit illos Spumantemque dari pecora inter inertia votis Optat aprum aut fulvum descendere monte leonem Nevertheless in this very †Aeneid Lib. I. v. 722. IV. v. 84. Book as well as in the first Dido dandles him upon her Knees like a Child of some four or five Years old 'T is visible that when Virgil put that Circumstance into his Poem he forgot himself how old Ascanius ought to have been according to his first supposition However his Narration so takes up the Reader 's Mind that he is not sensible of this Contradiction nay and will not see it when he is told of it The third thing that makes us take so much pleasure in reading the Poets is their Stile wherein two things are to be observed The first is the Expression considered in itself and the other the cadence or the harmony of their Verse Their Expression pleases when it is according to the Rules of Art because it is pure proper and simple when it ought to be so and figurative when it ought to be otherwise The Figures above all are frequently employ'd in their Compositions drawn from the most elevated and beautiful things so that they fill the Mind with nothing but noble and sublime Ideas Altho' in general Poets are obliged to follow the same Rules of Rhetoric as those that write in Prose yet they are allow'd to employ much more Decoration and to heighten all their Descriptions with the most lively Colours There is as much difference between the same Subject as it is managed by a Poet and by an Orator as there is between an Assembly of Men dress'd in plain ordinary Cloaths and the same Assembly in their richest Apparel upon some solemn Festival The Descriptions when finely touch'd particularly charm the Reader who fancies he does not read the Descriptions of things recounted by the Poet but that he sees them with his Eyes and is present at all the Actions Homer is excellent upon this score which occasion'd the saying That he surpass'd the Painters who only represent that which strikes the Eye whereas he frequently paints the Thoughts without so much as speaking Therefore we ought not to be surprized if the Poets please us more than the Orators The liveliness of their Colours strikes our Eyes so strongly that we forget with them the Rules of good Sense if we are not very much upon our Guard all the while we read them The irregular Imagination of the Poet expresses itself in so noble and sublime a manner that it easily overpowers ours and gives it the same Movements by which itself is agitated and this makes all its Irregularities to disappear For instance Virgil it in the first Book of his †Vers 25. seqq Aeneis thus describes the Habitation of the Winds Hîc vasto Rex Aeolus antro Luctantes ventos tempestatésque sonoras Imperio permit ac vinclis carcere fraenat Here in a vast Cavern King Aeolus commands the Winds that struggle to get out and the roaring Tempests which he imprisons I wou'd not have taken notice how ridiculous it was to make the four Winds to come out of one hole of a Rock in a little Island near Sicily because it may be replied That the Poets are full of the like Blunders and that we ought not to be so severe with them if some Interpreters wou'd not bear us down that all this was an effect of Virgil's great Learning who knew that the Winds arise from subterraneous Vapours For suppose it was so altho' 't is by no means probable he ought to have assign'd to each Wind its particular Cave and to have placed the East-wind at the most easterly part of Asia and so the rest since 't is impossible to establish the Source of the Winds if there were one any-where but towards those places from whence they seem to come For this Reason it was that the ancient Greeks placed the Residence of Boreas in Thrace who came from thence to carry away the Daughter of the King of Athens altho' I cannot comprehend what shift he made to get home back again unless we answer
whence it follows that whatever Union hath not such an Aim is prejudicial to it It should rather be call'd a Conspiracy than an Vnion since the Name of a Virtue cannot be reasonably given to a thing which prejudices or destroys the Society What has been said of the Civil may be said of the Ecclesiastical Society which can only Flourish by the great number of its Members and by Learning for Learning is in that Society what Riches are in the other and Concord Not to speak now of the Number and Learning of such a Society I shall only observe that the Union of those who govern it ought not to be a tyrannical Conspiracy which destroys it Such is for Example the Union of the Inquisitors in Spain and Italy who perfectly agree among themselves but to do what To hinder Lay-men as they call 'em and Church-men who might discover some Errors introduced into Religion out of Ignorance or Abuses crept into the Discipline through Ambition from proposing at any time a Reformation and consequently to keep every Body in a profound Ignorance or an unlawful Dissimulation and Hypocrisy It were much better for the Church if there were many Disputes rather than a perpetual Tyranny which hinders Men from being instructed in the Christian Religion and convinced of the Truth of it by good Reasons I shall say no more on this Subject because I intend only to treat of the Decay of the Civil Society in several States But I must answer an Objection 'T is said That it is absolutely necessary to suppress Diversity of Opinions in matters of Religion because under pretence of Religion the State is divided into several Factions which are so incensed against one another that they often break into an open War and use one another most barbarously And 't is usual on this occasion to heap up Examples of Disorders and Civil Wars which happen'd in several States under pretence of Religion But what will follow from thence Nothing but that as soon as a Religion whatever it be is established in a Country no Alteration ought to be allowed in it for fear it should cause some Disturbance But such a Principle will justify all the Proceedings of the Heathens Jews and Mahometans against the Christian Religion which they have persecuted to preserve the Publick Peace in the Countries wherein their Religion was the strongest Besides 't is false that the Toleration of several Religions causes any Disturbance On the contrary Persecution necessarily produces all the Disturbances which follow from the diversity of Opinions Were all those who obey the Civil Laws tolerated and were Men persuaded that Humanity not to mention Religion requires of 'em that they should bear with one another they would live most happily in the World tho' they were of different Opinions But when Men are persuaded that the greatest number has the right of deciding what People are to believe and of persecuting all those who will not submit to their Judgment when the strongest Party begins to use ill the Weaker till it he forced at least to dissemble its Belief then Disturbances begin and Persecutors destroy the Civil Society under pretence of Defending Religion In a word they who only desire to be tolerated commit no Disorder and none but those who Persecute them Disturb the State But Church-men say they stir up the People to use one another Ill and Great Men often take hold of such an Opportunity to raise dangerous Disturbances But that very thing shews that it is not Toleration but the want of it which disturbs the State Were Men persuaded as of a Maxim essential to Religion and Policy that they ought to bear with one another as long as they observe all the Duties of the Civil Society the Discourses of Church-men or the Cabals of Great Persons would not be able to disturb the Peace of the State under pretence of Religion But it is not out of Love for the peace of the State or out of a design to do it Good that Church-men have opposed Toleration and established the contrary Opinion as a Religious Doctrine No they have done it out of a desire of Domineering of not being contradicted and of encreasing their Revenues which grow more considerable in proportion to the number of those who submit to their Decisions If Princes encroach never so little on their pretended Privileges they will endanger the Peace and Tranquillity of the State rather than abate any thing If the State enjoys a profound Peace notwithstanding the diversity of Opinions they don't scruple to disturb it that they may oppress such as they do not like If was not for any Sedition that Ferdinand and Isabella expell'd the Jews out of Spain in 1492. The Jews had no Authority in the State and were contented to enjoy the liberty of Trading quietly They were not accused of any illegal Practices against the Government The zealous Inquisitors expell'd them to have an occasion of Enriching themselves with the Spoils of a great many Families and not to do the State a good Service The ill Designs of the Moors might also have been very easily prevented in the same Kingdom after they had been subdued without making Spain a desert Country by driving them out of it I could add more considerable and later Examples of People ill used not for having committed any Disorder but by the Suggestion and Conspiracy of Church-men whose Divisions in matters of Religion have never been so prejudicial to any State as the fatal Union of the greater Number to oppress the lesser One may easily conclude from what has been said that the States the Laws whereof tend to encrease the number of the People and make them quietly enjoy the Fruits of their Labour by requiring of them no more than they are able to pay and where they that command and they that obey make the Publick Good their chief End or do nothing at least but what contributes to it one may I say easily conclude that States which go upon such Principles must needs be Flourishing and on the contrary that they which have opposite Maxims must necessarily fall to Decay Therefore any State which expels Loyal and Faithful Subjects and lessens the Number of them by any means whatever they be any State wherein they are opprest with Tailles and Imposts whereby they are so impoverished as not to be able to exercise their Industry Lastly any State wherein they are not unanimous in procuring the Publick Good contains in itself some Principles which will insensibly destroy it unless such an Evil be timely prevented But the Remedy necessary for the Cure of such a Disease can be proposed only by Men who have nobler Thoughts than the Vulgar For the common sort of People mind only their private Good and are no farther concern'd in what happens in the State than as some few Persons whom they favour get or lose by it for the present without caring for others or for the time to
excessively encrease CHAP. X. Of Mr. Le Clec 's Works NO Body can give a better Account or the Works and Studies of Mr. Le Clerc than I And since it is necessary that the Publick should be inform'd of it because of those who wrote against him I 'll say what I know of it Humane Learning Philosophy and Divinity with their Dependences have been his chief Studies and he has equally applied himself to them from his younger Years so as one of those Sciences succeeded the other by turns according to the Circumstances he was in He does the same still and 't is likely he 'll continue to do so the rest of his Life I cannot tell whether he has well succeeded or no in the Works he has published concerning those three Sciences You know the reason of it But I can tell you with all the Sincerity I am capable of that I am persuaded he searched Truth with great Application without having any other Design but to find it First in what concerns the Christian Religion and then about several Points which concern Divinity Philosophy Church-History and Humane Learning As for the Christian Religion I know not only by what he has written concerning it but also by what he has discoursed on several Occasions that he is fully persuaded of the Truth of it not out of Custom or Weakness or because one may somtimes get something by feigning to be persuaded of it as it seems many do but out of Reason and upon Examination Few Men have more meditated on the Christian Religion than he has done and perhaps there is not one Divine who has a greater Notion of God and Christianity than he has He can't abide that weak or doubtful Arguments should be used in their Defence out of Policy because they work on the Minds of the People and Ignorant Men. He thinks that Men thereby equal Divine Revelation with false Religions which are kept up by such a Method for want of a better Whereas no other Arguments ought to be made use of for the Proof of the Christian Religion but such as are proper to it and wholly distinguish it from Falshood which cannot be defended with the same Arms. He affirms That whoever doubts of the truth of Christianity has not a true Notion of it or cannot Reason well or desires to indulge his Passions But to see the Christian Religion in its due Light he thinks it ought to be considered as it was in its beginning without mixing any Human Doctrin or any Explication of unintelligible Things with it Those Explications and Human Doctrins are as he thinks the cause of most Disputes and Errors not to mention a thousand other Evils which they have occasioned Wherefore he speaks of 'em with as much Contempt as he admires what God has revealed to us by Christ and his Apostles Mr. Vander Waeyen a Cocceian Divine will notwithstanding deprive him of the Title of a Divine in two Libels he wrote against him But he troubles himself so little with it that on the contrary he would be very sorry to be accounted a great Divine by such a Man as that Professor of Franeker Mr. L. C. professes himself to be a Christian and does nothing that contradicts his Profession but he would not be a Divine of Mr. Vander Waeyen's Stamp and he is not the only Man of that Opinion There are very few Reformed Divines but despise that sort of Divinity Mr. Spanheim Professor in the University of Leyden with whom the Professor of Franeker is not at all to be compared has spoken his Mind plainly enough on this Matter and Mr. Vander Waeyen's Indignation against him has not prejudiced his Reputation in the least Mr. L. C. beseeches God That he would teach Mr. Vander Waeyen what the Title of a Divine requires of them who bear it and will not dishonour it Tho' he had early studied the Philosophy of Descartes he follows only his general Principles which he admires and thinks that the only reason why Descartes did not keep to them when he came to Particulars is That he made too much haste desiring to publish a complete System before he died I 'll tell you more of it when I come to Discourse of Mr. L. C s. Philosophical Works The general design of 'em is to form the Minds of Young Men and open them a Way to the search of Truth even in the most important Things For the Author is of Opinion That the true Method of Philosophizing is of very great use to establish the Truth of the Christian Religion and shew the excellency and necessity of its Precepts He thinks that a Man must not part with his Reason or stifle its Light to perceive the Beauty of Christianity Such a Method seems to him to be the infallible way of establishing all manner of Errors On the contrary the better a Man Reasons the more he 'll be convinced of the Truth of the Christian Religion The Study of Languages and Human Learning has taken up part of his Life and is still his greatest Diversion He is persuaded that it is of great use for the understanding of Holy Scripture as it appears by his Works He also believes That that sort of Study is very useful to improve Men's Minds and moderate their Passions if at the same time the Study of Philosophy be joyned with it for they must never be divided A Man enables himself thereby to make his own what he finds in Ancient Authors that deserves it without being in danger of admiring their Faults as it is commonly done by such Criticks as only cultivate their Memory That Reading enables one not only to express his Thoughts agreeably and elegantly but also more clearly and distinctly provided it be attenedd with good Logical Rules which must never be neglected and which the Criticks are most times Strangers to Mr. L. C. is of Opinion That if the three Sciences I have mention'd were joyned together the Knowledge which depends on them would very much encrease and consequently Virtue and Honesty would not be so scarce as they are for he maintains that Ignorance is the Mother of Vice and that true Learning is the Fountain of the most solid Virtue If Divines I say were also good Philosophers there would arise a great Advantage from it they would lay aside all pitiful and childish Arguments which their Books are full of and which they often vent as Articles of Faith whereby they do a great prejudice to Religion They would not betray it without being aware of it by saying that Men must renounce the most certain Knowledge of their Reason to embrace if They would propose their Thoughts in a much clearer and better Order and convince the Minds of their Readers or Hearers after such a manner as would influence their Lives The whole Body of Divinity would be reduced into Maxims or necessary Consequences drawn from them and the necessity thereof would soon appear in order to live
Happily in this present World and be acceptable to Him who placed Men on Earth for a short time to make 'em Happy after Death if they will observe his Laws which are very beneficial to them during this Life If Divines understanding Revelation as they should and making a good use of Reason were besides so Skill'd in Human Learning as to be able to read all sorts of Ecclesiastical and Prophane Authors in the Original Languages so many Materials joyned together and rectified by the invariable Rules of Revelation and Reason and beautified with all the solid Ornaments of a true Eloquence so many Materials I say would have a great influence on the Hearts and Minds of Men. Solid Thoughts being attended with the Order and Light which Philosophy affords and set off with all the Ornaments which Reason allows of would insinuate themselves into the Minds of the most Obstinate Men and Charm those who have a good Judgment and an upright Heart I will not say That we see now the quite contrary because Things which should be inseparable are now divided This I leave to the Judgment of those who are skill'd in those Sciences Mr. L. C. believes That the Famous Hugo Grotius whose Writings are above Envy joyned together the three Sciences I have mention'd For if he did not fully understand the Art of thinking well because the Philosophy of his Time was still full of Darkness he supplied that defect in great measure by the strength of his Reason If he shewed so much Sense and Judgment without the help of Art what would he not have done if he had been throughly acquainted as we have been since with the Art of Reasoning and ranging one's Thoughts in a good Order Suppose there were now in Holland many such Men as Grotius or more Learned than he was a thing not impossible if Men studied as they should how great an influence would their Learning have not only in the Vnited Provinces but also over all Europe Then indeed we might hope for such a general Reformation of all Sciences as would be worthy of Him who has given us Knowledge to make a good use of it Mr. L. C. has intimated several times That so noble an Idea has often Charm'd him and afforded him a thousand agreeable Reveries If the World never sees any thing answerable to it they at least who are Skill'd in those Things may innocently busie themselves about Thoughts which fill the Mind with Admiration for God and the Christian Religion and inspire the desire of knowing and teaching Truth without Anger and Animosity against those who are ignorant of it If Philosophers were also Divines and well versed in Human Learning how solid and sublime would their Thoughts appear How useful should we find their Principles As they would take out of Revelation what is wanting to Reason so they would by degrees dispose the Minds of those who learn Philosophy to take the right side in Matters of Religion and would shew 'em on all occasions the Excellency of the Light of Reason And as the Philosophy of the Schools which succeeded the wretched Rhetorick of the foregoing Ages made an end of corrupting Men's Minds and disfiguring Religion so a sound Philosophy would kindle again the Light of Reason which was extinguished only to introduce a thousand Errors and would dispose Men to perceive all the Beauties of the Gospel If the Discourses of Philosophers were full of useful Examples taken out of Ecclesiastical and Prophane Authors to which the Rules of the Art of Reasoning should be applied such a Method of teaching would make one apprehend the use of Philosophy which is otherwise altogether confined within the Walls of an Auditory and so becomes Contemptible I confess That most Philosophical Matters are not very susceptible of Ornaments but it is certain that if they can be exprest in proper Terms and such as agree with the use of the Language they are exprest in as much as possible they become thereby much clearer and more pleasant to every Body and consequently more useful because Men are more attentive to what they understand and like than to such Things as can hardly be understood and have I know not what that displeases tho' they are good in themselves This has been observed in France since they began there to Philosophize in French Some Books full of the most abstruse Philosophical Enquiries have been read by many People with Delight and Profit because they are well written and are free from the barbarous Terms of the Schools One might have seen the happy Effects of it if the Inhabitants of that Country were not unwilling to be undeceived To come now to the Study of Languages and Human Learning it is certain That if those who apply themselves to it would Study Philosophy and Divinity at the same time they would be much more useful to the Publick That Study concerns Things of the greatest Moment since the knowledge of the Scripture and Ecclesiastical History depends as much on it as on the knowledge of the Things themselves A great many new Discoveries might be made still in those Sciences which would raise and enlighten one's Mind and inspire it with a greater respect for the Divine Revelation Instead of which most of our Criticks grow Old in the Study of Grammatical Trifles which are of very little use and wherein one may be mistaken without any danger If they were also Skill'd in Philosophy they would judge much better of the Ancients than they do and give us a more exact Notion of them whereby we might be enabled to imitate them in what is good and avoid what is not so They would order their Thoughts so as to avoid Error and enlighten the Minds of their Readers For want of such a Method they oftener admire the Faults of the Ancients than what deserves their Admiration because they seldom have any certain Criteriums whereby they may distinguish True from False and what deserves to be esteem'd from what does not When they have a mind to Communicate their Thoughts it proves often a confused heap of indigested Learning which can hardly be reduced into any Order and is full of False Reasonings This is partly the reason why that sort of Study is so much despised and why so many People fancy that it is almost inconsistent with good Sense and Reason Mr. Vander Waeyen who in all likelihood never troubled himself much with Philosophy and Human Learning having first of all applied himself to the common Divinity of the Reformed and then to that of Cocceius seems to be angry because others Study the Sciences I have been speaking of and calls Mr. L. C. as it were out of Contempt Critico-Philosophus tho' he Complements him sometimes Indeed it is much more easie to say any thing that comes into one's Mind concerning the Sense of the Prophecies as when they boldly affirm that the Reformed are meant by Juda and the Lutherans by Ephraim in the
respect for Truth in general and love a Philosophical Sincerity are obliged to use such a Method and they that are so disposed are better convinced than others of the narrowness of their Knowledge think more modestly of themselves and can more easily bear to be contradicted On the contrary those who distinguish not what is doubtful from what is certain fancy they know much more than they do and being proud of their pretended Knowledge they maintain with the same assurance the most uncertain Things and those which they are most sure of From thence arise a great many hot Disputes about Things which no body knows and wherein they are perhaps mistaken on both sides From thence also arise all the Evils which attend long Disputes Those who are used to distinguish their Conjectures from what they are able to prove may more easily attain to a solid and certain knowledge of Truth than those who believe they know what they know not and so give over the search of that which they think they have already found They substitute an imaginary Knowledge in the room of a real one and so rest satisfied with Phantoms instead of real Things and as they boldly take up Things that have but a slight probability so they are afraid on the contrary to be deceived by Demonstrations and shun them as carefully as they ought to shun Falshood But those who believe not that they know what they know not and are not conceited of their own Merits will be ready to embrace Truth which way soever it comes That which I most wonder at is That some Men are so Conceited that they speak as if they were persuaded that Truth depends not so much on Things themselves as on the manner of defending it One would think they believe That if they stoutly maintain an Opinion it acquires thereby a greater degree of certainty and at last happens to be true Should we grant say they That such a Thing is true we must then give up our Principles 'T is therefore better to argue against it without troubling our Selves whether it be true or not and never to give ground like the Man who being no longer able to reply to what was objected against his Opinion cried out with great Anger If what I say be not true it should be true Of Morery's Dictionary BUT to return to Mr. L. C.'s Studies at the very same time that his Philosophical Works were Composed Printed for the first time and Reprinted he was taken up with the tedious Revision of a Book which gave him a great deal of trouble Some Booksellers of Holland having a mind to Print Morery's Dictionary proposed to him in 1689. to Revise it which he undertook to do supposing That because that Dictionary had been Printed five times in France it wanted but few Corrections But having gone about that Work he soon perceived that he had had a better Opinion of Mr. Morery than he deserved He perceived too late that the Revision of that Dictionary would be a laborious Work of no great Honour and less Profit But he was obliged to go thro' when he had begun One may see what he said about it in the XIV Vol. of the Bibliotheque Vniverselle and in the Preface before the Holland Editions He has in three several Revisions corrected a prodigious number of Faults especially in the Articles which concern ancient History and after a frequent Perusing and a long Examination he found that Mr. Morery was a Man of so little Learning and Exactness that one cannot rely on any thing that he says He that would throughly examine his Dictionary should have almost all the Books which he made use of and it would take up as much time as would be sufficient to make a New one So that Mr. L. C. was forced to pass over a great many Things for want of Books and Time Besides to speak the Truth there are a great many Articles in that Dictionary which deserve not to be corrected by a Man who can spend his Time better Of what use would it be to make a laborious Enquiry concerning so many wretched Authors whom Morery mentions He that began that Work should have been Exact since he undertook it Nevertheless there has been Three Editions of that Dictionary in Holland from the Year 1690. to the Year 1698. and about Seven Thousand Copies have been Sold Perhaps so large a Book did never Sell so well before Indeed it is necessary to a great many People who cannot have Libraries nor read the Original Authors and are contented with a general Knowledge of Things The last Edition of Holland is much more Exact than the other but it is not true That the Publick can now rely upon it as the Booksellers have inserted in the Advertisement of this VIII Edition without Mr. L. C's Knowledge 'T is true That it is more accurate than the former but he that will know something exactly must necessarily have recourse to the Original Authors I hear in 1699. that there is a new Edition of it coming out at Paris and I doubt not but that they have corrected several Faults in the Articles which concern the Modern Authors because they have at Paris all the Books necessary for it the Tenth Part of which cannot be had in Holland because those Books Sell not very well there Of Mr. L. C.'s Commentary on the Pentateuch Mr. L. C. having applied himself chiefly to the Study of the Holy Scripture designed a great while ago to write a Commentary on the Old Testament but being not Master of his Time and Studies he could not do it before he left off writing the Bibliotheque Vniverselle To give a Specimen of his Design he published in 1690. in one Sheet in Quarto the Prophet Obadiah translated by him with a Paraphrase and a Critical Commentary He imparted that Specimen to his Friends and sent it every where to know what the Publick thought of such an Undertaking and having their Approbation he willingly undertook that Work which tho' very great and laborious did not frighten him because he always took great delight in that Study Besides he was persuaded that If he should succeed in his Design it would prove very useful to the Publick He published therefore his Commentary on Genesis in 1693. with a Paraphrase and Critical Notes as he had done the Prophet Obadiah And because he designed his Book for the use of all those who apply themselves to the Study of the Holy Scripture of what Sect or Party soever they be he abstained from all manner of Controversie and enquired only into the Literal Sense without drawing any Theological Consequences from it which might offend any Christian Society He searched Truth as impartially as if he had been the first who undertook such a Work He agrees in most Things with the most Learned Interpreters but he thinks he has made many new Discoveries concerning Things themselves and the manner
Divine Revelation in general and the Christian Religion in particular than his Adversary 'T is in vain for Mr. Vander Wacyen to call Impious and Prophane some Passages of the Treatise concerning the Inspiration of the Sacred Writers The Publick knows very well that Mr. L. C. does not own himself to be the Author of that Treatise and that there is scarce any thing in it but what was said before by Grotius whose Works have been so often reprinted and who is look'd upon as the most excellent Interpeter of the New Testament Mr. Vander Waeyen should have written against him and he would without doubt have done it were it not that the meer Name of Grotius will weigh down all the malice of his Adversaries But Mr. L. C. will do well to publish a Latin Book wherein he 'll examine some Questions which Mr. Vander Waeyen has only entangled For instance Whether Philo took out of Moses what he says concerning the Logos Whether the Platonicks meant the Word by it Whether Plato took out of the Old Testament that he says concerning the three Principles c. He may shew by the by that Mr. Vander Waeyen has but slightly studied that Matter and that it had been more for his Honour not to meddle with it He may also easily prove that he cited Philo with great Sincerity and Exactness and that his Adversary shews no Sincerity in what he says on that point But the Professor of Franeker must not be too impatient He ought to be contented now that he has fully vented his Spleen against Mr. L. C. As for Mr. Van Limborch he has so perfectly confuted Mr. Vander Waeyen's Objections and so well satisfied the Publick in that matter that it would be needless to do it again after him The things which the latter has collected against the Remonstrants are so inconsiderable and confused and shew so much Anger that every Body may be sensible of it Mr. Vander Waeyen's Accusations are so unjudicious and he is so well known by reason of his Quarrels and passionate Carriage towards other Reformed Divines that he can do them no prejudice He has encreased the Reputation of those against whom he wrote at the cost of his own I 'll Instance upon Mr. Spanheim †See Frid. Spanbemii Ep. ad Amicum Ed. Vltrajecti 1684. pag. 71. seq Mr. Vander Waeyen was so ridiculous as to teach him how to confound the Degrees of Longitude and Latitude and to laugh at him because he had said that the New World reaches above 180. Degrees He could not forbear saying with a magisterial Air That Mr. Spanheim spoke very ignorantly ignorantissimegrave and that Geographers reckon only 180. Degrees from one Pole to the other as if Mr. Spanhiem had meant Degrees of Latitude Mr. Vander Waeyen's Dissertation being printed and published the late Mr. Anselaar a Minister at Amsterdam gave him notice of his Blunder but it was too late Mr. Spanheim and several others had already got some Copies of it and that Passage was only mended in those which remained in the Bookseller's Hands Mr. Van Limborch hinted by the by at that gross Mistake to oblige Mr. Vander Waeyen to be more modest and reserved in censuring others †Vid. Discus p. 68. But he feigns to know nothing of it whereas he should make a good use of such a warning to leave off insulting so proudly those who are not of his Mind We may learn from thence that Boldness and Confidence in speaking prove not that a Man is sure of what he says Mr. Vander Waeyen affords us an instance of it for he has committed a childish Fault at the very same time that he was insulting and laughing at Mr. Spanheim without any reason for it 'T is a piece of Craft which has been practised a thousand times and tho' the Fallacy lacy of it has been detected as many times yet the common People are still deceived by it †Juvenal Sat. XIII v. 109. And a great boldness in defending a bad Cause is look'd upon by many as a sign that a Man trusts the goodness of his Cause Nam cùm magna malae superest audacia causae Creditur à multis fiducia Mr. Van Limborch must not trouble himself with what the Professor of Franeker thinks of his Works A Man who is well pleased with precarious Explications of Prophecies and fills his Head with so many Chimaeras cannot but dislike good and methodical Explications of the Holy Scripture and such as are grouded on the clear sense of the Words and Grammatical Rules But all those who are acquainted with the Principles of the Reformers and know that in matters of Religion every thing must be proved by the Scripture literally expounded without any mixture of Humane Doctrines will always set a great value on Mr. Van Limborch's Books whatever Allegorical Divines may think of ' em However I believe as well as Mr. Vander Waeyen that Knowledge shall be encreased among Christians but it will not be by substituting in the room of Reason and Critical Rules the wandering Fancy of those who expound the Holy Scripture as they do the Chiming of Bells God on the contrary will make use of Reason and Critical Learning which are now cultivated more than ever to produce that Change The Divines of the Church of England are much esteem'd because they Reason better and make better use of the Knowledge of Languages than others do in many other Countries 'T is true that Mr. Vander Waeyen has no Kindness for them because they cannot abide the Cocceian Explications of Holy Scripture but approve of those of Grotius and other like Interpreters But how can they help it They must as well as so many other Reformed Divines patiently bear the misfortune of not pleasing him Of the Treatise concerning the Causes of Unbelief NEXT to the Commentary on the Pentateuch Mr. L. C. published his French Treatise concerning the Causes of Vnbelief wherein he examines the Motives and general Reasons which induce Unbelievers to reject the Christian Religion He published it in 1696. and promised to translate it into Latin and to add some Notes in confirmation of what he says He is so persuaded that the better a Man reasons the better he may be convinced of the Truth of the Christian Religion and the Beauty of its Morality that he constantly says in that Book that Men fall into Unbelief for want of reasoning well Nay †B. 2. Ch. VI. n. IV. he affirms that whoever says we must renounce Reason to believe Religion betrays it for assoon as we lay aside the Light of Reason we can apprehend nothing in Revelation and are not able to understand the Proofs it is grounded upon which suppose that we can reason He thinks that those who have cried down Reason designed to deceive the People and make 'em believe any thing But on the other side Mr. L. C. believes not that we ought to have clear
Writers of France don't think that 't is possible for the Council that governs it to commit the least Indiscretions so high an Idea they have of their wise Maxims and steddy Conduct I will not pretend to oppose this Idea of theirs because in truth it is founded upon diverse weighty Reasons But they should judge of Facts and their Consequences without having any regard to them because the most prudent Councils are not always infallible but are subject to take false Measures altho' this does not happen so often to them It is likewise reasonable that those that admire the Conduct of the other Princes of Europe who join'd against France should remember that the best Heads are sometimes over-seen We ought to do Justice reciprocally one to another and to judge of Faults and great Actions by themselves and by their Consequences and not altogether by Preposession Of Ecclesiastic History THESE Precautions in my Opinion are absolutely necessary for an Historian if he wou'd acquit himself as he ought in his Undertaking We may find as already has been observ'd Examples and Proofs of it in the best Historians of Pagan Antiquity But there is a sort of History among Christians wherein if we must talk Historically that is to say without being byass'd all the above-mention'd Rules that have been prescrib'd for the Writing of History are neglected and violated An Orthodox Author that undertakes to Compose an Ecclesiastic History cannot be too hot-headed and zealous for his own Party nor have too violent an Aversion for the other Sects He must shew this Disposition of Mind all along in his Work for therwise he will be defamed not only for a Man of no Abilities but likewise for an impious Person 'T is but just he should propose to himself as a Recompense for his Labour some Ecclesiastic Dignities if he is of a Profession to pretend to them or some other equivalent if he is a Laic upon condition he all along favour Orthodoxy that is his own Party If he be so ill advised as to speak never so little in favour of the Heretics or such as are opposite to his own side he must expect to be expos'd to the fury of Zealots to their Accusations and perhaps to all the Punishments Ecclesiastic and Civil that are inflicted in the place where he lives unless he will retract these rash Truths which are to be found in him advantageous to Heresy He ought to fore-arm himself with this Prejudice and never lay it aside viz. That all that may be honourable in Heretics is false and that all that is said to their Disreputation is true As on the contrary every thing that can do honour to the Orthodox is undoubted and all that reflects upon them is a downright Life 'T is necessary that an Orthodox Historian should carefully suppress or at least extenuate as far as in him lies the Errors and Vices of those that are respected among the Orthodox altho' they are not well known by them and on the other hand that he exaggerate as much as he can the Mistakes and Faults of the Heretics Besides he ought to remember that any Orthodox may serve as a Witness against a Heretic and ought to be believed upon his word and that on the contrary a Heretic's word ought never to be taken against the Orthodox All the honour that must be allow'd him is to hearken to him when he has any thing to say in favour of Orthodoxy or against himself An Orthodox may be cited as a Witness in his own proper Cause but a Heretic must not be so even in that of another In short there are Maxims which he must not examine but follow if he undertakes to write Ecclesiastic History under pain of Infamy Excommunication Banishment c. After this manner the Centuriators of Magdeburg have written on one side and Cardinal Baronius on the other which has obtain'd both of them among their own Party an immortal Reputation But we must confess at the same time that they were not the first and that they only imitated the generality of those that preceded them in this way of Writing It had been the fashion several Ages before this to search out in Antiquity not what was really there but what we judged ought to be there for the good of the Party which we had espous'd and to represent the Ancients such as we found it for our porpose that they should be for the advantage of the Cause which we have undertaken to defend A Man certainly found his profit in writing after this manner and danger in doing otherwise Sozomen in * Lib. I. c. 1. his Ecclesiastic History after having enumerated the Monuments out of which he compil'd it goes on as follows For fear lest any one should condemn my Work of Falsehood upon my not being sufficiently instructed in Matters as they happen'd because he finds the Relations in other Authors different from mine he must understand that upon the occasion of Arius's Opinions and those which sprung up afterwards the Governours of the Church being divided every one writ to those of his own Opinion concerning those things which he himself had taken to Heart That having assembled Synods a-part they confirm'd whatever they had a mind to and frequently condemn'd their Adversaries in their absence That they made their Court to the Emperors and the Great Men about them and left no Stone unturn'd to gain them over to their side and make them receive their own Opinions That in order to pass for Orthodox in the World each Party took a particular care to collect the Letters which favour'd their Sect and omitted the rest And this says he has given me abundance of trouble in my Search after the Truth But since the Sincerity of History requires that we should do all that in us lies to discover the Truth I thought myself oblig'd diligently to examine these sorts of Writings If I relate the Quarrels which the Ecclesiastics have had among one another about the Preference of their Sects let no one believe that this proceeds from Malice or any sinister Design Besides that 't is just as I have already observ'd that an Historian should prefer the Truth to all things the Truth of the Doctrins of the Catholick Church does but appear the more by it having been several times put to the Proof by the cunning Designs of those that opposed it c. It seems that he durst not speak all that he thought for after he had taken notice of the Quarrels and Ambition of the Ecclesiastics as well as of their Writings and Letters directly opposite one to the other he ought to have told his Reader what Rules he had follow'd in his History to distinguish the Truth from Falsehood Besides he ought to have concluded otherwise than he has done and have said that the vitious Lives and wicked Actions of the Ecclesiastics have no Connexion with the Christian Religion which condemns them and
consequently ought not to be set down to her Account That therefore for his speaking Truth of the first Fathers of the Church altho' it was not advantageous for them no such Conclusion ought to be drawn as that he design'd to do the least injury to Religion That we ought not to confound the private and personal Interests of the Church-men with the general Interest of the Gospel That this was an Artifice which the irregular Clergy made use of to authorize their ill living or hinder others from daring to reprove it as if what was levell'd only at their disorders must needs strike directly at Religion itself whose unworthy Ministers they must own themselves to be That we ought likewise to distinguish between good and bad between Orders that were instituted with Reason in the Church and the Abuse that was made of them in order to let the World see that those who blame the Abuse don't censure the thing itself and that those who recount the ill Actions of wicked Men don't lose the Respect which ought to be paid to the Good That it is notoriously manifest that the Truth of Opinions don't make all such as profess them virtuous and that speculative Errors don't corrupt the Manners of all those who are engaged in them so that the mixture of good and bad in the Conduct of Life is almost equal between the Orthodox and the Heretics That therefore we ought not to take all for Gospel which the former say nor yet to reject every thing as false that comes from the second but that we ought to examine what both of them can say according to the same Rules which the Law prescribes for sifting of Witnesses in Civil and Criminal Affairs That in fine it is of the last importance to speak out the truth freely in all this lest the Libertines should imagine that 't is a Belief among the Christians that the Opinions of the Mind or Employments in the Church change Vice into Virtue and Virtue into Vice and lest Persons of weak Judgments should insensibly be led into it by seeing both one and the other equally consecrated in the Person of Ecclesiastics and at last forget that the Christian Religion consists in believing the Doctrins of the Gospel and obeying its Precepts and not in the Respect that is paid to Men who are neither made better nor more knowing by their Dignities This is what ought to be said in a Preface to an Ecclesiastic History and what Sozomen perhaps wou'd have said if he had dared to speak all that he thought But it was too dangerous at that time to speak thus at Constantinople as it is still so in the greatest part of Europe Of the Stile of History III. IT is not necessary that I should speak of the Order which an Historian ought to observe because the Series of the Time sufficiently directs him in that and the Rhetors have assign'd Rules for the Narration which are as suitable to an Historian as they are to an Orator As for the Style the only Qualities which it ought to have is to be pure clear and as concise as possible without becoming obscure 'T is in History where we ought principally to employ that simple and natural Style which the Masters of this Art so exceedingly commend As an Historian only proposes to himself to inform his Reader of what has happen'd without any design to move or divert him any farther than the Matter may contribute to it without the Historians having any such Thought all sorts of studied Ornaments are superfluous and an Affectation of shewing one's Eloquence is altogether impertinent We ought to hear what is said upon this Head by Lucian or by d'Ablancourt for it signifies nothing which of the two speaks provided that the Rules are good History say they is more chast than Poetry and can no more employ the Ornaments of the latter than a virtuous Woman those of a Harlot and so much the more as it has no occasion to be beholding to Fiction and has none of those Figures and Movements which transport and disorder the Soul If you bestow too much Decoration upon it you make it resemble Hercules when he has Omphale's Cloaths on which is the highest piece of Extravagance They likewise say in another place discoursing of an Historian That his Style ought to be clear and natural without being low for as we assign him Freedom and Truth to regulate the Matter of his Narration so Clearness and Perspicuity ought to regulate the Manner of it The Figures ought neither to be too sublime nor too far fetch'd unless when he comes to describe a Battel or to make an Harangue For upon those occasions he is allow'd to elevate his Style and if I may so express myself to unfurl all the Sails of his Eloquence However it is not necessary that he should raise himself in proportion to the things of which he talks and he ought to preserve his Style altogether free from the Enthusiasm and Fury of Poetry for 't is to be fear'd that if he rises too high his Head will be apt to grow giddy and lose itself in Fiction Therefore if he has a mind to rise let it rather be by the Things than the Words for 't is infinitely better that his Style should be ordinary and his Thoughts sublime than that his Thoughts should be mean and his Style elevated or that he should suffer himself to be too violently hurried by the force of his Imagination Let his Periods be neither too long nor too much studied his Style neither too harmonious nor too negligent because one has a tincture of Barbarity and the other of Affectation This is all that may reasonably be said in general of an Historical Style for I am by no means of their Opinion who pretend that the Style of an Historian ought to be more elevated than that of an Orator and almost Poetical as * Lib. X. c. 1. Quintilian believed Neither do I believe that 't is necessary for a Man to be an Orator to be an Historian as †Lib. II. de Oratore c. 9. seq Cicero has maintain'd As Instruction is his main and principal Business all that is not serviceable to that end has no relation to the History what Taste soever the Ancients had of these Matters who were somewhat too fond of the Ornaments of Rhetoric If a Man has a mind to please his Reader by his Style 't is enough if it has the above-mention'd Qualities A Narration conceiv'd in pure Terms clear and short is sufficiently agreeable of itself and needs no Foreign Ornaments to recommend it if the things we relate do otherwise deserve to be read So soon as the Reader perceives that an Historian makes it his Business to display his Eloquence he has a very just Reason to suspect his want of Integrity because 't is the Custom of Declamers to alter the things they relate that they may make a